THE FURIES ▸ Draco Malfoy

Chapter Three: NEMISIS

◤ ❝If you want to win, you must make the others chase you.❞ ― Alastiare Erebus◢

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CHAPTER THREE:    NEMISIS

September 1st, 1996

                    The look on Draco's face was not comforting when Andromeda saw him again. She, Theodore, Daphne, and Tracey had left the others in the compartment to get dressed into their school uniform and robe, but she hadn't caught a hold of Draco until they were already exiting the train and on their way to Hogwarts. His jaw was tight and shoulders stiff, defining the sharpness of his features and hollowing out his cheeks. Something was wrong. That was fairly obvious. Even though he got frustrated often, and he had little chance of containing his anger once it was released, it was never anything like this. This look was restricted to one person, and she knew only because the same expression was often worn on her own face around the culprit, as well. Draco's eyes settled in apparent relief once he found her in the crowd of students waiting at the carriages, not even noticing that Pansy was calling for him to come over to her.

"Mia." 

Theo's voice drew her out of the small inspection that she was giving Draco—much like the one he was giving her—unbeknownst that her friends were waiting for her ahead of the trail. She turned around, glancing up slightly to see that Theodore was looking the same way as her, but for an entirely different reason. 

Rather than curiosity, he watched Draco with a distrust that had never been there before. "The carriages will be leaving soon."

Mia's brows raised in confusion; Theo had never acted like this around anyone that she associated with. Not even when he found out that she would be staying with the Malfoy's all summer. He'd always been quiet of his opinions on her companions, mainly because he knew that she wouldn't follow in his beliefs regardless of what he said about them. Even when she caught the way he looked a bit longer at Daphne than all of the others. The subtle hint that she didn't have much time to talk to anyone was not missed, better yet that it was directed to a specific boy. 

"Just a moment... I need to speak with someone."

Theodore looked down at her cautiously, blue eyes clashing with dark brown, before going back to staring over her head at Draco. It was not an exchange between friends. Had Andromeda been looking at the other Slytherin instead of her cousin, she would have noticed that Draco was just as guarded as Theo. It seemed that he was right—Theodore would become a problem. Mia was the only family that he had left to depend on, and the only thing Draco was doing was encouraging her to play with the very thing that got his father locked away and her father killed. Draco knew that it wouldn't be long before Theodore caught onto what they had been recruited to do—that the Dark Lord had put the children of two failed Death Eaters together to test them on their loyalty to him verses their loyalty to their compassion. Andromeda's life was in Draco's hands. And his was in her own.

"Andromeda," Theodore called out, just as she went to walk away from him. Immediately, she knew that his words weren't going to be lighthearted. He only ever called her by her full name when he needed her to listen to what he was saying. So, when she turned around and saw the look in his eye, she listened. "Be careful."

Theodore received nothing more than a small nod from Mia before she was turning on her heels and walking towards her own enemy and only ally. Draco was still staring Theo's way, his grey eyes molding into the dark shade of a ravage storm cloud, washing away any hint of relief that he had once expressed Mia's way. All that was left was caution, and the teenage boy had a strong feeling that Theodore Nott would not be the first person to alarm him. Hell, Potter had already begun weaseling his way into their business and they hadn't even reached Hogwarts yet. There was no telling who else would try to get in the way of the mission.