I dressed myself with mild civility in my dusty room. I had to balance precariously on my mattress with my curtains shut around the bed so that all of the judgmental paintings would not get a glimpse. Then, the grumpy house elf had had to help me zipper up the ridiculous gown.
The blue dress fit well except for the fact that it was too long, as expected. I performed a simple charm to shorten it above my ankles and put on the shoes I'd managed to grab before Draco had pulled me angrily out of the fancy closet.
I chuckled to myself at being able to gain some control through the choice of my own dress color. Looking at myself in the floor to ceiling mirror once again I remarked at the improvement since the last time I was standing there. I looked proper and high-class. Elegant on every level. My long blonde hair cascaded down in waves and my golden eyes were darkly shaded. When I decided I looked acceptable, I gathered up the dress and opened my door to find Draco possessively leaning against the wall. He nodded his head in quiet approval at my efforts to dress up. Then he held out a crystal glass of the same liquid he'd been downing earlier.
"You'll need it, trust me," He said encouragingly when I just stared at his hand. I slowly took it and sipped at the strong whiskey. We stood there for a while, sipping and glancing awkwardly at each other.
"What do I need to, uh, know about, your family?" I took another sip of the strong, sour drink and mentally forced myself not to make it obvious that it was giving my damaged brain a headache. I could feel it swirling in my stomach, burning with the promise of feeling calmer later.
He looked contemplative for a moment and then sighed rather loudly, staring at his shoes. I made a mental note that when he was truly being vulnerable he tended to look away at the ground, "Uh. My father doesn't care for frivolity. I know you have a strong sense of...humor. But you need to contain that around him." He kicked at the black carpet, furrowing his eyebrows as he collected and sorted his family's personalities into sentences, "No laughing at dinner, Madeleine." I paused for a moment, realizing it was the first time he'd used my first name so casually in conversation.
"Sounds just like my family," I said sarcastically. He looked at me quizzically, clearly missing my point, "Et is a joke, Draco." I rolled my eyes and his eyebrows shot up from hearing his first name as well.
He cleared his throat and continued, "He also hates muggle holidays, like Christmas. We are only doing this because your family stressed that you usually do something for this holiday and my mother wants to impress them." His mouth was pressed into a firm line now and his eyes were glued to mine with sincere concern, "He's going to be very angry about tonight. Please, don't say anything you don't have to say." He took another large swig of his drink and I decided to match him after the foreboding warning.
I put a hand to my mouth, wincing slightly from the white hot heat of the whiskey, "See where you get it from."
"Get what from?" He rudely raised his voice, his eyes peering at me. I was reminded again of how much taller he was than me by his towering figure.
"That - right there," I pointed at the middle of his face and he scowled.
I lost control and laughed, spilling some of my liquor on the floor. I pressed my hand against my mouth to prevent further giggling while I stared down at the perfect circle of wetness on the tiles. Draco was following my gaze with the opposite face, "The elves will clean it. But this," he took the crystal glass out of my hand swiftly, "was obviously the wrong move. You're already hysterical." He placed the glasses on a hallway table and looked uneasily at me.
I pressed my mouth into an awful grin, forcing the laugh down that was building in my chest. He looked so perfectly agitated and there was something about that face on him that did this to me. His face was filling with uncomfortable judgement as he watched me struggle to be normal. "Okay, easy now... stop it." He was leaning away from me and I instinctively grabbed his tie and pulled him towards me in my giddy state. His forehead met mine with just enough force not to bruise either of us. "Madeleine!" His voice came out genuinely angry now as he tried to unravel my fingers from his clothing, looking down and struggling to see where they had tangled.
I couldn't explain why I did it but I bent my face up and kissed him. He froze. His fingers were on mine where he had been frantically pulling at them for his freedom. I felt the familiar rush of his skin against mine, the sexual attraction that kept bringing us together. He gently kissed me back and his hands softened. We both leaned into it, kissing quietly. I felt my heart drop in my chest in a new and different way.
"Ahem," a strict voice lightly sounded from further down the hallway. We looked up to see Narcissa standing in a short black dress with a blank expression on her beautiful face. Her blond hair was coiled perfectly along her right flank. She stood like a doll. Malfoy looked as a pale as a ghost and nodded his head in horror, stepping away from me and fixing his tie. She raised her eyebrows at him, hardly looking in my direction, "Draco. It would be wise to come downstairs now, and preferably with more composure than this." She turned and walked away towards the giant main stairwell, her high heels clicking in short contained bursts.
Draco gave me a sideways look and cleared his throat. "Not a good start," He shook his head in disappointment, "Come. Now." I followed him down the hallway, feeling suddenly serious and slightly terrified. I was focused on trying to prevent my shoes from making loud noise in the empty, massive home. He seemed to glide with every step and I found myself envious of that ability.
We stopped outside of an arched doorway and he looked down at me. I could see worry laced into his now stony expression, "This is the dining hall. Please, absolutely nothing stupid from here on out."
I nodded politely. He closed his eyes and shoved the door open. I baulked at the size of the room that only three people shared for dining. It was dark, and gloomy, with a gargantuan fireplace that several people could stand inside of. The table running along the center of the room could seat thirty people easily. I wondered if we were all planning to cram at one end of it or just space out with microphones at either ends. The Malfoy's had indeed put on a show to accommodate Christmas, as best as they could stand to it seemed. A large spruce tree sat princely in one corner against the glass wall facing out against the gardens. It was covered head to toe in green and white decorations that looked like they had never been used. The table had a long green runner down the middle with odd holiday themed items, mostly completely black miniature Christmas trees and sprinkles of silver glitter.
My heart almost came to a stop when I noticed a steely figure sitting at the farthest end of the wooden table. He had both hands off to the side, balancing one atop another on a black cane next to his chair. His hair was down far past his shoulders and was whiter than Draco's, almost luminous in the dim room around him. I recognized similar features on their faces; the pointed nose, blue eyes, strong eyebrows. He had a venomous expression on his face and was tracing my every move towards him like a viper preparing to strike.
Draco stood before the end of the table with his arms behind his back, "Father," He said curtly, the single word was apparently all that was appropriate to say as a greeting. I quickly realized why he had been so expressive about me calming down before hand. My stomach was still warm and my body felt limp from the few sips I'd had in the hallway.
Lucius' eyes moved dauntingly slowly from my face to Draco's with a leer on it, "Draco! How nice of you and our newest family addition to join us for this...holiday evening." His voice was milky and singsong, but the deeper tones behind it implied danger. He had a charming smile across his thin lips as his eyes darted back towards me. Narcissa stood stoically beside the fireplace with her hands clasped together, watching.
I swallowed, hard. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to wait for Mr. Malfoy to greet me or if he expected me to speak up. I decided it was safer to go with the first option. It was hard not to get distracted by Draco's eyes darting at me from beside me. He was projecting his own fear at me and I secretly wanted to smack him for it. He had brought me here as a prisoner, the least he could do would be to guide me through this nightmare, not join me in it.
"Madeleine, I understand," Lucius finally spoke, breaking the long silence, and his head dipped down so he could squint at me from an upward angle, "Yes, Draco has made a very good choice with you. I have to say, we were a tad worried at first when a name randomly appeared on the family tree one weekend that none of us recognized." He grinned quickly and then the smile vanished as fast as it had appeared. I covered up my shock as I realized why Draco had been called home immediately after Halloween.
There was an awkward silence, followed by Narcissa quietly approaching the table and resting her hands on the back of the chair adjacent to the head seat where Lucius was perched. The fire crackled on in the hearth with no care in the world. "Sit," Lucius commanded, directing us to sit opposite of Narcissa. My hands shook against the back of the heavy chair as I pulled out it outwards and sat down. I felt like a floating head completely detached from it's body.
"So, you come from a rather impressive blood line I have come to learn from speaking with your father," Lucius drawled as he poured wine into a black-stained glass, "Surprisingly though, he didn't seem to show any shame when I questioned why he wanted to celebrate this muggle tradition you call Christ-mas. Tell me, do you intend to persevere with this nonsense well into your adult witchhood?"
I took a deep breath and turned to face him, "I suppose I'd prefer to match the choice of my husband, which is the proper thing to do." The lie rolled off my tongue easily. I was an adept liar when I needed to be. It was what I expected he desired to hear, and I had every intention of escaping this Manor of Monsters alive - hopefully never coming back again.
Lucius nodded approval and faced Narcissa who nodded back. She glanced at me and then quickly glanced away, and I felt instantly mortified that she had witnessed Draco and I kissing in the hallway earlier.
"She was chosen by the scouts for the Holyhead Harpies last month," Draco finally spoke with a dull tone. I felt my jaw open in surprise. Of course I wouldn't know, I had been in a coma for almost that long. He didn't face me, just stared back and forth between his parents, "They want to see her play again when she's better." I felt my heart skip a beat and hoped that he was telling the truth. It took every bit of energy in my body to maintain a straight face.
"Hmm and she's been scouted before you, has she?" Lucius quipped back in a disapproving tone, "Pity."
Draco swallowed and look down at his hand on the table. Narcissa's face flashed slightly with sympathy.
The dinner continued with that cycle of repetition; Lucius making snide remarks and taking stabs at Draco, Lucius then leading into a new topic, all the while Narcissa said no more than two words. The times when Lucius put me on the spot I simply replied with what he wanted to hear and kept it short. I found it astounding how they were normalizing literally kidnapping me against my will and forcing me to join their family, forcing me to answer questions about how I would fit into it accordingly. I found it also astounding how they had managed to convince my parents of this being my choice.
Finally Lucius had met his tolerance for the night and dismissed Draco and I. Narcissa smiled shortly at us both and remained by the fire with Lucius. They didn't speak as we crossed the uncomfortably long room and shut the doors behind us.
I nearly gasped out loud with relief when we were outside in the hall again. Draco looked exhausted and defeated. He closed his eyes and put his hand over his mouth for a moment while I stood there watching him. I braced for him to hurl from the look on his face but he remained still. He slowly opened his eyes and studied me, sighing again, "You don't have to go back to that bloody creepy room. Follow me, if you want." He was walking, fast. I lifted my dress so I could take long strides to keep up as we made our way up at least four floors of stairs. Then he stopped at a simple black door and pushed it open. I followed him in and closed it behind me, leaning defensively on the door while I took in our surroundings.
Like everywhere else in the house, the room was lit like a dull cave. There was a huge bed in the center with black covers like the ones in my room. Rows, and rows of books covered the walls in bookcases that reached the arched ceilings. A huge desk with a throne-like chair sat against an entire wall of windows which were surprisingly not curtained. I stepped forward and pressed my hands on the glass looking at endless orchards and gardens outside. The moon was almost whole again in the sky, veiled by thin clouds.
"Es dis your room, Draco?" I spun to face him and he nodded from where he was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching me intently. His eyes were hung low and he leaned back on the bed and closed them suddenly, leaving his legs off the edge. He looked instantly asleep. I took in the fact that he wasn't joking about my room being creepy.
In contrast with Draco's quarters mine had no cleanliness or life to them. The floors were dusty, the furniture was covered by sheets, and the smell of dank seemed to cling to everything. He also had no portraits of family members watching his every move, which was relieving. I sunk into the chair at the desk and curled up my feet trying to get comfortable. He had invited me there to get some peace from the horrible house, but I didn't plan to confuse that with anything else. I shifted and draped my legs over the arm of the chair, getting more of a stretch and sighed, watching the moon outside from the makeshift bed.
"What are you doing?" His tired voice cut through the night.
I stiffened, blinking my eyes, "Trying to sleep, what does et look like?
He snorted softly, "Over there?"
I sat up annoyed to look at him. He had angled his head towards me and our eyes met in the darkness, "Come here." He said.
I hoisted my frail body out of the chair while trying not to trip on the formal dress. Some of my bones were still badly aching.
"You have to take that off first," He said matter of factly.
"You wish, Draco," I groaned. "Last time I was dat intimate wit you look where et got me. Here in dis, hell hole." I crossed my arms. He shrugged as if in defeat and closed his eyes again, patting the spot next to him.
I crawled awkwardly onto the bed, all of the fine fabric of the dress mimicking the sound of waves crashing on the beach. Draco snorted again at the drama of my entrance onto the bed and I felt myself start to laugh too from how silly it all was. I laid down next to him and lifted the longest part of the silken dress up and over his head, giggling gently.
"Madeleine!" He choked on a bleary laugh and ripped it down again, looking at me straight in the face, "Take it off! Don't be dumb you can't sleep in that fucking thing."
Ugh, he was right. It would be insufferable. I rolled over away from him, "Can you unzip it? I had help from de petite elf to get et on." I felt and heard the zipper slowly move down to the bottom of my spine. In my exhaustion I refused to get off of the bed, instead rolling around to remove the dress until I was able to shove the ton of layers off of the bed in triumph. I laid on my side in my black bra and underwear finally free.
"You are so weird," I heard Draco whisper from behind me.
I got under his heavy covers and closed my eyes. He pulled his dress clothes off too and followed me under, pulling me against his bare chest and sighing into my hair. Neither of us seemed to think anything of it. His arms were warm around my waist and the sheets smelled fresh and spicy, like the forest after a rainfall. It was odd, but I felt the safest in that house right there in Draco Malfoy's arms. We slept without another word.