Always and Forever.

Awake.

Hermione got discharged from the hospital, the next day. They all were happy for her, but at the same time, worried about Estella. She has still not woken up and the deadline for her to wake up was nearing to end. Draco who has gone to freshen up and ended up being in the interrogation room, had taken to sleep that night by Estella's side. Her writhing on the floor in front of him, haunted him, all the time, he thought to close his eyes. He was now exhausted, beyond limit, but still nothing from Estella.
The next day after Hermione was discharged, Harry knocked on the door, and came inside. "Malfoy.' rubbing his hand on his scar, a habit of him, 'I wanted to apologise. I know, I have done some things in last few weeks that may have bad influence on our friendship, or whatever was that you want to call it. But I..." Harry faltered in his small speech, when he saw the hopeful expression on Draco's face. Estella had gripped Draco's hand tightly, was the first movement from her in last 2 weeks. Harry took a step forward, but still unsure about it, guilt and self-doubt was clouding his mind. Estella stirred a little, still a death like grip on Draco, that her knuckles started turning white. She scrunched her face, in obvious pain, and tried to open her eyes. "Esty, easy Love. Be gentle on yourself." Draco's voice was soothing her, and a sob escaped her lips. "Shhh Love. I'm here. I'm here." Draco looked at Harry and nodded towards the door, to which Harry understood that he want him to call the Healer. He left and Estella finally opened her eyes, but started blinking them furiously. The light in the room was affecting her but she tried again. For this whole time her grip on him was still tight. After a minute or two, she opened her eyes fully and turned to look at Draco. He stood there, not believing his eyes, that Estella woke up, finally. "Hello Love." He said in hushed tone. Estella gave him a small smile and squeezed his hand, now tears streaming down her face. He kissed her hand, her forehead, her cheeks, her eyes, and wiped them at last. "I missed you so much." He told her, still in quiet whisper only for her to hear. He sounded like he was in a dream and didn't wanted to open his eyes to see that she was still not awake. "Draco." Her voice cracked while taking his name, but she was happy to see him, to see that he finally got her out of that place. "I knew you will come." She told him, in voice barely above whisper but he heard her all the same. The silence in the room was thick, and he finally shed few of his own tears, his forehead touching hers'. "I'm Sorry, Love. I'm so sorry, I couldn't get to you soon. Please forgive me." She shook her head, and said, "You came and to brought me out of there, that's all I care about. Because I love you." "I love you too." He kissed her, like he wanted to assure himself that she was still here with him. The door opened and in came Harry and Healer Joseph, who looked relieved to see Estella was ok. Smiling at her, he said, "Healer Black, you gave us quite a fright over there." She smiled back at him, quite content that he was not treating her as a fragile doll. "Well I should checkup on you. If you will please step aside." Addressing both her and Draco, they nodded and he drew some diagnosis spell on her, both him and Estella started reading them. "Well looks like the potion had taken care of all the damage in the body. Now we have to check out for lingering curse damage, and side-effects of the potions. And how are you feeling?." "Sore, but I think that I'll have spasm every now and then, due to Cruciatus Curse." Estella replied and Healer Joseph nodded in agreement. "Yes that is bound to happen but we will work on that also. But for the time being, rest. Take the pain relief potion, and also sleep potion. You need to rest as much as you can. Ok?." She nodded, and he left, after making sure she took the pain relief potion.

After the Healer was gone, the three people in the room stood silent. Not knowing what had happened between both the boys, she said in low voice, "Harry?." calling him, who was looking at the floor. Draco on the other hand was stroking her hand, gently. Harry looked up from his spot, to see Estella, who had her hand infront of her, for him to grab. He slowly pulled himself towards her and took hold of her hand tightly. Sitting on her other side, he kept his head bowed and his eyes on their hands. She was a born Legilimens, she knew it will be wrong to use that for her own benefit, but she tried. Both of them, had their mind walls down, which was good, and she glided into both of their minds, and found out what exactly was the matter, without them knowing what she did. "Harry?. Why do you feel guilty?." Both the boys looked at her with stunned silence. "How.. Nevermind." Draco said and went back looking at their hands. Rolling her eyes at his dramatic behaviour, she turned to Harry, raising her eyebrow at him. "What would you choose Draco?.' she asked her fiance, who looked at her with confusion. 'If it was me and Theo or Blaise in Hermione's place, and you knew only one's location, what would you choose?." Understanding the gravity of the situation from this angle, he shook his head, and said, "I'm not mad at him for choosing Hermione, I'm mad at the others' for thinking that you will not be a priority. I know, for him, Hermione is the priority, but he should not have forgotten about you, simultaneously." Nodding at his point of view, she looked at Harry, shrugging at his answer. "Sirius told you that he didn't wanted to choose, but what about you?. You choose Hermione because way before me, way before she became your fiance, she was your friend. Of course you would choose her. Don't mind Sirius, for the first time, he had done some good thing in his life for his family. And now he's gloating." She scoffed at the end sentence. Both the boys chuckled at that. "I'm sorry. Forgive me." Harry said atlast, to both of them and Estella just smiled at him, whereas Draco nodded. Just then the door opened and in stepped Sirius and elder Malfoys. "Estella." Narcissa was first to reach her, both the boys stood up to give them space. Narcissa held her, not believing that she is finally awake. Then Sirius came and hugged her, tightly, and kissed her forehead. Lucius stood back, looking at Estella, like some kind of dream came true. She looked at him, smiled and said in low tone, "Papa." In three strides, he came to her bed and tightly hugged her, which she reciprocated with what little force she had. Muttering something under his breath, which she vaguely understood as, "I think I lost you." After a long time, he released her, and took Draco's spot near her. Rolling his eyes at his father, Draco looked at Estella, who looked exhausted. "You should rest Love." She shook her head and said, "Not now, I want to spend some time with you all." Knowing that she is stubborn, and have to change tactics about that, he agreed, but still had his eyes on her. After an hour or so, she yawned and looked at Draco, pouting slightly. "Want to rest now?." He asked and she nodded. He gave her the sleep potion, the potion taking effect immediately, and she slept.

The next time she opened her eyes, it was their friends and Weasley siblings there, talking in hushed tones. "Hello." she said, alerting everyone that she's awake. "How are you feeling?." Hermione asked, amd Estella grinned at her presence. "Oh lovely. How are you?." "I'm fine. And now even more fine, knowing you are ok." Hermione said. "Estella, you should have seen this idiot here, looking like a zombie." Astoria said, with a laugh to lighten the mood. Estella, Hermione and Harry laughed but others' looked confused. "Zombie?." Theo asked, and Hermione took it upon herself to explain. "A person who is or appears lifeless, apathetic, or completely unresponsive to their surroundings." Forming an 'o' at her explanation, Theodore smirked mischievously. "Well that is absolutely correct. Thought I have to give shock to him, to see whether he is alive or not." They again shared a laugh, and then Estella looked at them with serious face. "Did you arrest Lavender?." The mood instantly changed, and they three boys looked uncomfortable. "Yes, and she confessed her involvement." Ron said with slight disgust. "What about Cormac and the other Death Eaters?." Estella again asked, and this time Harry replied, "Their trial is next month. And I don't think they will be locked now, maybe direct Dementors' kiss." he responded with a shrug. Nodding along his statement, she looked at her hands, and then to Blaise, "I'm sorry about Daphne. If I would have been there, she would have been alive." Looking at Estella, Blaise asked while narrowing his eyes, "How did you know about Daphne, if none of us told you about her." She smiled, and pursed her lips together, and looked at her hands, saying one word, "Rodolphus." "We.. We will want your memories about this whole thing." Draco said, while looking uncomfortable about discussing this topic. "Take it. I don't want to remember anything about it." Harry stepped forward and raised his wand, after getting a nod from both Draco and Estella, he took the memory and put it up in the vial. Estella had tears in her eyes when she opened them, and Draco held her.
The door opened and in came her senior, Healer Joseph. "Hmm, did I disturbed some kind of reunion or something?." They all chuckled, and he came upto Estella. "Lets see if there are some side-effects or not." Waving his wand on her, both the Healers studied the graph, and Estella sighed in relief. "Looks like only spasms and little dizziness here and there, and no lingering curse. I would recommend you to be here for today, and then tomorrow you can get discharged." Nodding at them all, he left. "Well mate, looks like you coming home." Theodore said and they laughed at him.

It was quiet, Draco was with Estella on her bed, as she had insisted him to share with her. Her head on his chest and his arm draped behind her back, hand resting on her hips. He bought her close, and with the other hand he was playing with the ring on her hand. Estella asked in hushed tone, "Draco, did you believed him, when he said that he.. he.." faltering at the end. Understanding what she was asking, he held her even close, and said, "Honestly, I thought that you will hate me for this, that I let that happen to you. That I failed you." With tears in her eyes, she nestled between his shoulder and neck. "I missed you so much." Was all she said, before she slumped to sleep. Her breathing became even and he looked at her, as she slept peacefully. "I would have killed him, if it was true. I would have ripped him apart for touching you." Draco said to her, knowing she won't listen as she was sleeping, and kissed the crown of her head, and after sometime sleep engulfed him also.