Day Six

Tilly had managed to find a decent book on the shelf. She was sprawled across her bed reading. She hated to admit it, but she was out of ideas. So, she was reading. Maybe the silence would freak Draco out.

The book was Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. She had been surprised to find so many muggle books on the shelves. The Malfoys didn't seem like the type. But it was a good book, so she let it slide. Unless Robert Louis Stevenson was secretly a wizard. That would be cool.

The book reminded Tilly of Draco. When he was like Jekyll he seemed almost kind and she was tempted to feel sorry for him. But then in an instant, he was Hyde again and they were at each other's throats. The difference was that in Draco's case, Hyde was around first and it's Jekyll that only came out periodically. Tilly wondered to herself if there was a way to make him stay as Jekyll for good.

The smell of something burning filled the room, interrupting her thoughts. Tilly covered her nose.

"What is going on?" she muttered to herself. Tilly tried the window but Draco had magically locked it shut. She went and rang the little bell that usually summoned Draco. She waited, and waited and waited. The smell remained. If anything it became more pungent. Tilly sniffed the air. It smelled like burning plastic. She banged on the door.

"Draco, what are you doing?" she yelled. No answer. "If you burn down the house and kill me your boss will kill you!"

There was still no answer. Tilly pulled the sheet off the bed and stuffed as much of it as she could into the crack at the bottom of the door. Hopefully that would block the smell a bit.

Tilly went back to the shelf and looked for another book. Tarzan of the Apes jumped out at her. Not because she wanted to read it but because of the idea that it sparked. Tarzan could swing on vines. Tilly looked up. The chandelier looked sturdy enough... right?

Well she was about to find out. Tilly grabbed the dresser and dragged it across the carpet. It was empty so it was light. She turned it so it was perpendicular to the wall and it formed a straight line with the chandelier overhead and the bed at the end. She moved the pillows and the blanket off the bed and arranged them on the floor around it: Padding for the floor in case she fell. Then, she climbed onto the dresser and stood on the very edge. She could almost reach the chandelier but not quite. She'd have to jump for it.

She moved back so she was against the wall, took two running steps across the top of the dresser, and jumped.

Tilly shrieked. It was like being on a trapeze. Her hands closed around the arm of the chandelier and she swung like Jane of the jungle.

"Geronimo!" Tilly let go when the chandelier was at its highest and soared down to land on the bed. She bounced a few times but managed not to fall off. Tilly couldn't stop laughing. That was the most fun ever! Why hadn't she thought of this earlier? Tilly ran around and jumped on the dresser for another go. Was she really a prisoner? Were prisoners allowed to have this much fun? This time when she let go, she bounced off the bed and on to the floor.

"I'm the Queen of the World!" she cried for the whole house, the whole world to hear. She was invincible. Voldemort, do your worst.

But it wasn't Voldemort who came to investigate the crashes and screaming, it was Draco. He stood in the doorway looking like he didn't know whether to faint or cry.

"I - I brought your lunch," he stammered. Tilly got off the floor and saw that he indeed had a sandwich on a plate for her. She bounded over, riding high on adrenaline.

"Thank you, dear," Tilly took the plate and put it down. "I'll eat it in a minute."

She ran around and climbed on the dresser.

"Wait!" Draco yelled before she could start running. Tilly suppressed a sigh. She didn't want him to shut down her party. But then Draco surprised her. He pulled out his wand and enlarged her crash pad, the bed.

"Ok, go."

Tilly gawked at him.

"If you're not going, get off the dresser so I can have a go." If Tilly hadn't seen his mouth move, she wouldn't have believed that the words had come out of him. She jumped down and gave a dramatic gesture.

Draco climbed up. His legs were longer than hers so he crossed the top of the dresser in one step. Tilly watched, amazed, as he jumped off the end, grabbed the chandelier and swung.

A sound of such pure joy escaped his lips. Tilly laughed. He laughed too before letting go and bouncing off the bed.

Well, Tilly wasn't going to question it. She climbed up on the dresser and took her turn. Then he went again. Then she did. They did this for half an hour straight at which point Draco collapsed on the floor.

"I need a break!" he gasped. He lay down and Tilly flopped next to him, mirroring their positions from the day before.

The lay in silence, the only sounds were each of them trying to catch their breaths.

Tilly couldn't understand it. He had joined in. He hadn't gotten angry, or called her crazy, or run screaming from the room. He had joined in. Who was Draco Malfoy? She thought she knew. Maybe this was his evil twin. Or his good twin, the usual Draco was the evil one.

After a while, Draco spoke. "You know, I've been thinking."

"So that's what that burning smell was."

"Oh shut up!" He reached over and swatted at her. Tilly laughed but said nothing more.

"I was thinking about what you said, you know, yesterday," Draco said. "About my Mum."

"Yeah?" Tilly asked quietly.

Draco didn't answer so Tilly waited. He was like a rabbit, or a wild deer. Sudden movements would scare him. Tilly had to be patient and slow.

"I know that my mother loves me," he said after a few moments. "She just doesn't express her emotions well. She's English aristocracy, we're all like that."

Tilly giggled. "Yes, the English aristocracy hasn't changed much in the last two hundred years."

"God forbid." Draco laughed too. Then he stopped. "She's always been there when I needed her. I realise, the incident with my broken arm, I didn't really need her, I needed the Healers at St. Mungo's. But there's another memory that stands out. I had a nightmare and she came and got into bed with me. She gave me a hug and I fell asleep in her arms. When I woke up the next morning, she was still there. She had fallen asleep in a half sitting up position. I realise now that she can't have slept well and must have been very uncomfortable but she did it anyway."

"Mums always know what to do or what to say, don't they?" Tilly said.

"Yes, yes they do."

Draco heaved a sigh and got up off the floor.

"Lunch is going to be late today," he said.

"What happened?" asked Tilly.

"That burning smell you were talking about? I dropped something into the stove element and it smoked so much that it burned the soup," he sighed again.

Tilly noticed for the first time that he looked tired. He had dark circles under his eyes and he looked like he'd lost weight.

"It's cold sandwiches for lunch, and possibly for dinner too," Draco said.

"Ok," said Tilly simply.

He left, locking the door behind him.