Song inspiration: Thrown Away - VAST
It feels like chasing shadows in the night...
I came out of the bathroom and Draco was still asleep. I went to the curtain that was open slightly and closed it, leaving the room in darkness. There was a pleasant scent in the air as I walked back over to the bed, a sweet scent, something I couldn't quite name. I quietly slipped in beside Draco and just looked at him for a bit. There seemed to be more colour in his face, like a soft glow that hadn't ever been there before. I ran my thumb over his bottom lip gently, the rosiness almost like blood. I went back to sleep at last. I don't know how long I slept. When I awoke again, Draco was still asleep.
There was what appeared to be a circle on the front of his shoulder, somewhat near the clavicle. I looked closer at the circle to find that it was actually a snake devouring itself. I circled it mindlessly with my finger.
"Ouroboros."
I looked to see that Draco was wide awake. I wondered how long he'd been watching me.
"It was...something I had to get as part of the fraternity I was in when I went to school in Alaska. It was more of a brotherhood. I couldn't turn them to join the cause...it really felt like a part of me died when I put them to death," he said, placing his arm around my waist and pulling me closer. Alaska, I thought.
"But Javi. You met him there; you didn't kill him. He's the closest thing to a brother you've ever had. Where has he been, speaking of?"
Draco's eyebrows rose nearly off his face and he sat up. I heard what sounded like a scoff or disappointed sigh.
"Draco?" I asked. He spared me a quick glare before pulling his boxers on and standing up.
"Draco, what's the matter with you?" I asked him. He ignored me and started round the bed. I started feeling angry and got up to block his path before he could reach the bathroom.
"What the hell is your problem?" I demanded. Draco shoved me ruthlessly against the bed and glowered down at me.
"We've only just barely consummated this shit of a marriage, and as soon as I open my bloody eyes, you want to talk about another man! I don't want to hear you say that man's name ever again or so help me, Angelina," Draco yelled. He held his hand up swiftly as if to strike me, and I closed my eyes but I never felt the blow. Instead I heard the bathroom door slam, followed by a shattering noise, which I knew to be the mirror, and Draco screaming angrily, the sound genuinely frightening me. I got dressed in a hurry and rushed out of the room. I ran outside, not knowing where the devil I was going. The next thing I knew, I was kneeling where I'd fallen in front of a large stone fountain, the tears on my cheeks damn near freezing in the cold as they fell. I stayed there, the sun intermittently peaking down at me. I heard steps and turned, standing. At first glance I thought it was Draco, but I looked closer to recognize Daemon approaching me.
"You're crying. It is a sad time...poor uncle Lucius. The healers say it was too much stress on a fragile heart. Why are you out here alone?" He asked me. I wiped my eyes.
"You and Draco missed lunch," Daemon added.
"We weren't hungry," I lied. Daemon began to circle me slowly with this curious look on his face.
"You wouldn't make a good Death Eater. No, you seem too...sympathetic. Perhaps weak hearted. Why and how did Draco choose you?" As Daemon got closer I realized that I was at a loss for words.
"I heard it through the grape vine...well, Pansy, really, that you don't even love Draco. Why did you marry him, Johnson? Money? His looks?" Daemon carried that coldness with him that I knew to be common amongst Death Eaters.
"Hmm, Draco always was a softie deep down. He keeps up that cold, ruthless demeanor to save his image," Daemon laughed, "Draco is good at projecting his sorrow as rage. He loves taking his feelings out on others. It's a..coping mechanism, if you will. Why, I remember him scraping his knee one summer, right where you're standing, in an attempt to catch one of the fish we wanted to play with. He cried his arse off in front of his mummy, but stopped as soon as I brought my friends over to see what had happened. He kills a lot these days, but I swear I've caught him sobbing when he thought no one was looking."
"Daemon," growled Draco and Daemon turned to find an angry looking Draco moving quickly towards us.
"Once you're done accosting my wife, we need you in the parlour to go over ceremony preparations."
"Accosting? I was doing no such thing! Relax, cousin. I was just trying to acquaint myself with our newest family member." Draco frowned, not looking at me at all as he grabbed Daemon's shoulder, who muttered that he was perfectly capable of following without being manhandled. I went slowly after them, stopping in the doorway where the rest of Draco's cousins and his mother were making plans. I quietly stepped away and explored the house. I went into the dining room and shortly a house elf brought me something to eat. I wasn't happy about the fight Draco and I had. We were so close, for a moment, it seemed. I found myself desperately hoping Draco hadn't hurt or killed Javi. I wouldn't have been happy about that, but Draco seemed to be the jealous type, despite the fact that nothing had ever even happened between Javier and I. I'd only been asking about him because I remembered Javier telling me that he met Draco in Alaska. Something so minor had set Draco off. He was often like a bomb waiting to go off when least expected. I was sitting there with my thoughts when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Taken by surprise, I looked up into Narcissa's face.
"Are you alright, dear?" she asked me. I nodded, and then Pansy appeared, accompanied by the few Death Eaters who had helped me with my wedding arrangements. I stood and they each hugged me, offering their condolences. I was probably the only one who noticed Pansy's scowl when she hugged me. When she backed away, I saw Draco standing there. Pansy turned to him instantly.
"Oh, Draco, I'm so sorry," she said sympathetically, hugging him for what I thought was far too long. When finally she stopped, Draco asked her about something, and I was sure it had to do with the little recruiting missions he and the other young Death Eaters were always on. Pansy closed her eyes a moment, as if she couldn't believe that he was asking about such matters at a time like this.
"Draco, this is hardly the time to focus on things like that–"
"I asked you a question, Pansy," said Draco impatiently.
"It's not going so well," she admitted.
"I thought four months would be long enough to recruit from my sorority, but I'm not sure how to breach the idea without over-exposure."
"Four months is long enough; you either found somebody or you haven't," Draco added. Pansy nodded obediently and I fought the urge to laugh at her.
"Mother," Draco said. I felt Narcissa at my side again.
"Come, Angelina. We need to find you something to wear for the wake."
I followed Narcissa and Draco's female cousins to Twilfit and Tatting's. I was beginning to think that the Malfoys used any excuse to buy new and expensive attire. I couldn't have complained, though, about the new gorgeous black dress I was fitted for. Afterwards Narcissa took us all to eat at the most lavish restaurant in Diagon Alley. I got to know the family a bit. The women seemed a lot less cruel, although profoundly stuck up at the same time. By the time we got back to the manor it was sundown. I said I was tired and wanted to rest, so I excused myself. I ran into Daemon trying to find my way to the room where Draco and I were staying. I backed up after bumping into Daemon. He simply gazed down at me in confusion.
"Where are you running to, Angel?" He grinned. I cocked a brow.
"Excuse me, Daemon," I said. Pansy stepped out from behind him, frowning when she saw me.
"You imposter," she spat, eying me up and down.
"Go to hell, Parkinson. I'm in no mood for your games," I said, starting around her. She blocked my path.
"How dare you call yourself a Malfoy? We both know you're only after Draco's inheritance. I bet you're responsible for Lucius's death, and you think you can do the same to Draco, take everything he owns."
"Bitch, you don't want to piss me off. You're insane. Now move," I said, trying to maintain my calmness. Pansy shoved me, and that was the final straw. I drew my wand.
"Whoa, ladies, let's put the wands away and handle this like mature–"
"Quiet, Daemon! I've been waiting too long for this," Pansy said, pushing him aside. I tried to disarm her and she deflected it.
"You daft bimbo," I said, throwing a freezing hex at her and she dodged, thus my spell hit the wall and frosted the stone there, which cracked a bit. Pansy was about to hit me when I heard Narcissa calling me. Pansy quickly put her wand away and I slowly backed away until I was around the corner. Then I turned my back and followed the sound of Narcissa's voice. I found her in a study by the fireplace with a crystal glass of what I assumed to be firewhiskey.
"I'm sorry. I apologize for looking like such a mess," she said sighing. The only light in the room was coming from the fireplace.
"Draco sent me a message. He didn't want you to be upset...I've told him to stop working at such a time, but he said it was urgent, that Pansy needed his help to do something. He won't be back until very late, possibly even tomorrow."
"You said Pansy needed him? That's funny, because I was just talking to her in the corridor."
Narcissa looked confused for a moment and I assumed all that whiskey was going to her head.
"Perhaps she was looking for him." Narcissa walked over to a great armchair and sat.
"Come, dear. You can sit with me and talk, if you'd like."
"Actually, I was on my way to bed, if you'll excuse me. Good night," I said, but by the time I was finished talking, Narcissa had passed out. I kept my wand at hand and lit it as I found my way to the room I'd been looking for. I got ready for bed slowly, and I knew I was really waiting up for Draco. The mirror was whole, and I guessed that Draco had fixed it. When I emerged from the bathroom, no one was in the room, as I'd expected. I got dressed and lay down, hoping that all of my friends and family were okay...
I woke up a bit later to the sound of the shower on. The door was open a bit and I knew Draco had come back. I got out of bed and walked to the bathroom, and as I stepped towards the shower, I noticed Draco's clothes on the floor. There was blood all over them. I gasped and pushed them aside with my foot.
"Draco?"
I pulled the curtain back slowly to find Draco standing there, one hand resting against the wall, just letting the water drip down his body. He turned slowly, seeming not to have noticed me. As steam billowed out of the shower, I could start to see his body. There were scratches on his lower back, as if somebody had been clawing at him. Sleepy as I was, I tried to remember if I had done that to Draco the previous night. The scratches looked rather intense and fresh.
"What you doing?" Draco barked, his eyes wide as though he were surprised to see me. I glanced at Draco's clothes on the floor.
"Whose blood is that?" I asked slowly. I felt his wet hand pull mine off the curtain.
"Go to sleep," he ordered, closing the curtain and disappearing. Though he was a bit scratched, I knew all the blood on Draco's clothes wasn't his.
Let me in, because I'm out. I know that I am someone no one said I was...