𝐵𝑒𝓆𝓊𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉 | 𝒟.𝑀.

15 | ﴾ Dance With Me ﴿

"You wouldn't know anything about that kind of commitment would you?"

"You wouldn't understand what my bloodline commands from a single heir to a pure blood estate..."

My eyes flickered open. I was not in my own room at the Malfoy Manor.

Right. I was in Draco's.

The moonlight was streaming vividly in through the entire wall of glass panes, illuminating the room more than it had been late in the evening with only candle light. The curtains hung like unwanted rugs on either side, out of use. I wondered briefly why Draco was unlike the rest of his family who seemed to be allergic to Vitamin D.

It was still early in the morning, perhaps 3 or 4am. I was tied up in his warm body like we were two pieces to one pretzel. My head was on his chest and his light breathing was blowing ticklish threads of my hair across my nose. The dark blankets were up to my shoulders weighing us down. His arm was holding me tightly against his neck and my leg was between his. We had no clothes on but our underwear and there was so much bare skin on skin, but the whole thing felt quite innocent somehow. As though we were in it together, fighting through that horrible house and experience side by side.

But we weren't, I had to remind myself. True partners were always honest and supported each other. I wouldn't be going through any of that if he had allowed me to at least make my own choice. Maybe I would have told him we could get to know each other first before doing anything so serious, it's possible I would have understood his complex life.

Right then I would be home with my family, waking up in a few hours to see my brother and my friends for the holiday. The town would be buzzing with good wine, real Champagne, beautiful dinners and walks on the coastal beach. I would be coming back to Britain with a slight tan and a relaxed disposition.

What was my family thinking of me in my absence? What did they know?

I could feel pangs of hurt slither through my heart as I worried about the long-term damage the current situation might cause to my relationships with them. They must've been mortified to find out I was in a horrific life-threatening accident and was also suddenly betrothed. I thought of Astoria who had been in my shoes not long ago.

Had she also felt trapped like that?

How stupid I was to ever feel jealous of her. I had set that girl free while strapping the shackles to myself willingly.

There was overwhelming evidence that Draco's family's priorities were completely irrational and egocentric. I shuddered at the thought of Lucius' vile grin and icy stares. Yet he seemed to be mostly islanded in his beliefs and morals. Narcissa didn't make a show of being a very harmful or villainous person, and as much as I hated to admit it neither did Draco. I could now see that his behavior was highlighted by pain and suffering, by desperation. He predominantly used a cruel vocabulary to offend people around him and that was a meager effort at best. It would be a tortured life to grow up in a house with Lucius - I tried not to imagine how much worse he could have turned out, or could still turn out.

"You wouldn't understand what my bloodline commands from a single heir to a pure blood estate..."

His words from the first day of Quidditch practice crept into my subconscious again. Now I understood, now that he had made me the main character. And it made sense why he was so upset all the time, why he pushed people away or tried to gain control of everyone and everything around him at school. In reality, he rarely had any control over his personal life. Except one thing he had had control over, and that was choosing a victim to bring back to this pit of suffering and despair.