Nothing As It Seems

Chapter 5: Everything burned

Hello everyone,

This chapter might be small but it is packed with information in it. This is your formal hello to Olarye Rivers.

There is no warning for this chapter.

Yours always,

TheDarkLady

Draco awoke earlier than expected, alone in his room. The chandelier was dimmed, and the room candlelit in clusters.

The room was undeniably masculine; his scent marked the place as though marking its territory. The scent was subdued but nonetheless present in traces, on his clothes and on his skin.

The room was as austere and suave as its owner. Expensive looking furniture adorned the room but with function in mind and not style, although they served just as well for the latter.

There was something so striking about the room, maybe it was the surprising lack of mirrors. Or was it  the absence of portraits or pictures; medals and accolades. No measure of life marked the room, not even a hint of slytherin.

The room was spacious, lit handsomely by custom made chandeliers. He'd forgone the candelabras and instead, paintings were propped upon the dark walls.

The french windows were closed but the hurling storm was no longer present. A steady breeze ruffled the copse of trees, and the water glistened due to the pale moonlight.

If one would really squint they could see the naked female bodies twirling in the moonlit lake mere miles from the Manor. But only, of course if you had magic in your blood.

He drew himself up onto the unique headboard and looked at his once familiar room, now littered with Granger's medical supplies.

There were bottles galore occupying a great deal of space, corked potions emitting a dismal shine in the dimly lit room.

His dresser however had been left alone; it was as bare as always, except as a hidden object only known by Draco kept as a reminder.

He fiddled with his fingers and contemplated whether he should indulge in wandless magic. Only to notice his wand wasn’t on his person.

Light footsteps sounded and a tentative knock followed. Draco already knew whom it was, but proceeded to cautiously beckoned her forward.

She stood warily as a candlelit cluster illuminated her features in a way previously unknown to him.

Downy waves of a glossy brown stopped past her shoulders but didn’t cascade down her back. She was tall, long limbed and delicate looking that was at odds with her stature.

 Large dark eyes whose color he couldn’t discern looked all seeing, never resting on anything for longer than a few seconds. Guileless and permanently out of focus.

In all her beauty there was something sadly missing, something fundamentally broken about her.

"I thought you were awake," she confided. And slowly made her way around the room, looking all around her, but seeming as though she wasn’t really looking.

He was biting to ask how she knew, but with an uncharacteristic tactfulness he stopped himself, and urged himself to look at her further.

And finally, he saw.

Her irises were devastating, a beautiful deep violet blue that shone and sparkled permanently; her pupils were larger than usual and surrounded by a band of silver that was almost imperceptible it was breathtaking and unnerving.

"You do not have a patronus?" She asked, her French accent more pronounced as she spoke quietly.

"No. I never conjured one." He said defensively, and his inquisitive eye grew inquisitive still.