Thicker than Blood (Draco Malfoy love story)

Chapter twenty-seven: The Weird and the Strange

Phoenix's POV

I slowly open my eyes, standing up. I look around, then gasp at everything in front of me. Holy shit doesn't even begin to cover it.

Draco is standing a few yards in front of me, and some woman is laying on the ground a few feet from him. Jealousy lights inside of me for a split second, before I put it out of my mind.

Draco stares at me, looking horrified. I look around again, trying to remember how I got here. My head begins to throb. Then it hits me.

That bitch! She ambushed me as soon as I got down here, then used some spell on me. But what happened after that?

I smell smoke. What the hell? I look around for a fire, but the only one I find is burning in Draco's eyes. Weird and weirder...

I walk towards him slowly. "Draco? What happened? How did I get here? And who is she?" I say distastefully, nudging her with my shoe.

I realize that the smell of smoke is coming from her. I look at her for a second, then look back at Draco. His eyes look so pained, and for some reason, I can't help think it's my fault.

I place my hands on his shoulders. "What happened, Draco."

He falls to his knees, then wraps his arms around my waist. He hugs me tightly, pressing his face against my stomach.

He just holds me, murmuring under his breath. It takes me a second to realize he's crying.

"I'm... I'm so sorry... I just... Never thought I would... See you again..." He says between sobs. I gently stroke his hair and face, completely lost for words.

This boy, this strong and cold boy, is actually crying at the thought of never seeing me again. He must be pretty shaken.

I let him stay there for a long time, but I need to know what's going on.

"Draco, honey, can you pull together long enough to tell me what the fuck happened just now?" I ask, trying to be patient.

He nods, but keeps his head buried against my stomach.

"She... She gave you a potion. It made you careless, made you follow me without any plans. She... Oh god, Phoenix. She used an unforgivable curse to control you. She was going to kill you! She... She tried to kill you..." He stumbles through the explanation, stopping at the last sentence.

I freeze, finally understanding what happened to the woman. "And it didn't work. It reflected off of me and killed her," I whisper, laughing quietly.

He looks up at me, his beautiful grey eyes filled with confusion. "How? She used the killing spell. How did you survive?"

I laugh stroking his face. Honestly, it's not funny at all, but my nerves seem to like this outlet.

"My necklace. My grandmother gave it to me. It has three magical properties: One, it reflects the wearers mood. Two, it shows the wearer what they want more than anything. And three, it reflects the killing spell.

Nothing can completely block the spell, but the necklace simply redirects it. Kind of like shooting a bullet into water. It won't always work, unfortunately, but it gives you a chance at survival. And it looks like luck was with me this time."

He gapes at me, his eyes sparkling. He finally stands up, wrapping his arms tightly around me.

"I love you so much. I was so scared I'd never get to tell you that. There was never even a choice. You are everything I need. Fuck what my family thinks, fuck the consequences. I choose you," He says quickly.

It's my turn to be in shock. I'd forgotten everything that happened, had simply accepted that he wasn't meant for me. And now...

"I love you too, Draco," I whisper, my voice rough with emotion.

I take a deep breath. "Come on, baby. Let's go back."

He nods and we start walking towards the entrance. He grabs my hand and holds it, making me blush like crazy.

We stop at the entrance, and I glare at it. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me!"

He groans. "How long have we been gone?"

I snort and continue glaring at the entrance. "Too damn long, probably."

I stare down the hole, that happens to be about six feet above my head, and hope a miracle will happen through the violent force of my gaze.

When that doesn't work, I fumble around in my pocket and find my wand.

I point it at the entrance. "Elenvic."

I watch in satisfaction as thick vines grow up the entrance. After a few seconds, they stop growing. I walk over and give them a sharp tug. When I deem them safe, I begin climbing.

"How the hell did you do that?!" I hear Draco ask behind me.

I laugh and drop down, walking over to him. "I invented the spell. It was very helpful when I needed to sneak out."

He laughs quietly. "Of course."

I gesture, rather dramatically, towards the vines. "Your exit, Sir."

He rolls his eyes, but does begin climbing. I wait until he's a couple yards up before following.

It takes triple the time to climb up as it did to slide down, most likely because Draco is still human, meaning he tires quickly.

By the time we get to Myrtle's bathroom, he's panting heavily.

I laugh and hold out a hand. I quickly pull him up, and we walk out together. Thankfully, no one is in the halls. We quickly walk towards our dorm.

"Draco Malfoy and Phoenix Beaxlin, what are you doing?! Where have you two been?!" An angry voice yells behind us.

I turn around to face a very angry Professor McGonagall.

I look at Draco, then back at the Professor. "It's kind of a long story, actually. Could we talk to Dumbledore, too, while we're at it?" I ask calmly.

She looks at me weirdly for a second, then returns to her professional poker face. "Of course."

We walk down the hall to Dumbledore's office. Draco looks terrified, but I still feel strangely calm. I should be scared, I mean, we could get expelled for even going in that bathroom, but I just feel... Peaceful. Like everything is right now.

I look at Draco again. Everything is okay if he's next to me, no matter what happens.

I grab Draco's hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. I don't even care if the professor turns around. I want everyone to know he's mine.

He smiles at me. 'I love you'  he mouths silently.

I smile back. 'I love you, too.'

Now comes the hard part. Explaining this to Dumbledore.