Falling for the Enemy||Draco Malfoy Love Story Fanfiction

Chapter 57

Chapter 57: Tension breaking

Draco looked down at it. The crystals glimmered, each one giving off a light that sharpened the edges of the crystals. He brushed his finger across the gold prongs, then fingered the black velvet it lay in. The pearls winked up at him from between the folds of black velvet. It brought back sharp, bittersweet memories from long-lost years. When he had been young and naïve and a fool.

Draco let out a heavy sigh, snapping the lid shut and placing it away. He had no idea why he had kept it. What use would it bring? 

He packed away the last of his few belongings. Mostly clothes. A few other possessions. He sensed her presence even before he had heard her. It seemed like each part of him was attuned to her.

"Ahem." A little cough from the doorway. Small, and somehow...unsure? Merielle Stargline was always strong, fiery, confident and never unsure. Draco slowly turned to face her, unsure what to expect.

They stared at each other in silence for a long time that dragged out in what felt like years. Silent silence.

"Well, uh, are you packed?" She forced out, indicating his packed bag with a half-hearted sweep of her arm. She let it drop to her side. He didn't answer, simply continuing to look at her. Merielle decided to try a more direct question.

"You are packed, yes?"

A short silence. Then, "Yes."

"That's um, good." Her fingers twisted round each other. "I just came to check. I -I should probably go. We're setting off shortly." Her feet moved to turn round.

"Are you hurt?" He blurted out before he could stop. She froze, slowly turning back round to face him again.

"Excuse me?"

"Are you hurt?" he repeated, his heart pounding, "Did Carrow hurt you?" There was some sort of emotion in his voice.

"Uh, we fought, yes. I do believe he was trying to kill me. His curses didn't hit me, but then I do remember he was trying to crush my bones and crush the life out of me. A few bruises from the fight." She lifted her chin to meet his gaze. "What about it?"

He looked at her for a long moment, as if taking all of her in. Then, before she had time to blink, he had crossed the room in quick, long strides until he was standing before her. She was tall, but he was taller than her. Draco bent his head to look down at her, his gaze impassive as his eyes roamed her face scrutinisingly. Then they travelled down her body, his steely grey eyes thoroughly searching every part of her. Merielle shifted beneath his gaze, feeling the intensity. He was close to her. Too close.

She could see each strand of blond hair, see his strong jawline and high cheekbones, see his drawn eyebrows and the way his pale eyelashes fluttered against his eyelids.

"He hurt you?"

Those three words held so much meaning. They were barely more than a whisper, but spoke louder and stronger than any speech. Full of something that could perhaps resemble tenderness and passion. But there was also a deadly threat in them. Not to her, no. To the dead man who had hurt her. Each word a coiled snake, ready to attack.

On impulse, his fingers reached for her. They stretched further and further until they abruptly paused, mere centimetres away from her neck. His eyes zoned in on the faint, barely-visible marks of Carrow's fingers. There was a turbulent storm brewing in his eyes.

"How dare he..." His voice was a quiet, deadly hiss. "If he wasn't dead already, I would..." He didn't finish the sentence, but his meaning was clear. Merielle found herself unable to speak.