Bloodlines || A Draco Malfoy Romance Fanfiction

Freezing - 117

Aphry

I was cold. Half asleep, I turned over and pulled my quilt up to my neck.

However, as the chill further woke me, I realized quickly that the quilt was not helping.

It was my necklace, and the chill had travelled all the way to my toes. Draco was in danger.

Tossing the covers to which I had very recently clung, I grabbed the robe that matched my dusty blue nightgown from the chair next to my bed and pulled it over my shoulders as I put on my slippers. The light, ankle-length garments did little more than provide modesty considering the weather had grown warmer and did nothing to relieve the icy sensation.

I left my dormitory, carefully but hastily shutting the door to not wake the other girls. I then made my way directly through the common room and straight into the boy's dormitories.

When I got to the door to the room that housed the fifth-year boys, I began knocking quickly and loudly.

It took several moments, but the door finally opened. I was disappointed to see a bleary-eyed Crabbe. "Oi, Aphry?" he said. "What's your problem? We're trying to sleep in here."

Forgoing any sort of apologies, I asked urgently. "Is Draco in there? May I speak to him?" My heart rate climbed, and my breathing quickened. I wondered if Draco was even in a state he could speak to me. He told those of us not in the Inquisitorial Squad that Ginny Weasley had put that Bat-Bogey Jinx on him to get away from them last night. That was just hours ago. Did Madam Pomfrey not properly counter it, or we there additional unseen effects?

Crabbe grumbled a bit, then turned into the room. "Malfoy." I heard a tired response that was undeniably Draco. "It's Aphry. Wants to talk to you."

I wrung my hands nervously as I waited. And soon enough Draco came to the door frame. He looked perfectly fine from his sleep-mussed hair, down to his toes poking out of the bottom of his silky emerald button-down pajama set.

He stepped into the hallway as Crabbe closed the door, muttering something about 'bloody women' under his breath.

"Aphry, what is it?" he approached, now looking concerned. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Are you alright?" I asked, not bothering to hide the panic in my voice. My necklace still felt like it was made of ice.

His brow furrowed in confusion. "Of course I am." He looked down to see if something on his perfect looked amiss about him. He saw nothing, just like I did.

But my necklace was telling me differently. "Are you sure?"

"Positively," he insisted.

I kept prying, though. Something was amiss, and I knew it. "Do you feel well? Maybe you should go see Madam Pomfrey, just in case." I was thinking maybe there was some deathly illness he had and he didn't even know it yet. 

He placed both his hands on my upper arms in an attempt to calm me down, then looked right into my eyes. "I assure you, Aphry, I am absolutely fine.... but you are freezing." I felt the soft sleeves of my robe move up and down as he attempted with his hands to warm me up. "Do you need to go to the hospital wing?"

I shook my head. "We're in the dungeons Draco, it's cold." He couldn't know why I was freezing.

"We're heading into summer and it never gets that cold, even in midwinter." he paused a moment. "Let me at least get you something warmer than that frilly robe."

He stepped back into his dorm, giving me time to think. Could this be a defect in the necklace? Of course, there had been other times that it seemed defective, and not once since I received it nearly six years prior had it proven to be. There was still the mystery of the warmth, but Narcissa didn't see to treat it as a defect.

But I saw Draco with my own eyes. He was alive and well, and much more concerned about me. I knew I couldn't push the issue further tonight without actually telling him about our connection. And who knows what Lucius Malfoy would do to me if that happened?

Draco came back a moment later with a fluffy bathrobe the same emerald colour as his pajamas draped over his arms. "This should warm you up," he said as he began placing it over my shoulders. I placated him, though I knew from my experience with my quilt that it wouldn't.

"I think I had a bad dream," I said sheepishly as an excuse as I placed my arms in the robe and he straightened it over my shoulders. "That something happened to you. It's... it's all fuzzy, now." I let out a nervous half-laugh. "I feel so foolish."

The corner of his lip turned up. "I've had those before. Don't worry, though. It doesn't sound pleasant, but it was just a dream." He looked into my eyes, smirking confidently. "I couldn't be better."

He was well enough to cocky, so that made me feel slightly better.  "I'm so sorry I woke you."

He chuckled a bit. "Don't be, darling. You had to ease your mind."

I was thankful he took my explanation rather than become suspicious. "I suppose I should go back to bed," I said, reaching for the robe to give back to him.

Draco tugged the robe at my waist, assertively grabbing the waist belt to secure it closed. "Oh, no. You're not giving that back right now. You'll freeze to death before getting back into bed."

My eyes widened. "Draco, this has your initials on the front pocket. If any of the girls see it, they'll think..." Of course, the sense of propriety instilled in me naturally came out despite the circumstances.

He interrupted me, though. "It doesn't matter, Aphry. Let them 'think,'" he said with a sternness I rarely saw from him. "But if those girls start any rumours, namely Parkinson, they will have to deal with me."

I nodded. If he was half as concerned about me as I was about him, I didn't need to start an argument with him. "Thank you. Good night, Draco."

He smirked lightly. "Good night, love."

I then turned around, heading out of the boy dormitories, and back to bed. Still freezing and with a reeling mind.