just for me ⚘ a Fred Weasley Fanfiction

98. behind enemy lines pt. 3

cw~

Juniper's life at Malfoy Manor had become so twisted, she considered Draco descending down the stairs as a beacon of hope, despite how lousy it really was.
He couldn't hide the shock on his face as he saw her, thinking she was a zombie at first. Her hair matted and ripped off at odd lengths from Bellatrix yanking at it. Her cheeks had sunken in like a skeleton from the scraps of food she picked at after it'd been thrown down from the stairs of the cellar. Her eyes were dark and tired, but still wide with fear. The gold dress that she arrived to the manor in was falling off her body, ripped to shreds that barely covered her and left her shivering from the December weather.
Draco still approached her, for once looking much better than she did, in his tailored black suit and combed hair. He held out a sandwich he had snuck down from the kitchen, and Juniper couldn't even restrain herself from snatching it from his hand and devouring it in a few bites.
Without a word, he grabbed her arm and turned it to look at her forearm, breathing a little sigh of relief at the empty space where her Dark mark would've been, had she taken it.

"I guess Fred is safe for now." He mumbled, letting go of her. Her arm stayed in the air, all of her muscles rigid at the mention of Fred's name. She waited for the crack of a white or a stab in the side. "As far as I know, the Weasley's-."

She cut him off with a sharp inhale, her eyes squeezing shut as she anticipated more pain.

"... Are all safe." Draco finished, glancing over his shoulder, looking for what Juniper was reacting to. "I know the thought of him is what you've been holding onto, but if you think of him every time you're in pain, you'll start to fear and resent him."

"Can't help it." Juniper croaked out words for the first time since Draco left for Hogwarts, her voice hoarse from screaming in pain.

"I'f he's anything like I remember, I'm certain he's finding a way to get you back." Draco reassured her, standing back up. "Now stop thinking about him."