𝒯𝒽ℯ 𝒫𝓇ℴ𝓂𝒾𝓈ℯ𝒹 𝒪𝓃ℯ | 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐨𝐲 |

#14 New Year's Wishes

122 days before

Without a doubt did I completely fail again. I had one job, one thing to do and that was staying undetected for the fate of my family and Draco. And I failed.

After Bellatrix broke down the door, my father and an unknown death eater directly on her heals, I didn't notice anything except Draco's eyes on me, after his body met the ground. He simply sat there in his crumbled self, silently crying without moving a muscle in his face.

The others were quicker to react. Bellatrix wasn't holding back her astonishment, she quickly stepped in the room, said something to Draco, but neither he nor I really listened. My father quickly approached where I had sunk down to my knees too, threw his arms around my body and sobbed into my hair. I joined him, I started to cry, but not out of joy that I saw my father again. I cried, because they finally got me. I was doomed and so was everyone involved.

I thought about Ron and when he realized, that I wouldn't come back like I said. He probably got suspicious after an hour, worried an hour later and maybe even left the house, even though he really shouldn't with his face on wanting papers, too shortly after. I thought about El and if Remus already found her. If they were able to find Luna somewhere, if they were all safe and sound again, or if the Professor would come home to a worried mother, not only realizing that I was missing now too, but also telling Tonks, that her daughter was still out there. And I thought about Hermione and Harry, where they were and if they were safe. Maybe they found another Horcrux, maybe the sword of Gryffindor. Or maybe they were found a while ago, got captured and tortured without us noticing.

It were two days since I were brought to Malfoy Manor. Two days I stayed in the room Draco shoved me into, two days since the Potion wore off and revealed, that Tiara Estelle Fox, Merlin descendent and death believed heir, wasn't nearly as dead as everyone believed. It was a mess.

Mother came to me as soon as she got informed about my presence. She opened the door with a charm, locked it behind her and simply looked at me until I cut loose and ran into her open arms, which she desperately clenched around me.

"I'm so sorry, Mom. I tried.", I had sobbed into her shoulders, made her calmingly stroke over my back as she let herself sink with me against the door and leaned herself back against the wooden surface.

She was a mess too.

Not just on the inside probably, since she had to come up with a solution to get me out of there without getting us both killed, but on the outside too. The right side of her neck, the one which faced the pantry which exploded in the fire, was covered with burn scars. So was her right arm, her hand and the side of her stomach. In the disguise at our Ministry Mission, I didn't notice how bad it actually was. Even though she assured me, that she was all good, I knew that she suffered enough in the last months for both of us. She explained, that my parents moved into Malfoy Manor with the Dark Lord's bidding. He used the estate as some sort of headquarter, so my parents were right in the center of the storm all this time. She assured, that she would come up with an excuse why I escaped the flames and that I shouldn't be worried. That I did everything right and my best, or that she would find a way to get me out of there before the Dark Lord would return.

She granted herself a day for that, two at the most, so I made her promise to stay in the room, since I was locked in there anyways. A pathetic version of a golden cage, until the Dark Lord could possibly greet me in his rows himself, like Bellatrix pointed out so delighted. In other words was I a prisoner in disguise of a guest. With my own house elf bringing me food three times a day, with a bookshelf on which I spent my time with reading through the lecture for hints to at least clench on the idea of helping my friends with something as soon as I came out of here. Up to the point, where I sorted all the books by colors, after I sorted them by the first letter of the author's name. Or after I did the system by subject areas. They left me my personal things in the bag around my belt, but took my wand. They let me open the door to the balcony, but charmed it, so I couldn't step out.