It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Then to love and be loved by me.
I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea,
But we loved with a love that was more than love—
I and my Annabel Lee—
With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven
Coveted her and me.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.
The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,
Went envying her and me—
Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.
But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we—
Of many far wiser than we—
And neither the angels in Heaven above
Nor the demons down under the sea
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,
In her sepulchre there by the sea—
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
Draco's long fingers brushed against the rough paper of his book. His mother had acquired it years back, in an underground auction for fine arts. A prized possession of hers, that she had asked him to take with him to Hogwarts, so 'he wouldn't be bored'.
Annabel-Lee reminded him of his girlfriend, whom he couldn't contact. Sometimes he felt like his mother could read through him, like she knew he had someone he missed dearly.
Narcissa was frantic when he had told her he didn't want to deprive her of her finest reading. She had repeated that she wanted it with him, that it wasn't depriving her if she gave it away.
Narcissa had been weird to say the least. Her usual steady stance fragilized. Her hands, of grace and délicatésse, trembled when holding up her cup of tea. Her habit of playing the piano every while and now, vanished.
Draco knew exactly why. The rooms of their magnificent Manor were filled by dangerous criminals. Every now and then, they'd have dinner with the Dark Lord. And both his mother and himself were constantly under surveillance, by the deranged witch that was Bellatrix. Voldemort made it very clear that he trusted no Malfoy, that he would not save Lucius from Azkaban, and more, that he seeked retribution for his errors.
It took a few days into June for Draco to be marked. Exactly 7 days after his birthday. Exactly 1 hour after learning the torture his mother went through for him…
It was Bellatrix who teased him about it. 'Poor little Draco Lucius Malfoy', she had laughed, 'Daddy is not here, for you to hide behind him, and mommy can't do much more, can she ? I'm sure that she'd rather go mad at the hand of a few Dolorises than for you to end up like your senior, but do you want to sacrifice her ? Are you that much of a coward ! Won't you serve your rightful master, pureblooded boy ?!'
Draco didn't know his mother was being tortured. It wasn't logical, how could the lord decide that Narcissa, his host, deserved torture !? But again, nothing logical about psychopathy !
He was sure of his decision, when he made it, but it didn't hurt any less. Physically, he felt at his lowest. It felt like dying, to be revived, to be skinned again.
But worse, he felt like he was going mad. If the accounts of what dementors do to humans were true, he'd choose it everyday over what he felt, having a snake and a skull carved in his skin. He'd take Lucius' place, any day, any time.
He cried that night. And the night after. And after. And after. Maybe, he would never stop crying over it.
Draco couldn't make out what was worse, the guilt or the self hatred. Maybe both.
That summer was the longest summer he ever had to go through. Never was he so excited about going back to Hogwarts. Well, that was before the mission was announced.
Killing Dumbledore.
At sixteen, he'd become a murderer.
….A la claire fontaine
M'en allant promener
J'ai trouvé l'eau si belle
Que je m'y suis baigné….
The alleyway Severus lived in was as dark as his eyes, Narcissa remembered as she brushed her blond locks.
Narcissa had stopped, a few feet from Severus' house. She had looked up to the wind-torn sky, letting the rain whip her diminished cheeks. She wanted to forget where she was, and why she was there.
- Move along, Cissy, she heard Bella say in her plaintive voice.
It woke her up. Narcissa moved, thinking of how much the buildings looked like rat-chewed doll houses.
Severus was already waiting for them at his doorstep.
…. Il y a longtemps que je t'aime,
Jamais je ne t'oublierai…
Dust. Humidity. It smelled like an old library. It even looked like an old library. That's the first impression Narcissa got from Severus' flat.
-Tsk, tsk, tsk. She heard her sister's disapproval.
…Sous les feuilles d'un chêne,
Je me suis fait sécher.
Sur la plus haute branche,
Un rossignol chantait…
-Will you, Severus Snape, watch over Draco Malfoy as he attempts to fulfill the Dark Lord's wishes?
Narcissa's heart beat so hard in her chest, that she barely couldn't hear Severus' whispered 'I will'.
…Chante, rossignol, chante,
Toi qui as le cœur gai.
Tu as le cœur à rire…
Moi je l'ai à pleurer…
-... To the best of your ability, protect him…
Narcissa's eyes were a sea of tears. She couldn't see Severus' or Bellatrix' face properly anymore.
Draco was going to get all the protection he needed and deserved. Her child…
…J'ai perdu mon amie
Sans l'avoir mérité.
Pour un bouquet de roses
Que je lui refusais…
- … Carry out the deed the Dark Lord has ordered Draco…
The link burned, the longer it stayed. Narcissa's knees were going to break out.
…Je voudrais que la rose
Fût encore au rosier,
Et que ma douce amie
Fût encore à m'aimer…
Lucius could not protect them, and she highly doubted that Severus will go out of his way for Draco, a stubborn teenage boy, but she had to do whatever was in her power for her child.
Preservation above all.
The death of an idiotic senile old man should not make her feel guilty, if it meant her baby, her blood, would survive.
Il y a longtemps que je t'aime,
Jamais je ne t'oublierai.
Dear Blondie,
I arrived home earlier than expected. Both my parents came this time. After 5 years, it's still weird to not see them everyday, although, I have to admit, this year I was too "busy" to even feel the void.
I hope everything is okay for you and your mother, and especially that you won't forget that my door, or any door of any member of the Order is open for you, both.
I love you.
Granger.
Dear Malfoy,
It has been a week since we were sent to our homes, and I feel so empty without Hogwarts, the boys, and especially without you.
I do hope that you feel as estranged, or I'd feel stupid.
I wish I had thought of anything that could let us communicate, maybe a couple of diaries ?
Hermione.
Dear Draco,
It's been a month. We already discussed that I missed you.
I hope you're okay. Genuinely okay. Physically and mentally.
I love you.
Hermione.
Dear Draco,
Although, I can not send you this letter, or any letter I wrote this summer, I want you to read them, the second we are together once again.
I miss you like I've never missed anyone before. I know we didn't grow apart. Our relationship is stronger than two months of inexistant contact.
I just hope you're okay.
Hermione.
Dear Zephyrus (It's so cheesy),
I was reading this book I used to love a few years ago. It was about Greek myths, and when I first read it, I did not care much about Iris, goddess of the rainbow, and her marriage with Zephyrus, the west wind, because they were not as cool and famous as Apollo and Hyacinth, or Persephone and Hades. I like them. They're hidden…
I love you.
Hermione.
P.S : I kind of wanted to sign Iris, but I think it's just as cheesy and stupid as addressing you as Zephyrus.
Dear Draco Lucius Abraxas Malfoy,
I have woken up today, thinking of you. It is July the 22nd, your birthday was 42 days ago, and I couldn't give you a present.
I read about something called the Unbreakable Vow, and it reminded me of two years ago : Us, in a staircase, performing your weird spell, our first kiss…
The unbreakable vow. The vow which when made with anybody, would cause one to die if broken. A magical oath of perishment. It gave me an idea so I took the liberty to add a little something to the birthday present I was going to give you. Spoilers : It's a ring, clearly not of the caliber of your usual magical bourgeoisie jewelry, but it has something special. A vow to protect you. It sets around its bearer an anti-curses spell ; though, it probably won't stand against an Unforgivable, it's just symbolic. But, that's not all, I magically carved into it a quote that symbolises you, at least in my view.
Dum spiro spero. While I breathe, I hope.
With love, respect and longing,
Hermione Jean Granger.
Hermione's eyes stinged, as she read the last letter she wrote for Draco. She hated that she couldn't send any of them.
She hated that he hadn't kissed her in so long.
She hated that he just wasn't there.
Hermione thought last year's summer was awful, that she had longed for Draco unconditionally, and painstakingly, yet it wasn't a fraction of the frustration she felt this year.
It was like being uncomfortable in her own skin.
It reminded her of her first year at Hogwarts, awaiting Christmas to see her parents again.
- Hermione… ?
The latter raised her face. It was Ginny who came looking for her.
- It's Harry, he's here… Dumbledore brought-
Ginny hadn't finished her sentence that Hermione ran to the door of their shared room. In a second, she was in Harry's arms.
- Harry…
- Why didn't you tell us you were coming, Harry, darling ? Molly excitedly asked.
- I- I didn't know- Um… How are you guys ? Hermione ?
Hermione, Ginny and Ronald exchanged a look. Harry had a lot to catch up on.
Harry had his stuff transported to Ronald's room.
He and his friends sat together on the floor of said room. They had so much to talk about.
- For how long have you been here Hermione ?
- A few days maybe ? Not long…
- Have you ? Don't you usually come earlier ?
- I- I do, but my parents… My parents kind of understood that it's not going well in the Wizarding World, and got fucking scared, they didn't want me to go to Hogwarts…
- What ?
- Well, Harry, intervened Ronald, her parents are not the only ones to freak out, on the news, they said that this year is going to be awful for parents to send their children to school. Even Mom went barmy a few days ago. All the adults are scared.
- Yes, well so am I, but it's Hogwarts, Dumbledore, nothing safer !
- You're scared…
Hermione's tone sounded more like an affirmation rather than a question.
- Less than I was before, but this thing about a prophecy that ties me to Voldemort and Sirius, and the escapade with Dumbledore tonight, and so much more… I think I'm hyperventilating…
- Oh Harry…, whimpered Hermione, snuggling herself against his chest.
- On the bright side, Dumbledore is prolly going to teach you some defense techniques, won't he ?
- I don't know, it was weird and cloudy tonight… I think my brain was made into a fudge with that whole Apparition thing…
- Apparition, you tried Apparition ? Bloody hell !
And just like that, Harry's night was better than he'd expected. He was finally with his family, the people who didn't avoid him, but supported and comforted him to the best of their ability.
His memory of that night stopped at some point but he distinctly remembered the warmth he felt at their side. He was shitless scared, but at their side, his fright became a strength.