Don't hate me, I had exams. Final year of school, passing with good grades is hard these days. Sorry it's so late anyway, it's terrible of me but it's here now. Please enjoy :)
The Other Malfoy
Chapter Twenty Nine
It was later that night when George returned, his hair slightly messier than when he had gone out. Draco wasn't awake by the time George had come home, and he assumed he had either gone home or was sleeping somewhere. George couldn't be bothered going to search for him. He threw his coat over the couch and sat down, hands behind his head. He was ever so slightly confused.
He'd asked Adriana to go for drinks in Diagon Alley after dinner, but she said she had to get home – and she had instead asked George back to her apartment. For some godforsaken reason, he agreed, but he still wanted to know why she wouldn't be seen in public with him. Perhaps she was scared of what other people would think, at least in the wizarding community.
That was probably why she chose a muggle restaurant, he thought with a sigh. She had, however, invited him to go to her birthday party the next week. So something good had come of it.
He was busy sorting through his thoughts when the kitchen light turned on. He sat up and turned, and saw Aurelia standing by the door. "Hey," he said, getting up, "Sorry, did I wake you up?"
She shook her head, her soft hair falling from where it was tucked behind her ear. She was wearing a long sleeved shirt and striped pyjama pants with thick socks for her cold feet.
"Can't you sleep?" George asked, frowning.
To this, Aurelia did not nod or shake her head, but she did grimace, and hold out her hand. George could see in the dim light there was a dark liquid on her skin. She was bleeding.
"Oh, Aurelia. What happened?" George asked, taking her hand in his and leading her into the kitchen.
Aurelia shrugged, watching while George took a box of bandages and medicines out of the top cupboard. He took out some ointment and after sorting through some dirty looking bandages, picked a relatively new one. He held her small wrist gently as he grasped a cloth and cleaned up the blood, before he placed a few drops of the healing potion onto the cut.
Aurelia took a small hissing breath as it stung her and George said, "Sorry, I should have warned you."
She shook her head and gave him a small smile, watching George carefully continue, his hands tentative as he wrapped the bandage around her hand, watching the blood soak into it.
"It doesn't hurt too much?" he asked as he pinned the bandage.
Aurelia shook her head again, and as George gently held her hand she didn't move, and for a second it was all quite calm and everything seemed okay – but then she pulled her hand away, cradling it to her chest, and George suddenly felt a little more aware of the situation.
Aurelia wasn't used to contact. He had to be careful.
"So," George said with a smile, putting his things away. "Did you have a good night?"
Aurelia nodded, before she frowned, looking around. She wanted something to write on. George pulled out his wand to accio her notebook, but as he pulled out his wand, Aurelia turned back around and saw the wand. Her eyes went wide and she flinched, moving backwards so fast she nearly fell over.
George jumped, the look of fear on her face making him feel scared. "Whoa, Aurelia, it's okay, look!" He placed his wand on the bench, and held his hands out to her. He could see her shaking.
"Aurelia," he said gently, "I'm not going to hurt you. I was just trying to get your notebook – I'm being lazy, that's all." He smiled, trying to reassure her.
Aurelia swallowed, her big pale eyes watching him. George could have sworn he could see his own reflection in those eyes. Her hand was at her mouth, covering her trembling lips, hair falling across her face.
"Aurelia, please, trust me," said George. "I know you're scared, and you've been hurt but I'm not the one you're scared of. Please."
He held out his hand to her and watched her eyes flick back and forth from his hand to his face, and then her hesitant hand moved towards his, and when she finally placed her hand in his and George felt the warmth of her skin, he felt relief.
"Are you alright?" he asked gently, voice low and quiet so as not to scare her.
She nodded, taking a deep breath, before she stared at him one last time, and walked away.
George let out a breath he had been holding and relaxed against the counter. He had to be more careful.
The morning came quickly for George, as he had slept deeply. He remembered having a dream but after ten minutes of being awake couldn't possibly recall what it had been about. It was still a bit dark outside and though he knew his sleep had been short he felt quite refreshed.
Thursday was a good day in the shop. It was the last day of January – two weeks until Valentine's Day. Most of the stock that they had ordered would be put out today, and most of the potions which were done would have to be put out on display and George would have to work double time to get it finished. It was a lot of effort but the results were worth it.
George threw off his sheets and wandered across the room to put on his dressing gown, knowing he'd need a shower as he glanced at the dirty clothes from last night on the floor. He hadn't been overly keen on going back to Aurelia's flat after dinner, but it had ended up being pretty haphazard and he didn't stay the night anyway.
He began to make his way down the hall to the bathroom, but George hesitated – his stomach was grumbling, audibly. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a proper breakfast.
So George went back to his room and put on his tracksuit pants (to avoid any nasty kitchen accidents) before he began to make breakfast.
About ten minutes later, the smell of bacon, eggs and sausages had wafted throughout the apartment, and both Draco and Aurelia were sitting at the kitchen table with mugs of tea as George cooked breakfast, scrambling and frying eggs, toasting the bread, making sure the bacon didn't burn, or anything for that matter…
Out of the corner of his eye, George saw Narcissa wander in from the hall. "Good morning, Mrs Malfoy," George said cheerily. "Care for some eggs? Sausages, perhaps?"
Narcissa smiled politely but shook her head. "No thankyou, George. I'm afraid I must be off – I have to have a meeting with some business partners back at the manor." She turned towards her children and George watched her gently kiss Aurelia's hair, saying a few warm words to her before she left, and giving Draco similar treatment.
George smiled. He'd never thought he'd be so calm about having all these Malfoys around the place. God, back in high school he'd hated Draco so much, just because of his name, because of Slytherin, because it's what seemed right.
Good thing we grew up, Georgie.
Fred's amused voice echoed through George's mind and it made him smile. Of course, George responded mentally, we wouldn't want us going backwards.
He almost expected Fred to respond, but realised that he had nearly burned the toast.
"Hey!" he exclaimed, jumping over to the toaster, to quickly save the bread. The toast was a little blackened but it was edible. George flipped the final few eggs and then he waved his wand, muttering a few small spells to get the food across to the table, where the hotplates were waiting for the pans to set themselves down. George carried over the knives, forks and plates, setting them down on the table before raising his hands and saying, "Breakfast is served!"
Aurelia gave him a small smile in thanks, and Draco said, "Brilliant, George. Thankyou very much." They proceeded to dig in, Aurelia a little more cautiously than the other two, but still eating a fair amount without becoming too sick.
"So how was last night, George?" Draco asked, taking a drink of his tea. "Have fun?"
George nodded. "It was alright."
"Who were you with?"
George chewed on his bacon for a little longer than he needed to, just to articulate his sentence properly. "Ah – it was… Adriana."
Draco's knife and fork fell from his hands. He managed to catch the fork but the knife clattered on the floor, making Aurelia jump in her seat. Draco quickly apologised and cleaned up the small mess he had made with his wand before continuing to eat.
Aurelia cast a confused glance at Draco, then at George, and a frown hovered over her eyes. George noticed and he said, "Don't worry, Aurelia. Draco was just – surprised. Adriana isn't particularly friendly, so her going on a date is unusual." George turned back to Draco and said, "And thankyou for asking, it was very enjoyable."
He thought the cover up was rather effective but Draco threw George a dark glare before continuing to eat. Conversation from that moment in was somewhat diminished.
It was later on in the day when George was in the store room, finishing off a few batches of love potions and pruning his pheromone-inducing roses when the door opened, and the brief sound of a busy shop drifted through the gap before the door was shut again.
George turned, and saw Draco. "Hey," he said. "Everything alright?"
Draco turned to face George, a frown on his sclupted features. "No, as a matter of fact. It's not."
George blinked, slightly taken aback. "Sorry?"
Draco walked down the steps towards George. "You went on a date with Adriana."
George forgot whatever he had been about to say, and he laughed. "Seriously? The last time I checked, you weren't dating her."
Draco's lip twitched. "Merlin, that's not the problem, George!" he said, voice a little too loud. "Don't you realise? She's Aurelia's cousin."
George sighed, putting down the beaker in his hand. "Yes, Draco, I have realised that much. I thought it was an issue to begin with, but honestly I don't think she's planning on keeping me around. She won't be seen with me in public – at least not in the eye of wizards – and she refuses to let me stay at her place, and doesn't visit me here. She doesn't want to be in a relationship. She's just –"
"Looking for satisfaction?" Draco asked, his tone cold.
George felt anger stir inside him. "Don't you start with that," he said. "It's none of your business."
"It's a conflict of interest," Draco hissed. "You can't look after my sick sister while you're fucking her secret cousin!"
What George did next was completely unexpected.
"Shut up!" he shouted, and Draco's narrowed eyes opened up in shock. George was shaking. "Don't you dare make me feel like I'm doing something terrible, don't suggest that I'm failing because I want to feel again!"
Draco had taken a step backwards and George felt his heart racing, his breaths uneven. He hadn't meant to shout but he was so angry, and he realised now it was because of Adriana. He wanted to feel comfort and care and warmth, not a short, cold relationship for her own amusement. He wanted to hold her hand when he walked down the street, not be given the cold shoulder when he saw her in public.
And it might not even have to be Adriana, it could be anybody – but George didn't have anybody. Not anymore.
"Get out," George hissed, feeling tears creep along the edge of his eyelids. "Leave me alone."
He turned back to his potions and listened to the sound of Draco leaving to go back upstairs as he shoved his fists into his eyes and tried not to cry, as he realised how very pathetic he was.
