𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧 {a Draco Malfoy story}

chapter twenty-seven

Rose

     When we had snuck back into the castle that night, no one had caught us. Pansy was still awake, but I didn't tell her anything just yet. I told her all about it the next morning, and ever since she hasn't stopped bombarding me with questions. 

     Today was the day we were going back home, as Christmas break had just begun. I placed my trunk onto the rack above the compartment and I closed the door, taking a seat next to Draco and in front of Pansy, Theo, and Blaise. Pansy and Blaise sat together hand in hand.

     Theodore frowned. "Why am I the only single one here? I feel like a fifth wheel."

     "Grab Marcus from wherever he's sitting and yank him in here, then, if it bothers you," Blaise replied. Theo stood up and left the compartment, saying "I may as well."

     He didn't return after that, though, but we didn't question it. "Anyway, back to you two, have you guys seriously not shagged yet? You've been together for almost a year."

     Pansy looked at me with a knowing smile, and Draco's cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Blaise looked shocked and almost jumped out of his seat. "No way, you finally did?"

     "Perhaps," I responded.

     The rest of the ride back was uneventful, surprisingly. Once the train finally came to a halt, Draco took the liberty of taking my things off of the rack before his own. We went down the stairs of the train, the only reason we still had smiles on our faces because we had each other. 

     In all reality, I didn't want to go back to his house. It was a beautiful mansion, with a deep green tint in almost every room. The Malfoy family was a rich one, so everything was up to date and well-working, yet still ancient. They had kept the essence of their ancestors before them around, and I thought that was beautiful.

     So obviously when Narcissa took us back to the Manor and I saw Voldemort in the meeting room, the reason my body began shaking a bit was not because of the darkness of his house. Draco dropped his baggage off by the end of his stairs and took my hand, dragging us to the gardens. 

     A think layer of snow covered the grass and almost all of the flowers and plants had died. The only ones that were still alive were the towering evergreen trees. However, despite the lack of other flowers, there was still one singular white rose standing alone close to a water fountain. I walked up to it and admired it's strength. I knelt down and Draco walked up behind me, placing his hand on my shoulder.

     "It's just like you," he said. 

     "Yes, well, it is a Rose."

     "What I meant was that even though flowers don't normally bloom during the winter, this one rose is still alive."

     I understood what he was talking about. The rose stood there, not weakened by the harsh winter. Just like us. We didn't let ourselves crumble because of the circumstances we're in.

     Christmas was in a couple of days, so mistletoe was sprouting all around the place back at Hogwarts. I wasn't expecting any to grow at Malfoy Manor, however I was proven wrong when the doorway Draco and I stood under began growing the green plants. We both looked up at it and smiled. 'Well, you're not going to leave me with peppermint breathe for a week, are you?"

     I giggled, pulling his face closer to mine. "Nope."

+++

     The next couple of days had passed pretty quickly. It was Christmas day and not surprisingly, the Blaise Zabini along with Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson had joined us. The adults were out doing Merlin knows what, and were not returning until seven o'clock in the evening. It wasn't shocking that these families did not care about Christmas, but it hurt to see all these children abandoned by their families on a day that's supposed to be about spending time with your loved ones.