DISCLAIMER: In no way do I own any of the characters in JK Rowling's Wizarding World. I am but a fan who has run away with her imagination.

Chapter 29

Finally, some peace and quiet, Dara thought to herself as she sighed into the bed. She had just spent the last hour soaking up in the bathroom. There was a large bathtub that just looked oh so inviting especially after that harrowing dinner. Taking her time, she filled the tub with hot water and even poured in some of the bubble bath products that sat on the outer rim of the marble tub. It smelled like lavender and coconuts and felt delicious to soak in. She kept the lights turned off in the bedroom assigned to her - the bedroom that had all the frills and ruffles it could offer. It was mint green and very unlike her. It had a large canopy bed on the far left and seating set on the right, in front of the fireplace.

There were tall French type doors leading to the balcony, which overlooked the gardens at the back of the Manor and two large doors; one led to the bathroom and the other into the walk-in closet. She inspected the contents of the closet first, remembering how Draco had mentioned he had taken care of her wardrobe for the weekend. Pushing the two doors open, Dara was transported into one of the fancy French boutiques she's been to in years ago. Everything here was white; the walls, the drawers, the closet doors, even the plush carpet and the ottoman that sat at the center of the rectangular structure.

Expensive looking clothes hung from wooden hangers, neatly arranged from lightest color to the darkest. There was a section just for tops, bottoms, dresses, gowns and even coats. She reached for a shelf to her left and when she pulled it out a layer of dainty underthings lay carefully folded, again arranged by color. She pulled them all out, one by one, realizing how much money and effort went into filling each of these shelves. As she left the closet, she brought with her a pair of intimates and a silk nightgown. She's decided to give it a go after a nice soak in the tub.

Now fresh and, admittedly more calm, she sank deeper into the soft silky sheets. It was already dark outside and a breeze had started to make its way into the room. Her thoughts took her back to the dinner earlier. Merlin, she knew they hated her but she had no idea just how cruel they could be, even with as little syllables as possible. She felt the earth beneath her could open up and just swallow her everytime a comment was made towards her. It would have been easier if the earth beneath her had opened and swallowed her up. Better than slowly being eaten and dissected, inch by inch, by Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy. What was worse, was she was to hear more of it. The weekend had only just begun and already she felt defeated.

Draco was helpful, with his words that only meant to boost her and prove to his parents that she was far from whatever they thought or think her to be. But Dara was afraid that even his efforts weren't going to merit them anything. Did it still matter?, Dara couldn't help but ask herself. They were engaged and Draco wasn't one to go back on his word. And she, too, was serious about Draco. At this point in her life, she couldn't see herself being with anyone else. She and Draco just seemed to gel, to mesh, to melt into each other's consciousness and being. Neither was trying hard to impress nor keep up a facade. They were themselves whether they were together or not and it worked. Although there was still a part of Draco she didn't know about; the part that happened during the war years ago. She knew very well it was a hard topic for him so she never really pressed for him to share more than he wanted. And most of the time, he didn't want to share.

She sighed, again overthinking tomorrow's outcome. They were all to be up early for breakfast, followed by the ceremonial welcoming of guests. Lunch would be out in the garden, followed by tea. And then the grand ball. All were sure to test her patience. She was worried that the plan to remain by Draco's side wasn't going to be enough to get them through the whole day. What was she to do if the plan didn't work? She could only ask Tori and Blaise for help up to a point. Her not knowing anyone beyond them was concerning. Maybe she could just disappear until she was needed again. Again, sighing, she felt her head throb. All this thinking and worrying was giving her a headache. Already she could feel the effect of the lovely bubble bath wear off.

"May I come in?" a knock came to the door dragging Dara out of her musing. Draco leaned against the door frame, hands in his pocket, looking cautious. Dara only smiled and nodded, meeting him in the middle of the room.

"What a night, huh?" he shifted in his place, hands still in his pockets. "Dara, I'm sorry."

"I don't really want to talk about it, Draco." she shook her head, turning away from him. "It was a disaster, yes. That's precisely why I don't want to talk about it." she walked closer to the French windows, Draco following.

"How can I make it better?" he sighed, stepping in behind her as they looked out into the garden.

"Take me home?" she half joked.

"If only I could, I would have." he kissed the top of her head. "But we're already here and we'll be fine. Just, in one ear and out the other. Don't let it settle in that brain of yours."

"You have more practice Draco. I'm new to this. Which means, for me, it's easier said than done." they both sighed, staying silent.

"Did you find everything in your room satisfactory?" his hands had found the curve of her hips.

"I did. I saw the closet. You didn't have to Draco." she ducked out of his grasp and walked back into the room. She was avoiding and Draco noticed immediately.

"I'm a little tired. Maybe it's best to call it a night." She shrugged trying not to prolong the conversation any longer. It wasn't that she didn't want him there, but she was too down, too distracted with what transpired during dinner to act normal. "If today is a preview of what tomorrow will be, then I need all the rest I can get."

"I understand." He sighed, taking a step closer to her and placing a kiss on her cheek. "Good night, love." silently he walked out of her room and into his, leaving her a miserable pile on the silken sheets.

Dara had no idea how many times she had tossed and turned in the bed. She had long been tucked under the sheets trying her best to sleep but she couldn't. She peered at the small table top clock by her bed; 12:14am. She groaned, throwing the heavy sheets off of her and surrendering to insomnia. Back and forth, from one corner to the other, she tried her best to walk it out but her head and heart were racing. Her palms were sweaty and her fingers cold and numb. She could hear and feel her heartbeat in her ears, a loud thudding like a drum. She was having a panic attack and the first thing she could think of was being with Draco. She glanced at the doors wanting to rush to his room which was across from hers. But she hesitated.

She had chewed half of her lower lip off before giving in and rushing to the doors. When she opened it, there Draco stood, frozen - about the knock on her door, with a worried look on his face. She sighed in relief and threw herself into his arms, letting go of the fear and emotions that plagued her nerves. Tears fell from her eyes uncontrollably as she sobbed against his chest, her shoulders shaking.

"Oh, my love." Draco cooed into her hair as he let her unravel in front of him. In one quick motion, Draco had cradled her and had started to carry her into his room. She didn't raise her head and just buried her face deeper into the crook of his neck, allowing her senses to be filled with her favorite scent in the world.

Draco settled into the big dark brown leather couch that sat on the foot of his bed right in front of the lit fireplace, a sobbing Dara still in arms, clinging to his neck and shoulders. He continued to sooth his palms against her back and run his fingers through her hair. He didn't say anything. He just let her cry sitting on his lap, only imagining how daunting and difficult today had been on her and her psyche. He was used to it; the mental and emotional ambush he endured when he was around his parents.

Her sobs had finally turned into harmless sniffles and her shoulders were no longer shaking. But she stayed as close to him as possible. She shifted in Draco's lap looking at the fire and getting lost in it for minutes; her thoughts not here nor there. The room was dark except for the yellow glow coming from the fireplace.

"Better?" Draco asked, keeping a hand on her knee and the other on her lower back. She exhaled loudly before nodding in response. She looked up at him, her fingers tracing his lips, as she admired him from where she was positioned. She finally settled her hand on the side of his neck and pressed her forehead closer to his cheeks. She felt him shift under her weight, as if he was adjusting his legs.

"I'm sorry." She caught herself and completely took herself off of him. "Am I heavy?" Just when she was about to lean back, her hand slipped past the edge of the couch and she landed with a muffled thud on the carpeted floor.

"Dara!" Draco reached for her but he was too late. She was already on her back, the carpet beneath her and the air taken out of her lungs. For a moment Draco just looked at her waiting for a reaction, expecting a protest from her lips. Instead, she was laughing.

"Oh Merlin." She chuckled. "Things just keep getting better, don't they?" Draco reached for both her hands as he pulled her up to her feet, now chuckling with her.

"I needed that." She sighed happily, throwing her arms around his neck.

"You needed to fall on the floor?" Draco asked, smiling down at her.

"No you silly. I needed a good cry and a good laugh." he leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose fondly.

"Come here." he began to pull her down back on the couch but she resisted, choosing to walk around his room instead. He watched her come around his bed and inspect the little baubles and pictures and trinkets on top of the tables. There were family photos, awards, artifacts and gifts all through his childhood until his school days.

"How come you never smile in your photos?" she asked him as she reached the shelf on the side of the room. There was another photo of young Draco and as usual, he had no expression on his face - just like the last three Dara had seen around his room. The room was predominantly dark brown and green with hints of silver or gold here and there. One wall was covered in books and maps and jars and vials, proof that young Draco was very much into his academics - mostly because his parents always expected him to be at the top of the ranks.

"I didn't have much reason to smile about growing up." he answered from the couch. "Everyone thought, just because I was a Malfoy, I had it easy. Merlin were they wrong. They were so wrong." he said staring into the fire, remembering that everyday was a constant battle with himself. Dara's heart leaped for him and she returned to the couch beside him, tucking her knees underneath her and facing him.

"It was getting harder and harder to be what they wanted me to be or the version of me they wanted to see. They did not even consider that I was starting to disagree with what they wanted. And even if I did, I had no choice because I was the 'great Malfoy heir' who had to be perfect. And then the war happened. It was agony." she watched him closely, allowing him to speak and express his feelings. Draco hardly ever did that.

"I was told to be this, do this, do that, be that. I never wanted those things." There was a slight pain in his face as he recounted his sentiments. "But, again, I had no choice. When my father fucked up I had to step in his place and pretend like I had everything figured out. It was false confidence fuelled by fear. That's what they did and what they were good at. They planted fear in every corner of your subconscious until it started to seep into your veins, until you believed that your life was theirs and that they held you in their palms."

"I hated this place when the war happened. They turned it into some kind of headquarters for Voldemort. Everything happened here. Everything." he paused. "Can you imagine coming home from Hogwarts at the end of term and finding that you had about a dozen prisoners tied in the basement, waiting for their turn to face him? Waiting to be murdered? And as an act of showing off, he'd let everyone watch. Or worse, ask you to do it for him. I've seen innocent men and women come and go, day in, day out, like it was a normal occurrence. It shouldn't have been that way." his hands clenched into fists were turning white, his eyes glazed over.

"And then he asked me to…" he stopped mid-sentence, closing his eyes as if he wanted to wipe away the memory from his brain.

"Draco you don't have to…" Dara whispered, placing a hand on his chest. Yes, she wanted to learn more about him but watching him now, with pain and regret in his voice, she began to change her mind.

"No. You should know. It's time you should know." he answered blinking rapidly. "You should know exactly who I am, who you're marrying and what you're marrying into." She was about to protest and say that she didn't care about that anymore but he continued.

"Voldemort asked me to kill Dumbledore in my 6th year. I was newly sired and marked and I had no idea how to do it. I chickened out. As punishment, I got a massive beating not from Voldemort but from my father. It was bad enough he fucked it up and now I had too. Things changed after that, I had changed. I no longer cared. If this was how things were going to be then I'd play the role to the 'T'. So I did everything they asked of me, killed anyone they wanted without blinking. I learned to avoid asking questions and just march on."

"The first person I killed was a muggle - born witch. That fact alone made her a target. She was no older than me and was innocent, like most of them were. We were in a clearing with the other snatchers that were supposed to be under my watch. They had beaten her up pretty badly and then I cast the curse. Counted to three in my head and just did it. I felt numb everyday after that. When VOldemort saw I could be trusted again, I was asked to go on more raids and I got really good at it."

"But you turned around didn't you?" Dara croaked, her voice caught in her throat. Draco answered with a nod.

"By the start of the 7th year, I had gone on countless raids and had killed more people than I ever thought I would. When they brought Potter and Granger here to be identified I didn't tell them it was him. I was sick of it, sick of everything; the killing, the torture, the mind games, the constant blood thirst. After that day I decided to turn and become a spy for the order. It was pointless to me. There was so much blood split and for what? For Potter? For the boy who lived and the man who held a grudge. It became petty to me."

"And that's what's important." she said placing herself in front of him, willing him to step out of his trance. "You turned and you did what was right. And now you're here and you're safe and away from all of that." she searched his face but it was blank, passive and distant. No, she thought to herself. This wasn't the Draco Malfoy she knew and loved.

"Draco, please." she whispered, begging him to snap out of it but it was like he couldn't hear her. "Please. Come back to me. You're here with me now, away from all of that and you're alive and you're… you're mine." she repeated and pleaded. That seemed to do it. His jaw relaxed and his eyes softened. He blinked the fog away and met Dara's multicolored eyes filled with concern. She sighed in relief and threw herself onto him, encasing him in her arms. Draco responded by taking her into his, melting into her.

"Thank you for telling me." she said, once again settling comfortably into the Draco's frame. They sat in silence, familiar with each other and just content. They let the heat of the fire lick at their skin as they settled into a comfortable silence just being within each other's presence and grasp. It was like a veil had been lifted and that things were clearer not than they were before. They didn't say but they both knew that their hearts beat madly for each other just as hard as the other did and it felt right. Dara closed her eyes and so did Draco as they enjoyed the rhythm of each other's breathing, lulling them to sleep.

NOTE TO SELF: I need to start winding this down or I'll never finish!