UNKNOWN | D.M (UNRAVEL BOOK 4)

[ 38 ]

Cho's face hung down with guilt and shame as she peered up for a second, tears breaming in her eyes. 

Aine did wonder where her Ravenclaw senior had been today, noting that she hadn't seen her during the meeting earlier. She thought that perhaps the older girl had been sick and that she had told Harry about her absence. She did notice that they shared a little spark between them after all but judging from Harry's shock, it seemed otherwise. When Cho looked at her, Aine's eyes softened when she saw through her mind.

Umbridge had forced her to tell the whereabouts of their little group with a potion Aine knew all too well— Veritaserum, the truth-telling potion.

Her thoughts broke when Umbridge barked, "Get them!" 

Still shaken, Aine's knees wobbled when Pansy strutted towards her, grabbing her forcibly and shoving her to Umbridge who sneered down at her. "You are so screwed, Estoileon," Pansy whispered to her, grinning as though she had won.

"Oh, shut up, Parkinson..." Aine breathed, rolling her eyes.

Umbridge jerked to her minions, ordering them to bring Harry, Cho and Aine with her while a couple of them remained in the Room of Requirement, looking over the other members of Dumbledore's Army. She then bound the two leaders' wrists with an invisible rope, tightening it with her wand before turning her heels, and leading the way.

Pansy nudges Aine to walk while scowling at Harry who shot her a death stare. "I'll take her," said a voice from the Inquisitorial Squad.

It was Draco. He pretended to plaster on a cold expression before glaring at Harry who rolled his eyes, walking ahead with Cho. All emotions seemed to have disappeared from Draco when he glanced at Aine, making her frown at his actions. Pansy smirked at the girl, realizing that she was in deep trouble. She shrugged and pushes Aine into Draco's possession, then she sashays away to her group to oversee the other students left behind.

When Draco came to his realization that they were alone. He gazed at Aine with worried eyes, softening up and throwing his facade away like a snap of a finger. They continued walking to avoid suspicions as Umbridge had turned around to make sure they were following her orders. When the pink woman was not looking, Draco takes his wand out and loosened the magically created rope around Aine's hand. She winced, feeling the rough rope scratching into her wrists before they were free, allowing her to move her limbs better.

"Thank you," she whispered, thankful. Draco gave her a small smile, secretly holding her hand to give her strength. 

He eyed Aine's forehead, there was a tiny cut above her brows and he sighed, "You're bleeding!"

Aine brought her hand to her head, finding the back of her hand glossed with blood. "Oh," she muttered, not even surprised. She must have gotten it from all the flying rocks when Umbridge had blasted the entrance open earlier. "It's fine. Don't worry... I'm okay, Draco," she reassures him but the boy continued to sulk.

"You could have gotten hurt even more..." he said, anger mixed in his hushed voice. He muttered, "What was she thinking busting through the wall with such a dangerous spell!"

Aine simpered at his concern and he gave her a deadpanned look. "This isn't funny, Aine. I'm serious."

She tapped onto his hands, lacing her fingers in his. "Thank you for worrying about me, love."

Draco gave up, he couldn't resist fighting against her. He exhaled through his nose and pulls her close. "I was so worried when I saw Umbridge interrogating Chang. I should have done something to stop it..." he said, apologetic. He wanted to cause a diversion earlier before allowing Umbridge and her group to storm into the Room of Requirement but it was already too late when she had gotten the answers from Cho.