Lumos

22| Obliviate

We landed on top of a hill. I staggered away from him, clutching my wand for protection.

"Where are we?" I asked, exhausted. He didn't reply. "Malfoy, where are we-" I stopped as I saw him, laying on the floor, eyes closed. "Malfoy?" I sat next to him, shaking his shoulder. All this apparition must have drained him. He sat up, slowly, blinking.

"This was the first place I thought of," he said, sitting up with a groan. "Halfway through I realized I didn't know where your parents lived."

"I can apparate back to them, hopefully," I said, grabbing his hands. I turned them over, surveying his injuries. I pulled off his snake ring, gently. It had left a scorched mark around his finger, probably from the heat of the fire surrounding us earlier. "One time," I said dumbly, "I apparated across a hallway and left my foot behind. It took Madam Pomfrey two days to put me back together. Episkey." I flicked my wand over his knuckles, and then did the same to his face. Slowly, the wounds healed. "Tergeo," I said, clearing the dried blood and soot. He did the same for me, tapping my knuckles. "Go back," I said, brushing myself off. "I'm going to my parents."

"Yeah?" he got up painfully as well. "And what are you going to say? 'Mummy, Daddy . . . I've joined the Dark Lord. You have to leave this country.'" Draco mocked.

"No, obviously not." But he did have a point. News of Dumbeldore's death would've already reached everyone's homes by now, parents worriedly scrambling trying to find news of their children.

"Then?"

"I wish they could just not know me for a while. Then they wouldn't be so worried." I paced, holding my hand to my forehead. "This got too bad too quickly," I moaned, letting my arms drop to my sides.

"That's what I tried to tell you, but you wanted to take control of everything," Malfoy scowled.

"I did not. I want to help-"

"Yeah, and much good that did."

I scowled, but he was right. "I'll figure something out," I said, ready to apparate. I closed my eyes, thinking of my warm living room-

"Obliviate," Malfoy said. My eyes snapped open.

"Are you trying to erase my memory?" I asked, appalled.

"No. Use it on your parents and send them somewhere far. If this is ever over," Malfoy uttered slowly, "you can go back to them. But for now . . ."

Again, I felt my eyes burning with tears. "Oh, God. Everything is ruined, isn't it?"

"Don't start complaining now. It only gets worse." His eyes dropped to my left arm.

"No . . ."

"Yes. You've pledged to him. That's the end of that empty part of your body. Stare at it while you can . . . by tomorrow, it'll be tattooed with the Mark." I clutched my arm to my chest.

"I'm leaving."

"Wait." He pointed his wand at me, muttering a few words. Then, he did so to himself. Draco disappeared into thin air.

"What-where have you gone?" I shouted. "Slimy git-"

"I'm still here," Malfoy's voice said out of nowhere. "I cast an invisibility charm. It can only last so long, unlike Potter's cloak." I looked down at my body. Sure enough, it was gone.

"Bloody-"

"I'm going with you to your home," he said, and it wasn't a suggestion. "You'll end up doing something stupid. Here."

I waited a few seconds. "What, 'here'?"

"I'm holding out my hand, you daft dimwit."

"Right." I reached forward, grabbing on. "I'm apparating?"

"Yes. Get on with it. And don't leave half my body behind."

"It's my body I'm worried about." He snorted. I closed my eyes, and then we were twisting through a pathway. I tried my best to hold on as colors flashed before my eyes, and when we landed, our connection was immediately broken. I hit the ground, rolling over four times. With a groan, I got to my feet. Only, I had no feet.

Had I left my legs behind again?

No, you're invisible, Steele.

Right.

"Malfoy?" I whispered. "Where are you?"

"Here." I followed the sound of his voice, looking down to see two shoe prints squishing the grass. They were facing my house. I wiped my eyes quickly as the tears formed.

"Come on," I sniffed. I stepped forward, linking my arm in his. We walked up the steps, and I tried pushing open the door. "We can't use magic, can we?"

"We used magic twenty times since we left Hogwarts," Malfoy scoffed. "The Dark Lord is taking over the ministry, anyway. It won't matter. Alohamora," he pointed at the doorknob. It clicked open, and I walked inside.

When I saw her sitting down, I couldn't hold it back. My lip trembled. I could feel my hands shaking.

"I hope she's alright," Mother said. She looked tired and worried. My father was reading the Daily Prophet.

"The ministry is currently being taken over by them," Dad said. adjusting his glasses. "Are you watching the skies for owls? Elvira should be sending a message any time now. I heard no one . . . died. Except Dumbledore."

"We can't send her to the school next year," Mum said, taking a seat on the sofa. "She's around the Slytherins all the time. I heard most of the students became Death Eaters."

"They're rumors, Serena," Dad patted her shoulder. "I'm sure they knew better than that."

"Their parents . . ."

"That's different."

I pressed my hand over my mouth to keep from making a sound. I realized my face was wet, but I didn't bother wiping it away. There was no one that could see me, so it didn't matter.

"Why haven't we heard from her yet, Cyril? Why haven't-"

"She's a smart girl. She knows what we're doing."

I pointed my wand at them, my hands trembling. "I love you," I whispered. Their heads whipped in my direction.

"Who's there?" Dad asked.

"Obliviate." Slowly, their eyes glassed over. They blinked, looking at each other.

"What was I doing?" he asked, looking down at the paper.

"Ah, tea," Mum got to her feet, humming as she walked to the kitchen. The worry lines disappeared on their foreheads, relaxing as they sat back.

"Did you hear about the attack on Hogwarts?" Dad asked her. "It was one of the students. Dumbledore was killed."

"It's good we didn't plan on having kids," Mum called from the kitchen. Her words slapped me across the face. "I wouldn't have been able to take so much stress."

Dad nodded his head in agreement. I pushed away, running through the door and falling to my knees on the grass outside. I gasped for breath, loosening the tie I was still wearing around my neck. I threw it far away, pulling off the dirt-stained vest I wore on top of my plain white shirt, tossing it away.

As soon as I felt Draco's hands on my shoulders, I apparated away from there, as far as I could.