LI
Two words that had me know for certain that things had gotten bad back up in Scotland... Worse than I had imagined anyway. Dear, and Draco. Not Dracorini, nor DraCO MalfFOY.
Jokes were off the table at the point of this letter being written and I was a different type of nervous, because I knew then, that I might even care more about her well being than my own at this point. And considering the things the bad guys were willing to do to me, one of their own, the thought of what they would be willing to do to just about anyone else wasn't worth thinking about.
Between the Crucio and watching the great hall be brought down in pieces, I finally had the wake up call I had been looking for.
Dear Draco,
I don't know why you thought locking me in a cupboard was smart. I did get out eventually, after roughly three hours, almost pissed myself so thanks for that. Dumbledore is dead, death eaters stormed the castle just as you were leaving so I'm pretty relieved that you left when you did.
Everything changed so quickly after that. Quite a lot of the professor's left or went missing. They've been replaced with others but something about them just isn't quite right and I can't put my finger on why. Snape assures that everything is above board but you know when you've just got that feeling deep down that something really bad is coming?
There was an explosion but thankfully nobody got hurt, a couple second years got the wind knocked out of them but they can't remember seeing anything untoward. It's all really weird.
Also, Potter, Granger and Weasley, the middle one.. Ron. They've disappeared too and nobody knows where, but there's talks between a few of us to start broadcasting from our homes and the castle. We're going to call it 'Potterwatch' I think. People are scared, and for the first time in a while even I'm nervous.
What the hell did you say to your friends Draco?
They're worried for you but not happy. Fortunately for you, they decline to discuss with me in deeper depth. Parkinson especially is hurt, I'd consider getting in contact with her at the soonest opportunity. She's been checking in on me, not sure why, but regardless it was nice since you've been AWOL.
Whenever you get this please, please, reply to me. I'm worried. Destroy this asap.
Y/n.
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Unnerved by the admission that so many people had gone missing in the timespan of ten days, I forced myself up off of the bed, managing to get to an upright position reasonably well before the pain in my ribs returned. And that, much to my detriment, is when my eyes fell to the vial of morphine upon my bedside desk.
The morphine itself was rather inconspicuous looking, an iridescent, pearly mixture; I just wished that I'd of known sooner just how addictive it can be.
Within minutes of it slipping down my throat, I felt light on my feet, slightly drowsy but I could move with ease. Honestly to look at myself in the mirror as I slowly shuffled from the bedside to my desk, I looked fine; maybe a little vacant but still easily hidden.
And I knocked more than just a few things over trying to calibrate myself enough to scrawl out a short handed letter. It looked mostly like jibberish to the naked eye but the only important thing was that y/n should meet me at Aversham Hill, today in around two hours. It was the perfect middle point between my home and hers.
My parents aren't going to like it, but they're not going to be able to stop me either. It's already been ten days too long. Ulysses was giving me a suspicious look with his beady owl eyes, observing me struggle through to fold up the parchment before unlocking his cage.
"You know where to take this bud, to y/n and Kiki, hm?"
Gently he pried it from my fingers and hopped his way to my windowsill where I was able to let him free to take flight, he's quite a magnificent bird. Incredibly stealthy and when he leaves, his wings give off quite the kickback. Ulysses faded into the horizon with ease, allowing me to turn back and continue fumbling my way around the place to find a suitable outfit.
I was unsurprised to find all of my belongings clean, tidy and put away. The elves would of gotten right to that the very minute my things arrived back from the school to my home, along with Ulysses himself. But the strength to actually get myself dressed was something I had to search deep down for.
Once done, I could of easily laid down and gone back to sleep. But something inside of my mind would not allow it, I missed her, wanted her, needed her. I'm thankful for my mother and I know that she adores me to an unfathomable degree but after what I'd just been through there truly was only one person that I wanted now. And that was y/n.
I was pleased to find that my home was not guarded by a hoard of cloaked and screeching dementors, but the perimeter of the manor gardens were in fact being manned. That's never a good sign, even for us, it almost never means to keep us safe; just to keep us compliant.
But I knew that if I apparated now, then I would splinch, and I would likely never recover from it.
The fabric of my clothes couldn't completely shield me from the slight chill in the air, the morphine in my system lowering my temperature. Though, once outside the hardest part was done and no voices chased me out so the journey remained the only obstacle to overcome now.
I must of looked like an absolute sight to anyone who passed me through the Wiltshire country lanes. My gait was unsteady, accompanied by the slight limp on my right hand side I probably looked drunk; add in the hood up and eyes to the floor then it made for something slightly more menacing.
Gravel paths that seemed to stretch on for miles and miles, cut into fields and village towns. It was the type of summer night where the horizon glowed pink, the remnants of what had been a mild and sunny day all sinking into a still, windless night where you might still catch a drop of dew on the grass. Nature was at peace, whereas the wizarding world was in turmoil.
Aversham hill, right on the edge of a small village called Shropston, was quiet. Only the sound of a small stream trickled on by next to the cow gate I had propped myself against. A few birds continued to sing and dance in the trees, horses grazed lazily, and I waited. I waited for her.
Each whimsical tick of the clock hand on my wrist made a ripple in time itself, it was like living in a space warp, the more time went by the longer it felt between one second and the next. Yet no outlines graced the horizon line, the sun kept sinking further over the mountains.
I started to believe that she wasn't even coming at all. There could be so many reasons why she wouldn't or couldn't, that in itself was enough to give me palpitations. And although it was quiet at Aversham, my brain was loud and boiling with possibilities.
None of them pleasant.
After what I might say was forty minutes, although it very well may have been longer I sighed and gave in. Tonight was just to be like any other, by myself, cooped in my room being fucking miserable and feeling sorry for myself.
The gravel path crunched differently on the way back, it was annoying rather than invigorating. So much so that I just began blasting at stones with my wand as I ambled away, casting confingo's like it was nothing.
That was until a weird sound stole me from my thoughts. It came from behind me and sounded distressed, fuck, I hoped more than anything a muggle hadn't accidentally caught sight of me waving magic around or I've broken the statue and that's me off to Azkaban instead of my father.
My eyes searched, albeit a little hazy, rolling over the skyline until it fell to a bobbing figure that was darting from a spread of trees and straight toward me. So I squinted, trying to zone in on whatever the commotion was; it took nothing more than a split second for my feet to begin running to carry me toward the frantic figure once I realised who it was.
"Dracooooo!" She bellowed, sounding like she was being dragged over a bumpy grate. "Wait!"
Y/n held the letter I had sent up in the air as she ran, waving me down. She wore a light summer dress that caught the breeze beautifully, her hair flowed around her untamed, unboxed, like memories. And in this strange space between summer day and autumn night, her existence alone was a miscellaneous by-product of something completely natural and coincidental; like diamonds.
Her breathless body reached mine and jumped at me, and I didn't even remember that I had been in pain when I caught her mid-air into a hug so tight I'm unsure how her ribcage didn't collapse. "Oh my god, where the hell have you been?!"
Her perfume encased me in security, her touch granted me the forgiveness I so desperately searched for. I felt at home wherever she was.
"I told you there was a family emergency." Pulling back she didn't even wait for the second part of the excuse before landing her searing lips onto mine. Over and over and over. Ravenous.
"I just didn't expect silence for so long, it's been almost two weeks," she breathed outwardly, finally catching some air. "I was scared something was wrong. I was going to turn up at your place but common sense told me it would be charmed to the high heavens anyway so I'd never find it."
"No darling, you won't find it but regardless I don't want you to try to either alright?"
Eventually we both found the strength to release each other, but y/n remained tightly clung to my hoodie, I just couldn't stop looking in her eyes. It felt like I was swimming in her irises.
I've missed her so much.
"I've fucking missed you trouble."
A slight smile spread over her face, and then she turned but not before holding out her hand; the trouble hand, and this time I took it without a second thought. It didn't matter where it was going to lead me to, just that I was holding it. "You know you've got some nerve calling me trouble Mr Malfoy, I've been impeccably well behaved in your absence I'll have you know."
"Good, it's about time you started."
We saddled ourselves down on the embankment of the stream, comfortably cushioned by plumes of grass. The subtle callings of nature were perfect, only interrupted by the pungent smell of a cigarette being lit. Although we had barely stricken up conversation properly yet we both felt the overwhelming relief of being in each other's presence immediately.
Then, she just blurted out. "Dumbledore's dead." It was in such a casual manner, as though she wasn't that surprised about it. "You read all of my letter right?"
"Yeah I did, I can't believe it," I muttered, trying to not act guilty. "It's insane. I really thought that old man was going to live forever. What happened to him?"
"Somebody killed him Draco. He was murdered. Haven't you been reading the news or anything?"
"No," I replied, gratefully receiving the cigarette. "I really haven't had the time. The family emergency was overseas actually so I was in France for the most part."
"France? I didn't know that you had family in France?" Her brow raised and gaze turned to meet mine, the stones she was flicking into the stream paused. "You never mentioned anything about it until now?"
So I used on y/n the exact same line that she used on me when she lied. "Well, it's just never come up in conversation before. Everything's fine now anyway. Wait... where's that bruise on the back of your shoulder come from?"
Upon noticing the same mark I had, y/n tried to run her hands over it and shrug it off. Mumbling beneath her breath as she replied. "Let's just say the new professors are quite.. Strict. I'll be glad to not have to see them for an entire summer."
There was an inflection in the way that she said it that had me realise in an instant that Hogwarts had been completely breached internally. Of course Snape is going to appoint death eaters to Professor positions. Maybe it is a blessing that I won't be going back there but the idea that everyone else will was soul splitting.
"Anyway," y/n smiled, pulling my hand onto her lap to clasp it to her own. "We've got the next six weeks to ourselves. And I couldn't be any happier. Shall I make a spliff?"
I faltered as soon as the word left her mouth, melting down so that my head hit her lap too. "Gimme, now, please..."
Anything to ease the bad feeling will do. Her, all of her, safety. Home. She is my home.