𝔾𝔸𝕃𝔸𝕏𝕀𝔼𝕊 (ℍ.ℙ𝕆𝕋𝕋𝔼ℝ)

-2-

Images flash through her mind.

A figure, clad in a black cloak with ghastly red eyes leering at her; Her father clutching her arm, demanding that she do as he says; Her mother breaking down in tears after he returned, her blonde hair in disarray; Green eyes staring at her in defiance under the guise of a disfigured face; Granger screaming and writhing on the floor; a dagger piercing her gut when she helped them get away; the snake slithering on the floor, eyes fixed on a former professor; everyone's eyes on her as she stood while Draco went over; the contemptuous faces of the judges as she stood at the trial; Weasley's eyes gleaming with malice as he stood for her imprisonment; her mother sobbing in relief as she was pronounced not guilty. 

Voices, faces blend together as she gasps awake, her body covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Swiping her hair away from her mouth, she tries to get up when the crack sounds from her fireplace, and Theo stands, sorrow in his eyes.

"St Mungo's," he gasps out loud, his pale face flushed. "Draco- he's been admitted-"

She feels her heart plummet, and she hurriedly tugs on one of her coats over her pyjamas.

St Mungo's is filled with noise, but it fades into a buzz as she worriedly navigates over to the poison section. Her mother falls into her arms, her sobs shaking her frail body as she clings on to Auryn for dear life. Daphne's a few feet away- her own body racked with sobs as Theo rushes over to her.

Eventually, Granger returns, a sober look in her eyes.

And Auryn already knows the answer.

Her mother wails into her chest, tears soaking the front of her coat as she weeps.

And Auryn can't move.

She grips her mother in a weak attempt to comfort her, her mind shutting down to process that the person who knew her best, the person she'd been with even before she was born, who promised he'd always be there for her, is gone.

She later learns that he ingested poison shortly after Astoria's heart stopped, and that Narcissa found them sleeping on the bed, their hands intertwined.

She didn't realise that they were gone.

Her mother's wails echo across the floor, and she suddenly feels nauseous.

Gently pushing her mother away, she runs, knocking into several nurses until she reaches the exit.

It's raining heavily, and the rain soaks her clothes as she runs, uncaring of the several people staring at her. She thinks the sky is weeping for her, before she dismisses the thought.

Life screwed her up. With her luck, it's probably crying tears of happiness, satisfied at tearing and jabbing at the carefully taped pieces of Auryn fucking Malfoy's life.

She arrives at a nameless bar, and slumps over the barstool, glaring at anyone who dares to look her way.

"Whiskey, neat." she mutters and a familiar bartender looks up, his face dotted with freckles and flaming orange hair.

George Weasley's surprised to see the female Malfoy at a muggle bar, of all the places. He takes in her rainsoaked appearance, and notices the empty eyes, and how her hands can't seem to stay still.

Hs slides over a shot, and she drains it immediately, wincing at the strong taste.

"I never thought I'd see a Malfoy at a muggle bar."

She raises the glass as if she's giving a toast, her lips curving into a smile but her eyes remaining devoid of emotion. "First time for everything, right?"

When he doesn't respond, the smile drops off her face and becomes replaced by a neutral expression. "Want me to get the fuck out of here?"

He slides over another shot. "Nope. Just curious as to what caused you so much grief that you're here talking to me."

He sees the moment she puts up a wall, how her eyes empty out and her hands stop shaking.

"You don't have to tell me. No skin off my back." He shrugs, and starts to turn away.

"How did you deal with it?" her voice is unusually quiet, and it makes George uncomfortable.

"Deal with what?"

"Fred dying." The air seems to be sucked out of his lungs at the mention of his twin, and he knows his face is blank. Auryn's watching him, a sad expression on her face.

"Draco's gone?" he asks to divert the topic, and she nods before snatching the bottle from his arms and taking a huge gulp, much to the displeasure of the patrons of the bar.

"I haven't dealt with it." he says, his voice quiet, and it's true. He gets startled in the mornings, when he wakes up and sees Fred in the mirror, but he's missing an ear. He pretends not to notice his mother slipping up and calling him Fred. He contemplates dyeing his hair just to escape the fact that he is the mirror image of his dead twin.

And although he and Auryn were never friends, he feels sorry for her, because he knows what she's going through.

"My-" her voice cracks, and she takes another fortifying gulp of whiskey before continuing, "My mum won't look at me and Scorpius because we remind her of him."

He doesn't know who Scorpius is, but he sympathises as she pours out her worry, her regrets and her anger that he's gone.

The entire bottle of whiskey is gone by the time she's finished, and they're the only two left in the bar.

"I left her crying like that." Her voice is quiet, and her eyes are fixed at a blank spot on the wall behind him. "I just ran away and now I'm here, with someone who has every reason to hate me and yet is listening to me."

He gives her a wry smile. "I can't hate you for something that isn't your fault. Besides, Fred-" his voice catches, but he's proud of himself for saying his name after so long, "he'd kick my ass for hating someone who didn't deserve it."

She stands, her posture erect despite having emptied an entire bottle of whiskey.

"Thanks for listening, Weasley." her voice is rough, but he knows she means it.

"See you around, Malfoy."

She gives him a nod, and disappears into the night, leaving George alone in a bar with an empty whiskey bottle and a heavy heart.

¤¤¤

Please comment, as it gives me motivation to continue. Also, forgive me for killing Draco and Astoria off. I needed it as a plot device.

Until next time,

TRIX