Set Fire to Rain

“Are you mental?” Draco asked me after several minutes of calming down. His voice was not angry, nor was it reproachful, it was just concerned. Blaise had returned and was sitting across me, looking at me with a placid expression, but his eyes were on the edge of amusement. He had been waiting me to go at Pansy for months.
“Maybe I am,” I said defensively, rubbing my cheek where she scratched me. I noticed Blaise also had a scrap below his eyes from Pany’s bloody claws. I pulled out my wand and pointed it at the mark. His face remained unchanged but his eyes flickered for a moment, somewhere between uncertainty and fear. “Episky.”
His cut sizzled for a moment and healed, all traces of the cut gone. “Thank you.”
“You wouldn’t have a scratch if it weren’t for me,” I muttered, sliding my wand in my boot. “I apologize for that.”
We sat for a few more moments, silent. I stared out the window, watching as the snow blew past in white, icy flurries. I knew Draco was frustrated with me, but he knew that it was not the time to discuss my outburst. Blaise seemed to move past the matter quickly enough, for he jumped into discussing the rematch game against Gryffindor the day of arrival back to the school. I was relieved for the distraction, truly excited for the game. Gryffindor had beat us the first game against us, but that was when I was gone. Now they had their star chaser back.
Hours passed on the train with ease. I relaxed easily after the first few minutes of talking. Draco held my hand securely and Blaise lounged on the seat across from us, nearly drowning in all the candy wrappers from the sickening amount of candy he had consumed. That was one thing I never understood about Blaise- dark and cunning as he was, he had a thing for sweets. It was almost an oxymoron.
“We’ll be home soon,” Draco murmured quietly to me once Blaise had dosed off, his numerous wrappers a makeshift blanket. “Have you decided if your excited or not?”
I looked at his grey eyes, searching. “I don’t know.” I smile sadly. “Whatever happens, trust me?”
He smiled. “To the end.”
*

Narcissa stood waiting, dressed in black and wrapped in a cloak to keep herself warm from weather. It was wet and the wind was biting outside of King’s Cross Station. Narcissa’s face broke out into a thin smile upon our approach, and into a full smile when she saw our hands linked together. I could see the tired circles under her eyes, and the stress on her face, but it seemed to melt away some the moment we embraced her.
“When did this happen?” she asked, breathless and gesturing at us as our hands tangled again. Draco smiled one of the rare smile he reserved for his mother and I. “Recently. Pretty strange story, actually.”
“One that can be told at home, I am sure,” Narcissa said, gesturing for us to follow her.
“Where are the others?” I asked, unmoving. Draco didn’t move either, following my lead. He cast me a questioning look, but he had promised to trust me.
“They did not come,” her words were slow. “They had business to attend too.”
“I want to talk to you,” I said quickly. “I would like to do it standing here in public, because I assure you they are watching. They will not suspect anything if we talk as we walk to disapparate.”
She cast her eyes around and murmured, “Come quickly then.”
We walked at a normal pace, huddling together for warmth. Narcissa did not look at me as I quietly told her Voldemort’s plan, and what I expected her to do. In that moment, I truly took pride in knowing Narcissa Malfoy, and revered her for her behavior. Her face was unchanged, smooth and pale as marble. Her lip did not tremble, her eyes did not tear, her face did not blanch. She remained placid as the great lake, and silent as the night.
“I have always known,” she began quietly, “that there would come a time where I was in the way, for the Dark Lord. I have prepared for this moment for a long time, but never did I think he would ask you to do it.”
“He isn’t punishing you,” I assured. “It is punishment to Draco and I. He fears us, Narcissa. He knows that we are not as loyal as Bellatrix or your husband, but he needs us to do things no one else can carry out. Can you do it? Can you hide it from him?” We turned a corner into a dark ally, where she stopped and turned to face me. Her eyes were sharp as razors and her face severe. If I didn’t know her any better, my heart would have skipped in fear at the look on her face. “Of course I can hide this from him. I hid that you could do a patronus. A dragon is it? Yes, I can hide this from him, Reagan Potter.”