Forever Home | Draco Malfoy

Chapter 7-11: Shell Cottage

In the days after Dobby's death and the escape from Malfoy Manor, a whirlwind of emotions swirled around Shell Cottage. Harry was devastated after Dobby's death, but he immersed himself in his next plan to retrieve the next Horcrux. A part of that plan was catching Desiree up on everything she missed while she was down in the cellar, and that was a lot. Ron was worried about Hermione but tried his best to be there for Harry as well. Desiree told Ron she would take care of Hermione. She didn't explain why she knew what to do, just that she knew what to do.

Hermione woke up almost every night, screaming with tears in her eyes with the nightmares of being tortured again. Desiree put silencing charms on their room in hopes of not disturbing the rest of the house while she comforted and coaxed Hermione back into a dreamless sleep. It practically broke Desiree's heart each time Hermione woke up screaming. She knew how she was feeling because she awoke with the same nightmares every night for weeks. She remembered the helpless feeling, and it unsettled her to go to sleep out of fear of feeling that again. Nonetheless, having the scars for a constant reminder of that feeling. The feeling of giving up. It felt terrible.

Over the course of the two weeks, they had been staying at Shell Cottage so far, Hermione had been slowly improving. She had only woken up once the night before last, and not at all last night. It was a relief to Desiree to know that Hermione was slowly beginning to emotionally heal from the torture she endured. She did know, however, it would be quite a bit of time before Hermione was completely emotionally healed because even she wasn't sure that she was completely healed emotionally from it. But, things were thankfully looking up.

As for Harry's new plan, he planned to break into the Lestrange's vault in Gringotts. Desiree thought he had quite literally gone mad. But, after a little explanation from Harry, she realized it made sense for them to believe something was inside Bellatrix's vault if she was so protective over it. After all, she tortured Hermione just thinking that they had broken into it.

With that in mind, the four began to formulate a plan with Griphook as to how they would achieve going to such lengths to obtain the Horcrux. They were careful not to draw attention to themselves, as to not raise suspicion in Bill or Fleur. Luna and Dean seemed to not take notice, or at least not show that they cared if they had.

Other than the meticulous planning, Desiree and the others immersed themselves in a series of card games or wizards chest, usually books for Hermione and Desiree, to help the days go by. Within the two weeks, Desiree had read a total of eight books. Thanks to Fleur the cottage had a decent selection of books, not to mention the books Hermione had already packed, that fit Desiree's taste, including the book she read the most, Wuthering Heights. The books proved to be a great distraction from the anxiety Desiree could feel building within her each day. She could tell it was festering, creeping like a demon of the night, just waiting for its perfect time to strike.

"Hermione," Desiree closed her book abruptly.

"Yes?" Hermione looked up from her book. They were sitting in the corner of the sitting room while all the boys, including Fleur and Luna, sat at the kitchen table playing a game of cards.

"Do you think we'll be able to pull off our plan?" she asked.

Hermione sat silent for a moment. Almost as though she were contemplating telling a sweet lie or the truth. Finally, she exhaled sharply, closing her book as she did, "I'd be lying if I said I didn't think there was a chance we wouldn't make it out. But, I think if anyone could break into Gringotts successfully, it'd be us. Besides, it's what has to be done. If we don't then there will be no way we can defeat the Chief Death Eater."

"Thank you for being honest," Desiree sighed. She was glad she wasn't the only one sharing worries that they wouldn't be able to pull off their bizarre plan. And that was bizarre to their standards, not the ordinary group of witches and wizards. She felt her anxieties fade a bit, but she only knew of one person that could make them fade entirely. Draco. But she had just left him. Her mind wandered to whether he was alright? Was he harmed after her escape? Her heart dropped with just the thought he had been hurt because of her.

"Desiree," Hermione paused.

"Yes, Hermione?"

"How did you know what to do when you were taking care of me?" she asked.

"Because I knew exactly what you were going through," Desiree sighed, rolling up her sleeve to show Hermione her bloodtraitor scar. Hermione's eyes grew wide at the sight of the scar.

"She did that to you? Even though you're with Malfoy?"

Desiree nodded, "She wanted information on my parents."

"Desiree, I'm so sorry. I can't even imagine what it must have been like to go through all of that with him there," Hermione shook her head in disbelief.

"He helped me through it," Desiree sighed.

"How do you do it?" Hermione inquired.

"Do what?"

"Act as though you weren't just held captive for months on end, have your boyfriend be just on the other side of the door, live as though we aren't in the middle of a war?"

"Well, when I first got there, I was cursing the world. I couldn't believe it. After I was tortured I couldn't look him in the face or talk to him for weeks, maybe months, I lost track of time. But, no matter what happened he always came to visit me. He made sure that I had enough food, he made sure I wasn't giving up on myself. Hermione, he was there even when I didn't want him to be. And he cursed the world for making me be stuck down there. He cursed himself the most. What kept me going each day was knowing that I would see him at the end of the day. It gave me hope, oddly, because he was safe. I knew that if he was still in the house each night then our side was still holding steady because he hadn't been sent on a task. As for the middle of the war, I learned to accept that I can't change what I'm going through, but I can change my outlook. After all, if you go into battle thinking you're going to lose, then you will. You have to believe you have already won, you are victorious in everything."

"You love him," Hermione murmured.

"Yeah, I do," Desiree grinned, flashing happy images of her and Draco in her mind.

"Hermione, Ron wants you to go play poker with him and everyone else," said Harry, pointing towards the kitchen.

"Oh, he should know I'm just going to beat him by now," Hermione giggled as she stood, "Are you two coming to play?"

"Yeah, I just want to talk to Desiree for a minute," Harry nodded, taking Hermione's seat after she strode off towards the kitchen.

"You wanted to speak with me?" Desiree furrowed her brows, bringing her knees up to her chest.

"I'm sure if you want to talk about it, but if you do, you can talk to me about what happened while you were down in the cellar," Harry looked at her endearingly.

Desiree sighed, slowly nodding, "Thank you, Harry. I'm sure I'll talk to you about it someday, but I've already talked to Hermione about it today, and I really can't talk about it again right now."

"I understand," he nodded, touching her knee while he stood from the chair, "I just wanted you to know I'm here."

"Harry," she called.

"Yes?" he raised his eyebrows curiously.

"How did you get all of the wands back? Including mine?" she asked, looking at her wand on the table in front of her.

"Yours was in the pile that Malfoy was holding for some reason. It was like he knew you would leave with us. But, when I took them from him I just said, 'if you love her, you'll give me the wands.' He knew you had already escaped. He knew your only chance of surviving now was to give me the wands, yours included," said Harry, allowing his gaze to slip towards her wand.

"He gave them to you to keep me safe," Desiree muttered, "because he loves me."