Till Death Do Us Part [R.W]

MEETING

Eden smoothed out her dress and sat up. Her trunk was laying, open, on the end of her bed. Everything inside was her supplies for school. She tied her hair up, for it was draping in her eyes. She was reading. It was her favorite thing to do, and one of the only things that meant something to her. She marked her page at 183 and folded it carefully shut.

Her eyes were almost fully closed, and she couldn't hold on much longer. But she heard a shout from behind her closed door.

"Eden! Can I come in?" Draco knocked. She set the ancient book on her table beside her bed. Eden cleared her throat and replied, "What do you need?"

She promised herself she would be more understanding, because of what happened last night. She tried to reason with her mother, try and convince her that Draco was not ready to go back to Hogwarts. But she wouldn't budge on the issue. Draco walked towards Eden after he shut her thick, wooden door. He sat down beside her trunk at the end of her bed.

"It hurts, Eden." He lifted up his sleeve slowly, trying not to touch the red skin around the mark. Draco's grey eyes flooded, tears threatening to fall on her silk sheets. All he was looking at was the tattoo. To him, it was an expiration date, inked on his pale skin. She scooted forward and gently touched his cheek. "I can't sleep. All it does is ache." He cries. Eden moved her hand from his cheek to her lap.

"I know you are okay, Draco." Eden stared at the mark. Truly horrified, but strong, for her brother and for her scared mother, and for her coward of a father.

"Mine hurts too. You'll learn not to let it bother you." She shook her head, gently caressing the sleeve that covered her own.

"I know you can be okay." Eden's cold voice, seeping like water from a dripping faucet, cooling down Draco's flushed cheeks.

"Mother is making me return to Hogwarts. It's not like I want to stay at this bloody manor, anyways." Draco complains. His vulnerability faded away, into his usually icy self.

"She does not understand, Draco. Do you expect her to? She grew up with father by her side." The only thing they had in common is their hatred for their father.

"She knew how it felt when she had it. She should get it!" He snarled. Draco was never a smart boy. Eden sighed and tapped his mark. "This says otherwise."

She stood up and nodded over to her door, signaling him to get out.

"I don't want to hear anything about this anymore. Do this by yourself." Eden lifts her jaw, so her eyes close a little, looking down at her brother. She opens the door and beckons him out. He stands up, reaching his full height of 5'11. He looked frightening, but deep down, she knew he was just a scared little kid.

Draco gave her one last look, pure and utter terror of what he might become, and he exited out of the room.

_____

"Get up will you?" Hermione shouted in his ear. She shook Ron awake while he was trying to pull up the sheets to cover his face. He mumbled something about letting him sleep. Hermione was not having it.

"Oh get up Ronald! Your mum says she's almost ready to start loading the car!" She scowled at him lying in bed, the thin sheet shielding his face from the wrath of morning Hermione. Ron finally opened his eyes and saw Hermione whispering to Harry by the door. The candle-lit room looked almost heavenly, with the rain softly pattering on the glass window pane overlooking the wetlands.

"She's mental, that one." Ron says sleepily. He lifted his head from his lumpy cotton pillow and sat up. Harry chuckled slightly, pulling on his jeans and a grey zip-up jacket.