Chapter 12
When everyone had finished dinner Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy stood up to take their customary evening walk outside. Ada didn't even glance at them as they left. Draco and Blaise sat in silence for a moment before Draco finally broke it.
"So what do you guys want to do for the rest of the evening?"
Blaise just shrugged and Ada didn't deign to answer. Draco sighed dramatically and walked over to the side of the table the other two were on.
"Come on, you boring lumps. Let's at least go somewhere more comfortable."
Blaise huffed slightly but stood up. Ada was still ignoring them so Draco just picked her up. She instinctively grabbed the front of Draco's sweater and held it tightly as she was moved. Draco laughed a little as she reddened when she realized what she'd done.
"I can walk, you know." she said irritably.
"It didn't seem likely you'd actually do it though. You're a little grumpy looking."
"I wonder why?" Ada muttered sarcastically.
Blaise, in true Blaise form, just shook his head and left the squabbling pair.
"Besides, do you have any idea how uncomfortable being held like this is? It makes me all tense because I feel I'm about to fall at any given moment!"
"What do you want me to do, strap you to my chest like an infant?"
"I want you to put me down!" Ada said frustratedly.
Draco just looked at her, surprised by the sharp tone of voice she'd used. She immediately shut down and looked away from him.
"How about this," Draco said softly, "I can carry you on my back. Is that any better?"
Ada considered it for a moment then nodded hesitantly. Draco let her down and turned waiting for her to jump on his back. After a second he looked back confused.
"What's wrong, why aren't you getting on my back?"
"I can't get up without a chair or something."
Draco tried to hide a smile. He'd forgotten how short she was compared to him. He moved to one of the dining room chairs and watched as she climbed up before looking at him expectantly. He turned around and held still as she marched onto his back, her arms tight around his shoulders. He looped his arms under her knees to support her better and once she was secure he walked out of the dining room. He figured Blaise would probably be in his room so that's where he headed.
Draco pushed open Blaise's door with his foot and sure enough, Blaise was lounging on his bed reading. Draco also realized that Ada had laid her head down on his shoulder and was endeared by the sweet innocence of the gesture. Blaise looked up as the pair entered his room and smiled at Draco.
"I see you managed to work things out?"
Draco chose to ignore the smirk in his voice and he sat down at the end of the bed, careful not to hurt Ada. She let go of his shoulders but didn't seem inclined to want to move her head.
"What are you reading?" Draco asked, looking at the book in Blaises hands.
"The Iliad. Realized that I haven't read this in three years so I figured I'd go through it again."
"I've never read the Iliad before but it's been on my list for a while." Ada said quietly.
Blaise nodded seriously but then smiled at the girl. Her eyes were closed so she didn't see it but she could hear it in his voice.
"You must have a good list. Would you like me to read out loud? I'm only a page in so I can easily start at the beginning.
Ada just nodded tiredly. Draco decided to find a more comfortable place to sit and moved to the floor in front of the fireplace in the room, easing away from Ada. She opened her eyes and frowned slightly. She didn't want to admit it but it was nice to be so close to someone. Draco noticed and patted the ground next to him. After a short inner battle Ada moved down next to him and let Draco maneuver her so that her head was in his lap. He started stroking her hair and she closed her eyes again as Blaise began to read.
“You’re still wearing Blaise’s jumper.” Draco observed as Blaise paused to get a drink of water.
Ada just hummed tiredly in response.
“Why do you always wear that old ragged one anyways? It doesn’t seem to keep you very warm.”
“Didn’t have enough to buy a new one this year and the one I bought last year was destroyed in the battle. I had to beg my parents to get even this one, much less a brand new one.”
Ada seemed too tired to realize that Draco didn’t answer. His eyes were stormy and he was angry at the thought that Ada had to beg just to get a threadbare jumper that probably belonged to one of her brothers. He started to stroke her hair again and by the time Blaise had read two more pages she was asleep.
Once Blaise realized that Ada was asleep he stopped reading and bookmarked the page they’d left off on. He stretched then came to join Draco on the floor. As he studied Ada’s face in the light from his fireplace he sighed softly.
“We’re going to have to wake her up to give her a nutrient potion, you know that right?” he asked Draco.
“Yeah, I know. I was hoping you’d give it to her though. She seems to like you better.”
“That's because you can be a very overwhelming person, not to mention that you hurt her emotionally and physically within the same hour.”
“She probably hates me.” Draco said glumly.
“I don’t think she hates you. If she did she wouldn’t be lying with her head on your lap and she certainly wouldn’t have come to the manor to begin with. Just give her time.”
“I suppose. Do you want to take her so I can go get everything?”
Blaise nodded and stood up, groaning softly. He slid his arms under the sleeping girl and lifted her from the ground. She sleepily opened her eyes as Blaise moved over to his bed and sat with his back against the headboards. He arranged her so that her head rested on his shoulder and he looped an arm around her waist. She closed her eyes again and he could feel the steady exhale of her breath against his neck.
“Hold on Ada, I know you want to sleep but first you need to have a nutrient potion. Draco’s getting the bottle right now and once you’ve finished it then you can go to bed. I know you’re not going to like it but it's for your own good, okay?”
Ada forced her eyes open and nodded slightly. She’d heard all the words individually but couldn’t make sense of them right now. Draco came in just a moment later and she dully watched him walk towards her with something in his hands. She gradually came to realize that he was holding not a glass potion bottle but a baby bottle. Suddenly what Blaise had said to her clicked and she sat up sharply, accidentally elbowing Blaise in the ribs. He gasped in pain and she jumped away in panic. Before Draco or Blaise could say or do anything she had bolted from the room. Draco cursed and spun towards the door. By the time he was in the hall she was gone from sight.
“You check the upper levels, I’ll check the third floor down.” Blaise said as he joined Draco, still holding his side.
Draco nodded and started up the stairs to the fourth floor. There were so many places to hide but Draco knew all of them. He quickly searched the fourth and fifth floors before making his way up to the top floor. He checked all the rooms and when he came to the last door he noticed the door was slightly ajar. He opened it silently and stepped inside. It was an old bedroom with an old four poster bed and a large wardrobe. It had been one of Draco’s favorite hiding places as a kid.
He stepped closer to the wardrobe and pulled it open slowly. He pushed the old dresses to one side and found Ada curled up into a ball. She was shaking and tears streamed down her face silently. Draco tried to reach out to her but she flinched away as if he was about to hit her.
“I’m sorry.” she choked out frantically. “I didn’t mean to hit him, I promise! I’m so sorry. I’ll be good, I'll be good. Please don’t hit me, I promise I’ll do better. Promise.”
She shoved herself even further back into the wardrobe and Draco wanted to curse. He should have known she’d freak out like this. He sat down on the ground to appear less threatening and tried to soften his features as best he could.
“Ada, I will never hit you, nor will anyone else in this house. We will never, ever hit you.”
“But I hurt Blaise and then I ran away. I’m bad and when I’m bad I’m punished.”
“No, you’re not bad. You accidentally hit Blaise, it wasn’t on purpose. And yeah, running away wasn’t the best choice but we won't beat you for that. Discipline will be things like time out or taking away a privilege for a little bit. We will never discipline you by hurting you.”
Ada just shook her head and kept crying. Draco gently took her hands and pulled her out of the wardrobe and onto his lap. He held her and rocked until she started to calm down.
“I know you didn’t mean to hurt Blaise and he knows that too. We won't discipline you for that. Running away was wrong so for the next couple days one of us is just going to carry you around. Does that seem fair?”
Ada nodded and hiccuped. Draco stood up with her clinging to his neck and made his way down stairs. As he made it to the second floor he saw Blaise coming up and he smiled wanly to the other boy. They walked to Ada’s room as Draco sat down on the bed Blaise summoned the bottle. He cast a warming charm on it as Draco pulled Ada away slightly to see her face.
“I know this is new and hard for you but I’m going to feed you the bottle okay? It has a nutrient potion in it but I also added vanilla and honey to make it taste better. As soon as you’re done you can go to sleep okay?”
Ada had started to silently cry again at the sight of the bottle but nodded miserably. Blaise handed it to Draco and he held the nipple to her mouth. She hesitated but at his urging she took it and experimentally sucked on it. As a spurt of warm liquid landed in her mouth she jumped in surprise. Draco smiled a little and pushed the bottle back towards her and she reluctantly continued to suck on it. Tears slipped down her face but she drank the rest of the bottle in silence.
When she had finished Draco pulled her up and started to gently pat her back. She blushed horribly but didn’t squirm away until she had burped. Once she did though she tried to twist away.
“Where are you going?” Draco asked as he pulled her back beside him.
“I just need to change into my night clothes and brush my teeth and hair.”
“All right, go change and brush your teeth and then I’ll brush your hair for you.”
“I can do it.” she said softly but firmly.
“I know you can but I want to brush your hair for you.”
Ada glared at Draco but didn’t say anything. He let her up and Blaise handed her a bundle of clothes. She pressed her lips together but moved to the bathroom to change anyway. She appeared not a second later holding a pale blue nightgown and looking at Blaise pleadingly.
“A nightgown? Really? Can’t I just have normal night clothes?”
“Those are normal night clothes. Have you never worn a night gown before?” Draco asked.
Ada just shook her head and sighed. She disappeared again and a few minutes later came out wearing the pale blue nightgown. It came down to her ankles and she moved a little uncertainly. Draco thought she looked as if she was treading on eggshells. She walked over and handed Draco a hair brush and sat down in front of him.
Draco gently started to untangle her hair and she sat still as a statue in front of him. He frowned at how tense she was but didn’t know how to make her relax so he just tried to finish brushing her hair as quickly as possible. After a minute Draco accidentally pulled too hard on a knot and she yelped a little. She turned around and took the brush from Draco before moving away a little distance. She glared at him as she started to work on her own hair and he just held up his hands in apology.
She got it untangled quicker than Draco would have been able to and without having to yank. She put her brush away then came to stand awkwardly in the middle of the room, staring uncertainly at Draco and Blaise.
“All right, time for bed.” Blaise said, having mercy on the girl.
Draco stood up and pulled back the covers for her as she slipped into bed. She reluctantly let Draco pull them back over her and before he left he stooped down to kiss her forehead.
“Goodnight Ada.”
She just looked at him weirdly before Blaise came over to say goodnight too. He just brushed her hair from her face and squeezed her hand before moving away. As they left, the boys turned out the lights and closed the door gently behind them.
Ada lay in the dark for a long while. The exhaustion of the day was strong but not strong enough to block out the silence that overwhelmed her in this unfamiliar room. After more than an hour she finally slipped away.