Rotten | D. Malfoy

Eighteen

"You made it." Draco's smooth voice calls out from behind me.

I turn to face him, smiling. "I did." I answer, stepping over to him.

He takes one of my hands into his. "Come, I have something to show you." He tells me, leading me through the winding stacks of junk and old furniture. My heart hammers in my chest as the anticipation builds around us.

We round the corner and Draco stops us in front of a familiar wardrobe I've passed dozens of times here. "This is what I've been working on." He motions to the cabinet and I glance up at him.

"For what?" I ask and a small chuckle leaves his lips, his laugh reverberating off the walls.

"For the task, I can't tell you how it works or what it'll do. I just need you to trust me." His words register in my mind but they don't make sense. I thought we would be working together on this.

"Why not?" I ask him defiantly, my arms crossing over my chest.

Draco sighs, running one of his hands down his face. Without a single word, he opens the cabinet, pulls a green apple from his pocket and places it inside. He shuts the cabinet door and his eyes as he utters an incantation.

"Harmonia Nectere Passus. Harmonia Nectere Passus. Harmonia Nectere Passus." A whooshing sound fills our ears and a smirk lifts the corner of Draco's lips. He pulls the door back open and the apple is gone.

"Where did it go?" I ask him and he shrugs but doesn't answer me with words. "Is it for Him?" I ask and he nods. Silence fills my ears, ringing to an octave I could never reach with my voice.

This is too much. It's becoming too real. How are two teenagers going to kill one of the greatest wizards of all time? It feels nearly impossible, but I want to do it. He deserves it, especially after the way he spoke to me after showing me the pensieve.

My fingers find the locket around my neck, clutching it in my hand as my violent thoughts of killing Dumbledore swirl. "Aurora, take the necklace off." Draco's voice cuts through my thoughts like jagged ice.

"What?"

"I said, take it off." He repeats himself more firmly, his hand held out for it. "The thoughts you're having are because of it."

At those last words I unclasp the necklace and drop it into his hand. He puts it into the closet and shuts the door, muttering the incantation once more and I know it's gone. "Why didn't you tell me three weeks ago when you put it on me?" I snap at him and he shuts his eyes as if to think on his answer for a moment.

"I didn't know how to. He wants you to have it on so you can be like Him." Draco explains as calmly as he can after reopening his eyes. I stare into those grey storm clouds of eyes and I feel the sincerity.

"Okay." I answer simply and Draco grabs me by the waist, pulling my body into his. He stares into my eyes for just a moment before pressing his lips to mine. I kiss him back fiercly, never wanting to let go of him.

My back presses against the cabinet as the heat between us quickly rises. Draco pulls back from my lips just enough that his graze against mine. He looks into my eyes, thinking for a moment before opening his mouth. "Be mine."

"What?"

"I don't want to fake it, I want you, Aura." He says it in plain English but it's like I still don't understand. A nervous laugh leaves my lips and he pulls back more. "So?" He asks and I can actually hear the worry in his voice.

I press a small kiss to his lips before smiling up at him. "Always."

A smile graces his lips, one so genuine I realize I haven't seen it in years. This boy is going to be the end of me, I can feel it in my bones.