Always. (A Draco Malfoy Story)

Plans and Intuition.

I sent a letter to Mother. My vision or dream or whatever of her, made me worry. She looked ghastly, and unwell. I let Rue fly out and deliver my letter. I hope she's alright.

The next few days were fine. I have developed an appetite and was scarfing down more food than normal. With the stress of the tasks, everyone suspicious of Draco, and me being unsure of Mother's well-being... I've started to stress eat.

We're at the dinner table one night and I'm already on my second plate of food. Tori looks over to me, "Are you alright? You're eating like Crabbe and Goyle right now." I look up at her, who was looking at me in disgust. Crabbe and Goyle looked over to us at the mention of their names. Their mouths still full of food, they respond, "Huh?" Tori shakes her head at them and they resumed eating.

"I'm just hungry. I didn't eat all day," I answered while stuffing another strawberry tart into my mouth. Draco and Blaise join us and takes a seat. I look over to Draco who was just zoned out the second he sat down. I cleaned up after myself before asking, "Are you ok?" He nods and wraps his arm around my shoulder. I grabbed him a strawberry tart and pop it into his mouth.

-

Every chance we got to work on the cabinet, we took it. That stupid bloody thing takes forever to repair. We normally take turns trying to repair it as much as possible before switching.

I feel exhausted at my failed attempts and went off to find Draco in the damn room. This place is like a maze. I found him looking through a pile of jewelry, his eyes focused on a necklace. I slowly approach him before asking, "Whatcha got there?" He quickly turns around pushes the necklace away from him, "Just some hideous piece of jewelry." I walk closer to him, "I wanna see!" He holds me back, "No, you wouldn't like it. You need help with the cabinet?" He pulls me towards the Vanishing Cabinet and away from the necklace.

After our day with the cabinet, I got back to my dorm room and see that Rue has returned, but my letter was still attached to her leg, untouched. I'm confused, did Rue not find her? I walk over to her and give her a treat for her efforts. Perhaps Mother went into hiding again. That makes sense.

I change into my pajamas and slide into bed. You can tell that winter is coming because the air is crispier and the wind blows much colder these days. I snuggle into my sheets and doze off.

I see smoke. The sky is grey and everything looks... sad. Broken rubble everywhere, buildings destroyed. Students are crying, hurt, bleeding. Great Merlin, there's blood everywhere and bodies... dead, mutilated bodies. I hear a scream, multiple screams. Blood curdling screams, getting louder and louder...

I jerked up, breathing heavily. I could feel my heart racing a thousand times faster. I touch my forehead and feel sweat droplets forming. It's way too hot right now. I pull the sheets off of my and swing my legs around the edge of my bed for a second to breathe. The first inhale I make, I can feel something wanting to come out.

I rush to the bathroom and kneel over the toilet. I heaved and upchucked my dinner from earlier. This went on for a few minutes. I crawled over to the sink and leaned my back against the storage doors underneath. 'Alright, big dinner plus nightmares don't mix.' I need to watch what I'm eating for a while. I catch my breath and pull myself up to the sink. I rinse my mouth and brush my teeth after that horrible experience.

I take a look at myself in the mirror. Fuck, I look horrible. I looked down at my arm, where the Dark Mark is and sigh. This stupid thing is draining the life out of me... but I remind myself, it's for Draco. So, it's worth it.

-

The next morning, I decided to catch up on some reading. I haven't had the chance to divulge into my books that are just collecting dust on my desk. I got comfy on the couch in front of the fireplace and began to dive in.

An hour or two goes by when I hear Draco. "There you are, love." He jumps over the couch and sits next to me. The Goons weren't too far behind of him and sat on the couch opposite of us.
"I wanted to ask if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade this weekend." I smiled at the invitation, but realized we have other things to deal with, and a deadline to meet. I close my book and looked at Draco, "Do you really think that's the best use of our time?" I insinuate that we really should be working on the cabinet.

He smiles, "We deserve a break, and we haven't had a date in a while." He pushes a strand of hair away from my face and flashes me a smirk. Curse that stupid fucking smirk.

I sigh and respond, "Alright then, it's a date." He kisses my forehead before leaving the common room with the Goons.

-

Soon enough, it was the day of my date with Draco. I woke up way too excited for today, I even woke up before Tori. By the time I got out of the shower and was practically almost ready to go, Tori began to wake up. She rubs her eyes while leaning up from bed to ask, "Where are you going looking like that?"
I giggle. She's not wrong, I spent a little extra time getting ready today. Draco was right when he said we didn't have a date in a while, so I decided to dress up a bit for the occasion. "Draco and I have a date today," I explain while placing my ring on my finger. Tori chuckles before rolling back into bed, "Use protection, you two."

I rolled my eyes and looked at myself one last time in the mirror. I made sure everything looked perfect, before I rushed out the door.