Chapter Fourteen: Faith

I used some of my more shameful superiority skills with Madam Pomfrey in order to have her whip up a potion that would help Draco with the pain, as well as extra bandages to wrap him again. I knew he wouldn't approve but I only had so much time before he woke up again. When I'd left him not moments before he had been dead to the world and yet his chest rose and fell with steady and deep breathing. The rest would be good for him.

I raced to the Hospital Wing and talked her into giving me a salve for the wounds that would numb and help them heal faster as well as a sleeping tonic that would, well, help Draco sleep. I hoped to make it back before he woke.

I wasn't so lucky.

He was wide awake and trying to shift into his shirt. "Whoa! Where do you think you're going?" I said, rushing over to him, dropping my supplies on the end of the bed. They immediately caught his eye.

"What are those?" his voice was still groggy from having just woken.

"You're going to fight me anyway, so why should I tell you?" He raised his eyebrow in disapproval. "See, I knew you weren't going to like it. You're going to have to do as you're told though."

"I don't have to do anything you tell me to."

"True, but your wounds may very well incapacitate you for some time and then whatever you were working on that has been frustrating you so much will just wait more. You're mistaking strength for stubbornness and pride, Draco. Don't let it be your ruin as well."

He rolled his eyes and threw aside the shirt he'd tried don. He then threw his hands in the air expectantly, a gesture that was meant to say "well, get on with it." So I did. I sought out a bowl of warm water and a sponge. I wet the bandages he wore and then unwrapped them, hoping they had not healed into the wounds. Madam Pomfrey had made sure that would not happen however and they came away with little tugging. I took a rag cloth then and dipped it into the salve, careful not to get it in contact with my own skin. I didn't want a numb hand—that would just be too weird. Draco gritted his teeth as I brushed the ointment over the cuts. They weren't open any longer; they obviously hadn't been deep enough to require stitches. They were simply many short red lines, puckered from whatever healing they'd done the previous night in the Hospital Wing up until now. For this I was thankful. It took no time at all for the salve to start working. Magic worked best that way, instantaneous.

I finished wrapping his torso snugly with the extra bandages I'd collected and as I gathered everything together in the bowl of water to dispose of, resealing the jar of salve Draco's hand caught at my chin. He lifted my face so I would meet his eyes. He was no longer upset, no longer in pain, and finally seeing what this decision did for him. This was a good thing. He leaned forward and claimed my lips. "Thank you," he whispered, something I knew was probably hard for him. He never bothered to thank anyone in his life before I had come along and turned his world upside-down.

I reached up and brushed my palm against his cheek, giving him a gentle smile before continuing with my clean-up. When I had finished he had already put his shirt on and was buttoning the last button.

His eyes drifted to the coffee table where my wand and the opened letter from my mother still sat. "What does the letter say?"

I walked over, picked up the envelope and held it out to him. "Read it."

He took the letter from her, his movements slightly restricted by the bandages but no longer hurting thanks to the salve and Sadie's clever ministrations. "You're sure?"

She nodded to him and sat down on the sofa. He remained standing and flipped open the letter.

My Dearest Sadie the letter began. Draco could feel a slow smile spreading on his lips.

All that you have told me about Draco and what has transpired between the two of you makes it sound like he is a worthy hero of my special girl. He sounds very wise and bright; it is unfortunate that circumstances have him locked in such unbreakable chains. I have never known such a bond to anything before in my life and it scares me to even think about what he is going through. From all you have relayed to me, you are being very strong for him; as well you should be for all he means to you. I am glad to know that while you are so enraptured with him currently, you are both being realistic about the relationship. So many young teenagers these days are caught up in young love. I know yours is a hard life, what with your father and until recently, me, being so difficult. But it is my hope that these troubles will soon be over.

It is no small request you have made of me, asking to live with me for the next year. I have, however, discussed it with Flynn and he is open to the idea. Trusting his judgment I will most willingly say yes. You are most welcome here, for as long as you wish. And it has always been my dearest wish that you be safe from this oncoming battle that is overtaking London. I realize it is a kind of escape; something that I did when I was just a little older than you, but it is the right thing. You are wise and a very bright witch to have thought things out so thoroughly.

I also wish you all the courage you possess in confronting your father. Your rather lengthy letter described in detail all your feelings, many of which I felt empathy to, as I was once in your position with your father. He is a tough man to follow and we Corey's are not made to follow. Do what you must, my Princess. I will support you 100%.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon,

Love from,

Mum, xoxo

Draco finished the letter once and then scanned it over again just to make sure he understood everything. "Princess?" he asked finally.

Sadie laughed. It was a musical twinkle that Draco had come to understand as a light in the darkness, one he was very accustomed to hearing. He liked making her laugh. "My name, Sadie, means Princess in Hebrew. My parents are anything from religious but I'm sure my father thought it appropriate for the daughter of a business king to have a name that meant his successor."

He moved to sit beside her, the last remaining pain disappearing. "It's beautiful. I never knew that."

"Not many people do," she admitted, shrugging her shoulders.

"And you told your mother all about me? I didn't know that either."

"I told my mother everything. After expecting a huge fight and her pushing me away again when I went to see her, when I got compliance and agreement I was so shocked that it all came spilling out I guess. She told me that if you hurt me she would wring your neck six ways from Sunday."

Draco let out a loud laugh at the thought. "Your mother sounds like a great lady."

"She is."

He took her hand in his, bringing it up to his mouth, kissing it delicately. "I will never hurt you intentionally. Princess."

She shook her head, "Not you too!"

"Yes, me too."

He had never known such joy as he did when around Sadie. It pained him to think of the day he would have to let her go. But he knew that it was because of everything he was trapped in that he HAD to let her go. It was the right thing to do, and in the midst of all this wrong, he was determined to do right by her. There was little else in this world that he felt doing right by. Not the Dark Lord. Not even his parents.

He saw now that while Sadie bemoaned her mother before and her father still, they were nothing like his. He was bound to them by blood, more than that even. He could never break those ties. He loved his mother, despite her cold harshness. And he respected his father, despite all his twisted cruelness. But he saw sometimes that they were just as trapped as he was. The Dark Lord wrapped his talons around their tiny necks and bent them to his will. To everyone he enslaved. It was an honor to serve the Dark Lord, most said, when the truth of it was if one did not serve, they would be slayed.

"You are far away," Sadie then commented, snatching his attention back to the present.

"Just thinking." Sadie's eyes drifted down once and then back up. "What?" he asked.

"Do you know that sometimes I wish I asked the questions I want to ask? I have so many questions. I just pray that someday you'll be able to tell me all that you're keeping from me now."

His chest tightened and not from the bandages. He wrapped his arm around her and forced her to him. She came willingly and he bit his tongue when the movement brought him slight pains. He kissed the top of her head. "One day. I promise, one day I will tell you everything." If I survive, he thought, keeping that to himself.

Even if he did not survive the next year and a half, he would ensure that she did. If it was the last thing he did. To everyone else he was a discontented, evil, cruel monster who cared only about himself and his advancement amongst the Dark Lord's most inner circle. He would endure that, of this he was sure. But it would not be for him. It would be for her. To make sure she was safe.

After a few moments Sadie broke the silence, speaking with her face pressed against his neck. "So, do we go to my father's next weekend?"

He had quite forgotten he had promised to accompany her. His recent encounter with Potter had been more than unsettling. Yet now he could almost thank that bastard for injuring him. It had given him yet another moment with Sadie that he would not trade for the world. Watching her heal him had been damaging to his ego, no doubt about that, but for once it was nice to be taken care of, especially with genuine, sincere care. She did not bother to hide those feelings and he hoped she never would. He had given her his word that he would stand behind her, and he would not shirk those duties.

"Of course. Will you make the arrangements or shall I?" he asked her.

"I will arrange it all. It has been a few weeks since my father has asked me home. I can put it down to an interest regarding the winter shoot and when it will take place. He will be suspicious, but perhaps he will be too busy with Candy and the wedding to pay any mind."

Draco noticed that Sadie used the same condescending tone saying "Candy" that he used when he said, "Potter." As awful as it was, he was pleased to know she hated someone in this world as much as he hated Harry Potter.

She giggled just then. "What is the giggle for?"

"I was just thinking," she confessed. "If it weren't for the fact that I know what actual married couples act like, I'd say you and I had become one overnight."

He chuckled at the comment. "You are right. I have no recollection of any married couples that act as we are. Well maybe one."

"Who?"

"Weasley's parents." He said it without any distain, something he was quite unused to. It was so unusual on his tongue. He then admitted something to her that he had never admitted to anyone else in the world. "I envy his family."

"You do?" She was as shocked to hear it as he was of himself to admit it.

"I know. It's silly. But Weasley has brothers and a sister, and parents that would die for him. Put my father and I in a room together with a Basilisk and he would feed me to it to save himself. I would die to have my father sacrifice himself for me, if only to see him proud of me for once."

"You definitely won't lead by his example then, will you?" Sadie replied. "You will be a better father than he ever was or will be, Draco. You will love your son in a way that Lucius Malfoy cannot even fathom."

"You can see the future now, can you?" Draco teased, wishing with all his heart that what she said could come true.

Sadie laughed, "No I can't see the future. Divination is a wish-washy magic and everyone knows that. But I just can't see you making your father's mistakes. Not after everything you're going to now to change your life."

"It hasn't changed yet."

"No, but that doesn't mean it won't happen. Faith. All you need is a little faith, Draco. I have faith in you." She curled up closer to him, as close as she could manage without not actually crawling on top of him.

It was a night he would cherish for the rest of his life, and something he would hold on to every time he was asked to bow before a Dark Lord he no longer believed in. His faith had shifted. It rested now with the gorgeous creature curled in his lap. Some even rested on his own shoulders. He would succeed. He would gain the trust he deserved and then when it all ended, he would finally be free. Maybe not free to be with Sadie Morris. But free to be the man of his choosing. And he would thank Sadie for the rest of his life for the courage and strength to realize it.