Again, the pain washed over Draco, consuming his every thought, nerve, and muscle. He was gasping for air, tears falling from his eyes and down to his lips. His mouth was open, trying hard to breath normally. He hated this, breaking down in front of others. Especially ones that so desperately needed him to stay strong. Absently, he felt Lindsey's hand on his arm, but couldn't try to do anything about it.
Images of the dead raven, it's pained eyes, kept racing through Draco's mind as he tried to regain control of himself. He knew they had to leave, but it was as if he were frozen to the floor.
"Draco…Draco…It'll be okay…" Lindsey murmured to Draco, who was still weeping quietly into his hands, "Draco, we need to leave. Now."
"How…we…we…don't have a….a car…" Draco stated, still gasping for breath.
"We'll take the bus, it'll work," she replied. Draco peered out from over his hands to see that Malinda had gone somewhere else. His eyes were red and puffy, his blond hair pushed above his forehead in his attempt to bury his face completely.
"She went to pack more clothes and get the bus schedule," Lindsey explained, her hand still on his arm. He had stopped crying, but he couldn't stop the painful sniffles and hiccups that followed.
When Draco had finally regained control over himself, he stood up and went into the bathroom to fetch his shirt without saying anything. Lindsey didn't try to stop him from shutting the bathroom door, and went downstairs to help her mom, purposely ignoring the dead bird hanging in her room.
Draco hastily threw his shirt back on, and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked even worse than he had feared he would. Dark circles outlined his red, puffy eyes, and his face was pale and blotched with red spots. Specks of pebbles, dirt, grass, and sand grains peppered his dirty hair. He placed both of his hands on the edge of the sink, staring at the horrifying image that mirrored him, unable to comprehend what he had done.
Draco finally broke out of his trance, turning the hot water on in the sink. He was staring at the mirror again, watching the sink slowly fill with warm water when it suddenly changed to a milky, blood-red color. Draco narrowed his eyes and peered into the sink. The red liquid was chalky and Draco could smell a copper-like scent fill the air around him.
He staggered backwards, staring at the pool of blood in front of him, appalled. After only a few seconds, he ran out of the bathroom and down the stairs, running right into Malinda in the process.
"What's wrong?" Lindsey asked, carrying a backpack on her back, obviously ready to leave this place behind. Lindsey had managed to brush her hair down, but the dark circles were still noticeable under her eyes.
Malinda on the other hand had covered up her circles, and had reapplied most of the make-up she had been wearing, looking as good as when she left the last time she left the house.
"Nothing," Draco explained through his teeth, his voice frantic, "Let's just get out of here." Lindsey and Malinda didn't question him as he bolted through the screen door, not wanting anything to do with what they had earlier considered to be home.
Draco kept walking, his speed no where close to casual as he strode four steps ahead of Malinda and Lindsey.
"Draco, wait up," Lindsey said, jogging up to him. He didn't listen to her and straightened his tie uncomfortably. Lindsey made a little scathing noise before catching up to him again.
"You don't even know where your going!" stated Lindsey, raising her voice ever-so-slightly. This caused Draco to slow his speed to a more natural walk, but his face was still mortified.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Lindsey asked, her voice low and quiet so her mom, who was walking a few strides behind them, couldn't hear.
Draco didn't respond, and Lindsey took that answer as a no. Truth be told, Draco thought he was going crazy. All of this was surely taking a toll on his mind, and he probably just imagined the blood. Either way, he wasn't ready to share his experience with anyone yet.
"So where are we going?" Draco asked after a good ten minutes of walking. Lindsey shrugged, smiling sweetly.
"You were leading us," she said, her eyes hinting for a moment, her, perhaps usual, clever thought. Draco frowned, clenching his hands together.
"Now's not the time for a game," he snapped, in his old, Slytherin attitude. Rather than shun back into her shell like she would've usually done, Lindsey simply continued smiling.
"We can take the thirteen to Downtown. I was assuming that once we get down there we could rent a car."
Draco raised his eyebrows, clearly amused by the fact that Lindsey had thought all of this up in less than fifteen minutes. He thought that if she had gone to Hogwarts, she would've perhaps been in Ravenclaw. He did find one flaw in her plan however, and spoke in a low voice.
"It's a great plan and everything, but you know I don't know how to drive, right?"
"Define the definition of drive would you please?" Lindsey said, a charming smile spreading on her face.
"Drive as in…using a steering wheel and such in a car so you can go places," Draco said, feeling strangely clueless at whatever Lindsey was playing at. His response was worded quite humerously, and Lindsey laughed lightly.
"Exactly my point," Lindsey said, "If a normal teen can do it, why shouldn't a sixth year wizard not be able to?" Draco finally understood what she was trying to tell him.
"You want me to use magic?" he asked, his voice meek.
"Why not? You are seventeen, right?"
"I…yeah…just last month," said Draco, looking down at the hard cement under his feet.
"Then there aren't any problems…right?"
"What about your mom?" Draco asked sheepishly. Lindsey shook her head.
"No. She's a bit…out of it. Don't tell me you haven't noticed." At this being said, they both glanced behind them towards where Malinda was standing, staring off into space as she continued walking forward like a mindless zombie.
"I'm not exactly…in the best condition either," Draco said anxiously.
"None of us are," Lindsey said, smiling at him weakly. Draco didn't notice anything extremely wrong with Lindsey, but didn't say anything to her about it.
"So, how far are we from the bus stop?" he asked.
"Another block I believe," answered Lindsey, almost immediately. Draco didn't say anything and continued walking, all of the recent activities flowing through his mind. Not only had he escaped from Lord Voldemort, but he managed to save two others. He wondered how long his luck could possibly last.
"Draco? Are you alright?" Lindsey asked, watching him stare out into street. They had arrived at the bus stop, and all three of them were sitting on a concrete wall. He nodded vaguely. Lindsey sighed and glanced over at her mom, who was also gazing at the road, her eyes unseeing.
"Are you two always gonna act like this?" Lindsey muttered. This caused Draco to snap out of his thinking and look down at her.
"I don't believe thinking is against the law," he said, once again letting his Slytherin mood show through the wall he built since he had become a Death Eater. Lindsey smiled at his rudeness, knowing that he was slowly becoming more of what he used to be before all of this had happened to him.
"Sorry sir, just thought it was a bit suspicious. Two people hopelessly gazing out into the street in the middle of the day, looking like they hadn't had much sleep, and one of which was wearing an extremely warm suit," she said happily before adding, "With a blood stain on the sleeve."
Draco looked down at his sleeve, which did indeed have a giant blotch of blood on it. He hastily rolled it up with trembling fingers, unsure whether the blood had come from the bird, or if it was from the sink and he wasn't crazy.
"You saw something," Lindsey murmured, causing Draco to jump.
"What makes you think that?" he asked, looking away, absently holding the blood-soaked sleeve in his hand.
"Where'd the blood come from?" inquired Lindsey curiously, "You didn't get that from the bird did you?"
"What's it matter to you?"
"Because you got that from myhouse," Lindsey said, her voice light, although she was frowning.
Draco didn't say anything as the bus pulled up to the curb. Malinda went in first, dropping the coins in the slot, followed soon after by Lindsey and Draco.
All three of them received numerous looks and double-takes, particularly Draco, as they took their seat in the back of the bus.
"A bit warm for a suit isn't it?" asked an old man as Draco walked by. The old man was wearing a plaid shirt and jeans, his hair short and white, and his glasses were scratched and dented.
Draco ignored him, and continued to the back of the bus, feeling as if he were a peasant.
"Great isn't it?" Lindsey said, clearly mocking Draco. She was wearing another one of her smiles that made Draco think that she was simply playing a game with him.
"No. You take the bus a lot?" he asked, showing little 'true' interest in her life. He folded his arms across his chest and looked out the window, pretending he wasn't in a city bus.
"Not anymore," said Lindsey, letting out a small laugh, "I used to take it every day after school before we moved." Draco didn't respond and she simply looked down at her hands, her face thoughtful.
"It's not healthy," she said after a long silence. Draco twitched his head ever-so-slightly to acknowledge he was listening.
"Not eating I mean." She wouldn't have normally brought up a subject like this in public, but everyone was busy in their own little world, so she figured it was safe to at least mention it.
"What do you mean?" asked Draco as his face turned paler than normal.
"You know what I mean," muttered Lindsey, looking away from him. Draco turned his head to her and glared.
"Enlighten me," he said, a harshness he usually only saved for Potter in his voice.
Lindsey didn't look back at him as she regained her confidence. She had pretty good tolerance for people's emotions, but if they started to get too angry, Lindsey could never continue with what she was saying without crying. A very miserable event to occur at a time like this.
"I know you haven't been eating lately. Probably not much at all since you've became a Death Eater."
"I don't believe that's any of your business," he snapped, his face becoming hot. Lindsey didn't say anything for a while.
"We need to get off at the next stop," she said, her voice quiet, shy even. Draco felt guilty about the way he spoke to her, but didn't think to apologize. He made a good point, it wasn't any of her business if he was eating or not.
Draco pulled the chord, like so many others before him, and started to stand up. Although Lindsey was the closest to the isle, Draco got out first, leaving Lindsey and Malinda behind.
Malinda remained at her slower pace, carrying the heaviest bag, while Lindsey quickly caught up with Draco.
"Now where do we go?" he asked her, crossing the street. Lindsey hurried behind him.
"Keep going. It'll be on the left," she said, nearly avoiding an oncoming car as it stopped abruptly, "And could you please stop walking so fast!"
Draco sighed, slowing down as he reached another intersection. Lindsey was a step behind him, Malinda following a few yards behind her daughter.
All three of them crossed the road when the light turned a familiar red color, Draco crossing first, as usual.
"Spare money?" asked a man around his mid-forties. He was holding out a dirty, poorly used hat that held maybe a dollar in dimes and nickels. The group ignored him, continuing towards their destination.
"Please? I know you have some on you!" he cried, stepping in front of Draco. Draco felt his face get hot again, and his hands clenched into fists.
"We don't have anything to give you! Now fuck off!" he shouted, causing the man to jump and scurry off without another word.
Lindsey watched the scene from a few feet away, her mom standing beside her. Both of their eyes were on Draco, wondering what had caused his sudden outburst.
Lindsey was the first one to move, and simply placed her hand on his mark once more. Draco hadn't noticeably felt any pain from it, but immediately some of his frustration disappeared as her fingers lightly rested on the moving skull and snake.
Not wanting to linger on it anymore in public, Draco continued walking, Lindsey at his heels. Malinda was still farther behind than Lindsey, but she had managed to stay within a good yard of her only daughter.
"Here," Lindsey said, stopping in front of a mediocre car shop. The cars there were old, but surely with a bit of magic it wouldn't matter.
Draco continued walking towards the building without a second glance, Lindsey once again left to jog up to him.
"My mom's paying," Lindsey said, not looking at Draco's face which had become heart-breakingly pale. He continued inside, the bell on the door ringing as they all entered, one after the other.
"Ah, well, hello," said the secretary, glancing up from his papers, "How may I help you?"
"We…need to rent a car," said Draco, suddenly feeling guilty that he was too weak to just apparate the group to London.
"Ah, names?" asked the secretary, looking up at the odd people. He had messy red-brown hair, covered by the shop's uniform hat. Little spectacles rested on his nose, making his already big green eyes larger than they were.
"Malinda," said Malinda, stepping up to the desk. The secretary raised his eyebrows, but started asking Malinda some questions about policies and what-not.
"Hungry?" Lindsey asked Draco, not bothering to stick around for the answer. She walked over to a vending machine that resided in the corner of the little office. Draco followed, staying a few feet behind her, as she fed the machine seventy-five cents.
"What do you want?" Lindsey asked, taking a bag of Doritos from the box below. Draco didn't say anything; he was afraid that if he ate something he would be sick.
"I'm…not hungry," said Draco, guilt from their earlier conversation bubbling up inside of him. Lindsey could see that Draco's face had gone a bit green from the mention of food and decided it best not to push it right now.
Lindsey smiled weakly, shrugged, and went to go sit down at a nearby chair, trying to make Draco feel a little more comfortable. His face turned back to it's original pale white and he sat down next to her, staring at the opposite wall, thinking about what she had said earlier.
It was true, that Draco hadn't been eating as much. But was it enough to be considered, 'unhealthy'? The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. Food for him was like any other thing in his life except for the Dark Lord. He ate when he could, which was, if he was lucky, a piece of bread once a day. He knew it wasn't normal, but the word, 'unhealthy', didn't seem to fit it. Sure, he had lost all of the muscle he had acquired when he was starting Hogwarts, but wasn't that how things were? Was it really that noticeable that he hadn't been eating well?