WOOOOOOOOOO muahahahahhahaha.
XXX
After Ariadne's loyalty was secured, the Dark Lord left along with the other Death Eaters. He took Lucius and Narcissa with him, leaving Draco and Ariadne alone in the Malfoy Manor. Ariadne cautiously approached the unconscious blond boy that was crumpled on the opposite end of the dining table. His legs were contorted and his breathing shallow. She crouched over him and her white-blond hair tickled his face.
"Draco? Are you awake?" she cupped his clammy cheek and sighed when there was no response. "Levicorpus!" Ariandne floated Draco's limp body up the staircase and into his bedroom. Unsure of where to put him, she decided on the bath tub. That way, if he vomited, it could be washed away. Getting an idea, she stripped Draco down to his boxer briefs and turned on the warm water.
"You're gonna sweat this out, Draco." In his sleep, he shook violently as if cold. Ariadne tugged at Draco's legs and rested them on the tub's edge, elevating them so less pressure was put upon them. Two fingers to Draco's throat told her his heart was working in overdrive.
The blonde girl made sure the bath was shallow, only reaching to the middle of Draco's toned abdomen.
"Accio chair!" she pictured the low stool downstairs and was satisfied to watch it zoom in moments later. This little chair would become her perch until the Slytherin boy woke up. As he panted for air, Ariadne looked at Draco's features, eyes hungrily drinking them in. She had never noticed him in this light before. He actually looked sort of…beautiful. Slate eyes flicked to his chest and her heart sank. Where her magic had struck him, long red gashes were left behind.
"You took that like a man. You actually let me perform this curse on you." She wiped away the sweat on his brow and ran a hand through his hair. Enjoying the sensation, she moved around the claw-footed tub and began playing with the blond's platinum locks. Instead of being slicked back, like Draco had always done in the past, he left his hair somewhat short and messy. If he cared enough he'd run a handful of gel through it, but Ariadne thought that it would just make it sexier. Wait, sexier? Oh, Merlin. It's happened. A panicked voice in her head said.
A wet, hacking cough interrupted her mental epiphany that she did indeed consider Draco Malfoy sexy. Ariadne moved around to talk to him.
"Where…am I? And why am I almost naked?" his hand skimmed across the cuts on his chest and it was as if he remembered.
"You're in your bathtub. You were freezing." Ariadne offered, reaching into the tub and grabbing his hand. It was wet and clammy but Ariadne didn't care.
"Voldemort made you do this. If you didn't we both would have died. Thank you." he kissed the back of her hand that was still entwined with is.
"How could you thank me, Draco? I just used the Cruciatus curse on you!" The tears came quickly now. Her voice broke and she began to blubber. "How can you stay so rational and calm! If you did to me what I just did to you, you know damned well I'd never forgive you." Draco looked at her through icy blue eyes, staring straight into her own slate hue.
"You. Had. To. Don't worry about me. It'll toughen me up, and Merlin knows I need some of that." He stood from the bath and grabbed a towel. Ariadne helped him out, as is limbs were awkwardly unresponsive. She also assisted him into a white shirt and some black sweats, and led him to bed.
"Sleep is going to be the best thing for you. Are you hungry? When you wake up I'll make your favorite." Ariadne smiled, trying to hide the guilt and pain that plagued her.
"How do you know what's my favorite?" he asked feebly.
"Because I know you, stupid. Your favorite is eggs benedict." Ariadne rose to leave but was stopped by Draco's clammy hand around her own.
"Stay with me. Please." He begged. "I need someone right now."
"Just someone?"
"No, that someone has to be you. I want to talk with you, Ariadne." Draco pulled back the covers and Ariadne obliged, taking off the sweatshirt she was wearing earlier and laying there in a t-shirt and yoga pants. Draco laid on his side, facing the other blonde, and reached out to touch her cheek.
"In the delirium that my mind is in right now, I don't think my mind has ever been clearer." he whispered. "I need you to get me through this Death Eater nightmare." Draco Malfoy admitting weakness was as impossible as the idea of keeping a Dementor as a pet. It was out of character for the usually cool and confident boy. Ariadne felt her eyes grow wide in shock.
"Draco, you can do this. We can do this. Don't let it get to you."
"Voldemort just took my parents to the Department of Mysteries. They're probably breaking in as we speak and getting those prophecies that mean so much to the Dark Lord."
"Prophecies!" Just like the ones in Ariadne's dream. Would the Dark Lord be successful in hearing them both?
"You need the person who the prophecy was predicted about to be present, don't you? Are you sure he's going there?"
"Undoubtedly. My father has lured Potter and his friends to the Department, aided by the Dark Lord's skill in Occulmency." Draco figured.
"So there's a battle about to go on right now." Ariadne mused. Draco nodded and pulled Ariadne closer to him.
"I'm sorry. For everything. For teasing you as kids, breaking your heart and making fun of Hiro. I'm sorry for kissing Parkinson and hexing you and being a bad partner in all our classes. I'm sorry for not looking out for you, or making sure you're not hurt or that you're all right. I'm sorry." Draco sighed. Ariadne gave him a sad smile and told him he was forgiven.
"That's what I've sort of been waiting for the past fifteen years or so." She half-laughed.
"Go get the present I got for you." he instructed. Ariadne kicked off the sheets and walked to Draco's desk, where the purple box with silver ribbon sat expectantly. She took it back to bed and Draco sat up to watch her open the gift. Once her fingers had lifted the lid, Ariadne smiled. Beneath a letter to her sat a necklace that had a long chain. Suspended from the length was a gorgeous, heart-shaped locket. On the golden surface of the heart small flowers and vines were carved, and once she managed to open the clasp she smiled again. Inside was a picture of Ariadne and Draco, kissing when they were around age two. Draco pulled Ariadne over from her finger painting and planted a kiss right on her lips, and the tiny blonde giggled in surprise. The right side of the locket held a watch that glittered as it ticked.
"It's so beautiful, Draco." Ariadne looped it around her neck and the cold metal sat over her heart.
"Read the letter when I'm asleep." Draco rolled over so he faced the windows and the snowy grounds outside. Ariadne obliged and slipped the letter on the bedside table.
XXX
Thirty minutes later Draco was fast asleep. While he snored Ariadne dug up a bottle of Dittany and rubbed it on his chest wounds. She tried not to swoon as she felt his muscles beneath her hand. In his sleep he seemed to smirk, as if he could hear her not so appropriate thoughts. The girl washed her hands of the goopy medicine and picked up the letter. Lest Draco wake up while she read it, she moved to her new favorite place in the Manor—the library. Curled up on the maroon loveseat, she unfolded the letter that could possibly change everything she ever knew.
To Ariadne,
Happy Christmas. I suppose I should start from the beginning, then. All throughout our childhood I have bullied you, tortured you, and undoubtedly embarrassed you. And countless times you've always claimed that I've hated you. I'm not sure why I started this rivalry with you. I'm a foolish man for thinking that I could ever keep you as an enemy. I really think it was to protect my overly inflated ego.
I thought that if I could keep you as an enemy, or even a rival, it would be easy to love you from afar without ever having to be hurt. You can imagine how difficult a confession of this caliber is on my self-esteem, a Malfoy never humbles himself, (or so my father insists). You might also be wondering why I'm writing so eloquently…I figure if this is formal enough it might make you think I'm entirely serious.
My earliest memories are always surrounded by you—you were everywhere, with me always. I'd like to think that we were almost brother and sister, no thanks to our lovely parents who dropped you off here at the Manor so they all could go out and do Death Eater duties while their two-year-olds napped. It's sort of a morbid thought.
And I see you now from a different light. You know by now that I care for you. That I've always cared for you. When I was young I confused admiration with competition, and strove to beat you in everything I did. But I struggled in vain, for you are and always have been more talented than me.
Ariadne felt that this wasn't an entirely accurate statement—Draco was a skilled Occumulens, and very talented in all the subjects she failed in.
Ariadne, I cannot ignore these feelings any longer. I need you now, more than I ever have needed anything in my entire life. I have sworn my heart to you since we were children, and hid that promise from the world to not only protect my stupid mind but to put up a front for others. That dishonesty I also apologize for. When I kissed you the other night, it seemed as if my life could finally begin. A life I'd work hard to keep and to preserve. But, like the arse I am, I messed it up.
Your patience with me is endless and most impressive, Ariadne. This letter's, (or confession, however you wish to call it) is not a call for action, or a reciprocation of such feeling or fervor. I only wish that this letter lets you know that I've loved you all of my life. Now, as a Death Eater and an adult, I feel mature and ready enough to admit this to you. I feel as if this conversation is around three or four years late.
Forget about the other girls who have come and gone. If they were meant for me, you'd see them sitting beside me at the dinner table, not you. Those girls were desperate attempts at shaking myself free from your grasp on my heart.
I realize now that the grip you have taken on my heart will never loosen, as it still remains as tight and crippling as it has for all of these years. It's enough to bring a man to his knees.
I know you're not stupid, Ariadne, so you must have had some idea that I've cared for you…if the jealousy and touchiness wasn't enough then I guess I'm too subtle for my own good. If this sounds all new to you, then, well, surprise.
Whenever I look into your intelligent eyes, your gaze so striking and pure that it seems as if it cuts right through me, I am often at a loss for words. That's when my ego takes over, and, in a pathetic struggle to save face and not gawk like a fool, the slews of insults and not-so-witty banter bubbles to the surface. So forgive me in those moments of weakness—for I'm not alone. I watch how that Taminama boy does the exact same thing—he's just better at turning his stupors into compliments and flirtatiousness. I am not so skilled.
As I bring this mushy confession to an end, I'd like to leave you with this locket, now the most obvious metaphor for my feelings. The heart of course is carved with gardenias, your favorite, and the picture inside is the priceless moment when I believe my heart decided what it wanted. The clock on the right serves two purposes—one: to tell the time (well, what did you expect?), the second: to give you a promise that I'll always love you until that clock stops ticking—till the end of time. Stop there, for your brain already is calculating when the battery will die…but it won't. I've enchanted it. So the joke's on you.
-Draco
If the locket hung heavy on her neck before, it seemed to weigh five hundred pounds now. The tiny tick of the clock's hands moved steadily like a small heartbeat. It almost felt as if it were alive on her skin. Unlike the calm, routine tick of the clock, Ariadne's heart sprinted into overdrive. She wasn't sure what just happened. She double checked the signature at the bottom to make sure that it was Draco Malfoy who just spilled his heart and soul onto the parchment.
She felt giddy—her stomach bubbled with an excited little peal of happiness that spread throughout her body. And then she mentally slapped herself.
"Stop acting like a foolish little girl, Ariadne!" she scolded herself aloud.
XXX
Draco slept for the remainder of the day, and Ariadne ate Christmas dinner entirely alone.
"So I suppose this is what my family dinner would be like now." She said through stinging tears. For just one Christmas, it was quite an emotional rollercoaster for the young Nocturne. She knew she should celebrate her family's life instead of wallowing in their demise, but she felt sorry for herself and had no qualms about complaining. She was so lonely she asked the House-elves to eat with her. They were afraid at first, fearing a trap that would lead to a beating, but Ariadne waited patiently.
"You are so kind to elves, milady!" Fenn the House-elf smiled. Ariadne didn't even let them eat the congealed gruel they were usually served. The House-elves ate the Christmas turkey along with the blonde pureblood. Halfway into the meal, Draco stumbled into the ballroom.
"Merlin, did I miss dinner already?" he looked half-asleep and disheveled, with a dress shirt he must have recently buttoned half-tucked into a pair of stained slacks. He saw Ariadne, crying over a plate of turkey and stuffing, and rushed over to her.
"Ariadne, what's wrong? You lot, give us some privacy!" he snapped at the elves. The House-elves obeyed immediately, taking their plates of fine food and scurrying back to the kitchen. Once the door slammed and Draco was satisfied they were alone, he sat and grabbed her cold hand.
"Ariadne, it's freezing in here. Christ, are you all right? Incendio!" Draco started a fire in their enormous hearth.
"I'm fine. Everything's just hitting me at once, is all." She sniffed and sucked all the snot in her nose back up. She suddenly realized how gross that probably was and mentally kicked herself. Draco tactfully pretended not to notice.
"Did you…erm…read my…uh…letter?" Draco felt his breath hitch and prayed that his blonde companion couldn't hear his heart pound against his ribcage. It drummed in his ears so loudly he almost didn't catch her reply that she did read it.
"It meant so much to me, Draco." She placed her hand over his and Draco let out a smile of relief.
"Good, I'm glad. I've been writing that damned letter for about a week." He smirked and stabbed a piece of turkey with his fork. Ariadne giggled, trying to imagine Draco sweating over the letter.
"You meant everything?" she asked, eyes slightly narrowed. She would not be made a fool again. Draco swallowed his bite and nodded firmly.
"Do you think I'd waste my time on an elaborate lie like that? Too time consuming. If I didn't mean anything in there I'd just insult you. A week's worth of slaving over parchment compared to a three second curse? C'mon, Nocturne."
Ariadne blushed slightly, taken aback. So he did have a heart, did he?
"What does this change, then? What happens now?" In the windows behind them, snow piled on the panes and the deck. A blizzard was rolling in.
"Unless you want something to happen, then nothing will happen. I just felt you had to know."
"Is that how you really feel? What you really want?" Ariadne asked.
"Of course not, Nocturne. If it was up to me, you'd be my girlfriend right here and right now. But I can't ask that of you."
"And why not?" she replied hotly.
"Because that would be too sudden. If I remember correctly, 'one kind thing isn't enough to make up for a lifetime of bad things' or whatever you said the night I kissed you." Ariadne tried her best not to roll her eyes. He grabbed her hand and kissed it.
"If I have to wait a thousand years, then so be it." He said through smiling lips.
"Drama queen." Ariadne spat. Draco couldn't control his laughter any longer.
XXX
Okay, so since I didn't reply to reviews, I'm replying to reviews from LAST CHAPTER, AND THE CHAPTER BEFORE. Because I love you all and I feel you need to feel loved too :D
Reviews from Chapter 14:
Savage Trickster: I know, I'd be embarrassed for Ariadne as well. Grabbing his balls in front of the party, oh my. Well alcohol does that to the best of us, I suppose ;)
Ein Storm: Thanks for always reading and reviewing almost all of my stories, your support is appreciated! I'll update soon!
Curious Bookworm: Thank you! I'll try to get chapters out as best I can!
XXmizz Alec volturiXX: yes indeed, hiro is back *happy dance* woooOOOO! Hahah thanks for the review. And yes despite their odd relationship Ari and Draco kiss quite frequently, don't they?
Naii: although you don't have a username thanks for reviewing, and yes, mmmmm Draco. Draco was too shocked to do anything about Ariadne grabbing his balls. It's quite a shocking experience from what I hear. Thanks for reading!
RisemboolRanger: I know, I switch back from Hiro to Draco like every time I write. He's such a charmer/gentleman. Thanks for reviewing! And I LOVE the name Ariadne, it's so pretty.
Niikkii95: Yes, I know that isn't Theodore Nott D: but in my mind it is! Yeah that one guy in the background, tall and blonde, was Theodore in the movies. But whatever, anywho, thanks for reviewing! In my story, Theodore can be some pretty good competition.
StayBeautiful1: I'm really really glad I got Caroline right, I'll be using her in more and more as the story comes along…I'm so glad for your reviews, too, they always make my day. AND lol to Draco and his diary.
Reviews for Chapter 15:
StifledCreativity: ;_; best smiley ever! Yes, poor Draco. But unless Ariadne obeyed they both would have died….i hope that they can mend things.
Xxmizzalecvolturixx: I know, Winifred is a blast and I'll for sure be including her in later chapters for some funny situations. And I know, damn voldemort. He's such a butthole. Thanks for the constant reviews!
SavageTrickster: I'll try and update ASAP, thanks for always reviewing and enjoying Stuck. And yes, I wish Ariadne could use the Cruciatus curse on Voldy himself :(
Babysena: I'm abbreviating your pen name because otherwise it doesn't show up for some reason! Thanks for the review :D don't worry, Draco isn't quite dead yet!
Niikii95: thanks for another review! You're awesome.
Thank you to those people who added Stuck to an Alert list, favorite story, or favorite author:
ChoppedandScrewed, AlexandraWashington, Muffinminded, Lumihuitale89, CuriousBookworm, StayBeautiful1, ScarletEmeraldRomance, Rose Pound, SavageTrickster.
YOU GUYS ARE ALL AWESOME, YOUR SUPPORT AND REVIEWS KEEP ME WRITING 3