a christmas break | draco malfoy - 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐃

20

18th December 1996

The morning wasn't a usual one for Astera. Her eyes opened quickly, easy to say they didn't even shut during the night. Her brows resembled a sad look on her face, as she got herself out of bed. The heaviness on her shoulders and weight in her heart made it difficult to walk and breathe. The common room was airy but not enough. She felt empty, numb even.

Her fingers curled around her wand, looking at it gently. She let a sigh come out of her, gathering her necessities and walking out of the common room. The sun had just come out, making it unbearably cold for her. Her coat did her no good as it was thin and worn out.

Quietly, she walked the castle, her eyes staring at the floor, feeling a void in them turn. She held the candles in her right hand and the parchment in the other. Her shoes made no sound due to the lack of energy she put into her steps. Walking out of the school and out in the open snow, Astera made her way into the woods, her eyes searching for the right tree. She let herself get cold by the wind, feeling the goosebumps on her neck when her hair flew by.

Feeling the snow beneath her shoes and hearing the birds wake usually put her in a good mood. But, this day of Christmas break was the one she dreaded most. Once her eyes fell on the right tree, her eyes noticed its carvings, her palm gently caressing them as she felt the punch in her heart and the sting in her eyes.

Kneeling down, she took off her coat, planting it beneath her knees. With a heavy breath, Astera flicked her wand, setting the candles lit. She placed them beneath the tree, balancing them in the snow. Unfolding the parchment, the moving photograph made her break down her guard, letting her tears fall one by one.

She put the photograph next to the candles, watching the smiles of the people grow and turn into laughter. Her wand let out a small wreath above the tree, a small flower hanging off it.

"Happy birthday, mum and dad."

She sat down on her coat, bringing her knees to her chest and resting her cheek on one of them. Her jeans got wet from her heavy tears, feeling the liquid seep through the material. She let out a sob, hearing it echo out through out the woods. Clasping her mouth, she suppressed another one.

"I've been doing my best, mama," she quietly said, "I'm slowly making a friend. He's stubborn, just like you, papa."

The picture moved in front of her, watching her mother sit next to her father on the grass as they were playing around. She wished she could braid her mother's hair again, to run into her father's arms and laugh as they used to.

Her eyes were stuck on the flame,her body starting to shake from the cold. Soon enough, her shoulders and brown hair had snowflakes on them, sparkling like little fairies trying to make her feel better. She had let her tears fall continuously, her heart aching.

The undying feeling in her body overtook her, paralyzing her every thought and movement. As a young girl, she still couldn't grasp that she would never see them, feel them or hear them. She cried just thinking about it, feeling a wave of void and  sorrow rush through her. Her brain could not wrap itself around the true facts, simply choosing to deny it.

It worked in mysterious ways; her brain. Her memories, her happiest ones, were fading, sorting themselves out of her. She had zero to no thoughts of her parents, forgetting what they even looked like. From the day they passed and back, her brain worked tirelessly to make sure those memories stay hidden, suppressed in the back of her head. It angered her, made her feel useless and lost. Why would it do such a horrible thing?

Crack.

Her body flinched, turning to look behind her. She got up quickly, taking her coat and waving her wand, disappearing the objects she had brought. Standing in the snow quietly, she wiped her tears away, deciding to leave.

But, at the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a figure behind a tree, seeing their shadow casted by the sun.

"I can see you, Malfoy," she said, her voice hoarse and raspy, "Come out from there."

She turned to walk away, hearing Draco sigh and start walking behind her. He remained quiet, which was sort of unlikely of him, walking by her side.

"What are you doing here?" her head hung low, letting the strands of her hair fall around her face and shield her of his curious gaze.

Draco's eyes were confused, wandering around her. He wished to uncover her secret, wondering why she had sat in the snow all alone.

"Uh, morning walk."

"You barely sleep, why would you go on morning walks?"

Draco grimaced, knowing she was right, "Right then, be like that."

She waited for him to walk off but when he didn't, she turned her head and stopped her tracks, "Isn't this when you walk off?"

His eyes finally saw hers, travelling down to her red cheeks, nose and lips, licking his own as he watched hers, "I don't feel like it."

Astera raised a brow, wanting to smile at his bratty-ness, but simply not having the energy to do so. She looked him up and down and gave a simple nod confusing his thoughts even more so. Draco wasn't as gifted as her; he couldn't read people's body language. His body felt the change and shift of her energy, fogging up his thoughts.

"What's it to you? You look like... me, sort of," he said, an unwilling disgusted look on his face.

"Nothing that concerns you," she walked away, hands in her pockets as she turned her back to him.

Draco wanted to keep her here for this moment, himself not knowing why but feeling so, "I saw you."

She stopped, her heart rate increasing. The particles in her body were alarming her, screaming at her as Draco came from behind her, his chest almost touching her tensed back. Her eyes burned, the redness in them surrounding her brown eyes in an alarming way.

She felt a tear roll down. As if called, Draco's hand shot up slowly, brushing against her shoulder slightly as his fingers intertwined themselves with her curls. He slowly pushed her hair behind her shoulders, feeling its silky touch. The goosebumps on her neck made her hairs rise up, perceiving his cold touch as it slightly caressed her skin.

"Forget what you saw, then," she managed to blurt out.

Draco's body lowered itself right above her shoulder, his lips aligned with her ear, "You first," he whispered.

A heavy and shaken breath left her mouth, a gust of air leaving her body in the form of a small cloud. She heard his foot shuffle, slowly feeling his chest press against her back. Her hand quickly wiped away a tear near her chin, smearing it over her jawline. Draco's hand caught her wrist whilst it was in the air, startling her.

"You first, Lilith."
————
happy new years to all :)