and I stand with you

twelve

The following day, Draco and I were pulled into a meeting with the Dark Lord very abruptly, and told to sit and listen to the orders.

No shock came when he administered the small task of fixing the vanishing cabinet in the room of requirement.

It came when he revealed the purpose.

"You will kill Dumbledore." His words rang through my ears like gunfire, and I knew Draco must have been feeling the exact same way. If he did, however, he did not show it. He nodded, accepting the tasks, and I followed his lead. I put on a brave face, I blocked my mind from any thoughts of ill-will towards the Dark Order and I accepted the tasks as well. Once he had dismissed us, Draco followed me to my room and watched as I packed clothes into a bag.

"Where are you going?" He asked quietly, taking a seat on the edge of my bed.

"I have to leave." I muttered, shoving some more things in my bag.

"Octavia." He said so softly, that I almost didnt hear him. When I looked over at him, his face was crumpled and he looked defeated. He also looked like he hadn't slept a night in months. Figures. Neither had I.

"Draco, I swear I will come back, but I cant be here right now. I cant." I choked, zipping my bag and setting it down, taking a seat next to him.

"Its fine." He huffed, getting ready to stand but I grabbed his arm, pulling him back down to his seat.

"I will be back. It will just be a few nights, maybe. I wouldnt leave you here completely. You can write, you know. Just nothing that will get us killed." I said the last part quietly, so I wouldn't bother his nerves too much.

"And where will I send the letters? Where are you going, Vi? Why are you leaving?" He put his head in his hands, sighing a heavy sigh that let me know he was not dealing with this well.

"I'm going to see Fred. You can send your letters to the Burrow. I need to get out of here, though, Draco, because- because-" I looked down at my hands, just realizing I had been digging my nails into my palms. Releasing my grip, I looked at the indentation of my nails on my skin.

"Because I'm not doing well." I admitted, looking up to his gaze once again.

"Me either." He whispered.

"I will be back, and when I am, I expect you will be here in my room with snacks and stories of all your boring adventures around here." I smiled, trying to make him feel better.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

When I got to the Burrow, Fred and George weren't there. Molly had sat me down and poured me some tea. She looked distraught, like she had just seen a ghost.

"Dear, Arthur and I have some news for you." She told me, a frown on her face. My heart beat raced, my fingernails digging deeper into my palms. Something bad was coming.

"What is it?" I asked, shaking as I picked up my tea. Just then, the front door opened, and in poured Fred, George, and Ron, all with bags which they handed to Ron and he struggled to carry himself.

"Boys, could you go wait in your rooms while we chat with Octavia?" Molly smiled at them all, and I knew what had happened. I had stopped receiving letters months ago, but I had assumed that it meant she was busy, that she had just gotten busy and had forgotten to write. Still, I wrote my letters to her, and never once did I get a response. I should have tried harder to reach out, I should have figured out what was going on. I should have tried harder to find her in the beginning. I was too deep into the Dark Order to even stop and think about where she had gone. Ron happily obliged to his mothers orders, heading off to probably the kitchen to devour some more food. George looked at his twin look at me, and then took off on his own as Fred made his way over to us all. He was never one to listen to order anyway.

"Whats going on?" Fred pulled his hat off, rubbing his cold hands together, taking a seat next to me on the couch.

"I missed you." He added, taking my hand in his own. As I felt the coldness on the inside of my raw palms, for a slight second, I relaxed. I forgot about my plans with Draco that the Dark Lord had given us, I forgot I had become a death eater, practically signing away my entire being and life, and I forgot that Molly Weasley was about to tell me the most heartbreaking news of all. I looked at Fred with a half smile, and then tears formed in my eyes as I turned towards Molly.

"Shes dead, isn't she?" I asked, my smiling dropping, and my heart cracking with each word I spoke. Molly looked to Arthur, who looked back to me.

"Who is dead?" Fred sat forward, questioning his parents, looking back at my face, with tears dropping down my cheeks.

"My mum." Fred looked at me with sad eyes as he pulled me into his chest.

"How did it happen?" He asked for me, knowing I wouldn't be able to muster up enough energy to ask myself.

"She was attacked.." She said quietly, taking my hand in her own.

"I hope you know, you always have a home here, and Sirius will always take care of you. Us as well." She pulled me into a hug.

I didn't cry. In fact, I felt numb. I couldn't stay here after finding this out, and I didn't want to go back to the Manor alone. After our talk, I followed Fred into his room.

"Would you consider coming with me to the manor for tonight?" I ask quietly, begging him in my head to say yes.

"Of course I will darling." He pulled me into his chest again, and we got him an overnight bag before sneaking our way into my bedroom at the Manor.