Small footsteps echoed in the silence, after a few seconds they stopped.
I breathed in hard, looking up to see my sister standing there at the bottom of the stairs.
"I'm surprised you stayed" I tell her. I noticed the wetness on her cheeks; they were glossy, she had been crying.
If it's the one thing I knew I couldn't let my sister see, was my own tears; I held them back fierce.
My face grew tense as I watched her nose scrunch, her eyes filling with water as they streamed down her face; her lips trembled.
I pulled my eyes away from her, looking at the wood.
'I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry' I kept saying in my head over and over.
I slightly broke as she climbed the stairs; I swallowed the knot in my throat as she sat down beside me.
"I'm so sorry" she tells me.
I laugh, "Why you did nothing wrong."
She turns towards me, "I feel like some of it's my fault. I've never heard the both of you talk so openly like that; not when I was present anyways" she says. I look at her, taking in her tears once more.
"Mother will always be like this Daph, nothing is going to change that. It's not your fault, it's not dad's fault. I use to blame myself…"
I felt her tense beside me, her eyes widened slightly.
"I don't anymore, I've accepted it and I deal with it. She hates me….yeah well not even close to how much I hate her" I tell her.
I was simply starring at the front door now, avoiding her eyes which I knew were pierced to my face.
"You were crying, when I came in the room" she tells me.
It was my turn to tense up now, my eyes widened but they remained on the door.
"I can't imagine…what it feels like. It hurt me to hear her talk to you like that, I can only guess it feels worse for you" Daph says.
She would think that, hearing me cry; Daphne has only seen me cry once in my life.
If I had to shed tears over any person, It would be my father; yet sitting here knowing I was fighting back one's for my mother.
My eyes pierced with angry tears, my blood boiling at just thinking about it once more.
"She doesn't deserve my tears, I hate crying!" I say shaking my head, swallowing hard as more tears came to the surface.
A sting rose in my nose; my eyes drowned once more; I swallowed hard and breathed in heavy.
I looked over at her; her eyes welled up with tears as she saw mine.
"Do you get it now?" I ask her softly, large tears rolled down my cheeks.
"I hate her…so much" I whisper hard, more tears rolled down my face.
Daphne nods, taking my hand and squeezing it as more tears drenched her face.
"I hate her more than anything. I meant every word I told her; she can't control me and for that, she wants nothing to do with me. I refuse to roll over and play dead just to please her. I won't do it, I'm not going to do it" I tell her.
Daphne pulls herself over, wrapping me in a hug; I let my head rest on her shoulder.
"I don't want you to do that, I just want you to be happy" she tells me, clearly still crying.
"Away from her…I'm happy" I tell her, she laughs softly.
She pulls away from me, I look at her.
"I guess my wedding is going to be a challenge" she says.
I laugh, smiling very small, "I've put up with her for you in the past. Just because we had this argument won't change my mind about your wedding. I'll with be there, whether Mother likes it or not."
Daphne smiles and pulls me in for a breathtaking hug, "Thank you. You truly are stronger than me. I don't know what I would do If I was in your shoes." I laugh, no humor intended.
"Well I hope you never do. Keep mother on your good side, until she dies. At least it'll be peaceful for one of us" I tell her.
She looked like she could break into tears again; she but on a brave strong smile and nodded at me.
Our attention was directed to footsteps coming into the parlor; there was everybody, all their faces soft and stern.
"So how did you like the show?" I ask.
"I'm sorry about your mother" Kat tells me.
"I can't believe she blamed you for what happened" Jade says, sounding pissed.
I laugh, "Yeah that's a new low for her. Never the less, I'll be glad to take the credit."
Nobody laughed, I didn't blame them.
"I can't believe somebody tried killing the Minister of Magic" Derrick says sounding oddly surprised; dazed.
We lingered on that thought for a short second.
"You're positive you've never seen the parchment before?" Daphne asked me.
I nodded, "I didn't get a good look of what was written on it, it was old and worn looking around the edges. It doesn't even look like father's handwriting; plus you know just as I do that his office is bound shut. He could never get in there and mother would never go back in that room; so I told Mr. Williamson that I didn't see Mother having a part in it."
The room was silent once more.
Jade looked like she was going to blow up, her face tense and shaking; her arms were folded across her chest.
"Are you okay?" Ashley asks me, walking up and sitting by my feet.
I put on a smile, the best one I could anyways, "Well I've pissed my mother off; she probably won't talk to me until Daphne's wedding, maybe not even then and that's like…" I turn and look at her.
"The wedding is still two weeks away, October 20th" she states, smiling and looking at Theo.
"Two weeks, so yeah….drink's all around" I tell Ash.
She laughs, along with Derrick and Kat.
I breathe in and out heavy, "No, I'm fine. It's not the first fight with my mother and it definitely won't be the last."
My eyes travel up and lock with another pair, Draco's; he'd been staring at me the entire time.
He looked in thought; worried, yet slightly pissed which made me nervous.
I'm guessing they noticed our stare; Ashley was up on her feet quickly.
"Well who's hungry because I'm starving" she says going down the stairs and pushing Derrick, Kat following him with a smile on her face.
Blaise, Miles, Lorraine, Carl, Adrian, and Jade all moved too, slight grins or confused expressions on their faces.
I held in a laugh, Ashley would explain when they got in the other room.
Daphne got the memo too I guess; she hugged me quickly.
"You and Draco hmm" she whispers in my ear.
I smiled, trying to keep the blush that was creeping on my cheeks in check.
"I'll talk to you later Tor" she says now standing up.
I nod at her, smiling as Theo steps up and bends over, giving me a hug goodbye.
"I'm sorry about your mother" he tells me in my ear.
"Not a problem" I tell him as he pulls back.
Daph took his hand after he clapped hands with Draco; they said their final goodbye before they apparated out.
I breathed in and out softly, my eyes looking to the ground.
"Well that was interesting" I say softly, biting my lip slightly.
Draco climbed the stairs and took a seat next to me; he leaned back on the next step, his leg propped up.
I turned to face him, pulling my eyes to his; I leaned to the side slightly.
"Still think you can handle me?" I ask.
He grins small, "Definitely, your mother…I'm going to have to put forth some effort."
I laugh softly, "Yeah she's something."
I bit my bottom slightly, shaking my head; I laugh once more.
"Can we just rewind time, go back to yesterday? That would be great."
He smirks now, I couldn't help but smile.
"Hmm…what part of yesterday would you prefer" he asks, his hand coming up cupping my face.
I stare at him for a moment before smiling small. I bring my hand up, running my fingers down his cheek; my hand rested around his neck.
"I think my lips are cold" I say watching him grin, laughing softly.
"I see, they're definitely blue" he tells me, I laugh.
His thumb brushed my face, "I can fix that" he says in a slight whisper.
I raise a brow, "Really?" I ask, a small smile on my lips.
"Really" he says grinning at me. His hand tightened as he pulled my lips to his.
The tension, anger, and aggression I felt inside melted in seconds; I felt completely relieved.
I sighed contently as our lips moved together; our bodies sat up straighter as we became fierce.
The smell off his cologne to his sweet taste, he was intoxicating.
We pulled away, breathing hard as our chest rose up and down; our foreheads rested on one another.
I pressed my lips together, laughing softly, "Toasty warm" I say.
He laughs, smiling, "Good."
He kisses me softly a few more times before we both smile and pull back.
"You sure you're okay…"
I smile, "Yeah I'm fine" I say nodding at him.
A grin forms on his lips as he takes my hand, "Are you hungry?" he asks.
I breathe in and out hard through my nose, "No, but I should probably eat something anyways" I tell him.
He grins; "Good" he says standing up, pulling me with him. "I'm starving and there is no way I'm going in there alone" he says.
I smile, laughing, "Why?" I ask him.
He smiles very genuine which drew me in once more; his eyes looked so warm and open.
His fingers raised, lingering on my cheek, "let's just say I got hit with a never ending line of questions when you went to the ministry. Our date, our kiss…you threw me to sharks practically."
I laugh once more, "I'm sorry, I didn't even think about that."
He smirks, "Your forgiven, I didn't mind giving them answers."
I smiled, "Answers?" I ask my brows narrowed.
His smirk went wider, his eyes taking in my face, "I don't know if I made myself clear in the park, or any time after that. I am very…" He moves slightly closer, my hand resting on his side, "very intrigued by you Miss Greengrass. If it counts for anything, I want you; all of you, just the way you are" he tells me.
I stared at him, his fingers caressing my jaw line. I smiled after a few seconds, laughing softly to myself; that hit me harder than I thought it would, my eyes glossed over with tears. Draco saw this, his face went incredibly soft. His fingers extended until his hand was once again cupping my face. "Thank you" I whisper, a tear rolling down my face; his thumb catching it.
"That means a lot considering what just happened, with everything you heard" I tell him.
His finger brushed my face once more as a soft smile lingered on his lips.
I raise my hand up, wrapping it around his neck; my fingers lying in his hair.
I lean up and kiss him very softly; his arm goes around me, holding me there.
We kissed a few times before breaking apart; our eyes locked once more.
I grinned, "I'm all yours."
The signature Malfoy smirk appears on his face; he kissed me triumphantly once more.
His arms locked around me as he lifted me off the ground; I laughed against his lips, a grin on his.
We smile at each other and turn, heading down the stairs hand in hand.
"Did that make your day" he asks me.
I laugh, "Definitely." He grinned, pulling my hand to his lips as he kissed it softly.
We made our way out of the parlor and through the living room, both of us standing by the dining room door.
We stood there for a moment, listening to all of them talking and laughing.
Draco looked over at me, "Ready?" he asked me.
I turn and look at him; I smile, "Absolutely."
He smiles and leans over, kissing my forehead; I pressed slightly, my eyes closing for a brief moment.
Our eyes locked for a short second before Draco pushed open the door, I breathed in heavy as he towed me along with him.