July 1998

"Draco, it's almost been a month and there's been nothing from him. No letters, no meetings, nothing. I have to go there, I need to see him."

My room was a mess, I hadn't been sleeping much. 

We were nearing the middle of holidays, which meant there were two months left, and something tells me that Voldemort will act before school starts. This is because half of his followers are students. 

Draco was recruited the day after Mat, along with Theo. I thought there'd be a few more, but it was just my close circle of friends. Which had to mean something, and I know I was important somehow, I just didn't want to admit it. Voldemort recruited me himself (he made me recruit everyone else), and he calls me his little Davina. I have been trying to think of every possible motive for what he's doing and I still have no idea. 

I haven't slept.

"Davina, please just stay here. Something might happen to you-"

"I don't care! Something is happening to Mat, and I need to help him."

"Just lie down." He guided me to my bed and got me comfortable, then he winced making me bolt up again.

"It's just you, why is it just you? That son of a bitch is trying to mess with me. He knows I'm with you and he definitely knows I'm going crazy, he doesn't need access to my mind to know that."

"Davina, I've got to go, hopefully I'll be back soon, just be patient." As always any sign of worry was dormant from his words, but his face revealed it all.

I didn't say anything as I got close to him, whispering to myself and then kissing his cheek. He looked confused for a moment, but he'd just narrow it to me being worried about Mat, and now him too. He took out his wand and vanished.

I sat on my bed and closed my eyes, waiting. I felt my whole body tingle and then all of a sudden I was there, at the Riddle Manor. Now we just have to hope Voldemort doesn't read Draco's mind, because all he'll see is me in there.

Draco was guided into Voldemort's office and Mat was standing next to his desk, pale and bruised. He looked thinner too.

"Ah, Draco," he said cunningly. "How is my little Davina? I hope she is saving up her energy." Fuck, what's he planning.

"I've come here my Lord, what did you need from me." Draco said, and I felt the fake tone buzz throughout my body.

"I have a task for you." I felt Draco's heart race, which made mine do the same. "You are to prepare Davina for the 28th of August. I will hold just one more meeting between now and that date, this meeting will include everyone who will be at the setting on that day. Do not tell her a single thing." That date is my mother birthday. What a giant, noseless wanker.

Voldemort aimed his wand at Draco and muttered a spell and Draco tensed. I felt it too, it was like someone pierced a hole in the middle of his chest. This whole time Draco kept glancing at Mat, but he stared at the floor.

"You are free to go." Draco was pushed out of the office and the door slammed shut. I muttered a reverse spell and I opened my eyes to find my room and moments later Draco was there. As soon as his feet were on the ground I ran to him and lifted his shirt to reveal the middle of his chest which now had a red veiny scar vertically across it. I dropped his shirt and looked up at him.

"So you were there. I knew I felt your presence. How the hell did you do that?"

"That doesn't matter."

"At least I don't have to keep my task from you, but what does he mean by prepare you-" he grunted in pain and he reached for his chest. I nudged him.

"Shut it you idiot. He cursed you so that you wouldn't be able to speak about your task to me."

"But if we were connected, wouldn't you have that same curse."

"It's void. I can't reveal a secret to myself, so I can talk about it all I want." He looked at me in annoyance. "Just use code words. Merlin for Voldemort, dinner for meeting, cake for task, assemble for prepare and Easter for August 28th." I said, blurting the first thing that came to my mind for each.

"That won't work."

"Try it."

"Fine. What did Merlin mean by... assemble you for Easter?" He looked somewhat shocked, but now he just wanted an answer.

"I don't know, he could just be messing with you so that you're paranoid about preparing me when you don't know how to prepare me. Or, there's going to be a battle of some sort. He did say he hoped I was saving my energy. So that's it, he wants me ready for battle."

"How do I assemble you for that."

"Well I know about your cake so you don't need to do anything."

"You're a talented witch anyway, you just need to sleep... and eat."

"Merlin could have also meant prepa-assemble me as in try and help me figure out why he's doing all this. I mean why have a battle on Easter, that's my mothers birthday. I wonder when he'll do the dinner because then we can find out who's there in order to see who is related to the battle which will help us figure out what he's planning."

"Slow down, let me translate that." I waited a few moments. "What we know so far is that only Nott, Berkshire, Mattheo, you and me have been recruited along with our parents. Our parents are also nowhere to be found. The battle is on your mothers birthday." He thought again for a moment. "I don't know about your guys' father's and my mother, but everything else is connected to you."

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We both left the conversation, not wanting to overthink things. He made me eat, but all I could think about was Mat, how he looked, how empty he looked. It made me feel sick and after I went to my room I vomited. I was lying in bed now, I'd showered, and Draco said he would check on me in a half hour or so to see if I was asleep. He would find me awake that's for sure.

I can't sleep not knowing if Mat's okay. I don't know if I'll even get to see him before the battle and all I can think about is if one of us doesn't make it and we've lost all this time. I just cannot sleep because I'm scared of my subconscious. I beat the clock and I went to draco's room anyway. He seemed asleep so I knocked the door softly to see. He got up and looked towards me.

"Come here." I walked over to him and got in his bed. He was in joggers which was weird because it was warm. I was wearing Mat's t-shirt and shorts. I liked being cold anyway. I got close to him and he acted as the big spoon while I huddled myself into him.

"I can't sleep."

"I know, I wouldn't be able to if it was you that Voldemort took." I thought for a second about how I'm feeling about Mat, how Draco feels about me.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Always."

"Do you think, because you've taken care of me my whole life, that I've stopped you from finding someone?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know you're more of a physical type person but you love me so I'm convinced that you can fall in love, I just wonder if I've jeopardize that."

"Absolutely not. I just haven't met that person."

"I hope you do. I know that you will and I cannot wait."

"Why?"

"I can't wait to see you so happy."

"I am happy."

"You know what I mean."

"I do now close your eyes and go to sleep."

He cuddled me more, getting comfortable. "It's breakfast at Hogwarts, I'm sitting on your right and Enzo and all the guys are across from us. You see Michael who smiles at you from across the hall, and then Mat walks in from the entrance. He comes and sits next to you and places a comforting arm around you and we're all smiling and happy."

He was tracing fingers through my hair, soothing me. Then he rubbed circles on my back like he used to do when we were younger.

I climbed up the ladder to his window and I opened it letting myself in. He sat up, knowing it was me but just confused as to why I was going into his room in the middle of the night.

"Are you okay Davina?" Draco asked as he got out of his bed. He noticed the bruise on my cheek and didn't ask me anything else, he just hugged me.

"You can sleep in my bed if you want."

"I don't want to go back there."

"There's only a couple of days left until we get to go to Hogwarts for our first year, then you will hardly be home."

"Thank you Draco."

"Anytime. I'll always be here." He curled me in his bed and he was telling me a happy story of me and him at Hogwarts. I was asleep in an instant while he traced circles in my back.

"Where are you going?" He asked as I got out of bed.

"I just want to see something." I opened his window and leaned over so I could look down, and there it was still standing.

"Just in case," he said, knowing what I was looking at. I glanced across to see my childhood home, rotting away. I hope the person who lives there rots away with it. He was behind me and turned me around.

"Do you want to hear something really funny?" I nodded and leaned on the side of the window feeling the warm nights' breeze. He leant on the adjacent wall as he began speaking.

"When we were all but toddlers and would spend all our hours together because our parents were- well, not present, I would try to get you to like me. You see, I didn't realise why until now, but my mother would get me to become your childhood boyfriend. Now I know it was because they arranged our marriage."