Bonded by Evil [COMPLETED STORY]

chapter fifteen

Draco Malfoy POV

I saw the cloud of black smoke that I assumed was the Dark Lord fly past the library window. He was gone, and I hadn't heard Alora walk back down the corridor. Despite her not telling me what she was here for, I knew it wasn't good. The Dark Lord doesn't come early for no reason, and she wouldn't be here for no reason. I hesitated, I didn't know what I should do.

Before I knew it, I was bursting through the door and sprinting down to the end of the corridor. The door was locked, but when you have a wand, nothing is ever really locked. With a quick swish of my wand, I heard the lock click. When I pushed the door open, I didn't see her at first, but I heard sobbing. I pushed it open a little further and entered the room, then saw her hunched over the rubbish bin in the corner.

"Alora!"

She didn't look up at me, just pulled her sleeve down and clutched her arm for dear life. She was in hysterics and could barely breathe between sobs. My heart ached as I dropped to my knees next to her, I found myself wrapping my arm around her shoulders. She wiped her eyes but refused to look at me, I wish there was a way I could help her.

I grabbed her shoulders and gently helped her lean against the wall. Her makeup was running down her face and her eyes had lost their usual playfulness. I cupped her cheeks and tilted her chin up so she was looking at me. She did her best to avoid eye contact but I didn't let that happen. Looking at her like this made me sick, she was the toughest person I knew and now she was sitting on my floor, broken.

She lifted a hand to wipe her tears, but I beat her to it. There was some blood smeared across her front and along her jawbone. I didn't even know what to say to her, what did I wish someone said to me? There wasn't much time until He was coming back, so I had to get her fixed up. I looked at her sadly and she nodded, slowly pulling herself to her feet.

I heard footsteps coming down the hall, and I believed she did as well, because she quickly adjusted her hair and wiped her face a little more. When I turned around, I saw my mother rapidly walking towards us. She held Alora tightly, keeping her from falling. My mother and I helped her walk out of the room and out into the living area.

My father and her mother were nowhere to be seen, and I suppose that was a good thing. We helped her up the stairs to where my bedroom and bathroom were. After sitting her down on my bed, my mother pulled me out of the room and just outside the door, closing it behind us.

"Do you know her, Draco?"

I nodded quickly.

"Who is she? Who are her parents? Your father never tells me anything."

"Alora Slater."

"Her mother is downstairs, Charlotte, I'll go get her to come see Alora-"

"No."

"No?"

"She hates her mother, please don't. I'll get her ready."

"Draco, honey, this is the Slater girl, I know how much you can't stand one another."

"She needs a familiar face, no matter how much we both hate it. I'll have her down in time, just go tell her mother that she's done."

"Okay."

My mother squeezed my shoulder before disappearing down the stairs. I knocked twice on the door before opening it gently. Alora was sitting on the bed in the exact position we left her, unmoving. She barely blinked, she was so still. Her right hand was still clutching her left sleeve. Her breathing was slow, almost unnoticeable. I walked slowly and crouched down in front of her.

"The Dark Lord will be back soon, can you walk?"

She nodded and stood up slowly, moving right past me and going for the door. I offered my arm out to her but she ignored it, reaching for the door handle and pushing it open. For just being a sobbing mess on the floor, she now seemed surprisingly normal. I lead the way to my bathroom and had her sit down on the ledge of the bathtub.

I wet a cloth and began wiping the dark makeup that had melted down her face, trying my best to be as soft as possible. She stared off into space, frozen once again. The blood on her face had dried, so I had to scrub a little harder to get it off. After I had gotten the old makeup off, I summoned my mother's makeup bag and tried to figure out what to do with it. When she saw me trying to read the instructions on the tiny tubes, she lifted a shaky hand and placed it on my arm.

"What? Are you alright?"

"Yes, here."

She took the tube out of my hand and stood up so she could see herself in the mirror. The tiny brush combed through her eyelashes, her shaking hand did not interfere though. The focus I could usually see in her had begun to return as she was careful not to get the black cream all over her eyelids. She added some colour to her lids and a little bit of pink to her cheeks before taking a step back and adjusting her curls once more.

There she was. The Alora I had known for six years was slowly starting to shine through this broken shell. I did notice, though, that her hand refused to release her left sleeve. When I reached for it, she jumped backwards, grabbing her whole arm. After regaining her composure, she steadied herself and walked for the door.

"Thank you, Draco, but I really must be going."