Chapter 7- Promise; Good Morn
The black abyss had plagued over; everything. Everywhere. Everyone.
Every inch of reality was smothered by a thick sheet of total nullity. It felt like a boulder had crashed down and drained any tenacity of the past, future and present.
Time didn't exist.
Black moulding clotted blood seeped through the congealed eyelashes and onto the weeping greying eye that laid frozen underneath the arctic frozen expanse of ash white skin.
The pain had fallen between the cracks under the mind-blowing numbness that succumbed his entire body. He whimpered dearly between the heavy breaths he took in-between his dried lips, but found this task very difficult to do.
He coughed quietly, the syrupy phlegm gluing his raw throat together, but he found no relief; no way to breath better.
He felt a warm sensation travel around his upper arm, twisting and tightening his wounded skin after every second.
He tried to wake himself up; but the furthest he got was wiggling a big toe and moving his chin a little. He sighed nimbly, cracking the barriers of sticky mucus lodged in his throat, and moved his head a fraction to the right.
The hard raise and fall of his lungs struggled for room underneath the heavy ribs of his chest ,weakly holding its structure together.
A long hair tickled his nose and felt a comfortable rush of warmth cover his face, defrosting his facial muscles so he could wiggle and waken the stiffened muscles.
He heard the gentle pitter-patter of water to the right of him, moving his eyebrows slowly and swallowing once as he felt warm water leak from a soft substance, gently circling and wiping away the thick blood and sleep that clogged his eyes and eyelashes together.
Draco didn't even wonder who was doing this; he only sat still and let the person gently massage and care for him.
After a moment of massaging and cleansing, he was able to tenderly open both eyes half-lidded, the unfamiliar light stinging his eyes and tear ducts.
A thin tear ran down his face, and fell straight onto his cracked upper lip. He mildly opened his mouth to say something, but no words could come out. The person, through reddened swollen eyes, slowly brushed away the tear with a finger and wiped away a bubble of salvia that rested on his bottom lip.
His grey eyes were heavily dilated, and stared onto the soft face of the kind carer, his eyes lingering over hers, trying desperately to recognise her.
She placed the bowl of blood laced water and piece of worn silk on the floor beside her, and looked back into his weary face. His eyes darted all around hers, looking terribly and miserably disconcerted; full of confusion of who she was.
She looked deeply into his face, absorbing every emotions through her burning brown eyes, and brushed back his fringe behind his ear. She looked into his pools of grey ice, realised she was a stranger to his eyes.
His lip began to quiver with blood pumping anxiety and eyes began to fill with water; she couldn't seem him like this; she couldn't hold it back any longer.
She tried desperately to be strong for him; not letting him see her weakness and sorrow for him, but it was too much.
She cried silently into his shoulder, placing a hand on his waist loosely so it wouldn't hurt his fragile body.
He brought his arm up to hers, and under shaking fingers searched around for her hand. She brought her hand lower, just on his stomach, and he gripped tightly onto her hand, like a lost boy latching onto a trunk of a tree for search of safety.
The violent images of Draco going over the balcony was too much for her to cope with, too much for anyone to cope with or anyone to ever witness. He seemed thoroughly brain damaged, with no recollection of anything; where he was, who he was with and who he was.
Her tears soddened his chest, and his dampened the top of her scalp. She felt shakes underneath her head, transmitted by Draco's silent but violent sobs through his chest.
She brought her head up to his forehead, and gently pressed a lingering kiss to it, for a attempted to calm him down. It seemed to work, as he fluttered his eyes shut and steadied his breath, slowing down his heavy sobbing. He ran his hand through her hair and gripped it tightly as a response, as if he was saying he trusted her. He sniffled and swallowed before a slow yawn escaped his tear-soaked lips.
He let go of her hair and stroked her arm softly, allowing himself to loose his fear through his fingertips slowly brushing her skin. She gently repositioned herself so she was by his side on the floor, resting her head on her outstretched arm. Her free hand wondered above his head, gently stroking moon blessed blonde hair out of his face and brushed it over the back of his head.
She watched as his erratic sobs slowly quietened and placed a soft kiss on the tip of his jaw behind his ear. His eyelids drooped, before closing completely and slowly began to fall asleep to the rhythmic strokes of her hand through the locks his hair.
Two Hours Later
A cold breeze brushed against Draco's frozen blueing skin, causing him to shiver deep through his bones. He stirred and stretched out his arm and placed it on the cool ground behind his head. He gazed at his surroundings, which bared little objects.
The room was fairly small, with bare dark wooden walls and matching floor with jaggered nails sticking out. It had no furniture, apart from an old green and brown armchair which had the stuffing ripped out of it and the seat cracked in two. Dust clogged the air and fell from the old fashioned curtains that framed the three long windows overlooking a clear field with two forests at either side.
He felt so weak that blinking was like he was lifting weights on his eyes. He arched his back slowly to get out the kinks in his back from sleeping on the hard splintered wood beneath him. He grabbed hold of his hair and looked around , desperately trying to gather any information of what he was doing in this room.
"Good Morning" whispered the Gryffindor, emerging into the room. She looked at his weak body, which glistened underneath the white glow of the moon on him. Draco didn't respond, and looked blankly at her face and out of the window.
"I know, it's only early, about 2, 3 o'clock I reckon" She sniffled and brushed her hair so it fell on her chest. She had gained her composure and had to sink deep down into the bottom of her soul to find the last piece of emotional strength she had in her, for Draco's sake.
She walked towards him and sat by his side, the same side she laid when she watched him sleeping. She opened the bandage of red silk that was tight around his upper arm, and began to clean the wound. He sucked the air between his teeth, and she looked at him and smiled, which made him trust her again. She massaged and dabbed at the open flesh, removing any signs of dirt from the infectious area. Draco heard a large rip as she tore at her dress, ripping a long piece of silk and bandaged his arm with it. She redressed the other bandages, from his right thigh, his left ankle, and his left wrist.
She brushed her hand through his hair once more and accidentally grazed over a bleeding bump on his head, making Draco wince. She pulled another piece from the hem of dress and wrapped it around her finger and dipped it in the water and cleaned the wound.
She checked him a couple of times, to see if he was okay. His lips were parted on his strong profound jaw, and she could hear the soft wheezing of his breaths through his clogged throat. He was like a baby, completely helpless and befuddled by the world around him. She noticed a little dab of blood seeping and soaking his school shirt, so she breathed in deeply and began unbuttoning her shirt. She knew it was completely in appropriate, but she couldn't help but admire the slim muscular torso exposed to her. His skin was silky and bruised, and his toned abdominal muscles moved under his milky white skin so perfectly the bruises almost where non existent .
Paying attention to his soft wheezes ,she went back out of the room and into the kitchen to bring him a glass of water.
She came back and slid a hand at the back of his head to prop it up as she brought the glass to his lips. He took a couple of gurgled sips before a trail of water fell out of the corner of his mouth and chased down his beauteous skin.
She watched as it travelled down his torso as his back arched and he groaned in the cold shock, as the trickling water fell in-between the lines of his abs and down the grooved contour of his pointed hip bone. Without any silk this time, she lightly pressed her nimble fingers on his hip bone, and smudged the trickle of water up his torso, up his hard chest, over his neck and chin and wiped at the corner of his mouth, slowly flicking his bottom lip.
He took a finger and caressed the skin from her neck to the tip of her chin. He scrunched his eyebrows and looked deep in her chocolate brown glare, but was still mentally blocked by a numb brick wall.
"mmph…where…whe…" his first words spilled from his tired jaw.
"I don't know" she took his hand from her face and placed in on his chest, "somewhere safe"
He moved his jaw a couple of times.
" Shhh" she brought his shirt together and smoothed the creases, " everything will be okay, I promise"
A couple of minutes later, a ample dinging noise sounded garishly from another room, sounding like a clogged grandfather clock.
Suddenly, in a flurry of green smoke, a letter popped out of the blackened fireplace at the back of the room. She picked up the letter and read it to herself:
To the perturbed students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,
Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you from all the staff at Hogwarts for showing such valiant behaviour and patience at this difficult period in time.
As you are fully aware, the School was attacked prior the early hours of Monday morning by Death Eaters searching the school for reasons unknown.
Under the Wizarding Protection Act 1881, we have full rights to apparate students within the proximity of 5 metres of each other In homes randomly across the United Kingdom, purely for your protection.
Wizards and Witches under 17 have full rights to use Magic, using the 'Pario' charm for any items that are necessary for yourself and the student(s) you are with. You are not permitted to leave the house, as the house is charmed for your protection so no one can enter or leave the house, including owls.
Unfortunately, due to the circumstances, we can not administer a date for your return, as the school is being thoroughly checked by Aurors from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, as a student has gone, regrettably to say, missing.
Another letter will be released in a couple of hours updating you with recent news on your return and the conditions at Hogwarts.
We unconditionally apologise for any inconvenience this has caused you, and please use the spell above for dark chocolate, as this will help with the motion sickness and dizziness from Apparation.
Hoping you are well,
Professor McGonagall and the staff
P.S Also for your protection, this letter will combust in 30 seconds.
She threw the letter high in the air and watched as it burst into flames and the ashes fall to the ground.
She looked back at Draco, who was stroking his stomach, and kneeled beside him.
"We're going to be alright, this house is very, very safe" she tried to reassure him, but he didn't respond.
"Hungry?" she asked, tossing her hair over her ear so it didn't fall into Draco's face.
He looked at her for a minute, glancing at her lips, and lightly nodded.
"Anything you fancy?" she asked, but again, he nodded.
Luckily, she knew what he liked to eat from watching him at dinner time at Hogwarts.
"Pario Swedish Herring and cardamom potatoes, extra butter and knife and fork"
The plate landed on her lap, the heady aromas of dill and melted butter filled her nostrils. She took a small piece of the fish on the fork and rested it on Draco's bottom lip, signalling him to open. While he ate, he never took his eyes of hers. Normally, she would of found his glare seductive, but she knew he was looking at her in a different way; a way in which he tried to piece together the puzzles in his head from the instructions in her eyes. This didn't bother her, and she continued to feed him and stop in-between to give him water. He shivered, and the Griffindor placed her knuckles on his cheek; he was freezing.
"Pario blankets and pillows"
She placed the pillows around his body and threw a long cream blanket over him. " Better?" she asked, hoping for a verbal response. She didn't get one.
A heavy silence fell, and she had a million and one things to say to him, but knew she wouldn't get a response.
But if one thing was for sure, she didn't care about anything that happen before, everything she was going to say to him, as it didn't matter; the fact that he was still alive was a miracle and she saw this as a new beginning.
" How are you feeling?" she said, rubbing his shoulder. He did nothing but moved his mouth open and close it again.
"It's okay, you'll be okay, we'll be okay" she said, looking back into his blank eyes and smiling to reassure her words were positive.
"Pario Lit Candles" She whispered, and the floor scattered with candles; vanilla scented.
Her lip started to shake and eyes glaze with tears again, under the sight of this lost, fragile soul next her. She took a deep breath, determined not to cry, as she was certain this would put stress on his already weak state of mind.
" Don't feel scared, Draco, I'm right by you, I will never leave your sight, and if I leave this room, I will only be in the kitchen or bathroom. B- but count to thirty, and I'll be right next to you before you can say the last number"
He looked around the room and gulped, sighing deeply, making her face tingle.
"Pario Hukana Herbal Tea" and she brought the green mug to his lips " Please, drink" she whispered, encouraging him to open his mouth by opening hers.
He took a sip, only to pull a face, making her smile and silently chuckle.
"Not very nice I know, but it has Ginkgo biloba, ginseng and gota kola in it, very good for your memory, must make you a strong boy, yes?" she said, her maternal instincts kicking in, " I'll put some sugar in it for you"
Strangely, Katrina was very calm in this very unusual situation; she had to be; for him. It was like looking after a baby, and he even looked like one, with his messy hair and plump baby pink lips pouting at her. She didn't care what she looked like, or if she was bleeding herself; she just cared for Draco. His life was in her hands. He was her's to look after, and he didn't mind letting her looked after him at all. Definitely not the qualities of a Slytherin.
A moment of silence past, while Draco glared at the soft flickers of candles around him in the dark room.
"What's your name?" she asked, laying down next to him with her torn dress rising up against her slender thighs. She tried to put on the happiest front she could think of, so she smiled.
"mphh…" he mumbled through his shut jaw.
"When's your birthday?"
"oo….mphh…one…eight…"
"what school do you go to?"
" …five"
She chuckled, half playfully and half sobbing, as a cover to keep back her tears, " yeah, five."
"Maybe it's time to go to sleep, little babe" she whispered in his ear, pulling the blanket over his shoulders.
He gazed out of the window for a while, as the pink and orange glow covered his face, forcing a slow smile to curve his lips. She looked curiously over her shoulder.
"Sun? You want to watch the sunrise?" Being used to receiving the silent treatment, she searched his face for any twitches that would give her a unperceived answer; he smiled.
She propped up the boy so he was looking out of the window, fussing over angle of the pillows and the blanket over his warming body.
They both stared out of the dew-kissed windows, admiring the colours that filled the cold damp air. Suddenly, the first proper movement he made in a while, he took the blanket from his left shoulder and placed it over hers, and she scooted over and pressed herself in Draco's warm pale skin.
"Pario hot chocolate, with marshmallows, whipped cream and Cinnamon" She said, and she fed herself and Draco the warm hot chocolate through the gentle flicks of the candle, while watching the pink and Satsuma dusted sun creep over the distant fields to wish the couple Good Morn.
