Chapter Text
From afar, Draco eyed the brightly lit entrance to the Muggle nightclub warily. It was clear even from the street that it could not be anything else, as the booming thud of drums and screeching guitars echoed from inside the building, intensifying every time someone walked out or in with a group of friends.
He grimaced a little, realising that he was about to step into that incredible chaos, among the writhing bodies of young Londoners. Nevertheless, those two had gone right in there for sure.
He had been following Angela the whole time, ever since she had sneaked out of their house in a tight burgundy dress. Fortunately, she had hailed a taxi and then walked. If she had Apparated, it would have been impossible for him to follow.
In fact, he was not surprised that she needed to let off some steam after a few days in their mansion. He knew that she had been trying, so far unsuccessfully, to talk her mother, Mary, round to moving into the Rosier's house. He was just a bit surprised that she had picked up Daria Prescott first, though the younger girl did not have to leave her home in secret. Then, cheerfully laughing, they had plunged into this noisy hole.
He pulled his black jacket tighter around his body and, determined, strode toward the double doors. He waited for three giggling fifteen-year-old girls to come out and slipped inside. The music volume doubled. He briskly crossed the dimly lit corridor where the toilets were located and went down a few steps into a vast hall, which was truly alive.
There was an abundance of teenagers writhing to the rhythm of blaring music; others sat at the long bar or at several smaller tables along the walls, and reflections of blue, green, and bright silver light flickered across the entire scene.
Draco frowned. It would be easier to find a Galleon in dragon shit.
He made his way to a vacant high stool at the bar and ordered a vodka and juice. Although he was not a regular visitor to Muggle clubs, he had at least some experience with them. He leaned one elbow on the counter and, with narrowed eyes, began to scan the faces in the crowd.
In a short while, the somewhat too-young, blonde barmaid placed a tall glass in front of him, despite the red sign on the wall behind her that read 'We do not sell alcoholic beverages to persons under 18 years of age'. Draco gave her one of those strange, colourful pieces of paper that Muggles used as money. The girl with the plunging neckline gave him a fake smile and returned some of his change. He took a swig of his drink and turned back to the crowd below the raised stage, which was loaded with speakers and an audio mixer.
After a few minutes, he finally glimpsed a familiar face framed by long black hair. However, the face, which had brightened into a smile, immediately disappeared again behind the figure of a lanky teenager. Just a short distance away, he vaguely recognised Angela by her red dress. Now that he was sure the two friends were here, he wondered what he was actually doing here himself.
Why did he go after Angela in the first place and now watched her and Daria from afar, like some kind of stalker? He was not able to understand himself sometimes. It was true that the atmosphere at Malfoy Manor had become somewhat denser recently, but doing something like this just to get out for a while was not like him at all.
Draco instead turned back to the bar with his glass at his mouth and caught someone's stare out of the corner of his eye. Surprised, he spat half of the liquid back in and began to choke on the rest that remained stuck in his throat. The blonde barmaid behind the counter gave him a surprised look.
After a few seconds, that awful coughing fit passed and he looked as innocently as possible at Angela, who was sitting cross-legged on the chair next to him, eyeing him sharply, to say the least.
"What the hell are you doing here?" she hissed angrily before he could say anything.
"Me?" Draco widened his eyes.
"Does it seem like I'm asking somebody else?" she responded teasingly.
"I could ask you the same thing," Draco blurted out, regaining his lost confidence.
Angela pressed her lips together in displeasure and nodded at the barmaid. After a while, the girl served her with a glass of Coke with ice. It occurred to Draco that Angela must be here often. The brunette thanked her and focused on Draco again.
"Don't play games with me," she emphasised. "Why did you follow me all the way here?"
"A bit conceited, aren't we?" Draco raised an eyebrow.
Angela smirked: "Draco, I've known you long enough to know that you wouldn't go to any Muggle club on your own," she said slowly.
To buy some time, the young Malfoy tossed his overgrown blonde hair out of his eyes and finished his glass. "And how did you get from the stage to this chair so quickly? Demonstrating your perfect Apparition between Muggles again?"
"Which means you've just admitted that you've been following me."
"I said no such thing," he protested.
Angela snorted mockingly.
"Well, okay," Draco gave up. "Yeah, I followed you, so what?"
"So what?" she bristled. "It bothers me a little! Who gave you the right to do that?"
Draco shrugged: "No one. Calm down, Rosier. I just wanted to know where you keep going secretly…"
"Ah, I see," Angela reacted in a suddenly cold tone and nodded at someone behind Draco's back.
He turned to see Daria approaching them. She looked damn great in a black skirt and dark blue tank top.
"Hi," she smiled at Draco, who nodded weakly in response. He could not utter a word and just stared at her. She looked a year older in that outfit and with make-up. Not to mention incredibly sexy as well.
"Everything okay?" Daria turned to Angela questioningly.
Angela drank some of her Coke first and then nodded.
"The gracious Mr Malfoy here was just curious," she gritted through her teeth.
"Relax, Angela. I needed to cool off a bit, too," Draco frowned.
"Fine, go for it then," she finished the glass, tossed some coins on the bar and stood up. "I'm going to have fun, whatever you think about it. You can just sit here and continue snooping."
She grabbed Daria's hand and they returned to the middle of the excited crowd. Draco looked behind them, cursing himself in his mind. It did not matter anymore, but he should have been more subtle.
He ordered another round of the simple cocktail and shifted a little to get a better view. As he watched them both move to the rhythm of the drums, he sheepishly realised that he did not really know either of them... He had nothing to do here, but neither did he at home.
After about half an hour, the crowd thinned out a bit, and to Draco's surprise, Angela and Daria came to sit next to him, one on either side.
Exhaling deeply, they ordered the same drink as him, their faces glowing with delight. Draco glanced from one to the other and just shrugged.
"You're bored, aren't you?" Angela turned to him. "Why do you keep sitting here?"
Draco shot her a grumpy look and remained silent.
"Don't you want to at least go for a dance or two?" Daria spoke softly from the other side.
Draco's breath caught in his throat and he looked at her in astonishment. The girl smiled slightly.
"Don't worry; they'll play slower songs now. But if you don't want to, I won't force you of course…"
"No, it's not… I mean, yeah, I… You surprised me, but… I'd like to," Draco finally said something reasonable.
Daria beamed, ignoring Angela's gloomy expression.
"Fine. Shall we go then?" she stood up. "You won't mind, Angela, will you?" she turned to her friend with a threat in her eyes.
Angela looked at the two of them, sighed, and then reminded herself that she had no right to decide this for them. She would leave it to fate and stop meddling in their relationship. They apparently liked each other, so they should at least get a chance if they wanted to take it.
"I won't, but under one condition," she finally replied.
Draco, who had already stood up as well, frowned: "What condition?"
"I shall go home now, so will you see Daria home?" She looked at him seriously. "I don't want her to walk that far alone."
The blonde Slytherin had to stop himself from laughing in relief. "Of course, if Daria agrees…" He looked at her questioningly.
She frowned at first, wanting to scold Angela for treating her like a little kid, but when she saw Draco's expression, she immediately melted: "Sure, why not?"
"Okay," Angela nodded, finished her drink and stood up as well. "Enjoy it," she added with a small smile, turned on her heel and walked briskly towards the exit.
Draco and Daria looked at each other, and at the exact same moment, they reached out to hold hands and headed to the dance floor, where several other couples were already dancing.
*
Angela, buttoning up her black jacket, stepped out of the building and took a deep breath of fresh air. She walked away from the entrance lights and crossed the street. She looked up dreamily at the sky, which was full of brightly twinkling stars. A new moon meant the night was ink-black.
She did not want to think about leaving Daria and Draco there alone. She could not keep them apart forever. It was their lives and their decision.
She raised her head and glanced across the dimly lit street. She should Apparate to the road in front of Malfoy Manor and go to sleep, but she did not want to do that at all. Especially not after seeing those two so infatuated…
She looked in the opposite direction, where – as she knew now – Number 12, Grimmauld Place was located. At the very beginning of the holidays, Dumbledore had considered it his duty to show her the house from the outside as well, and had revealed its address to her, protected by the Fidelius Charm.
She stood there for a while, hesitating. After all, it was quite late, and everyone would surely be sleeping there by now... However, there was no need to wake them up, right? She was just going to check out the house, which partially belonged to her.
Angela shoved her hands into her pockets and strode into a narrow side alley. Only a soft pop sounded from there. She kept getting better at silencing her Apparition.
However, had the young witch looked in the opposite direction, she would definitely not have disappeared with such a calm mind. In that case, she would have noticed several tall figures in long, black hooded cloaks approaching the noisy building from the other side of the street...
*
With his heart pounding hard, Draco held Daria tightly around the waist. He could not tear his eyes away from her as she wrapped her arms around his neck with an uncertain smile. They moved slowly to the rhythm of some romantic music, quietly enjoying each other's presence.
He still could not believe it. How had he even ended up in this place, and more importantly, what was he doing with this lovely girl? He was happy in Daria's presence, yet a bad feeling gnawed at him. A very bad one. Just at the end of the school year, he had thought how good it was that he would not see her for two whole months... Merlin, how had it come to this then?
Unable to stop himself, he pulled her closer and Daria rested her head on his shoulder. Draco breathed in the soft scent of her hair, but still could not stifle the uneasiness that continued to grow.
Suddenly, Daria raised her head and their faces were just inches apart. Holding his breath, Draco let go of her waist with one hand and gently caressed her cheek. Daria's mouth parted slightly. He did not need any other encouragement. Draco took her lips, eager to claim them as his. He had never felt so torn by emotions as when he was with her. Daria, not protesting at all, returned his kiss passionately and buried her hands in the hair at the back of his neck. Draco had no idea how long they kept kissing each other, trying to satisfy that yearning they had both felt for so long, but he wanted that moment to last forever.
However, something rudely brought them back down to earth. There was a loud, booming bang, and screams of fright came from the area under the stairs.
Daria and Draco broke away from each other and looked up in horror at the staircase, from which several cloaked figures were descending. Behind and above them drifted dust from the demolished wall where the door used to be.
"Death Eaters," Daria breathed out in a whisper as she recognised the white masks on the faces of the intruders.
Draco began to think completely coldly. They could not find them here, no matter what...
The music was still playing, and menacing beams of various spells added to the ominousness of the original lighting.
He kept a close eye on the dark figures, who were currently lifting several yelling Muggle girls into the air, and addressed Daria: "Is there a back exit?"
"What? Yeah… Yes, there is," a slightly pale Daria nodded.
"Where?"
"Behind the bar."
"Fine," Draco said, gripping her hand tightly. "Let's go."
He hastily led her to the bar counter among screaming and uncomprehending people. One of the Death Eaters cast a spell on the sound system, which exploded, and the music from the speakers finally stopped.
Daria suddenly began to resist. "No, Draco, wait."
"What?"
"We can't just abandon everyone here!"
"Wrong. We must, Daria," Draco snapped, leading her as inconspicuously as possible to the end of the counter.
"Draco, no! Let's help them!" Daria winced.
He stopped in his tracks and turned to her. "Listen to me!" he urged in a quick whisper. "If they find us, they will kill us or worse, do you understand? I bet we are the only wizards here. If they attack us, I will fight back, but how are we going to save two hundred people from Death Eaters? It's just the two of us here! Leave it to Hit Wizards!"
Tears formed in Daria's eyes, but she realised that he was right and nodded slowly. Somewhere ahead of them, there was a crash of breaking glass and more screams. Draco did not wait any longer and made his way through the crowd again with Daria in tow. He noticed that some Muggles also remembered the possible back exit and had started looking for it in a panic. He wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
Finally, they reached a narrow, dark corridor leading to an open back entrance. Several people managed to flee before them, but Draco and Daria did not make it in time. A tall figure with a wand in hand appeared in the light rectangle, followed by another.
They both froze on the spot. Draco felt Daria grip his hand tightly. He thought only for a split second. He had to rely on the fact that in the darkness that prevailed here, the Death Eaters would not recognise whom they had encountered. He pulled out the wand he always carried with him from the back pocket of his trousers, and as he raised it against the menacing figures, lessons from non-verbal incantation classes flashed through his mind. They could have recognised him by his voice.
The Death Eaters were already preparing to defend themselves when a beam of red light came toward them, splitting in mid-air, and in a second, they were both lying on the ground.
Daria stared at the two motionless bodies in surprise, wondering how Draco had done it so quickly. However, the young wizard was already pulling her out: "Come on! We need to move before the others come!"
They stepped over the bodies and ran away as fast as they could, hand in hand. The screams of people and the muffled rumble behind them slowly faded as they got further away from the Muggle nightclub, which had unexpectedly turned into carnage.
*
Angela stood in front of the impressive house that appeared before her as soon as she recalled the address in her mind. She gazed at it thoughtfully, while a gentle breeze played with her hair. There was light in the windows on the ground floor.
She looked at it indecisively, but then she told herself that she could go to her house whenever she wanted. In less than twenty seconds, she was closing the front door behind her, persuading herself that Harry must already be asleep.
She looked around the dimly lit hall and inhaled the strange smell of the old house. She had not even had time to breathe out when Kreacher appeared in front of her.
"Welcome home, lady," he croaked with a low bow.
Angela barely prevented herself from grimacing. "Thanks, Kreacher. Who's currently in the house?"
The house-elf hissed something grumpily.
"I didn't understand you," she snapped icily, and the elf immediately straightened up.
"A werewolf, an over-aged Auror, some Ministry scum, and that mangy Potter," Kreacher cut off each word in an angry tone. "They keep polluting this house, those scabby dogs..."
"Silence! I didn't ask for such details!"
The elf flinched, as if she had cracked him with a whip.
"Excuse me, lady, but Kreacher cannot help it," the elf said slyly.
"Is anyone in the kitchen?" Angela asked coldly.
"That werewolf, lady."
"His name is Remus Lupin," she corrected him as she headed that way.
"Yes, lady."
Angela quietly stepped down the stone steps to the kitchen, telling herself that she must suggest remodelling this cold hovel at the earliest opportunity. Kreacher dutifully scuttled after her. She walked in to see the former Hogwarts professor sitting sideways from the door, slowly sipping something hot from a large cup.
"Good evening," Angela greeted.
Lupin winced, almost spilling the contents of his mug.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," she apologised respectfully.
"It's all right," Lupin was visibly relieved that neither a vampire nor a Death Eater was standing in the doorway. "It's just that we don't expect many visitors here at this time of the day, especially not so late."
"I understand," Angela sat down across from him. "I was out nearby, having a bit of fun, so I decided to drop by. Do you have anything against that?"
"Of course not," Lupin assured her.
"You look tired," she noted quietly. "And it certainly isn't because of the full moon this time..."
"No, it isn't. But you are right. I cannot sleep well lately. And I was kind of craving some hot chocolate," he raised his mug a little.
"An excellent idea," Angela agreed. "I'll have one too. Kreacher, can you…"
"On it, lady," the elf was already busy at the kitchen cupboard.
"So… you were having fun?" Lupin asked curiously.
She nodded. "You could say that. I needed to relax a bit…"
The former professor nodded in understanding. "You're staying with the Malfoys now, aren't you?"
"Unfortunately, yes," Angela chimed in with a slightly disgusted expression and wordlessly accepted the mug with its steaming contents from the elf. "But I hope to convince my mother to move into our own house as soon as possible. I'd have more freedom there, and also time to come here more often."
"How so?" Lupin wondered.
The girl shrugged. "Mother tends to be away all the time. I'd be there alone without supervision."
"I see," Remus noted, somewhat amused.
There was a moment of silence, which Angela disrupted only after a while.
"And how… how is Harry?"
Lupin raised his eyebrows in astonishment. "Do you know each other well? I thought he didn't know you personally at all until he found out you were Sirius's daughter."
Angela stiffened, realising her mistake. "Well, we know each other casually from school. I'm asking because I'd definitely like to get to know him better."
"Well, he's doing fine," Lupin replied hesitantly. "Though he doesn't speak much and is even more inaccessible than a year ago," he sighed a little. "It seems to me that he's quite bothered by something, but he doesn't want to talk about it..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Angela caught sight of a figure in the doorway and quickly looked up. Remus noticed it and turned in the same direction. A dishevelled Harry stood on the last step with his hands in his pockets, piercing Angela with an unreadable gaze.
*
Almost all the girls were screaming and crying, while their boyfriends were trying to protect them, even though they were scared to death themselves. The air was thick with the mixed smell of spilled alcohol from the broken bottles behind the bar.
The back exit of the building was destroyed. The two Death Eaters, who had been found by their companions, were already conscious, but knew nothing more than that another wizard had knocked them down. Over a dozen Death Eaters were having quite a good time, the ugly bloodstains on the walls serving as proof.
After what felt like an eternity for the young Muggles present, the hooded figures retreated to the stairs, leaving those few conscious brats trembling in the corner of the hall. One of the Death Eaters gave an order, after which they all Apparated outside, a few metres away from the building.
"Do it," Lucius Malfoy ordered coldly from beneath his hood, and three Death Eaters sent their spells directly at the roof.
The popular teenage nightclub exploded almost immediately, burying over two hundred young lives beneath the rubble…
*
Draco and Daria stopped running when they heard a booming blast far behind them. They both looked back and saw a dull yellow glow above the roofs of the houses.
"Oh, no…" Daria whispered, tears streaming down her face.
Draco hugged her gently without saying a word, and Daria clung to him gratefully.
*
Lucius Malfoy turned to the two incompetent wizards. "So what happened back there?"
"We already told you," replied one of them in a deep voice. "We went to secure the back exit and came across two people in the corridor, who were just about to run away. Before we could stun them, one of them pulled out a wand and you know the rest."
"You're complete idiots!" snapped Malfoy. "It must have been some naughty Hogwarts students! Some brat stunned you both! Did you at least recognise them?"
"No," Severus Snape stated flatly. "It was too dark and they used a non-verbal incantation."
Malfoy grunted something angrily and instructed everyone to Apparate away from the scene.
*
Angela had to swallow first before she could even speak. "Hello."
Harry remained silent. There was a completely unreadable expression in his eyes, but inside he was raging – surprise mixed with joy, but also with pain.
What is Angela doing here?
Lupin glanced from one to the other and realised from their expressions that they probably did not know each other only as classmates...
"Hi," Harry finally muttered and headed to the fridge.
Angela lowered her eyes to the table guiltily. Harry pulled out a bottle of milk and poured himself a full glass. Fortunately, no one in the room saw how his hands were shaking. He put the bottle back again and, with glass in hand, walked away up the stairs without looking back.
Lupin observed with interest the still-lowered head of the Hogwarts student and then her hands, which were pressing the hot mug so hard, as if she wanted to keep herself warm at minus twenty.
"Well, I don't think that…" he began quietly, only to be interrupted by some shouting from up the hall.
"Hey! Where are you? There has been an alert!"
Both Remus and Angela left the tasty chocolate at the table, leapt up from their chairs and rushed upstairs. They arrived in the hall, where Tonks was still calling, at the same time as Moody, who had limped out of the sitting room with Kingsley Shacklebolt.
"What happened?" asked Lupin.
"Death Eaters have attacked!" breathed out Tonks. "Some Muggle event! One of the patrolling members sent the news."
"Sweet Merlin," Angela whispered.
Moody sprang into action immediately. "I'll let Dumbledore know. Shacklebolt, you report to the Ministry!"
Kingsley blasted out the door to Apparate, and Moody limped as fast as he could to the kitchen, where there was a large enough fireplace. Angela dug her nails into her palms, a terrible suspicion growing in her heart.
Remus turned to a pale Tonks. "How long has it been?"
"About a quarter of an hour," she replied, glancing at Angela confusedly. "Who are you?"
"Rosier, Harry's classmate," she answered quickly. "Just tell me where exactly they attacked."
"What?" Tonks did not understand.
"Give me the address!" Angela raised her voice.
"Hey, who do you think you are, girl?" Nymphadora protested.
"Mr Lupin, please – ask her where it is," Angela struggled to keep breathing calmly.
"20 Batimov Street," Tonks drawled, offended.
Angela paled. "That can't be true…" came across her lips and she turned toward the door.
Remus grabbed her arm: "Where do you think you're going?"
"Where do you think?" Angela snapped, trying to squirm away. "To the club!"
"You can't! What can you do alone? We have to wait for the unit of Hit Wizards!" Lupin tried to convince her sensibly.
"I won't wait for anyone! My best friend is in there!" the brunette blurted out in terror, finally yanking herself out of Lupin's grip, flying out the door, and she was gone.
"That girl is nuts," Tonks remarked in astonishment. "And how come she Apparated? Is she seventeen already?"
"It doesn't matter now," growled Lupin. "I have to go after her."
"What?"
"I can't let her go there alone! But you stay, Dora."
"I know, someone must. I didn't tell Shacklebolt or Moody the address..." Tonks responded unhappily.
Lupin cursed. "Okay, I'm going."
"Take care!" Tonks called after him once he was in the doorway.
Lupin nodded and disappeared, just as Angela had before him. As Nymphadora descended the stairs to the kitchen to await Moody's return, a shadow with wild black hair finally moved on the first landing of the long main staircase and disappeared at the end of the corridor.
*
With a lurch, Angela Apparated about twenty metres away from where she had been looking at the sky just a while ago, and immediately registered the disproportionate heat and light. She turned to the ruined nightclub and froze in terror. The hungry flames were consuming what was left of it; she could feel the heat on her skin.
She took a few steps back, shaking her head in disbelief.
This cannot be true…
Someone put a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up into the face of her former professor with tears in her eyes.
"You shouldn't be here," Remus said quietly.
"I know," Angela replied, trying in vain to control her trembling voice. "None of us should have been here..."