Half of My Heart [[Draco Malfoy]]

Prologue Pt. 1

I couldn't sleep

Things happened so quickly in the past month. It was like some sort of dream coming true.

I don't dream though. Dreams don't usually come true.

Not any dream that I've had. No...

I thought I was “normal” until about a two years ago. The day I had turned 11 years old was one of the bizarrest days in my whole life. Even though I'm 13 now, that day changed everything. It changed me and let me dream.

July 31

It was a hot summer morning, that morning was. The middle of summer. I was still asleep then, though I never could figure out how I could sleep in such heat. Thankfully my dad decided to take the liberty of waking me up.

“Jade!” my father shouted through the door, knocking on it hard enough for the sound to reach my ears. “Jaden Bane Hummings wake up!”

I grumbled in my sleep, slowly coming to from another dreamless night. My dark red hair pooled everywhere on my bed as I tried to go back, to see if I would dream, but the heat wouldn't allow me too. Even in pajama shorts and shirt, the heat of this one summer day was already annoying. And it was just the morning! I kicked up and out of my thin sheets and just sat there in my bed slightly daze, hazel colored eyes barely cracked open.

'A gray dream. Nothing but gray...' I thought to myself. I felt rather disappointed that I didn't dream. Or if I did, I couldn't remember it.

“Jaden? Are you awake love?” my father asked through the door again. It's nice to know that he won't come into my room without permission.

“Yeah dad! I'm awake!” I answered him back. “You can come in you know!”

And he entered. He came in with a smile, holding something behind his back.

“Good morning sweet-pea!” he greeted and took out what was behind his back. I rubbed my eyes of the left over sleep and looked at what was in his hands. Pancakes with strawberries, sliced banana and a side of whipped cream and syrup.

“Happy Birthday love!””

I gave him mock surprise as he did so. We did this for each other every birthday, from him to me or from me to him. It was kind of a small tradition in the house, you can say. He took out a long, thin candle and stuck it in the center of my pancakes. With a flick of his wrist, he opened up his zippo lighter and lit the candle walking over and sitting next to me in bed. I couldn't help but smile as I looked from him to the gentle glow of the fire.

“Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday my little pumpkin~! Happy Birthday to you!!” he sang.

I blew out the candle, but seconds after it came back to life. I tried again.

It came back.

“Dad! Is this a trick candle?” I laughed as I continued to blow out the flame playfully.

“Indeed it is my dear. You know I love little things like this!” he laughed with me. “Life is no fun unless you have a few tricks up your sleeve~!”

I took the platter from him to set in gently on my bed before giving him a big hug. My dad was like that. Grown up, but still a kid at heart. That's what I loved the most about him being my dad.

“Thanks daddy. This is great,” I said looking at the food.

“Well it's not every day that my baby girl turns 11 now is it?” More smiling.

“Nope, but you've stayed 5 since you're high school days,” I joked digging into my cakes.

“And proud of it! That's what drove you're mum wild about me you know!” he said, but his smile faltered just the tiniest bit.

I chewed slowly after this and seemed to swallow my food down with some difficulty.

It wasn't too long ago that mom died. A month ago actually. There was a hostage situation at the end of my 5th grade school year. A prisoner had broken out of jail, armed and dangerous with a gun he smuggled, and found our school to keep hidden in. He had broken into my classroom during science and told us to get down before he shoots.

We, of course, obeyed.

Mrs. Swimmer tried to be strong for us, as most of us were crying, and told us to stay still. The criminal wouldn't have it. He shot at her first, getting her in her right shoulder. Her screaming only scared us more and he told her to shut up before he took another shot. Our pleas and cries rang out to him, but we couldn't do anything. We were only kids.

That's when my mom bursted into the room.

My mom wasn't a police woman or a fire women. No, she was a mechanic at a local car shop. She fixed cars. She looked like a hero jumping at the criminal like she did. She wrestled him to the floor, knocking over chairs and desks just to make him let go of the weapon. Her plan was working; he was getting tired. They both struggled around the classroom until they landed in front of me. I was stuck in the far corner of the classroom, corned in fear. I watched my mom strain herself hoping she is okay. I thought she had won when she hit him and he looked knocked.

I was wrong.

It was like slow motion. She brushed herself off to pick me up as she stood and turned to me. That smile... The smile she gave me was pure joy and relief. I reached up to her, wanting to be in my mother's safe embrace. I was about to touch her, when another scream ripped through the air and a bullet ripped through my mom. The smile was still there, but it was eerie now. A dead smile.

The police came then and took the criminal down. We were evacuated and my mom was taken to the hospital first. I already knew she was gone. Dad picked me up after I was looked at in the hospital. He was given the bad news about mom. He looked so sad it even broke the doctor's heart to tell him he had lost his wife. The doctor said a few more things and dad nodded blankly, I just listened in silence, but in another room jars of cotton balls and ear swabs exploded out of nowhere.

News about what happened spread fast. All my classmates had come to visit my dad and I to give thanks and respect for what my mother did for them. Lenard, my mother's boss, paid respect to her and gave my dad her last paycheck with some extra cash to help. Random people from the neighborhood came around to talk to my father and say nice words about my mother. The school principal, Mr. Brotz, stopped by too to help pay for my mom's funeral. He said it was the least he could do for her.

The week after, we buried her. People who knew her came and so did people who didn't. Dad and I didn't cry with everyone. Mom wouldn't want us to cry or else she'd have to take care of us like babies. I wanted to cry for that reason. When everything was done and said we drove home from the cemetery in silence. It was a little empty when we got home. It was missing a motherly essence.

“Jaden,” my dad said quietly.

“Yeah?” I answered back.

“Mummy is happy. We should be happy too.”

We cried together on the couch then, before living our lives, like normal, without her.

And here we are today, my birthday.

“Jade,” my dad tried to sound chipper. “We should go out today!”

I looked at my dad and gave him a weak smile.

“That sounds great dad,” I said back.

“Splendid! Now where do you--” He was cut off by a knock on the front door. “Blimey who could that be?”

I was curious as well and we both got up to got get the door. It was a short walk since we lived in a small house, but from the looks of what was outside spiked even more of my curiosity. It looked like an old man dressed in fine clothes was in front of our small door. He had long hair and a long beard that was white as snow glowing silver. Halved moon glasses rested on his nose and he stood patiently in front of our door.

“Dad do you know that man?” I asked my father. Dad shook his head and opened the door.

© FaeFoxFollwer

© J.K. Rowling