Beginning at the End ⏃ Dramione

Chapter 28: Disparities

As Narcissa fumbled with the door handle, Bellatrix impatiently stepped in, catching her sister as if it was to be expected. Failing to be of assistance, Draco gazed at the woman Bellatrix had propped up to stand. If it had not been for the color of her eyes, he would have guessed his mother was a ghost. Her pale blonde hair rippled down her back, and he could see the outline of her spine through her white nightgown.

Bellatrix did not appear concerned with her sister's fragility, instead gripping her arm tight and hissing into her ear, "Enough with the hysterics, Cissy."

But Narcissa did not respond, her sleepy gaze remained distant even to his presence.

Bellatrix wrenched her chin, forcing it to face him, "Look, I told you I would make it right, didn't I?"

Before he could prepare, Bellatrix had nudged Narcissa into Draco and he swiftly stepped forward to catch his mother.

"Draco?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but he had nothing prepared in response, never expecting to see her in such a state. His mother's hand skimmed his cheek and it was cool and shaky, just as he remembered his grandmother's to be. Before making an attempt to speak, Bellatrix chimed, "You have ten minutes, nephew. Then we see the Dark Lord." Grinning, she closed in on Draco, "He'll want to know all about your little adventure."

He kept his gaze veiled, nodding to Bellatrix submissively, eager for her to leave. Behind him, there was a click of the door and he tried to think of something to say as he studied the stranger in his arms. She looked exhausted, her hair tousled as if she had been flying, though he could not remember the last time she had used her broom.

As he guided her to sit, grasping her hand tight, he noticed the edges of the bones in her fingers... fingers that had once been seen as young and graceful. Had she aged? But he had not been away that long... What had happened while he was gone?

"Mother-"

She flinched slightly at the grip of his hand, and he quickly loosened his hold. Only then did he notice the scars that littered her skin, and he paused to inspect them. Defensively, she pulled her arm away, taking a step to turn and sit down on the side of the bed. Clearing some errant wisps of hair away from her face, Narcissa folded her hands together. "My darling, what have you been up to?"

Draco shifted, glancing around the room for a reality check. Her demeanor implied that he was simply returning home from Hogwarts for the summer.

"Draco." She reached out to his arm as if to console him. "Why have you returned?"

Draco shook his head, feeling the prick of tears behind his eyes at the state of her. All the self-doubt he had over leaving his mother behind had been confirmed in this reunion. Overall, he did not want to give details to his escape, aside from his guilt, he should be blocking those memories so that they could not be seen by the Dark Lord.

Filled with regret on leaving her behind, he tried to hold himself together, pacing slightly to think. As if to block out his surroundings, he folded his hands behind his neck, feeling the pressure of Bellatrix's allotted time frame. Shortly, his hands began to slip from the sweat on his neck, releasing his grip, blurting out, "What happened to you? Was it because-"

"Draco, I'm relieved to see you safe. Are you staying? I'll have them repair your room..."

Draco paused to scan the woman before him, trying to find a trace of his mother. Was he staying? As if he could suddenly come and go? Could he? No. He could not just wander off, it could not be that easy.

The manner of her offer made him suspect that her mind was not aware of their current state of reality. Was she disillusioned, or had she just wakened from a slumber, briefly forgetting their circumstances? With a glance at the east window, it was clearly mid-morning and Narcissa had historically been an early riser. These clues added to his notion that she was not merely waking up.