The Healer- A Draco Malfoy Fanfiction

Chapter 23: Malfoy Manor Part II

"He's a busy man, you know," Draco informed me, "There's a good chance he may not even be there."

I took a few shaky breaths, but I still didn't feel better. "Give me my wand, Draco."

He shook his head. "You're safer without it. Trust me."

He extended an arm, gesturing for me to take it. I forced myself to loop my left arm through his right. We walked arm-in-arm the whole way to the dining room. He didn't have to keep me on his arm the whole time, but he did- and I was secretly grateful for the knowledge that he was on my side in this. He wouldn't let harm befall me tonight.

No, he's only going to force a kiss on me every chance he gets.

We stood before the closed doors to the dining room. Before Draco opened the door for me, he leaned in my ear and whispered, "Stand up straight. Don't let them know you're frightened."

You jackass, that only frightens me more, I wanted to say, but he opened the large door without warning, giving me just enough time to brace myself by straightening my back and tilting my chin forward.

All at once, everyone's deadly stares were upon us. Led forward by Draco's arm, we entered the room of Death Eaters seated around one of the longest dining tables I had ever seen. As per Draco's instructions, I forbid myself to look at any of them, so I feigned interest in the lavish, timeless decorations of the dimly-lit dining room.

Whispers ensued after our entrance. "That's the girl." "So young..." "I thought Crabbe said she was a blonde?" "Who cares, she's cute."

Draco pulled out a chair for me. I would say thank you, but I'm pretty sure if I did, I would be breaking one of his "rules". I sat wordlessly, letting my curious gaze lower slightly to finally view the people I would be dining with.

Upon scanning the crowd, it became clear why Snape had warned me to stay away from Draco- for these were the people he chose to associate with. There were about thirteen of them; all deep in conversation with one another, but some stealing pointed glances my way. The scary woman we encountered earlier, Bellatrix, was sitting on the farthest end of the table from us, grinning wickedly at me. The chairs at either head of the table were left empty, presumably for Draco's father and the Dark Lord- who wasn't here. Thank goodness.

It was obvious within seconds that I didn't belong. Draco himself hardly belonged with these people; tough-as-nails aficionados, all of which looked like they could kill even without a wand. I bet every person here has uttered the killing curse. But try not to think about that. Draco sat stiffly beside me, his expression hardened and unreadable. He mechanically took a sip of dark red wine from a goblet. I also had wine at my place setting, but decided it was wise to abstain as per Draco's rules. The warnings he had given me earlier only made me jumpy and nervous- which was only made worse by Draco acting so damn sulky for some reason. He wasn't behaving like how he did when he was at Hogwarts; at school, he walked around like he owned the place. But here, he literally did own the place- so why did he look so dead-eyed?

"Draco," a woman to Draco's right leaned over to him. She was quite pretty in an elegant way, with dark hair that was pulled back to reveal the platinum hair beneath. I recognized her instantly as Draco's mother. "Aren't you going to introduce your guest?" I allowed myself to look her in the eye, and as I did so, her red lips curved into a kind smile.

Instantly the whole table hushed to listen, making me feel more self-conscious than ever. Draco gripped my hand under the table. He cast a quiet, subdued glance towards me before he looked back to his mother. When he spoke, he spoke to her. "This is Erica. My..." a pause to clear his throat, readying himself for the upcoming word, "...Girlfriend."