Summer Holiday

Chapter 20

The front door shut as Draco ushered Sophie back into the house. Sirius would be up at any moment. Draco began heading for the stairs with one hand placed on Sophie's upper back, guiding her to the second floor. Before they could begin their climb a figure stood at the top of the stairs. Draco felt his heart drop in his chest and his breathing quicken.

"Blimey!" Sirius exclaimed as he began descending the stairs. He was already dressed for the day and he had his hair in a loose ponytail. "You two beat me this morning!"

Draco wanted to cry tears of relief but knew he had to keep the act going. He tried to open his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"You alright there?" Sirius asked staring at the two teenagers in front of him.

"Brilliant." Sophie spoke in her usual cheerful tone. "I just wanted to watch the sunrise this morning and made Malfoy get up with me. I think I'll head back to bed for a few hours." Sophie smiled her usual warm smile at Sirius and snaked past him on the stairs heading for her bedroom.

"Bloody woke me up for nothing important." Draco scoffed pushing past Sirius and following Sophie up the stairs.

Sirius chuckled to himself and headed into the kitchen.

Just as Sophie was about to close her bedroom door Draco placed his hand on the door blocking its path. He stared at her as he watched her melancholy expression return to her face.

"That was.......that was good. What you just did." Draco choked out unsure what he was getting at.

"What?" Sophie asked stifling a yawn.

"You covered our asses back there." Draco spoke.

"Ah. Well consider us even." Sophie said trying to shut her door once more.

"Verilia." Draco spoke with his hand still placed on the door.

Sophie didn't speak. She stared at Draco with sadness clouding her eyes and exhaustion riddling her face.

"Nevermind." Draco removed his hand and the door closed. He now stood alone in the hallway staring at the dark oak wood in front of him. He returned to his bedroom and stepped inside.

The room felt cold and the colors were strikingly boring. Draco kicked off his shoes and gently closed the door. He laid on his back with his arms crossed on his stomach as he stared at the ceiling. They had been up all night, but Draco felt wide awake. The air felt almost sad and Draco couldn't understand why. The three of them had been drinking and laughing, and then everything changed once Theo apparated back home. Draco hoped that Sophie's gut feeling was just a hangover.

An hour had passed and Draco's eyes were still wide open and he hadn't moved from his original position.

Loud coughing could be heard from the bathroom and Draco could feel his bones ache with each loud cough. He jolted up from his bed, grabbed his wand, and swung open his bedroom door. Draco tapped his hand against the bathroom door just as retching could be heard on the other side.

"Shit." Draco whispered. He took a deep breath before grabbing the bathroom door handle and opening the door. He stepped inside and latched it behind him.

Sophie was collapsed over the toilet and her coughing was growing louder with each hurl into the toilet. Her head weakly lifted from the bowl to reveal dark circles under her eyes and her lips had lost their color. "Honestly Malfoy, I'm not in the mood." She replied weakly as her head collapsed against her forearm.

"Sirius is going to hear you if you don't quiet down." Draco spoke still standing by the door.

"You only care about yourself." Sophie coughed and wiped her mouth with her arm.