Draco couldn't focus at dinner. His eyes kept wandering to long, brown hair and soft, chocolate eyes. His mind kept wandering to the events from that morning. Had he done the right thing? Should he have let Ellie talk to McGonagall? His logical mind said that it wouldn't have made any difference at all… but his irrational heart wished Ellie still had the memory of that morning.
He came back to the present when he realized the chocolate eyes were staring back at him now. They were hostile, challenging. He realized he was frowning, and switched to his typical sneer. Ellie rolled her eyes and looked away. A heartstring snapped at this, and Draco had to remind himself that this is what he wanted. He wanted the girl to dislike him. He didn't want to have any kind of friendship with muggles. Really, I don't.
As Draco brought his plate to the sink and began to leave the kitchen, Austin stopped him, smirking.
"It's your turn to do the dishes, Drake. Have fun." He grinned even wider and left Draco staring at a pile of dishes in the sink, plates of food on the counter, and a scrub brush thrust in his hand.
Draco Malfoy, doing dishes. Potter and his band of merry misfits would simply love to see this. Draco picked up a tall thin cup, and began to wash it meticulously. If he was going to do the dishes, he would do a better job than any of the muggles.
Ellie entered the kitchen two hours later to find Drake still scouring pots and pans. She felt a pang of guilt. She had intentionally used as many dishes as possible that night, knowing that it was Drake's turn to clean up. Sighing a bit, she grabbed the extra sponge and stood beside him at the sink. She silently picked up a plate and washed it off, ignoring the stunned look on the taller boy's face. After a moment's silence, Drake resumed washing his own dish.
Ten minutes passed, and the kitchen was completely cleaned. Ellie, now used to the fact that Drake was a stubborn chap and wouldn't ever thank her, turned to leave the room. A hand softly brushed her arm, making her face Drake once more.
"Why?" His face was puzzled, and slightly cynical.
"Why what?"
"Why did you help me?"
"That's what normal people do. They help each other." She raised an eyebrow and smiled. His mouth twitched, as though he wanted to smile too. Then he left the room without another word. She watched his retreating figure, and suddenly felt something nagging at the back of her mind. It was the same feeling she got when she woke up from a dream and couldn't remember exactly what the dream was, only what it felt like. This feeling sent shivers up and down her spine, and she desperately wanted to know why. She withdrew into her own little world, searching her memory to find the elusive feeling. She racked her brain, going over everything that had happened that day, but something wasn't right. She couldn't put her finger on it. She gave up and shook her head, walking slowly to her room. She tried to distract herself by thinking about her parents in North Carolina, her cousin's upcoming wedding, and anything other than the boy in the bedroom at the opposite end of the hall, but each time he entered her thoughts, the feeling came back. Sighing, she climbed into bed and hoped for a good night's sleep.
"How do you manage to look so… awake? It's barely dawn!" Ellie yawned before returning to her cooking. Draco didn't bother answering her question. He knew it was more to be polite than any other reason.
He found himself almost unconsciously watching her, studying her. She had on her typical jeans, but this time they were hole-free and a very light wash rather than her usual dark. Her navy blue top was a deep v-neck, and she had a white tank-top on underneath. Her hair was messy, like she had barely brushed it that morning. Ellie must have felt him staring at her, because she turned around and glared at him with sleep-heavy eyes.
"What?"
Draco just shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. His first impulse was to say something sarcastic and unpleasant, but he was enjoying the less-venomous Ellie this morning. Draco was always the first in the kitchen, except for Ellie herself, and on most occasions they both ignored each other. Today, she seemed to be making an effort to be polite. As much as he hated to admit it, he actually liked this side of her personality. He found her company very pleasing, and didn't feel like giving it up. So he remained silent.
After breakfast, Jon approached him with a questioning look in his eyes.
"Drake, have you ever ridden a horse before?"
"No, sir."
"Well then," the older man answered with a smile. "Today's your lucky day."
Five minutes later, Draco stood in the doorway of an old, red barn, surrounded by horses, hay, and an abundance of felines. His nose crinkled at the unpleasant odors, but he followed Jon to a stall at the far end anyway. In a large stall stood a plain, brown mare with large, dark eyes that stared at him calmly.
"This is Strawberry. She's steady, dependable, and wont pull any tricks on you while you learn to ride."
"Learn to ride?" Draco's eyes widened a bit at this. He wasn't too keen on giving the triplets more fuel for their verbal abuse.
"The tack room's over here. Come get a brush and start grooming her."
Grooming? Honestly, this is absurdly stupid. I cant believe I'm actually doing this.
But he did it, and when Jon came back over from where he was grooming his own mount, he looked pleased. He went back to the tack room and brought out a large, black saddle. Handing it to Draco, Jon placed a large blanket on the animal's back first, before taking back the saddle and showing Draco how to put it on. Draco watched carefully as the man tightened the cinch, then put on the bridle. Handing the long reins to Draco, he told him to lead the horse out of the barn and wait for him there. The mare's shoulder was about as high as Draco's, which was saying something since Draco himself was over six feet tall. Draco stroked the horse's neck gently after making sure no one was around to witness his uncharacteristic kindness toward an animal. Jon came out a few minutes later, leading his own fully-tacked gelding. He carefully explained the basics of mounting and riding, before getting on his dapple-grey horse and telling Draco to mount his bay. Draco stuck one boot through the stirrup on his side, grabbed the saddle horn, and heaved himself up. Swinging his other leg over and sliding it into the empty stirrup, he grabbed the reins and was surprised when Jon told him to leave them more relaxed. Wondering whether this was just a trick to humiliate him, Draco hesitantly loosened the reins and sat up straighter. Jon looked him over approvingly, then urged his horse forward and told Draco to do the same. Draco lightly touched the animal's sides with his heels, but the mare didn't move. Draco kicked it with one leg, and it still didn't budge. Finally, he jammed both heels at the same time, and the stubborn thing began to walk after Jon. Draco heaved a sigh and muttered about stupid, worthless animals.
That night, Draco sat on the couch, head in his hands. Once more, every inch of his body was sore, this time from spending eleven hours straight in a saddle. By the end of the day, Jon had told him he did better than any other novice he'd ever seen. Draco had even tried to make the old mare canter, but it had refused and stuck to a jolting, fast trot. That had quickly become uncomfortable, so Draco was content with a walk. Now he was just waiting on a shower to be open, but the hallway floor was too hard to sit on. He was deep in thought once more about a certain brunette. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop thinking about her. He wasn't sure why she was so fascinating to him. She wasn't extraordinarily beautiful. She wasn't a powerful witch. She wasn't ridiculously wealthy. But somehow, Ellie managed to capture Draco's thoughts and hold them tight.
"The shower's open on my end, if you need it." The soft voice flooded his head, and Draco looked up to find the brown-eyed girl staring down at him.
How is it possible that two naïve, wide eyes can be paired with such an alluring mouth? Draco wondered before he could stop himself. Mentally cursing his stupid train of thought, he nodded to the girl and stalked down the hall to the bathroom.
Maybe an ice-cold shower will bring me back to reality. You know, that place where I'm a pureblood wizard and she's a muggle girl?
Wednesday arrived and went very much like Tuesday, spent mostly in the saddle. An even sorer Draco lay on the couch, cushion held over his head to block out all light and noise possible until he could snag a shower and head to bed. Of course an annoying ringing sound had to filter through the thick pillow and interrupt his musings.
"Hello? Oh. Hi, Kyle. Um… how are you?" Ellie's voice came from the kitchen, where Draco knew the telephone resided, seldom used. Her tone was strained, and he removed the cushion to listen.
"Well, the last time we talked was when we broke up, remember? Oh… really? Yeah, you were… I don't know, Kyle… I've got a lot on my mind recently and… okay… Alright… Okay. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye, Kyle." He heard her hang the phone up in its place on the wall and sigh. Then she came into the living room and gasped when she noticed him.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't know… I thought you were already asleep. You looked pretty tired earlier."
"Yeah. I'm waiting on those cows you call cousins to stop hogging the shower and let me have a turn." To his surprise, she actually laughed at the insult to her family.
"You know, they only take that long because they know it bothers you. If you act like you don't care, they'll take their showers in less than ten minutes."
"Is that a fact? I'll have to work on my 'I don't give a rip' face, then." He paused for a moment, then continued. "Who was that on the phone?"
"You heard all that?" She looked slightly uncomfortable."Well, the kitchen is right across the hall, you know. You weren't exactly whispering."
"Oh… yeah. That was Kyle Standler, my ex-boyfriend… apparently he's reconsidering his dumping me. He wants to meet for lunch tomorrow."
"Someone is actually going spend time with you for seemingly no reason? What did the poor man do to deserve that?"
"I'm not a disagreeable, stubborn girl all the time… just when I'm around you." She was actually smiling as she said this. Draco sat up, folded his arms, and stared at her. He liked the way she was able to hold his gaze longer than anyone else he knew.
"Why is that, do you think?"
"Maybe because you're a stuck-up, self-centered idiot?"
"I take offense to that statement."
"But you don't deny it?"
Draco was surprised to realize that their conversation was sociable, almost friendly, despite their words.
"I deny the idiot part."
Ellie laughed and stood.
"As much as I'd love to debate that point with you, I have an early morning tomorrow, as do you. I'll go bang on one of the bathrooms until whoever's in there gets the hint. 'Night, Drake."
Draco didn't reply. He didn't want to get too friendly with her… but idle banter was fine.
The next evening, Draco once more sat in the living room chatting with Ellie. She was recapping her date with Kyle to him. Draco hadn't asked her to do so, she'd just starting talking and he'd been more than willing to listen.
"We broke up last time because he was being a total jerk to me about stupid things. My dad and mom both figured I was better off without him."
"When was this?"
"Almost a year ago."
Draco thought for a minute, then asked Ellie a question that had been bugging him since he arrived.
"How old are you?"
The muggle girl laughed. She was almost always laughing.
"I'm nineteen."
Draco sat up straighter and frowned.
"You're joking."
"It's true. I know I look a lot younger—"
"I thought you were sixteen!"
"Yeah… I get that a lot."
"Well then… that certainly changed my perspective a bit. Why are your parents still concerned with who you date?"
"Well," She looked down and studied her hands in her lap. "That's how it's always been. They've always been a huge part of my life. They respect my opinion, and I respect theirs. My dad has helped me get over old boyfriends in the past. My mom helps me with deciding whether to actually enter a relationship in the first place… now that they're not here, it's weird trying to make that decision by myself."
"Why aren't they here?"
"We actually live on the ranch next to this one. Uncle Jon is my dad's older brother. My aunt Rachel's mom lives in North Carolina. She had surgery a few months ago. Aunt Rachel's been living up there to help her recover, and when my dad needed to go there for business, my mom and him decided to make a vacation out of it. They lived three days before you got here, actually. They plan on coming back in a couple of weeks, about mid-September."
"I see… do you miss them?"
"Yeah. A lot more than most girls my age would miss their parents." Ellie's eyes flashed up to meet his and she quietly asked, "What about you?"
Draco was speechless for a minute. He was pretty sure the naïve muggle girl wouldn't understand his view of the situation. Actually, I miss my mother, but I'm terribly happy to be rid of my father, and I dread the day that they escape from Azkaban. See, my father will very likely Crucio me before killing me after I went completely against his wishes by allowing Potter to rescue me, then leaving the battle. So…
"No, not really."
Ellie didn't gasp, as Draco had assumed she would, merely studied his face for a moment. Her gaze was neither accusing, nor scandalized. It was just curious. He had a feeling she would have asked him why, had her cousin not entered the living room at that moment to let them know the shower was free. She glanced once more at Draco before silently leaving him to shower.
How had she managed to turn the conversation from talking about her past to talking about his? What scared Draco more than anything was that he actually wanted to talk about his past. He had never done so with anyone other than Blaise Zabini, his only true friend from Hogwarts. They had both been in similar positions, trapped in a life plotted out for them by Death Eater parents. While neither boy was jumping at the opportunity to become a Death Eater himself, Draco hadn't turned it down either. After all, it was a choice between following Voldemort and being eliminated by him.
But he hadn't been able to complete the one task he'd been entrusted with. He knew that everyone expected him to fail, but he had blown their expectations out the window by getting as close as he had. Still, he'd ultimately failed.
I cant be a Death Eater, because I don't have the strength to take a life. I cant be one of the heroes either, because my entire life has been spent tormenting said heroes. Why cant I succeed at something— why am I even thinking about this? I came here to avoid all of this turmoil my world is in, and instead a muggle girl forces me to rethink my life? What is happening to me?
A/N I actually planned on this being a longer chapter, but I changed my mind… I'm going to be busy for the rest of the week, so I wont be able to write or upload anything for a while… so I'm uploading this chapter now, so my readers don't forget about me. : )
Speaking of which, thank you to everyone who read and favorited my story! You cant imagine how much that means to me. I also appreciate the review from nudgepleaseshutup. I'm so glad someone other than my best friend thinks my writing is worth reading : )
Okay, I'll stop gushing now : P
