CHAPTER TWO
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-: sixth year :-

── IN WHICH THE
PLOT IS REVEALED

. . .

"TEDDY, YOU'VE GROWN." As soon as the tall, ornately decorated doors closed behind them, a sense of relief and the feeling of being completely ordinary washed over them. It was commonplace for the meetings to be sealed with a charm that allowed no eavesdroppers, and so, Cerise could turn towards her friends with no sense at all of the formality that had

"I was under the impression I had stopped that by now." Theo mused, grinning as the girl hugged him. "I take it you're not joining like Mr Death Eater over hear?" His raised thumb jerked towards Draco, who rolled his eyes.

"Don't let that nickname catch on." Cerise shook her head, eyes and smile gentle as they landed on her boyfriend. "But as of now, I'm tattoo free." As if she needed to prove it - and she really didn't, they would believe anything she said at a drop of the hat - the sleeves of her blouse were pushed up to her elbows, revealling the bare skin that Theo had witnessed be marked by Bellatrix's wand.

And that did remain there, a small, angry circle where it had been prodded and forced. But it was no Dark Mark, and that was all that mattered.

The four of them began to make their way down the hallway, shoes against the soft woollen rugs that lined the dark wood. Portraits of blonde ancestors watched over them, some still and some moving - a group of once Malfoy wives peered at them behind neatly painted hands, ring fingers embellished with rather large, dark rocks. The old patriarchs muttered and mumbled amongst themselves, and Cerise couldn't help but wonder their reactions to the youngest member of the Malfoy family becoming a Death Eater, lest being asked to leave the meeting.

At the end of the hallway stood a scene that almost looked as though it could be the background of one of the depictions, an archway leading out onto a small balcony, veiled curtains pulled back to reveal the area. The sun was about to fully set, the globe of honey-like light on the very edge of the horizon miles away across the rolling fields of Wiltshire, staining the sky a mixture of deep purple and pink. The clouds were a golden amber, the sky high above them already a deeper blue.

Cerise pushed herself up onto the stone fencing, Draco coming to a stop beside her as Theo and Blaise positioned themselves either side. Crabbe and Goyle stood near the entrance, and it seemed they were just missing Pansy from their group. It was unfortunate that, unlike the Zabinis, Malfoys and Notts, Lysa and Anderson Parkinson preferred to keep their daughter out of that world. But she didn't doubt it wouldn't be long until Pansy began to frequent them just as much as the others; during the next year they would all turn seventeen, and thus, become adults.

"Here. Figured we could all use it." Theo reached into the pocket of his suit jacket, the small cardboard carton of beige and red flicking open to reveal it half-way empty. "Might be crucified for getting another Muggle brand but-"

"We all know they're better than whatever they put in the ones from bloody Vear's." Cerise scoffed, a hand on Draco's shoulder to steady herself as she reached for one. "Whose got a lighter, Blaise?"

The twin already had the ornate gold tool that he had most certainly stolen from either their family manor or the visit to Italy and Spain previously in the summer, flicking the lever, grasp tightened around the engraving of a snake as he lit his sister's, then another for Theo.

Cerise balanced the cigarette between her lips as she dug around in her pocket. "You'll like this." She nodded, breathing in before Draco reached and pulled the cigarette away. The smoke dissolved into the night as her boyfriend shared alongside her, Theo's eyebrows darting upwards as he looked towards Blaise, who shook his head, crossing his arms.

"Oh fuck." Draco swore, turning his head away to admire the landscape he had seen many times before at the sound of the rustling newspaper. There was a smile on the Zabini's face as she laughed, holding it out to Theo, who examined it.

"Hey - they got your good side." Theodore scanned over the article, the photograph of Draco following his father's sentencing blared across the front of it. They fell silent for a moment, the balcony filling with the smell of smoke. "Don't worry about it, mate. He'll get out soon."

"I know." Draco shrugged. "But until then.." He gestured to his arm, the snake tattoo aching beneath the sleeve. "I only feel bad for Cerise.. Aunt Bella wants her to 'prove her love' and 'earn her place in the family' by helping me do this."

Theo glanced across to Blaise, who seemed to be in the same confusion as he was; they didn't know exactly what 'this' was, and the former looked towards Draco and Cerise.

The couple were pressed tight beside each other, his arm around her waist, eyes constantly on the girl and not taking too much notice of anyone else. He wasn't the only one, Theo's eyes trailing over her arm resting on his shoulder as she lifted the cigarette to her lips, inhaling as she tuck a drag and tilting her head back as she blew smoke into the inky sky.

He couldn't quite say it aloud, or admit that he even thought it, but with dark hair reaching down over her waist, the bodice of her neatly arranged and far too appropriate dress tightened, the gold of her necklace sinking into the dips of her collarbones - he didn't think that she'd ever looked so pretty.

But the spell was broken with a sudden kick to his calf, eyes turning to Theo as he yelped and Blaise as he stood, adjusting his shirt. Draco and Cerise shrugged it off, returning to their previous position as the Malfoy took the cigarette back.

"So." Theo swallowed back the rest of the pain and the moment of sudden attraction. "What's your big job that you've been keeping concealed from me and Blaise for the entirety of the time we've spent together?"

Cerise glanced down to Draco, who shrugged and reached a hand up to slide beneath the thin chain hidden under the collar of his shirt. "I have to get rid of Dumbledore." He admitted loftily, hands digging into the pockets of his trousers. "Get him out of his position of authority... back to how it was at the beginning of the last school year. By any means. He holds the most power... he cannot any longer."

Theo and Blaise stared blankly, silence falling around them.

Blaise cleared his throat, jaw tightening. "Cerise, did you know about this?" He asked.

"Yes."

"And you can't-"

"What, disapprove?" Cerise laughed, shaking her head. "Really, Bellatrix is convinced I'm already on the outs; about to tell everyone we know about the plot and the only way I can keep the secret and help Draco is if I take the mark."

"She's not getting the mark." Blaise cut in, anger intensifying as he turned towards Draco. "She's not getting the mark, Malfoy."

"Damn right she's not getting the mark." Theo chimed in, eyes wide. "Are you kidding? Between Blaise and Madame Zabini who is - excuse my lack of formalities - eternal through the means of killing people and taking their life force, there's no way she'll be able to. We all saw what was happening until Narcissa kicked us out."

"Of course she isn't getting the stupid mark." Draco swallowed, his gaze moving back to his girlfriend. His gaze softened, leaning up to hiss her cheek. "Of course."

"She better not be Malfoy." Blaise shook his head. "I'm holding you to that."

Silence fell once more, the revelation creating an undeniably building tension. Then, Theo shifted, hand raising and clapping the blonde's shoulder.

"Well, Draco old chap." He said. "If I had to put anyone up to the job it would be you. Good luck."

Dumbledore was considered the most powerful and talented wizard of the time. He had helped defeat Voldemort the first time and defeated Grindlewald years before. There was a superiority around him that nobody could even attempt to penetrate, and somehow he'd have to weaken that to a point beyond no return.

It was stupidly obvious; Draco was going to need it.

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