Make Me.

Book 4 - Chapter 22

Malfoy was already at the end of the dormitory corridor by the time Ellie joined him out there. She had no idea what he was up to and energy to wonder too much about it, and followed him, lazily, but followed him nonetheless.

"Keep up, Dracula," he said behind himself.

Ellie followed him to the stairs, down them, then back up the boy's set of stairs. When they reached the boy's dormitory with the number four plaque, Malfoy disappeared inside the room. Ellie mindlessly continued on, crossed the threshold to the room, and stood just where she had last time she was in there, right in the middle of the floor.

Malfoy was hovering over his trunk, taking things out and placing them carefully on his neatly made bed. It seemed whatever he was looking for was at the very bottom. Once he reached it, he extracted it, threw it over his arm, and then crossed the room to stand in front of Ellie.

"This will help," he said, holding it out to her, "when you feel like your mind isn't your own."

Ellie's eyes inspected his grey ones, then dropped to the thing in his arms. It was a quilt. Malfoy was supporting it as it hung heavily, draped over both his elbows; he was holding it like it weighed a great deal for his little arms to keep up. The quilt itself was three times the size of him, light green in colour, and velvety looking. It had an intricate diamond pattern embroidered across its entire surface and was dotted with golden threaded stars in the middles of the diamonds.

Malfoy held it out to her, pushing it forward for her to take. Ellie let it fall over her right forearm; it was very heavy.

"Why are you lending me this?" Ellie asked, looking down at it. She could feel Malfoy's eyes boring into the top of her head, but not making it anywhere past her hair.

"I owe you. For the ice thing."

Ellie looked up at him. He was still staring at her, face blank, emotionless.

"How do you know this will -"

"My father," Malfoy said flatly, stopping her question before it came.

"Right. . . Thanks," Ellie hummed.

The pair of them stood in front of each other quietly for a moment. Ellie didn't know what to do. She didn't want to make Malfoy uncomfortable because it was clear he was trying to be nice and return a favour, but not talk about it while he did it.

". . . want to go back?" Ellie asked finally, motioning to the door behind her. "I can lend you Hermione's History of Magic notes. . . or help with the Runes. . ." her voice trailed off. Malfoy's eyes had left her face and began to travel down her arm.

Marshall had walked around the back of her neck and was now inspecting Malfoy's nice velvet quilt over her other shoulder.

"Do not," he said sharply, "let that -"

" -mangy thing touch my quilt," said Ellie, talking at the same time as Malfoy did, both of them saying the same thing. "Got it, blondie," she laughed as Malfoy's eyes shot back to hers. She hadn't heard what he was going to say, she just knew him well enough to know it already.

Ellie picked Marshall up and set him back on his spot on her left shoulder. As his butt touched down on her robes, he quacked, right in Malfoy's direction rather than Ellie's.

"I think he's upset with you," she said with another laugh.

"As he should be," Malfoy said, leaning forward and getting into Marshall's face. Ellie had never seen him this close to her mangy animal. "He'll put fleas in it."