𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐋𝐘 𝐉𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐒 - 𝐃.𝐌.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 125

Savanna wraps her arms around my shoulders and mine snake around her waist. I lift her off the ground, and she cries into the crook of my neck. I have to keep myself from squeezing her too hard. "Savanna, my darling." I whisper, letting this sink in.

When I set her back down, we both cry together as we sink the floor of the stairs. I don't think I've ever been such a mess in my entire life. I bury my head against her chest as she holds me there. I sob into her, using that as my way of telling her how much I missed her, and how broken my life was without her all this time. "You're real?"

"I'm real." She whispers with a shuddering voice.

I choke on one of my sobs when she says that. I struggle to catch my breath. "Shhhhh. It's alright, I'm here." She says trying to calm me down. She runs her hand through my hair and I can feel myself start to find peace.

"Please, explain." I say pulling away just to make sure she knows i'm listening, letting my tears violently fall down my face.

"My mother." She says wiping away her tears. I stop her from saying another word.

"You're allowed to cry, darling. I promise, you can cry. Don't be ashamed."

She rests her head against my chest. "My mother, she- she captured me. She gave a woman Death Eater a polyjuice potion, and she turned into me. My mother ordered her to sacrifice herself to make it look like I died. My mother brought me back to our house. She locked me in the basement, and she forced me to try and work my powers. But it never worked, Draco. It never did."

I hold her head against me.

"She told me that you thought I was dead. She told me that I would never see you or Hiraeth again. I was  terrified to come here, because I was worried you wouldn't be here anymore." She cries.

God, those words pierce through my heart.

I notice her bruised knuckles, arms, and there's dry blood in her hair.

"What happened to you?" I ask.

"She hurt me." She chokes on her words.

"How did you get away?"

She pauses, as if she's scared to tell me how. "She's dead. My father killed her. He found me and saw what she did to me. My father always loved me more than my mother. I don't even remember the last time she told me she loved me."

She shakes in my arms. I swoop down and pick her up, carrying her up the stairs as she cries.

"Let's get you in the shower. Then maybe you'll feel a little better." I say as I sniffle, entering my room.

She nods and I bring her into the bathroom. I grab her some fresh towels and put them on the rack for her.

"If you need anything just let me know, i'll be right out here." I say, motioning to the bedroom.

As i'm turning away, she stops me. "Draco, could you stay with me?"

I point to the shower and she nods. "I don't feel like being alone tonight."

As we get undressed, I notice Savanna hiding herself from me. She shields certain parts of her body that she had no trouble showing me before.

Once we're in, she faces away from me. "Why are you hiding from me, darling?"

"I'm disgusting, Draco. I'm all banged up and bruised. I'm not exactly the beautiful girl you remember anymore." She tells me.

I don't know how she could even think that about herself. But regardless, I know she needs the reassurance, and I'm more than happy to give it to her.

"You'll always be my beautiful girl." I take her hand and turn her to face me.

She lets her opposite hand fall from her body. And I let my eyes scan her. I take her face in my hands, her eyes are tear stained and puffy. "Absolutely beautiful."

She closes her eyes and moves her head away from me. But I move it back. I'm not going to stop until she realizes how beautiful she is.

"You're perfect." I say. "Just wait until you see Hiraeth. She's absolutely gorgeous, I know she got it from you."

She smiles softly and I kiss her forehead.

"I promise, I would never lie to you about how beautiful you are, my love."

She wraps her arms around me and hugs me again. I miss the feeling of her against me like this. It's the safest I ever feel. I take a deep breath and soak in the feeling of her.

"You know, after I thought you died, I couldn't bring myself to look at Hiraeth or spend time with her. I stayed away from her all this time. But today, my mother talked some sense into me, and I finally realized what I had to do."

Savanna looks up at me and smiles. "You spent time with her."

I nod. "She's absolutely adorable. I put her to bed just before you walked in."

"I can't wait to see her." Savanna says.

"She'll love you."

Once she's all cleaned up, we get out of the shower. She helps herself to her clothes still in the wardrobe.

When we're both dressed for bed, we cuddle up together. Her head rests on my chest, and it feels like yet another piece of me has come back to life. Her head belongs right here.

"I'm so sorry, Draco." She mumbles. Her voice is all timid and shy right now.

"You have nothing to apologize for." I tell her.

"But I missed a lot of Hiraeth's childhood and you thought I was dead. All of it, all your pain and everything I must've put you through, I can't even imagine how you must've felt."

"Shhh. None of that is your fault, my darling."

I still can't believe she's here. Alive.

She yawns. "You must be awfully tired." I say, "Get some sleep."

I reach and switch off the light, filling the room with darkness.

This is when I realize something. I haven't kissed her at all. Not once since she got back. How could I forget something like that?

I move on top of her, propping myself up on my elbow, and using my free hand to press my palm to her chest. I want to feel her reaction.

"You take up every space in my heart. Every night I would lay in these sheets and think about how empty they felt without you. Some days I wouldn't want to wake up and go through the pain again. Some nights I didn't sleep at all, kept awake by the hurt. But I waited. I waited for all of that pain to leave, but it never did. Hiraeth numbed it for a couple hours, but as soon as I was alone again, I felt it all rush back." I feel her heartbeat speed up. "I never knew a woman could make me feel so weak and vulnerable. The way you tell me you love me and say my name makes me want to fall to my knees. And the way you look when you're holding Hiraeth in your arms."

I know she's crying. Her chest is heaving quicker now, and I can hear her small sniffles.

"I love you, Savanna. I love you. Don't you ever forget that." I whisper.

"I love you too." She whispers back.

Her hand moves to the back of my neck and my hand moves it the side of her face.

I kiss her.

It's like our first kiss all over again. But this time, it's love, not lust.

I kiss her, and I come back to life.