The Cup
Draco sat at the Slytherin table looking down at his food, feeling completely numb. It was the first night back at Hogwarts. He'd completely underestimated how painful it would be to leave Amira again. Leaving her alone in that cold dangerous manor went against everything that he wanted to do. It had been hard in the fall, but this was entirely different. They had shared a bed every night since their trip, and he'd found that holding her as she slept was one of the greatest gifts he'd ever been given.
There had been tears in her eyes this morning as they got up, though she'd tried to hide them from Draco.
"It'll be alright," he whispered, hugging her close.
"What if it's not?" she asked. "It's all starting now."
"We will make it through," he whispered. "You can do this."
"I'll miss you," she said.
"I'll miss you too," he agreed, feeling sick to his stomach. He kissed her softly, and then it was time to go.
He'd been completely silent on the train ride in. His friends had picked up on his sour mood and left him alone. Pansy had made a snotty comment about Amira, but one icy glare from Draco had shut her up. He could feel Blaise and Theo yearning to ask questions, but they did not.
Draco walked in a daze back down to the dungeons after dinner. It was just such a hard shove back into reality. The Manor was cold and scary and full of pain. But she was there. And while she was there, he felt like he had purpose. He had light, love, and warmth. Additionally, he knew he could count on her. She trusted him. With her, he wasn't alone. She was a strong ally with the same goal. He wanted to stay with her, help her, take care of her. None of those things could be done at Hogwarts.
"Draco."
A voice stopped him before he entered the common room. He turned to see Theo and Blaise standing there.
"We need to talk."
He nodded. They looked determined, and he didn't want to fight.
They led him to a side room in the dungeons and silenced and warded the door. Draco raised his eyebrows.
"You're a death eater." Theo stated bluntly. Draco didn't speak. He didn't have to. There was no point in denying it.
"Was it your choice?" Blaise asked.
"Does it matter?" Draco retorted.
"Yes." Blaise said, "If you didn't want this..."
"I'm a Malfoy, my family has always wanted this," Draco argued, mask slipping into place. "Besides, it's done now."
"Draco," Theo said, "My father... he's been saying things. The Dark Lord isn't the same this time."
"Obviously," Draco said, "I know... he's not what we were told. The things I've seen... believe me, I know who he is."
"And you're just going to go along with it?" Blaise asked, "To kill and torture innocents in the name of tradition? That's not what it was supposed to be."
"What choice do I have now?" Draco asked. He wasn't going to tell them his and Amira's plan.
"You could run," Blaise said.
"I cannot. You could run," Draco said back, "And you should. As far away as you can."
"He's not interested in us," Theo said.
"Not yet," Draco said, "But when he takes over Hogwarts, he'll expect people to fall in line and he'll expect all of the Slytherins to police the students. As seventh years, I'm sure you'll be given the mark. If it's done by then."
"That soon?" Blaise gasped.
Draco nodded, "Or sooner. You need to go before then if you don't want to be a part of this. If you don't want to fight for either side, then you need to go across the world."
Blaise and Theo looked at each other.
"You can come with us," Blaise said, "The mark... after a certain distance it won't work anymore."
"My family," Draco protested.
"They could come too," Blaise argued. "Or not, it's their risk."
Draco knew no matter what, he couldn't go. Because Amira couldn't go. Not yet. And he was going to stay until she was ready.
"I won't." he said quietly.
There was a pause.
"It's because of her, isn't it?" Theo asked in a low tone. Draco nodded, he didn't want to lie. It was dangerous to be so open with them, but they were leaving, the Dark Lord would hopefully never be able to see their minds. "She's one of them, Draco. His right hand. As bad as Bellatrix herself."
"You don't know her," Draco said firmly.
"Ok..." Theo said. "So that's it then? We'll go, and just hope you make it out alive?"
Draco nodded, "I have work to do. I can't leave."
They sighed and looked at each other.
"Will you tell us when we should disappear?" Blaise asked. Draco nodded.
"Of course," he agreed, "Will there be anyone else?"
They shook their heads.
"We thought maybe the Greengrass girls, but it's too dangerous," Blaise said, "We have to keep it small, to people who can keep a secret and won't need convincing."
"He won't notice two boys gone," Draco nodded, "You're not even on their minds yet. And afterwards, as long as you're far it doesn't matter."
There was silence.
"We can never speak of this again." Draco said, "Try not to even think about it. Not around him, Snape, or Dumbledore. Or anyone else who you think is a powerful wizard."
They nodded.
"I'll tell you when it's time," he said. He took down their wards and left. He was relieved that his friends were going to get out. But he so desperately wished his life was simple enough that he could go with them. He wished he wasn't a part of all of this. He wished he was still the arrogant and blind boy who didn't know that the Dark side was actually dark and horrible.
At the same time, then he would be blind. He wouldn't have ran if he hadn't seen. He would have been living in delusion. And he wouldn't know Amira.
Before he could get back to his dorm, he was intercepted again by Severus.
"Draco," Severus said, "A word."
Draco sighed tiredly. He just wanted to go to sleep, but instead, he obediently followed Severus to his study.
"How is your task coming?" Severus asked him. Draco had barely made progress on how he was going to kill Dumbledore. He barely even thought about it. It was too impossible, and he was going to leave.
"Fine," he lied.
"You know what the consequences will be if you fail," Severus warned.
"I know," Draco gritted out, "My death, my families death, probably torture. I get it."
Severus cast a few spells.
"There are other options," he said. Draco's eyes narrowed.
"If someone else does it for me and he finds out, I'm still screwed," Draco argued.
"That is not what I meant," Severus said. Draco's eyes widened then. Was Severus suggesting that he turned sides? That couldn't be. Severus was one of the Dark Lord's most trusted. Draco had always questioned his loyalty, as he was a spy, but he hadn't ever truly thought that he was turned. Still, even if his loyalty was to Dumbledore, Draco didn't want that either. And he was sure the light didn't want him.
"We shouldn't be talking about this," Draco said, also considering that this might be a test. "It's treason."
"Draco, I'm your godfather, I'm only looking out for you," Severus said, sounding more tired and more concerned that Draco had ever seen him.
"I'm fine," Draco said, "I know what I'm doing."
Severus sat back and eyed him.
"Is it your plan for Amira to help you?" Severus asked. "Was it approved by the Dark Lord?"
Draco nodded slowly, "So?"
Severus looked at him for a long moment, "You two are close."
"We work together," Draco defended.
"You went on vacation together," Severus pointed out.
"It was a gift," Draco said quickly.
"I am not criticizing you," Severus said, "Merely pointing out a fact. It isn't a secret."
Draco didn't speak. He wasn't sure what the point of this conversation was and he didn't want to dig himself into an even deeper hole.
"That is all, you may go," Severus said after another uncomfortably long pause. Draco didn't question it, and left. He wanted to write to Amira, and he wanted to go to bed. He hurried back to his room. There was a message waiting in his journal already.
Draco, I hope you had a good trip back and a welcome feast. I have been informed that we will be in the dungeons tonight, so I won't be able to write until late, and I know you have classes tomorrow. Sleep well, I miss you already
Draco sighed. Amira had gotten a break from the dungeons over the winter holidays. The Dark Lord and Bellatrix had mostly been gone on secret missions the entire time. The few times that she'd been called down, Draco had hated it. It was only three times, including the first night. It never got easier to watch as she shook with pain and tried not to make noise. Draco didn't know what they were thinking. She wasn't gaining anything from it. She wasn't getting better. It only weakened her.
Draco wondered if that was the point. She was strong. Over the break he had learned that Bellatrix could no longer beat her. The Dark Lord rarely dueled her anymore without some sort of an advantage under the guise of teaching her something. Draco wondered if he was nervous that she was better than he. He was sure there was something to the idea that the Dark Lord was trying to keep her down. If she was regularly being tortured under the guise of being trained, she would never reach her full potential.
Draco also wondered if the Dark Lord ever regretted bringing Amira into his forces. She was stronger than anyone else that could take him down, and she was closer as well. Additionally, he didn't have her true loyalty, and he knew it. Besides being forced, she had no reason to fight for him. Draco was sure that his solution was to sacrifice her when he was sure he would win the war. Even more reason for them to escape. The clock was ticking, and they were running out of time.
Amira was about to leave for Diagon Alley for her first trip to help Draco with the cabinet. She wanted to stop at the darker bookstores on Knockturn to see if she could get more information on Horcruxes, and she also wanted to see if she could find anything in Borgin and Burkes that might help her. She couldn't take too long, in case the Dark Lord cross checked her arrival and departure times from the store. She didn't think he had any suspicion, but it was her first unsupervised trip out of the Manor. Her bracelets warmed up and she froze.
Obediently, she turned her steps to walk to the Dark Lord's study. She schooled her face and her mind. She knew he couldn't see in, but if she kept her dangerous thoughts to the back, he wouldn't be able to sense that she had a secret.
"Amira," he said in his breathy hiss.
She stood in front of him. "You called."
"Yes," he agreed. "I need you to run an errand while you're out."
"Of course," she said. She never called him my lord, but she tried her best to be increasingly respectful to mimic a potential growing loyalty. It was fake of course.
"I am running low on gold, and too many of my Death Eaters are wanted," he said, "They aren't able to go to their vaults. I cannot take more from the Malfoys, I need you to go to the Rosier and Lestrange vaults."
"How will I get in?" she asked, "I am not one of them."
"I have sent word to the goblins, they stay out of our wars., they know you have permission, and you will take this scroll with Bella's signature, and Rosier's.," the Dark Lord said, "You will visit only the interest vaults, not the main vaults. They should know that."
"How much do I take?" she asked. She took the scroll and felt both of their magic sitting on the parchment.
"They should have it sectioned off for you," the Dark Lord said. "Stay discreet."
"I will," she answered.
"I will be traveling for the next few days, but when I return, we will prepare for your first raid," he said, "Keep up your training."
She nodded and then waited until he dismissed her with the wave of his hand.
She went to the fireplace and called out, "The Leaky Cauldron."
She landed and pulled her hood over her head. It was the evening and dusk was falling when she went through the brick arch. The pub had been extremely busy, but she had a notice me not charm on herself.
She decided to go to Gringotts first as she had plenty of time before she had to meet Draco. She made her way down the alley quickly. She took in the large white bank in awe, the building was massive and marble. She entered. It was near empty, and her footsteps echoed as she walked to the head teller.
"Name?"
"Is not necessary," Amira said, she placed the scroll in front of the goblin. He read it.
"Follow me," he said after a very long pause and an interrogative look over her.
He climbed down behind the desk and took her back. Draco had told her about the carts and the roller coaster-like tracks. Amira climbed in gracefully. The goblin steered them quickly down deep into the vault. Amira was amazed by all of the magic she could feel. They passed under a waterfall that had a ton of magic, but they were too quick for her to read it. She wanted to ask them to slow down so that she could take in everything. At one point, there was a dragon roar, and she longed to see it, the amount of magic in only the sound was insane.
They slowed down finally next to the Rosier vault first. They took her to a small door next to the main door.
"The interest is here," the goblin mumbled. She walked in and found a large amount in a bag, labeled with the name "The Dark Lord."
She took it and sat back down in the cart.
Deeper they went into the bank.
Amira perked up when she began to feel a familiar magic as the cart slowed down. Had the Dark Lord followed her here? Was there some sort of test?
She stood up and realized the magic was coming from the Lestrange main vault. It was familiar. It felt the way Nagini did.
She gasped to herself. Of course, there was a horcrux there. She cursed herself for forgetting about the conversation that she'd eavesdropped on. This was a perfect opportunity. She wasn't going to get another one. How was she going to do it?
She thought fast. Her scroll gave her permission to go in the Lestrange interest vault. She conjured another in her pocket and mimicked Bellatrix's magical signature. She was going to have to act confidently and quickly.
They let her into the interest vault and she took the bag. Then she walked out and did not enter the cart. The goblin looked at her.
"Is there something else?" he asked suspiciously.
"Yes," she said. She withdrew her new scroll from her pocket. "I need to go into the main vault."
"This was not specified," the goblin argued.
"The Dark Lord does not know," she said, "It is a gift, Bellatrix has asked me to retrieve it."
She held out the scroll. The goblin surveyed it suspiciously. She could tell he was checking the magical signature. She made her face look bored as she waited anxiously. She didn't know if he would report her if caught. Something told her he wouldn't, but still. Stealing was not allowed here. And she was stealing.
"Alright," the goblin finally conceded. He opened the large vault doors for her.
Amira had to fight to keep her expression neutral. The room was filled with more gold, jewels, and expensive items than she could have ever imagined. The stacks piled almost to the ceiling and the room extended back further than she could see.
She walked forward hesitantly, not knowing what she was searching for. She felt out for the horcrux. Her gaze was drawn to a high shelf. It was up there. She spotted a ladder tucked behind a pile of gold. She placed it where she needed and climbed confidently. She felt the goblin's eyes on her.
As she got closer, she knew without a doubt that the horcrux was in a seemingly innocent cup right in front of her. Making sure the goblin couldn't see, she pretended to rustle around, and conjured an identical one, and placed a dark magic feeling on it. She slipped the real one into her billowing cloak sleeve and magically attached it to her arm so that it wouldn't fall out. Then she took an ornate ring from just beside the cup. She climbed down the ladder.
"Exactly where she said it would be," she murmured to herself, hoping to convince the goblin even further. She showed him the ring. He looked bored, and she felt relieved as she went back out to the cart with the money.
The rest of that trip passed uneventfully, and she walked out of the bank feeling incredibly giddy. She'd done it. She found another horcrux. One down. Nagini. The diary. Four more.
She went to Knockturn Alley, now hurrying because the Gringotts trip had taken longer than she thought. She made it to the store without any other issues and checked the time. 9:00 pm. Exactly when Draco was going to be on the other side.
Amira put all thoughts of horcruxes out of her mind so that she could focus. She placed her arm on the cabinet and dove deep into the magic. She could feel the connection to Hogwarts, but it was extremely twisted and fragmented. Trying to figure out which side was broken was hard too, because she could barely see through all of the damage to the other side. She did gather that Draco had done a good job fixing that side. She also felt that he was trying to send something through to her but it was blocked. She got out her journal.
I can feel you, she wrote. Your side is almost fixed I think.
She waited for a response.
Any idea why this apple won't go through?
Let me try a few things, the connection isn't clear. she answered.
She very carefully tried twisting the connection. It was almost like a portal. Magic could go through but objects couldn't because it wasn't a big enough opening. She twisted more, and finally it gave a little. It felt like trying to bend a moderately thin piece of metal. It wasn't impossible, but it wasn't easy either. The shards became more pronounced once the portal was straightened out. She thought it might be big enough for an apple to fit through.
Try now. she wrote.
It's gone, he wrote back. She opened the door. The apple was there, even if it did look awful. It had slices and gauges in it, and it was blacked and burnt.
Was it a healthy apple? she wrote
There was a long pause.
What?
It came through, but it's burnt and sliced, she said.
Interesting, care to send it back? he asked.
Sure, but it might not survive, she wrote. She sent the apple back and waited for a response.
It crumbled to dust when I touched it, came his answer.
Amira looked into the portal again. She tried to smooth the edges down. That was much more difficult and there were a few bumps that were too stubborn for the magical energy that she had left. She could push and do it, but she didn't want to lose her mind while she was here alone.
Try again, she said.
This time, a whole apple came through, and it was only slightly grooved and singed. She sent it back.
That's much better, Draco wrote.
I can smooth it more, but maybe not tonight, she said, It takes a lot.
Don't push yourself, he agreed. Go get some rest, this has helped a ton already.
I'll write to you when I get home, she said.
Safe travels
Amira stood and grabbed her bags. She shrank the horcrux down. She was grateful the Dark Lord was going to be gone when she returned. She needed to do something with the horcrux before he returned. She was certain he'd be able to feel it. She took the floo back to the Manor. There was no one around, so she went to her room. She debated what to do with it.
She needed fiendfyre. She could do it, Bellatrix showed her how. But it was really uncontrolled. She didn't want to go down to the dungeons, but she figured the stone rooms down there were the best suited to containing the spell.
She decided to get it done right away.
She went down, and reapplied her notice-me-not spell. There weren't any Death Eaters in the dungeons luckily. She went into one of the rooms and locked the door behind her. She set the cup in the center of the room.
She held her hand out and pushed that same painful fire that she'd learned before. It hurt to cast just a bit, and was difficult to control. The cup shook before the fire hit it, as if it knew and was trying to escape. It made a horrible shrieking noise as it burned and a dark ash exploded from it. She kept going until it completely dissolved. Then she tried to cut the spell, but it kept going. It kept pulling from her, and she panicked as she started to feel that euphoria that scared Draco so much. She didn't have anyone to stop her. She couldn't stop it.
She clutched at her necklace with Draco's magic to steady herself. She yanked her hand backwards and there was a painful stabbing feeling as the spell finally ended. She doubled over and put her hands on her knees as she panted. Her head spun. She did one last spell to ensure that the Horcrux was indeed dead, and then she cleared the room. She made sure there were no magical traces left behind, and then she stumbled up to her room. She felt the buzz, but mostly she felt sore and tired.
Amira, did you make it home? her journal read.
Yes, sorry, I had to take care of something, she wrote. She knew her handwriting was shaky. I'm about to pass out, goodnight Draco. She wrote it hurriedly before she could fall asleep. Her mind fell into unconsciousness just as she finished the o, and left a long mark on the paper.