Of Doves and Dragons

Chapter Five: The Initiative

"Cause I've been shaking, I've been bending backwards till I'm broke. Watching all these dreams go up in smoke."

-Celine Dion, Ashes

July was coming to a close. Ember, for the time being, pushed down the undefined feelings she felt towards her parents. Forgiveness was not something she was willing to give them without a lengthy productive discussion. She had found the tip of an iceberg that she was eager to excavate, but it would not do to dwell on such turmoil and waste the time she had left. She had no way to know if her parents would barricade her from what she had unearthed and therefore she had to take advantage of the time she was allowed.

She wanted to learn everything she could about the wizarding world. Sure, she had a pretty wide background knowledge from the textbooks she had read countless times, but it was the culture, the hands-on experience, that Draco provided for her.

He found her questions both amusing and fascinating. It was never the obvious questions that she asked- no, it was the obscure, thought provoking, questions she favored. She would spend hours upon hours asking him questions, and he never grew tired of it like he might with anyone else. She had settled into a familiar comfort with him and with every answer he gave her, a beautiful smile would brighten her face. Her real, unbidden, smile stunned him, filling his stomach with trickling honey. He had never really been around anyone whom he could deem innocent and it was Ember's innocence that drew him to her. He came to admit that her naivety was not nearly as boring as he had first assumed.

Their easy conversations, where information and debate thrived, were going to have to come to a close soon though. The Dark Lord would be arriving any day now. Draco internally cringed at the thought of the evil that would soon invade his home. His spine shivered remembering the unsettling sinister smile of the Dark Lord that made one cower with the fear of not knowing whether he was amused or secretly plotting your demise.

But the thought that plagued his mind more than anything was the hanging question of: What would happen with Ember? He had strategically steered clear of any mention of dark magic, besides the occasional Defense Against the Dark Arts question. It hadn't been difficult. Ember was not the kind of person to naturally travel along the edges of the dark. Her heart was too pure to assume the worst of the world. He didn't want her to know that he was affiliated with the Death Eaters. He didn't want her to fear him.

She would learn soon enough. The Dark Lord would frequent these halls and she wouldn't be able to evade him forever; whatever Draco's wishes might be.

And sooner or later her parents were going to return and she would discover the real reason why she was brought to his home. He didn't want to be there to see her face when she became aware of the situation they were trapped in.

Both situations were unavoidable. The question that remained was, which would occur first?

~

Ember was walking down the empty hallway with a small smile and a spring in her step. She had stayed up far later than she would have liked eagerly reading the potions textbook for year five, Magical Drafts and Potions, and Draco had promised that she could read year six as soon as he purchased it. Questions of everlasting elixirs and strengthening solutions had captured her dreams, filling her head to the brim with questions for Draco.

The bottom of her dress grazed the back of her calves as she floated on her way. Her hair, half pinned up, swished from side to side in ringlets down her back. Her eyes were a vibrant, energetic, and shinning with excitement.