It started as a joke DracoxReader

That meeting

Being in love is scary. Sometimes you find yourself sitting and wondering if maybe you were really just dreaming, that all of this was some kind of fevered reality set on by a distant mind. You'd once wondered if love was honestly all it was cracked up to be, but as you watched him. His face snugged deep into his pillow, his hair tousled but still so perfect and his bare skin seemingly shining in the light that seeped into the window.

You knew, it was worth being scared shitless.

What was even more scary was not knowing if today would be your last. So until it was, you'd enjoy it. Being here with him.

It was a week later when you heard back from Gringotts.

Dear Ms. YLN,

It seems your family vault has been untouched. Your name is now the only one on the account with your fathers passing. You may come and withdraw as you see fit. Enclosed is an inventory list including funds

You gasped a little as you folded open the list. No, he hadn't left you with nothing. But of course, seeing as you were not permitted to leave the manor, you wouldn't be making any direct withdrawals. Finally, that man had done something useful.

Meetings at the Manor slowly became more and more hectic. The Dark Lord seemed to be pulling apart at the edges. Something was wrong, he was chasing Harry Potter, who was under the protection of The Order of the Phoenix along with those friends of his.

This all made being at the manor more frightening, Death Eaters were being hexed for simply speaking too loudly or looking at The Dark Lord in the wrong way. Footsteps needed to be light, and unheard.

Few it seemed were safe, maybe Snape. Who came and went as he pleased, Bellatrix who was the right hand aside from the snake that is, and Narcissa.

One meeting you will never forget no matter how you tried was the death of a professor, someone who had once taught you muggle studies.

Charity Burbage.

Muggle studies had never been your favorite class, in the least. But she was kind, friendly to all houses. Which was much more than you could say for other professors.

The Dark Lord had taken Lucius' wand, walking behind the 4 of you asking who would volunteer.

"To her the mixture of magical and Muggle blood is not an abomination..." The Dark Lord spoke as he waved Professor Burbage over the long, black and packed dining room table. "But something to be encouraged"

You held your hands in fists under the table, your eyes set on the wall just behind Charity. Unfocusing as much as you could manage without seeming like you were worlds away.

She had always been a nice woman, even if her beliefs were unlike the ones you knew. Far too sweet to die here like this.

Your focus was caught when she spoke Snape's name, his first name. She pleaded with him.

"We're friends" she let out in a gentle whine. Making the hairs on your neck stand, your knuckles whitening in your grasp. It took everything in you not to look at Draco, whose hands sat like his fathers on the table. Unclenched but set. Holding his wand tight.

Snape didn't speak to Charity, instead he was silent, straight faces. Stoic.

"Avada Kedavra" The Dark Lord struck down Professor Burbage with complete ease. Life meant nothing to him now, you wondered if it ever had.

You let yourself glance at Draco, whose eyes rang with fear. No not fear, absolutely terror.

Had the table not been packed with watching eyes, you may have let yourself rest your hand on his. Remind him you were there, but not now. Not here.

She lay right before you, her now still face set directly in front of you. Fallen from where she had been hovering in the air above the table.

Something in you, the goodness maybe, wanted to reach for her, wipe the tear that rolled down into her hair. To comfort her. But you didn't.

There was no comforting the dead.

"Nagini" The Dark Lord spoke again, your eyes left the corpse before you and shot forward. The snake, that wicked evil thing, crept over the ledge of the table. "Dinner" he spoke.

You had to grab the edge of the chair, you had seen the thing eat before. But from a distance, now her meal lay right before you.

You had a front row seat.

It took everything in your not to vomit, you watched the jaw unhinge, the body shift, the figure slowly disappear. A nightmare unlike any you'd seen unfolding right before your eyes.

Being strong was really hard, when you watched someone getting eaten.

You luckily weren't sent on the mission to fetch Harry. The Dark Lord didn't trust you, while this at times was frightening. It also meant not being involved.

Maybe it really was Narcissa who saved you, volunteering herself or Lucius for tasks the dark lord had in mind.

He was to be moved from his home on Privet Drive to a safe house. You and Draco had whispered to one another once before you knew where he'd go, because it seems all too obvious.

"We won't say because we can't be sure" Draco nodded while you spoke.

"Right, and if we tell him and he's not there. We're dead... best to keep it to ourselves" you agreed.

"Happy Birthday" you whispered to Draco as at first days break June 5th. "I am sorry I couldn't get you anything"

He just smiled at you "I wager we can figure it out" he rose his eyebrows. You smirked, returning his face's movement.

"I wager we can... tonight"

Tonight would come, and every other night after. Some of which you'd sleep and others... not at all.

Some nights you'd just talk, making wishful promises. But most were filled with lustful wanting, somehow still hungry for one another. Your thirsts for each other, unquenchable.

Your favorite mornings were the ones where your legs ache so badly you just laid in bed, and he'd bring you tea or even breakfast. Smiling a little when he'd return and you'd be back to sleep. your hair feathering over his dark sheets.

"Breakfast you lazy thing" he'd tease.

"Five more minutes" you'd burrow your head into the blanket.

"I love you" He'd whisper once he thought you had drifted back to sleep. But you weren't, so you'd just bathe in the moment. His words, the softness of him crawling back into bed beside you, the sound of him sipping his coffee and reading. These times when you could pretend it was all okay....