ᶜʰᵃᵖᵗᵉʳ ⁴⁰⁻ "ᴸᵉᵃᵛᵉ ⁱᵗ ᵘᵖ ᵗᵒ ᵗʰᵒˢᵉ ⁱᵈⁱᵒᵗˢ ᵗᵒ ᵇᵉ ᶜᵃᵘᵗⁱᵒᵘˢ"
I was now at home for Yule.
Even though the weather was beautiful, the darkness that lurked in the shadows was unmissable. The evil that was lingering in the midst of the pale snow and chilly temperatures was something we had trained ourselves to ignore.
I took a good look at myself in the mirror before we left for the Malfoy Christmas Ball. I prepared myself for whatever was to come that night as I put on my heels.
I was wearing a bejewelled tea green-coloured gown with a slit through it. I thought it was too much but my aunt told me otherwise.
The minute we stepped inside the Malfoy Manor my father excused himself to go to Lucius' study. I made a mental note of that observation as I was taken to greet people by my aunt.
We were soon joined by Narcissa and Malfoy. The blond looked sharp in his expensive Italian suit and his hair styled neatly. He somehow looked taller which made him look like the sophisticated, high-class pureblood heir he was.
After giving me a smirk, Malfoy stood next to me while Narcissa and my aunt bragged about Malfoy and my engagement to other fancy-looking, tall women. We just stood behind, hand in hand- as instructed- fidgeting with each other's entangled fingers with a smile on our faces.
We were finally able to slip away from the women and walked straight to the corner our friends were holed up in. "Ah," Blaise laughed. "Finally, the lovebirds have graced us with their lovely presence." He did a mocking bow earning an elbow in the ribs from me.
I took a seat next to Daphne on the couch. I noticed Severus come in as well. Now that was incredibly strange. He never had the time or will to come to such Balls and events.
The Hall was mostly filled with women and children. I had seen all the men rush to Lucius' study as soon as they came in. Theo snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Look," he whispered, discreetly pointing towards some men in black clothes. "Ministry officials"
I turned in the direction of the men and I instantly recognised the people. They worked with, well, for my father.
"I thought they were against Death Eaters," Pansy whispered.
"It's clearly false," Malfoy rolled his eyes. "They're here, aren't they?"
"Not all of them, though," I pointed out. "These are the people our fathers work with, not any high-ranking officials. For all we know, they may have been posted in the Ministry for a mission"
We swiftly turned away when we saw the men turn to face us. We pretended to be engaged in conversation so that we did not raise any suspicions.
A few minutes later, all the men came swarming out of Lucius' study. Merlin, they couldn't be discreet.
"Did you hear," Theo spoke up. "Potter is building an army?"
"An army?" Pansy scoffed in disbelief.
Theo nodded in response. "Yes. I saw them discussing names for their little team. Do you know what they came up with? Dumbledore's Army," Theo laughed and we all joined in.
"Leave it up to those idiots to be cautious," Blaise chuckled.
Malfoy rolled his eyes as he took a sip of the drink in his hand. "Cautious? Do you even know whom you're talking about?"
"It's who," Goyle corrected Malfoy. We were all caught off-guard by Goyle correcting Malfoy. Of all the things I thought would've happened at that party, that was not it.
Malfoy and Goyle then began to debate whether it was 'who' or 'whom'.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the new beater of Slytherin"
I turned around when I heard a familiar voice. I rolled my eyes when I saw the former captain.
Marcus looked older. I'd never seen him wearing anything other than his quidditch uniform.
"Flint," I gave him a nod since hugs weren't either of our thing.
It was true. Before we came home, I'd told Warrington I would be Crabbe's replacement. It was all thanks to Malfoy I could play. He talked to my father and somehow convinced him.
"How come you didn't play when I asked?"
"Well, maybe if you'd asked nicely"
He let out a sarcastic chuckle. "Nice isn't my thing"
"Well," I gave him a smile. "Cost you a good player"
He chuckled and took a sip out of the drink he was holding. "I do hope Slytherin doesn't lose the Quidditch Cup this year, just because I'm not the captain"
I let out a small laugh. "Impossible. You've trained Warrington too well"
"Is that an attempt at flattery, Ambers?"
"Why would I need to flatter you, Flint?"
He pretended to think as he put his hand to his chin. "Maybe," he said rubbing his chin. "Because you saw me exiting the study and want to know what happened at the meeting"
I thought he did not notice I saw him leave the meeting. I bit the inside of my cheek, looking down guiltily. The both of us had now caught the attention of our friends, who were now staring at us.
Marcus scanned our surroundings. He squished in the circle all of us were sitting in and after one final check, he slowly pulled up his sleeve. There it sat on his arm. The Dark Mark.
He quickly pulled his sleeve down when he heard Pansy gasping softly. I gulped and turned to face him.
"I was lucky," Marcus said softly. "Lucky my old man got me recruited after I finished school. You won't be so lucky"
We turned to each other, nervously. Of course, we couldn't be recruited after we finished school. Voldemort was coming soon, not three years later. He was recruiting people for his army now.
"When is it happening?" Malfoy asked quietly.
Marcus shrugged. "Dunno, but soon," he sighed. He then grew closer to us after checking our surroundings once again. "There's a mission some people have to go on in a couple of days, weeks maybe. If they're caught, you are to be recruited instantly." Marcus then went off to meet some of his friends.
Daphne was the first to speak up. "So, what do we do?"
Everyone turned to me. "We do what we've always done." I took a sharp breath. "We stick together and watch each other's backs." Everyone nodded in agreement and that seemed to provide the comfort and reassurance we'd been needing for a long time.
"Well, Happy Christmas," Blaise laughed after a long pause, lightening the tension. He took a long swig of the drink in his hand. Merlin knows we needed more than that.
A/N: Wishing all of you a very merry Christmas, guys! Have an amazing time and a better next year. Consider these updates my Christmas present to you lol.
Thanks for reading.