'I once knew a girl with constellations painted on her soul'

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"You're dying?" Draco exclaimed, exceeding his usual monotone; catching him off guard as his voice echoed through the hall, and as Adeline turned around, facing him, that's when he really saw it.

Dark circles stained the corners of her heavy eyelids, and her skin looked worn; sickly; cold. His eyes dropped to her bare forearms, the sleeves of the large sweatshirt pushed to her elbows, and his heart jolted as he caught a glimpse of dark, thick lines trailing her arms.

Without thinking, Draco reached over and grabbed her notably pale wrist with his cold hand, pulling it up to his view—on instinct she pulled back, but his grip was too tight. Footsteps rounded the corner.

"Addie?" Harry's voice interrupted them.

Turning to him, Adeline met his confused, betrayed gaze, and despite Hermione trying to catch her eye, she couldn't tear them from this look on his face.

She watched as his eyes moved to Draco's hand tightly wrapped around her wrist, staring at something Harry couldn't see, though Harry's attention was drawn to the way Adeline's skin slightly bulged around Draco's hand, turning whiter, and as he opened his mouth to say something, she interrupted him, tearing her gaze to Draco.

"Let go," She said, and as Draco stood dumbfounded, eyes wide, staring at the lines in thought, she yanked her arm harder; finally pulled it from his grasp, shoving down the long, soft sleeves.

There was silence for a moment between the four as Addie studied Draco's face, who appeared to be in such concentration that he hadn't noticed the presence of Harry and Hermione; eyes still directed to where her arm was, lips slightly parted.

Her veins were turning black.

She could almost hear the cogs turning in his mind, and as he looked up, icy eyes meeting her tired gaze, shaping his lips to speak, she took a step back.

"Follow me," Draco said, turning on his heel, beginning to walk away.

"Get away from her," Harry spoke up, stepping closer to the pair, glaring at the blond who in turn merely glanced in his direction, stopping to wait for Adeline.

Between them at an equal distance, Addie took a shaky breath, a long one, and, shifting her weight onto one foot, hesitated, before moving closer to Draco.

With this one movement, his face changed; It was as though she'd plunged a sword between his shoulder blades right then and there, leaving him there to bear its protruding hilt without her as she slowly trailed after Draco.

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"Where are we going?" Addie asked, taking twice the amount of steps as Draco to keep up with him, curiously watching as he repeatedly checked behind them and almost heaved with every breath, wiping and rubbing at his face every now and then, his hair sticking up randomly after running his hand through it so any times. He didn't answer, and they remained in silence for what felt like forever, aside from the sounds of their shoes and the whistling wind as they walked through halls upon halls upon halls upon halls—

"Stop," He put an arm out in her direction, holding her shoulder. They were at the end of a dimly lit hallway and had reached a dead end—she could only just see his face as he stepped forward before the towering wall of which stared them down—a really, really familiar wall. Shadows loomed on the floor; consuming their figures, leading Addie to grip the ends of her hoodie, wrapping her arms around herself. As Draco started walking, she looked to him, and noticing the concentration on his face and his sharp, almost rehearsed pacing before the wall, a feeling of dread overtook her body; her breath hitching. A stray breeze from a nearby, broken window drew goosebumps across her skin.

"This is the—"

"Shut up," He snapped, and taking what appeared to be the final step, turned expectingly to the wall where the outline of a large archway was being engraved into the stone, soon transforming into a hauntingly massive door. Walking towards it, Draco pressed a hand against it, about to open it, but looked back to Addie through noticing she hadn't moved; her eyes wider than usual, lips tightly shut.

"Come on."

"I can't."

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, you can. Hurry up."

"No," She said, shaking her head. "No, I don't want to."

"I don't care. Get in."

"No."

He huffed, leaning his head back, bringing a hand up to rub his eyes; face scrunched, before looking back at her, wand in hand. As aimed it towards her, his sleeve edged up over his wrist, revealing the beginning of a tattooed skull. Her stomach dropped. She was too weak for this.

"I don't want to do this, Adeline."

"Don't," Her lip quivered.

"I have to."

She moved back, turning around; trying to run, but alas—her legs were wobbly and buckled beneath her, leaving her clinging to the floor.

She was too weak for this.

Muttering something beneath his breath, nothing came from his wand, but nevertheless she felt the spell. Her eyes became a thick, dark red like the blood she'd choke on, and her body became numb, yet it still moved—under his control.

It was him. He's the reason she was so drawn to that shield; so convinced of the need for death eaters to take her. He was the reason she'd become her monster without completely transforming. It was a spell, a spell just for her, for the exact purpose of controlling her, luring her, taking her to its creator: her father.

And Draco was his puppet.

Her body stood beyond her will and turned around to face Draco; her expression emotionless; unwaveringly cold, and for a moment, a sheer, split of a moment, he looked fearful—but as soon as it was there, it was gone and he pushed open the doors to the Room of Requirement, controlling her to walk inside before closing the doors behind them.

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As soon as the door disappeared from within the room, Draco lifted the spell, tucking his wand away, leaving her to collapse onto the ground, delving into a fit of coughs, blood splattering onto the ground. Trying to catch her breath, she sat up, nose scrunching and eyes closing as the all-familiar metallic taste overpowered her mouth, bringing a hand to her face and wiping her lips before catching sight of the blood on her palm, now inky black.

Draco couldn't help but stare at the black blood; eyes wide, horrified; watching as she audibly gasped at the colour, covered her lips with the back of her other hand, tears falling down her cheeks as she tried suppressing sobs; her body visibly shaking. He looked away.

The room was massive; filled with just piles and piles of random objects—cabinets, birdcages, books, quills, bones, coins, boxes, chairs, old desks—and they were at the front of them all. Hearing her quieten, Draco looked back to see her eyes trained ahead; blankly staring, back leaning against one of the piles. Walking over, Draco sat down opposite her, leaning against another pile—though as he did, a few loose, small objects fell from it, lightly hitting the back of his head, landing scattered across the floor. Looking up, he met her gaze already trained to him, and he had to suppress a flinch at this—she looked so serious, so intimidating; so different than the girl Harry had pulled from the lake those years ago. She was so innocent, so young; eyes so bright and naïve—but now she'd grown into her facial structure.; now her eyes were deeper; sharper, and now as she stared at him in the cold light, he saw a bit of her father in them.

"You're holding it in your hands," He said, staring right back, sitting straighter as she hugged her knees, almost daring her to break the stare.

She didn't.

"What?"

"Your power. Use it."

She stretched her legs out, crossing her arms.

"I can't."

"Why not?" He scoffed. "You could become so powerful—you could literally rule the entire Wizarding World. You were born to."

"Well, I seem to have forgotten who I was born to be." She spoke coolly, raising her brow slightly. They both maintained their stares. Her tone became firmer. "I don't want it. I've never wanted it."

He shrugged. "But it made you stronger. Stronger than any witch or wizard alive. Stronger than your father."

"I was a child. I didn't need to be stronger. I needed to be safe. It's the same for you," Addie nodded to his wrist, and despite the Dark Mark being hidden by his sleeve, he covered it with his other hand, gulping. "We're kids, Draco. We're not meant to be in a war, but we were born into it."

He broke his stare, looking down.

"I don't care Adeline."

"You do."

"I don't."

"Then look at me when you say that."

He looked up, though remained silent for a moment. "You're dying, and the Dark Lord doesn't even know."

"And it's going to stay that way."

"It can't, Adeline. Whether you like it or not. I have to do this."

"Do what?"

He looked down.

"Tell him?" Her voice held more emotion than she wanted.

"I have to, Adeline. I have to tell them!" His voice grew.

"No you don't!" She yelled, leaning forward. He was quiet again, listening to the echo of her voice as it travelled throughout the room of requirement.

"Adeline, they can stop your illness. If you die, he'll kill me!"

"He'll kill everyone through me if I don't!"

"What am I supposed to do, then? You just said we're born into this. We have no choice."

"You're right. We don't have a choice of being part of it. But we can choose who we fight for."

He leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling, and she waited for his response as he took a long breath, though it never came.

"I don't know how we'll win this. I don't think we can. But at least I can die knowing I never joined him."

"Stick to your guns, Adeline. That's how you'll win."

"What's a gun?"

Head still facing upward, he averted his gaze down to her.

"It's a metaphor."

"What's a metaphor?"

He groaned; covering his face with both hands for a moment, pressing on his eyes, dismissing her question before moving his head back down to face her once more.

"You look tired," She said, eyeing the way his eyelids struggled to hover open. He repressed a comment on the purple stains beneath her own eyes.

"I don't sleep," He responded, shrugging.

"You are afraid of your dreams?"

"You could say that," He said quietly. As she nodded in understanding, her eyes trained to the floor, arms wrapped around herself for comfort, he found himself talking once more. "You know they're gonna use the things you love against you."

She looked up again, running a hand through her tangled, long hair.

"So it goes."

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HELLOOOO

i'm back :)

i hope u guys like the chapter!! lemme know what u think of the writing in this and reply / discuss any theories u have with each other!! i love reading them hehe

i'm really excited for this story

thank u all for your support!!! ily all <33

see you soooooooooon

-g