You're Safe With Me ( Draco Malfoy )

Chapter Forty-Two

The tunnel itself was rather small, Draco having to duck in order to make his way through it without hitting his head on the stone ceiling. Neville was leading the way, the tunnel being so thin that they had to walk in a single-file line just to fit through.

"Don't remember this on the Marauder's Map." Ron spoke, his voice echoing throughout the tunnel. Draco's face twisted with confusion, not liking the feeling of being the only one to not understand.

"What's the Marauder's Map?" He asked Alice, not attempting to glance back to look at her, since he knew he'd hit his head on the ceiling if he tried to, and that wasn't all too appealing.

"Don't worry, I'll explain another time." She reassured as they made their way down the long tunnel.

"It wasn't on there because it never existed 'til now." Neville explained, holding his wand in front of him to light up the tunnel. Alice could hear a dripping noise coming from somewhere, so she made the assumption that they were walking underneath the black lake. "Several secret passages were sealed off before the start of the year, this is the only way in or out now. The grounds are crawling with death eaters and dementors."

Draco cringed slightly, glad he was wearing a long sleeved shirt that covered his mark, not wanting to even look at it.

Not that she was trying to look, but since Alice was walking behind him, what Bellatrix had done to Draco's ear was very prominent. Because of the top half of it missing, it almost looked as though he only had one ear at all from the back, making anger bubble in Alice's chest. She wasn't excited to fight, but she was damn excited to get her hands on Bellatrix after everything the sadistic witch had done to Draco.

"How bad is it with Snape as Headmaster?" Hermione asked, already being able to guess the answer from Neville's appearance, but curious none the less.

"Hardly ever see him, it's the Carrows you need to watch out for." Neville replied, intruging everyone.

"The Carrows?" Harry asked, clearly as confused as the rest of them were.

"Yeah, they're brother and sister, in charge of discipline. They like punishment, the Carrows." Neville explained, gesturing to his own bruised and cut face with a grim expression.

"They did that to you? Why?" Hermione asked, shock evident in her tone. A sigh escaped Neville's lips before he began his explanation.

"Today's defence against the dark arts lesson had us practising the cruciatus curse... on first years. I refused." He said, making Alice feel vaguely sick. How could anyone be so cruel? "Hogwarts has changed."

After that, the groups walk was shrouded in silence for a minute, all following Neville down the tunnel. Suddenly, Alice let out a gasp as she tripped on an upturned stone, sending her forwards. Having spun around as soon as Alice gasped, Draco was there to catch her in his strong arms, holding her against his chest.

"Watch it, Clumsy." He said quietly, a smirk playing on his lips as she looked up to him with wide eyes, embarrassed by her trip. Quickly, though, she regained her footing and gently pushed a still smirking Draco in the direction of the others.

"Shut it, stalker." She replied jokingly, causing Draco to smile despite the situation they were just about to walk in to.

After a minute or so more of going down the tunnel, they finally reached a door, causing Draco to tense. Alice reached forward and gave his arm a reassuring squeeze, hoping it would help.

"Let's have a bit of fun, shall we?" Neville asked with a grin, pushing the door open but standing in the doorway, so no one could see behind him. "Hey, listen up, you lot!" He called, getting the attention of the students who were on the other side of the door. "I brought you a surprise."