𝒜𝒻𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓂𝒶𝓉𝒽 | 𝒟.𝑀.

15 | ﴾ A Regular Nightmare ﴿

After the absolutely hysterical and ungodly argument between Draco and myself on the lawn, I proceeded to hide from him for four entire days out of sheer awkwardness. I couldn't seem able to control how vicious and irrational I was at the smallest of things, and it was only getting worse with time. If it weren't for the confident reassurance from Hallewell during our nearly useless "therapy" sessions that I was not schizophrenic, I would by that point feel entirely insane.

I was certain that this Veela named Ascelin possessed unbarred access to my mind in some disturbing form. I had absolutely no doubts that it had been her whispering in my brain during the argument, doing her best to twist my impression of Draco and send me off track. If it weren't for her interruptions to my flow of thoughts perhaps I would've been able to contain my rage and Draco would have ended up in my bedroom.

I regretted not taking the opportunity to hook up with him in whatever way he had been willing to. It occurred to me that he had been scolded his entire life that losing his virginity could result in an unwanted marriage, and it was not shocking by any means that he was reserved about it. But this was not good news for me; I was sexually frustrated from missing Draco's body and the surging dark magic in my veins, and unfortunately found myself flirting more than ever with Theo during lunch time at The Ministry. His smile was intoxicating and his eyes had a mischievous glint, beckoning me to make a move on him.

He had come to habitually hug me when he saw me, and run his hand along my thigh when we sat together. I could tell what he wanted. He seemed to harbor no sense of hesitation in comparison to Draco. He also lacked a shred of respect for Draco's marriage to me, going so far as to suggest that Draco was pathetic and old news.

Theodore was, at the end of the day, the only one that I felt comfortable explaining my Veela magic to. I described to him the Realm of Moons, and the woman named Ascelin who claimed to also be a Veela. His eyes always widened with entertainment when I talked about it. He was fervently intrigued by these experiences, instead of Draco who labelled me demonic all too often. Draco didn't seem capable of understanding my new circumstances, but Theo...Theo thought it was fascinating and amazing.

Ergo, I had grown quite perturbed by how divided I was between them, and still getting no satisfaction from either relationship. For old time's sake I had managed to prevent anything seriously inappropriate from happening with Theo but I was crumbling at the edges.

It didn't help that Narcissa knocked on my door that evening to invite me to dinner with them, merely days after Draco and I had fought outside.

I begrudgingly followed her downstairs to the formal dining room, noticing that she was dressed in a very pricey black dress. In contrast with her attire I was wearing my white overalls and a yellow t-shirt underneath. I had been repotting several plants that I had moved inside of the house on my mission to make my room feel more cozy and familiar. My knees were smudged with dirt and my fingernails were positively atrocious.

"A thought crossed my mind this morning that perhaps this house has grown a tad destitute. We are all developing unhealthy reclusive traits. It may serve us well to dine together more often," she cooed to me without turning her head back.

When she shoved open the door to the monstrous dining hall I noticed that Draco was already sat at the massive slab of a table that could have easily seated dozens of guests. His head was against the tall back of his black chair and he slid his blue eyes to us with loathing that he was being forced to participate in a bizarre family dinner. Behind him, a golden fire was blazing in the hearth that was arguably large enough to be a cremator. He pulled his navy blue hood over his head and stared at the ceiling immaturely.

Narcissa instantly scoffed as we sat down, her at the head of the table where Lucius would have once sat growling and sniveling at whoever was dining with him, and me directly across from Draco. We were all clustered at one end and the silence was deafening as Draco and I stared at each other blankly, waiting for the other one to start a ruckus. Narcissa finally broke the silence, "Oh, Draco stop pouting and take that wretched thing off of your head. You have been cladding yourself like a child all too often."