NUMB WITHOUT YOU | Draco Malfoy

| 06

Waking up in a bed that isn't your own after a night of drinking is disconcerting no matter the circumstances. In the brief moments between deep sleep and fully waking up you have to process all of the events that led you here and it is completely disorientating piecing it all back together. I pushed my hair out of my face and took in my surroundings as morning light filled the room as my eyes tried to adjust. The other side of the bed was cold and empty, but there was a hot cup of tea on the bedside table waiting for me that let me know I hadn't been left alone for very long. 

I stood up and the blood rushed to my head making me sit back down almost immediately. I pressed my cool hand to my head to try and alleviate the throbbing that had started in my temples and was radiating outwards. I reached for the tea and took a sip, suddenly realizing just how dry my mouth was. As soon as the tea touched my lips my hangover disappeared. Leave it to Malfoy to make me the perfect hangover remedy. He was always a master of potions. It's the very reason I sat next to him during our OWL examinations back in year five. He always let me peak over his shoulder to see what the answers were.

Now that I was feeling better, I walked into the bathroom and took a quick shower. I couldn't find my clothes from yesterday anywhere, but I did find some women's clothes in one of the dresser drawers, and when I put them on I realized that they fit me perfectly. Once I was fully dressed, I could hear people talking downstairs and decided to investigate for myself. The voices got louder and more clear the closer I got to the kitchen. I hesitated in the doorway as I listened in on the conversation the mother and son were having.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy I don't care how old you are now, you do not sneak women into this house." I heard the familiar dulcet tones of Narcissa Malfoy fill the air. Her sweet voice could always be deceiving. She could be just as shrill as her sister if she really wanted to be, and you did not want to have to learn that the hard way.

"I didn't sneak her in. She came of her own volition, Mother." Draco retorted defensively.

"Someone had to let the protective charms on the house down for her to get inside. It wasn't me, and it wasn't your father. There's no one else it could have been." She argued with her son. "Who is this girl, anyway? Why are you hiding her? She's not a mudblood is she?" The disgust was evident in her voice. It appeared that Narcissa's prejudices had not gone away with time. She still had the same disdain for anyone that wasn't pureblooded.

"No, she's not." Draco sighed in frustration at his mum and the two let silence resume. I took the sudden lull in conversation as my invitation to step into the room from where I had been lingering right out of view.

"Hi Mrs Malfoy." I said awkwardly as I shuffled forward. The two of them looked at me with matching expressions of surprise. I don't think Draco expected me up so early after last night. "Sorry for the intrusion." I bowed my head out of politeness as was customary for many pure blooded families to do when greeting one another. She seemed satisfied by my gesture and relaxed.

"Draco." She scowled bringing her attention back to her son, "Why didn't you just say it was just Aurora? She's your sponsor! That reminds me, we need to add her to the list of people allowed to apparate directly into the house. That way we won't be having any more of this sneaking around." She looked pointedly between the two of us in a way that was very judgmental. That wasn't the first time this week someone had referred to me as just Aurora. I was beginning to feel even lower about myself, and I didn't think that was at all possible.

"Yeah... uhhh... I was just doing a late night check-in. It's a new thing they're trying within the program where we do overnight visits. I'm terribly sorry for the imposition I've caused." I lied through my teeth with ease. Draco was trying not to laugh as his mum bought every word of it.