ENCHANTED | draco malfoy

seven

Piper's body began to quake when she heard footsteps come down the stairs. She knew this routine like the back of her hand at this point (and it had barely been a week):

1. Bellatrix would come downstairs to retrieve her

2. Piper would be dragged upstairs

3. She would get tortured by Bellatrix for information

4. Piper would return to the basement and cry herself to sleep

Her pale hands began to shake and she tucked her knees into her chest, awaiting the awful presence of Bellatrix Lestrange. But something was different today: there were multiple pairs of feet walking down the cement stairs, she was sure of it. She knew what to expect when it was just Bellatrix, but now that it was multiple people, Piper began to panic even more.

"Oh, God." She thought to herself as the footsteps drew nearer, "This is it, they are finally going to all torture me together and kill me. Narcissa, Lucius, and Bellatrix -- I am going to die today. This is it. Oh my God."

She hugged her knees as hard as she could and tucked her head into her chest, not wanting the Death Eaters to see her cry before they killed her.

"That's her?" A new voice asked apprehensively. A man- no, a boy.

Piper peeked her head up slowly and looked through her dirty curls that fell on her face. It was Narcissa who stared at her with no expression, Bellatrix with a smirk, and a blonde boy in a black suit who looked no older than her. He glared at her while she tried to slow down her breathing.

"This will be another one of your tasks, Draco." Bellatrix cooed into the blonde boy's ear while he shuddered, "Fail to accomplish this task, and I will handle it...accordingly." She laughed maniacally.  

Draco.

Their eyes met. His blue eyes remained unreadable as he turned to his mother.

"What do you want me to do?" He asked in a determined voice, his voice unwavering.

"She is the cousin of Hermione Granger. We have been watching the Grangers closely for the past 4 years, they are very close. You are to find out any information about any of Potter, Weasley, and Granger's plans. When the time comes, if needed, we will use her to lure them here." Narcissa explained sternly, "Do not fail the Dark Lord, Draco. After the...incident...with your father going to Azkaban, your father has not been the same. The Dark Lord will kill us, Draco, if another Malfoy fails him. Don't forget, you still have to deal with Albus."

Draco's jaw stiffened and he felt his whole chest tense. Killing Dumbledore was something he knew he would never be able to do, and if he did, he anxiously anticipated how he would have to live with that haunting memory for the rest of his life. This was his last chance. If he didn't successfully get information from her, he would be punished. And even worse, if he didn't kill Dumbledore within the next month, him and his family would be killed. Though when he thought about it, death didn't seem so bad after what he had gone through in the past year.

"You will begin working with her immediately." Narcissa said to Draco after unlocking the door to the basement cell. She spun on her heel and went to leave, not wanting anything more to do with the situation. Bellatrix smiled maliciously and licked her black teeth,

"Done miss me too much, muggy-muggle." She taunted Piper as she followed her sister upstairs, leaving Draco and Piper alone.

Piper remained hugging her knees as she stared at the boy, waiting for him to do something. He stared at her for a minute before coming in and locking the door behind him. She could feel her heart pounding against her ribcage as he slowly walked towards her. His hands were in his pockets, his jaw was clenched, and he looked down at her. She felt herself involuntarily scooting backwards away from him until her back hit the stone wall. He watched her carefully the whole time. He watched how her fingers trembled slightly trembled,  how her chest was rising and falling rapidly from fear, how her curls fell against her shoulders.