Pariah: The Other Malfoy

Chapter 75: All I Ask

"Go find your brother," he finally spoke, "And Lyra - I know my words mean little to you, but do be careful. That's all I ask. The Carrows know you are at the head of this... rebellion, shall we call it. They are being meticulous in searching for evidence, and I fear that the next punishment will be worse than what you and Neville faced."

"We're being careful," I nodded, "We just made a mistake. Believe me, I don't intend to let it happen again."

"If you plan something that big again, tell me," he sighed slightly, "If I hadn't walked into the Great Hall..."

"I know, I wasn't thinking," I frowned, "But you probably would have been forced to punish multiple people, not just two of us if you hadn't seen it. It was... better this way."

"I don't want you hurt again, it's a full moon tomorrow," his voice was strained.

"Trust me," I smiled, before turning on my heel and heading for the Black Lake.

Draco was sat where I used to sit when I needed to think. I cleared my throat on approach, and he jumped slightly, relaxing when he saw my figure.

"How are you?" His voice was strained as he examined me.

"Healing," I shrugged, "It could have been worse."

"Lyra, you hung there for three days in a pool of blood," he said stiffly, "I... the other Slytherins were... I couldn't..."

"I'm fine," I offered him a smile, "My friends healed me, I'm good as new, and I'll be more careful in future."

"Or you could just stop doing it!" He cried out.

"Draco, you know I can't," I stared across the darkness, imagining the magical creatures swimming through the black water, underneath the calm still, "If things are going to blow up, and you know that will happen right here, the Order will need people on the inside. The more we can convince, the more likely we'll win."

"I don't want to lose you," he said gently, "You don't have to be on the Dark Lord's side! You just have to..."

"Not oppose him," I finished for him, "I'm sorry, I can't. My friends need me, Harry needs me. Draco, I know you have seen how things really are, you know it's the right thing!"

"I... I can't," he whispered, "I'm afraid. For you, for our parents. If we make a wrong move, he'll kill us all. I don't have a choice!"

"I don't blame you," I sighed, "Things are... difficult. But know, whether you choose to stay how you are, not opposing but not helping, or join me, I'll still love you. And mother and father. But I can't do the same, I can't not help, no matter how much pain it causes me."

"Just... be careful," he said quietly, "The Carrows are out for you. Each time they catch you will be worse."

"I know," I smiled at him, "I don't intend to be caught again. It was painful enough this time around."

"I don't want to lose my sister," he said.

"You won't," I said firmly, "We'll get through this and we'll be a family again, without the Dark Lord hovering over us. Trust Harry, he knows what he's doing. And he has all the support he needs."

Over the next few days, I worked out a better form of communication with the Order while I healed, both from my ordeal and the full moon torture. There was already something called Potterwatch, a secret Order radio station, but we didn't have access to it so by communicating through Aberforth, we managed to get our own radio plus emergency broadcast system. If anything happened, we would know, and we could also contact them if there was anything they needed to know.

The radio stayed in the Room of Requirement. We listened together whenever it was on, pausing practices to hear if Harry had been caught, or if any of our friends were killed or missing.

I frequently spoke with Lupin, using the magical transmitter to communicate directly with him. He informed me that Tonks was pregnant, plus they had got married, and I was over the moon for him. He seemed to avoid the topic somewhat, focusing instead on what he had heard from Aberforth about my injuries.

"I'm fine, Remus," I promised, "Snape still cares for me, I won't die any time soon. Focus on yourself and your family, not me."

"But I worry. Especially with what they do at the full moon," he said, and I knew now that he'd heard of the torture curses flung my way every month.

"Listen, Harry is going to succeed and it won't go on for much longer," I told him, "I have friends looking out for me, the other teachers too. We will get through this."

"Just keep safe. I know the DA is important to you, but is it worth your life?" He paused, "Many people will die in the coming months, but I don't want you in that statistic."

"I won't be," I promised, before disconnecting with a sigh.

"How are things?" Neville approached, his face concerned.

"The same," I leaned back, "Tobias is staying with him for the time being, apparently... apparently he was warned in advance. That's the first I've heard of him since coming to Hogwarts, he's helping the Order. Still no sign of Luna, though something happened with her father. Apparently, Harry turned up and he ratted them out, but they escaped. He's in Azkaban now."

"He ratted them out?" Ginny was aghast.

"They'll have taken Luna for what he wrote, and he'll be desperate to get her back," I stood, my back still stiff but the pain mostly gone, "He'll be trying anything for her."

"But Harry's still alive," Neville confirmed.

"Yeah," I nodded, "And Remus seems to think they are well on their way with their mission."

Remus had no clue, but he was a good scapegoat for what Snape had been telling me.

"Do you think he'll come here?" Ginny asked suddenly, and I thought back to conversations I had with Snape.

"I think he'll have no choice," I affirmed, "The Dark Lord will have hidden one of the things they're searching for here, no doubt about it. I just wished we knew what it was, so we could find it in advance."

The Carrows clamped down on us even harder after the leaflets. All houses but Slytherins were kept closely under watch, but we discovered another way to get into the Room of Requirement. As long as somebody could get to the room, they could open it to each common room in turn, allowing meetings to still take place. Neville and I usually left separately, both heading for the room of an evening - we were only willing to risk ourselves, and if one of us was caught, the likelihood was that the other would still make it.

Death Eater presence in the school rose, the Dark Lord's numbers seemed to be growing outside, more people press-ganged into joining. We had to be more and more careful, as did Snape. My meetings with him seemed to cease completely, I had no inside information on the Death Eater, lest we both be caught.

It felt like something was brewing as the Easter holidays drew closer. Our meetings became more intense practices, we knew we had to be prepared. I was being harsher than ever before, not allowing any mistakes, picking up on every single little thing. The war was coming, and we would be fighting against fully trained adults. Mistakes would mean death.