Breathe Darling
December 22nd, 2000
The manor is cold and dark as I make my way down the long deserted hallway that leads to the meeting room. The closer I get it's like I can feel myself choking on the dark magic that surrounds the space. Upon entering the room I can see Ember, sitting alone at the head of the long table, staring blankly into the flames of the fire.
"Em? Darling?" I call out to her but she remains frozen and gives no sign that she even knows i'm in the room. I move to the side of her and place a hand on her shoulder and still nothing. "Ember..."
I kneel beside her, take her hand in mine and tuck a loose curl behind her ear. Then and only then does she turn to me. She shudders and tears begin to stream down her face as she throws herself down on the floor and into my arms. I find myself burying my face in her hair and letting my senses get lost in the familar scent of roses, vanilla and her special brand of menthol cigarettes. After what feels like hours of holding her shaking and sobbing against me she finally stops and pulls back. The fear in her eyes when she looks up at me...
"He's coming for her Draco. She is the key."
I always wake up after that, gasping and drenched in a cold sweat with the air around me buzzing and vibrating with magic.
It's been 6 months of that nightmare. It started shortly after Nova's 4th birthday and it hasn't stopped since. Mostly I don't mind it. It's the only time I get to hear her voice again and even though the words that come out of her mouth paralyze me with fear; I still hang on every syllable that leaves her lips and find myself desperately clinging to the soft, ethereal sound of her voice.
It's been a little over two years since she left me and each time I think I'm beginning to feel normal again I'm painfully reminded of her passing in some way shape or form.
This time when I was pulled from the nightmare it was because of a different reason. An all too familiar deep burning sensation on my left forearm that feels as though every nerve has been exposed and was set aflame.
I jolted up, clutching and clawing at the skin while I stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom. This wasn't real. I've felt this phantom pain before and all I needed to do was look at my arm in the mirror and remind myself that it wasn't real. The mark was gone; it disappeared the second Voldemort was killed and has not been present on my skin in over two years- so there was absolutely no reason for me to panic.
I waved my hand and the bathroom candles lit up. It took my eyes a minute to adjust to the brightness and when they did I almost fainted. I had to be dreaming still or I've gone completely mental.
I turned the faucet on and splashed water on my face, attempting to clear the last remnants of sleep from my vision as I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to steady my rapidly increasing heartbeat. When I opened them again- slowly this time- I realized that this wasn't a dream.
I held my arm out and lightly ran my fingers over the infamous skull and snake that was now once again burned into my skin. How the fuck is this possible? Was there a horcrux that we missed? There was no way for the mark to return unless... unless he was back.
The air was sucked from my lungs and I could taste bile creeping its way up the back of my throat. I fell back against the wall and slid down; burying my head in my hands and trying not to absolutely lose it.
"Draco!" Theo and Mattheo yelled in unison as they flung the door to my bedroom open so forcefully that it slammed into the wall and I heard the sound of crunching plaster.
"In here." I croaked.
The duo ran into the bathroom where I was leaned against the wall, both looked equally as bad as I felt with their pale, sweat covered skin and messy sleep laden hair. The wild almost pained look in their eyes cued me in that they too had been awoken by the burning of the tattoo back into their skin. My suspicions were confirmed when they both rolled up their sleeves and the three of us shared a look of utter despair.
"How? H- how is this even possible?" Theo finally said after a few minutes of stunned silence.
"I- I don't know. It shouldn't be... the mark is tied to him. The only way for it to appear is if... if he's back. I- I..." Mattheo stumbled to find the words.
Suddenly, my nightmare flashed in my head and before I could even process another thought I was bolting to Nova's room. I flung the door open and sighed heavily when a tiny bleary eyed toddler was sitting up in her bed, staring back at me with her lions mane of black curls sticking out wildly around her head. I scooped her up and she nuzzled her face into my shoulder.
"Where go daddy?" She mumbled around the thumb she was sucking on. A habit we had tried to break her of but given the circumstances of her very abrupt awakening I wasn't about to scold her on her method of self soothing.
We walked downstairs to the sitting room to find my mother and father already there with Pansy and Daphne. The fireplace was lit and Tally had a tray of tea already prepared and was slowly filling cups and passing them around. I handed Nova off to my mother and joined the rest of the men at the small table in the corner.
"What does this mean?" Theo asked and we all looked to my father. He was experienced in this; this would now be the second time the mark has reappeared on him; even though last time he knew it was almost inevitable that he would return as he had been one of the ones that facilitated it. His expression remained unreadable as he pondered over his words.
"I think we all know exactly what this means." He sniffed and turned his head towards the girls on the other side of the room before waving his wand and casting a silencing charm around the space. "He's returned. There's no doubt in my mind. I don't know how he did it. When he disappeared the last time the mark only faded because he had his horcruxes so he wasn't really dead, he was just... stagnant. Suspended in a state while he waited for the right moment to strike. But this time... this time he actually was killed. The mark disappeared when he took his last breath and faded into ash- into nothing. The only explanation for its return is someone found a way to resurrect him yet again. The question is- how? And who was it?" His voice trailed off and he stared at the wall behind us, tapping his foot lightly and nervously against the floor.
I twirled the rings on the chain around my neck. In this moment it felt like the memory of her was tarnished- her death meaningless. When she died so did the fragment of the dark lords soul that resided inside of her so in a way her death brought about his demise.
If he was back then that means in truth she died for nothing. That thought made me sick. I slammed my fist against the table. "Fucking, gods! Dammit!" I stood so quickly the chair I was in fell back and everyone at the table jumped. "How the fuck does this keep happening!?" I raged. I felt like my blood was boiling inside of my veins.
"Sit down, Draco. This is not the time to go losing our heads. We must think rationally if we want to get to the bottom of this." My father spoke sternly and summoned my chair upright from the floor. I slumped down into it with a huff and rested my head on my hands against the table.
The men continued their talks and after a while I felt someone slip a lit cigarette between my fingers. I greedily pulled it to my mouth and took several long, deep drags while I felt the nicotine wash over me and worked to re-invigorate my shot nerves. I felt my head begin to clear again and was brought back to reality.
The sun was beginning to shine through the windows and I realized that even though we had been down here for hours discussing our next move- we had gotten nowhere. The tea had turned to fresh coffee and Mattheo and Theo dressed theirs with a flask of fire whiskey. I looked over to the girls where a heavily pregnant Daphne was sitting on the floor with Nova- playing with her dragon toys. She gave me a short nod that said she had her and I slowly stood from the table. All heads shot to me.
"Where are you going? We were just-" I cut Theo off with a wave of my hand.
"I'm going to the ministry. I need to talk to Potter. He should know what's going-"
"Are you insane?! Potter? Really? He would have you thrown back in Azkaban before you could even speak the name Vold-" Theo yelled. My father interrupted him with a loud rap of his cane against the floor.
"Don't speak his name you bloody fool. If he's back then it's Taboo all over again." My father hissed.
Theo threw himself back down in his chair and crossed his arms in front of his chest while he pouted like a scolded toddler.
Matthew stood next, "Draco's right. If Potter knows now then he can help us. He is an Auror so he can at least be aware and be on the lookout for anything suspicious. I'll come too- he may trust you now but he has more trust in me when it comes to these kinds of things. We can explain what happened and what we know and go from there. We haven't done anything wrong so there is no reason for him to punish us for simply relaying information."
I nodded in agreement and my father dismissed us both with a curt nod.
🟢🟢🟢
We took the floo into the ministry and crammed into a lift that took us up to Potters office. We received several deathly glares from disdainful witches and wizards as we made our way down one of the many long corridors. We approached the front desk and a young and honestly quite pretty witch, popped up from behind a stack of papers and flashed a smile toward us both.
"Good Morning! Anything I can assist the two of you with today?" She chirped and not so subtly her gaze shifted along my person until her eyes met mine again.
"We are here to see Auror Potter." Mattheo popped up beside me and leaned casually across the desk. The witch giggled and blushed before looking down at a planner on her desk and running her finger along one of the collumns.
"Sorry loves, Auror Potter isn't available until later this afternoon. Shall I pencil you in at 3pm?"
"Tell him that it's an emergency." I was beginning to lose my patience.
The witch's bright smile turned up into a snide smirk, "It always is."
I clenched my fists tightly and right before I exploded on her, Mattheo leaned in closer to her and turned on his charm.
"Listen doll, We are old friends of Potter and we have some very valuable information that we need to pass along to him immediatly. It pertains to an ongoing investigation of his and I'm sure you know how upset he would be if he found out his investigation was being slowed down over a few meetings. It won't take long." He said in his flirtiest tone and even winked at her for good measure.
The witch blushed further and took another look down at the schedule again, "Hmm, well I guess I could squeeze you in after his meeting with the Minister is over. What did you say your names were again?" She glanced up with her quill poised against the paper ready to pencil us in.
"Draco Malfoy and Mattheo Riddle." I responded.
She paled considerably at the mention of our names. It's a reaction we had grown accustomed to even after it being over two years since the war ended and the death eater regime was all but dissolved. She gulped and then spun on her heels and took off down the hall and directly into what I'm assuming is Potter's office because when she came back out he was following her.
"Malfoy? Riddle? This better be important." He huffed and glared back at us.
"Very. Your office?" Mattheo said and started walking back down the hallway, pointing toward the door that Potter just emerged from.
The three of us entered and I quickly cast a silencing charm once the door was shut.
"Well I guess just make yourselves at home then." Potter mumbled before sitting down at his desk and leaning back in the chair.
The two of us remained standing; looking back and forth between each other before finally, Mattheo reached for his sleeve and pulled it up. Potter jumped from his chair and waved his wand so the drapes were all tightly drawn on the windows and no prying eyes could see in.
"What the bloody hell!" He growled.
"Exactly what we said. Now you see why we couldn't wait?" Mattheo rolled his eyes. When Potter didn't speak he continued. "It appeared back on the four of us this morning."
Potter sat back in his chair and tossed his glasses across the desk, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Who else knows about this?"
"That's why we came to you. If it appeared back on us then it's possible that it's appeared on all former death eaters, even those still in Azkaban. He still has some very loyal followers out there and the appearance of the mark is the first sign of his return. That means more trouble for everyone if they become active again." I explained and watched as all the color drained from his face while he stared back at Mattheo's exposed mark.
The three of us remained in silence for several minutes. I watched his expression become guarded and tried my very best not to sneak into his mind just to see what thoughts were running through his head. As the silence dragged on I half expected a swarm of Aurors to run in and arrest the both of us on the spot simply as a precaution but I hoped after the past two years of building his trust that he wouldn't stoop to such levels. I hoped that he would realize we wanted no part of this and that the reappearance of the mark did not mean we would be driven back into the arms of the dark lord.
"Well- I need to get word of this to Azkaban. There are still over 200 death eaters locked up in there and they need to initiate a full lockdown on the unit." Potter stood from his desk and made his way to the door.
We both looked at him confused. "So... that's it? You're not going to make us submit to a line of questioning? Not gonna snoop around in ours heads for good measure?" Mattheo scoffed.
Potter looked back at us, his lip twitched with the beginnings of a smile but it quickly faded. "I have no reason to." He opened the door and motioned for us to follow. Once we got back to the desk he turned to us once again, "Reach out with any other developments. I'll make sure Lenora prioritizes the two of you when you show up in the future." He glanced down at the witch at the desk and she shyly nodded her head in agreement before scribbling a note down on the parchment in front of her.
🟢🟢🟢
"That went surprisingly well." Mattheo said the second we made it back to the manor. He slumped down on the chair in front of the fireplace and kicked his feet up on the small coffee table.
"If Mum sees you doing that she's going to hex you into next week." I grumbled.
Mattheo huffed a short laugh, "I do believe that is the least of my worries at the-"
He was cut off by a very loud and pained scream from the floor above us. Almost immediately, Tally popped into existence in front of us, "Master Riddle! Tally is glad to have found you. Missus be requesting you in your quarters. Tis' the baby sir." The little elf panted out and then disappeared again presumably to assist Daphne.
Mattheo sat frozen for a moment, a bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face, "On second thought- do you think Aunt Cissy would actually hex me into next week?" He said in a trembling voice.
"Matt it's not as bad as you think. I was scared too when Ember had Nova but once you're in there you're gonna forget how scared you are and just focus on her. She needs you right now- go."
He nodded, his eyes glazed over like he was trying to disassociate himself. Another scream echoed out across the room and he was suddenly snapped out of his daze and a razor focus appeared in his eyes. He took a deep breathe and headed upstairs.
"Cast a silencing charm when you get there!" I called after him. Once he was out of sight I sunk back down in the chair and pulled out a cigarette. As I took a drag I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, drinking in the silence that I don't so often get anymore.
My mind was wondering all over. I tried to think back over the last few months to see if there were any signs of his return. I thought back to every face I've seen and every article I've read in the papers and just anything that looked or felt out of place and I was coming up completely blank.
I twisted her rings on the chain around my neck and stared into the fire. Her terrified voice from my nightmare stuck on a loop, "He's coming for her, Draco. She is the key."
It can't be coincidence that I've been having those dreams and all of a sudden he's returned. Everything the two of us did to avoid her being swept up in his grasp was beginning to feel like a waste. Those almost two years without her, Ember dying.... Gods.
I was never one to believe in nightmares before I met Ember, but now I go through every single one with a fine tooth comb just to make sure I don't miss anything important. After all the dreams and visions she had that came true- even though she had the gift of sight- I still can't be too careful.
"Don't do it Draco."
My eyes flashed open, frantically looking for the source of her voice before landing on the portrait above the mantle; emerald eyes roving over me.
"You spoke." I stood slowly and approached the portrait. "You haven't said anything since-"
She bowed her head and giggled softly before looking back up at me and fidgeting with the necklace chain that lay against her chest. "I didn't have anything to say. You've been on your best behavior since the war ended. But I know that look in your eyes Draco and you can't face him alone. You can't go searching for him and put yourself in danger like that. You have our daughter to think about."
"You always were so perceptive love." I inched closer, running a finger delicately against the frame of her portrait. "But you also know I can't just sit here and let him return. I can't just idly stand by while the utterly incompetent Ministry tries to deny it again until it's too late. You're right I have our daughter to think about which is why I'm not going after him alone."
Her face fell into pure worry as she watched me step away from her. I smiled up at her, "Happy birthday darling." And then fled from the room before the tears stinging at the corners of my eyes betrayed my thoughts further.