Harry let Fleur take care of me the next day. With my potion expertise and her wonderful caregiving skills. By the end of the night I felt much better. The magical bandaid would hold for now.
I rested even the next day just to make sure I could stay convincing. Once the sun went down, I heard laughter outside. I pulled the curtains back a little and watched Ron set out a chair for Hermione as Bill carried a tray of drinks.
I smiled and grabbed my jacket, putting it on and taking my time to descend the stairs. Going out the back door, I almost crashed right into a laughing Bill who was still offering drinks.
"Sorry, Malfoy. Lemonade?" He asked.
"Sure." I giggled and take a glass.
Ron set out the rest of the chairs and I took a seat next to Hermione. Fleur was off somewhere and Luna came out with some food for us to eat. Small sandwiches for everyone.
"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked.
I shrugged. "Not perfect but better."
"Good. We're gonna need you."
"Need me? You have a plan?" I asked, sipping my drink.
"Harry will want to explain when he comes out." Hermione said.
I nodded and watched Bill start a small campfire as Harry finally made an appearance. Everybody took their seats and silence followed.
"Alright. We're all here." Harry stood up and took a deep breath. "So Bellatrix was pretty angry when she thought we broke into her vault which means, something valuable is probably in there. My best guess, a Horcrux."
"I'm sorry... you want to break into my aunt's vault?" I frowned.
"We have to get that Horcrux." Harry said. I nodded and sipped my drink, letting him continue. "Griphook agreed to get us in."
"What's the catch?" I asked quickly.
Silence.
I glanced around the circle and noticed the looks people were giving each other. No one would meet my eye.
"Since I've been away for some time, can someone let me in on what the hell is going on?" I snapped.
"The catch is... the sword." Harry said. "It's a trade."
"Don't tell me you agreed." I seethed.
"We had to." Hermione said.
"There could be a way around the deal but we just have to get in there." Ron said.
I looked at everyone again then back at Harry. Now he was looking at me and he was confident. More confident than I'd ever seen him.
"You think we can get in and out undetected?" I asked.
"Hermione has one of Bellatrix's hairs. You look just like your mother. Ron can dress up and I have my invisibility cloak." Harry explained.
I sat forward, resting my forearms on my knees. "You understand how dangerous this is. We can't just walk into Gringotts like it's nothing, we have to play the parts."
"We know. And we're ready. Are you?" Harry asked.
I smiled a little. "I'm gonna try and not be offended by that."
Harry smiled and lifted his lemonade. "Tomorrow we set out."
We all raised our glasses and took a sip. Harry sat back down and I leaned back, getting comfortable.
"So..." Bill crossed his leg over the other and looked at me. "You got expelled from Beauxbatons."
"Every school heard about that, what happened!" Ron laughed.
"I'm sure Fleur told you." I smirked, playing with my straw.
"No no, it was all rumours!" Fleur exclaimed.
Everybody exploded with theories and I laughed, watching as they all came up with ideas of what really happened.
"An accident!" Bill guessed.
"No way," Hermione argued. "Of course it was on purpose, it's Cora!"
I laughed.
"Come on, what really happened?" Harry asked.
Everyone went quiet and I smiled.
"I figured I'd wait to the end of the year. Didn't want to be at home more than I had to.
"I had done some bad pranks and I knew this would just drive Madame Maxime insane.
"We had just learned about making fire. They don't like destructive things in that school so it took a long time to learn anything helpful. I wasn't the most popular, infact I was bullied a lot for being a Malfoy and for having those awful streaks in my hair.
"So one thing about Madame Maxime is that she hates colour. Anything other than blue or silver or maybe just maybe, a plushy pink, she hates.
"So one day I got really mad and it was the perfect timing. I went to Madame Maxime's office and turned her entire office a terrible shade of orange. Everything and I mean everything, was just orange. Then I left a silver note saying, 'Thanks for being such a great headmistress.'"
Everybody laughed.
"What about the fire?" Fleur asked.
"Right well, the bullying didn't stop and during dinner that same day, a few girls mentioned some teachers who had called me stupid behind my back. They didn't believe I would amount to much so I got really angry and set the teachers table on fire." I smiled. "I was a bit over dramatic back then."
"Back then?" Harry smirked.
I shot him a look and we laughed. Everyone thought the colour was hilarious and I smiled as the amusement grew.
It was lame and the real thing that got me expelled was the fire. The unfunny thing was I set it with my mind. Only unlike the fire at Grimauld place a few months ago, this table turned to ash.
Luna was a bit quiet during it all but she listened and smiled when we laughed. She was just an observer that night.
We all decided to turn in once the yawning started and I helped Bill pack in the chairs before heading inside. I wandered the house a bit and found Luna in a room, setting up a bed.
"Hello Luna." I smiled softly.
"Hello." She looked up briefly.
"You going back to school?" I asked.
"I have to I suppose." She said, standing up.
I nodded. "Stay safe."
"Cora."
"Yeah?"
"If you want to be away from the magical world, I understand." She said.
My heart raced. I chuckled softly. "What?"
"No matter what, I'm here for you."
I nodded and smiled weakly. I opened my mouth to thank her but my eyes only welled with tears. I gave her one last look and quickly went back to my room.
I closed the door behind me and took off my jacket, hanging it up in the closet. I turned out the light and climbed into bed, needing to be in the dark again.
A small knock on my door made me sit up. Hermione stepped in and I laid back down as she got in next to me.
"Hey, how are you?" I asked her.
"Tired. Scared." Her voice trembled.
"We can do this 'Mione." I said.
She nodded. "If I die... I need you to promise me to look after my parents. They shouldn't get their memories back just... watch them?"
"And if I die I need you to make sure Harry doesn't die in self pity." I joked.
Hermione laughed and I wiped away a few of the tears that fell.
"I love you Hermione. Thank you for being my friend." I whispered.
"I love you too Cora. Thank you for being you."
Someone else knocked on the door and Hermione quickly wiped away her tears and sat up.
"Sorry. I can come back-" Harry said.
"No I'm leaving. Ron will want to make sure I'm alright anyway." Hermione said.
She got up and walked back to the door. She squeezed Harry's hand before he closed the door and sat on the bed.
"Are you really ready for this?" He asked.
"No. Is anyone?" I countered.
He laid down and I watched his figure move in the dark.
"You're alright, Cora Malfoy." He whispered.
"You're not so bad yourself, Harry Potter."
He laughed and so did I. I rested my hand on his chest and he looked at me. He was getting clearer as my eyes got used to the dark.
"I love you." He said.
"Harry-"
"I know I shouldn't say... I just... I do Cora. I love you. And we will make it out of this. Together." He said.
I kissed him. Hopefully that would shut home up.
His kiss changed. He was still telling me he loved me but it pulled me in deeper. Harry gently pushed me onto my back and pressed his body against mine.
I pulled away, resting my forehead on his.
"Harry..."
"Sorry." He said, his breathing a bit heavy.
I giggled softly and shook my head. "Not that. I just... I love you too. No matter what... I'll always love you."
He smiled and kissed me again. That night, we spent the night the best way we could have. Together.