Chapter 13
Blaise woke up in the early hours of the morning, just before the sun started to rise and stretched like a cat. He sat up, swung his legs over the side of his bed, and searched the floor for his slippers before putting them on and shuffling out his door. He loved the manor at this time of day. It was so still and quiet. Not to say that he didn’t love and appreciate the Mafoys, he did. But it was nice to have peace every once in a while. As he walked down the halfway he paused a moment outside Ada’s door and quietly cracked it open to check on the girl. She wasn’t in her bed so he scanned the rest of the room and found her curled up on her window seat, forehead against the frosty windowpane.
“Honestly child,” he whispered and stepped inside. “You’ve got to be absolutely freezing.”
He stepped in and gathered her up, tsking at her cold skin. She was shaking ever so slightly so Blaise snagged the edge of her quilt as he passed by, before he left the room. He had planned on going to the library, one of his favourite places to be, and knew that she wouldn’t be opposed. She hadn’t stirred at all, even when he picked her up, so sound was her sleep.
Once in the library, Blaise sat in one of the big armchairs and arranged Ada comfortably on his lap, draping the quilt over her. She unconsciously snuggled into him, fisting a bit of the jumper he wore. He smiled and acciod the book he had been reading draping an arm over her.
He had nearly finished the book before Ada woke up. She moved restlessly for a bit before finally opening her eyes. As she blinked and adjusted to the light, he watched her carefully for any sign of panic. She seemed to think about it for a second but then just dropped her head back to Blaise’s shoulder.
“Are you still tired?” he asked.
She nodded minutely and pulled the quilt around her more. She didn’t know why she felt okay with Blaise but she did. Blame it on the poor sleep and the fact that she was only just barely awake.
“You know, sleeping by the cold window all night is probably what brought your fever back.” Blaise said and brought a hand up to feel her now overly-warm forehead.
Ada buried her head in his shoulder to get away from his chilly fingers and he just laughed before stroking her hair. She didn’t even realise at first but she leaned into his touch and closed her eyes. This kind of gentleness was completely foreign to her and it left her wanting more. She quickly fell back asleep as he continued. He smiled when he realised her breathing had slowed again into the slow easy pattern she had had before. He fell asleep after a bit too, without even realising it.
Draco came in a while later looking for his friend and cousin and stopped when he caught sight of them. A smile tugged at his lips and he quietly hurried out to get his camera. Once he was back he snapped a quick picture of them before nudging Blaise awake.
“Come on, breakfast time.” he said and Blaise sighed.
He wrapped both arms around Ada before standing, making sure she was secure. Her eyes fluttered open but she didn’t try to squirm down. Not for the first time Blaise frowned at how light she was. Even for being short she was painfully easy to carry. It disturbed him that he had no problems just picking her up and carrying her.
“How did you two sleep?” Draco asked brightly, always way too awake in the morning.
“I slept all right,” Blaise said. “Don’t think Ada did, however. I came into her room around five and she was curled up on that draughty old window seat.”
Ada didn’t respond but Draco laughed and Blaise smiled. It would seem she wasn’t a morning person.
“So why weren’t you in bed?” Draco asked.
Ada mumbled something that was too low for him to catch and he leaned closer.
“Come again? Can’t quite hear you.”
“Too quiet.” she said, just barely louder than before. “Not like home or school.”
“Hm, I can probably fix that. Remind me before bed, okay?”
She nodded into Blaise’s shoulder and closed her eyes again. Blaise didn’t even attempt to set her down in her own chair, happy just to have her close. The more positive reinforcement they could have with physical touch and proximity, the better. Mr. Malfoy raised an eyebrow in surprise but Narcissa just smiled and ran her long fingers through the girl's hair before passing Blaise two plates and the nutrient potion for that morning. He shifted Ada so that her face wasn’t buried in his shoulder anymore. He quickly ate his food and allowed her to wake up a bit more before he shifted to feeding her. Her eyes were closed but he knew she wasn’t asleep, not completely at least, because when he lifted up her fork to her mouth with eggs on it she turned her head.
“I’m not hungry.” she mumbled.
“Come on, we had an agreement. Can you eat just a little bit please? For me?”
She opened her eyes and looked at him suspiciously.
“Why should I?”
“If you can eat your breakfast this morning I’ll read aloud to you this afternoon.”
Ada hesitated for a moment then nodded slowly and let Blaise put a small forkful of food in her mouth. He was the easiest to trust. He was quiet and calm and he helped Ada feel calmer as well. He was up front and open about everything he did, and she knew she could trust him because of that. She slowly ate the eggs and had a couple apple slices before she turned her head away again.
“I’m full, I’m sorry.” She said softly.
“That's okay, you did good kiddo,” Mr. Malfoy said.
Ada scrunched up her nose at the new nickname and Blaise couldn’t help but laugh. She looked too cute for her own good. No one else at the table caught it but as he looked down, Blaise thought he saw the tiniest hint of a smile from her. It was gone as soon as he blinked though and she was burying her face in his neck.
“Don’t forget the nutrient potion, just gotta drink this and then you’re done.”
Ada didn’t move for a long moment and everyone tensed slightly, waiting to see what she would do. Finally, she turned back out and let Blaise put the nipple of the bottle in her mouth so she could drink it. She squeezed her eyes shut and drank it as fast as she could to get it over with. As soon as she was done she immediately buried her face in Blaise’s neck again. No amount of coaxing could get her out, even Lucius asking if she wanted to go read in the library with him.