𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓 𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐍 - 𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞

❃ chapter fourteen

❃

Draco only had to serve two detentions for beating up Potter. His first was cleaning the quidditch trophy cabinet, and his second was organizing Professor Snape's potions cabinet.

Potter hadn't spoken to Maybelle since their incident, and Draco used a small portion of his monthly allowance to purchase her watercolors, canvases and acrylic paint.

January blurred by quickly, and little to no progress on the vanishing cabinet in the room of requirement had been made. He would leave every morning, arrive to breakfast late, and their days would continue as usual.

Until dusk came, and the sky fell deep blue.

Draco found himself trying to console her whenever the dark mark on both their arms began to throb, burning in shame. Despite the invisibility charms, the discomfort remained.

The dark mark rejected her. It was reddened and puffy from scratch marks, sometimes drawing blood whenever her fingernails would claw into it particularly hard.

It was black magic. There was no remedy.

Draco was stronger than her, in a mental sense. He'd learnt to internalize it. Show less emotion, pretend it didn't hurt as much as it truly did.

Perhaps she would be as strong as him some days with proper practice, although he was already strong enough for the both of them.

Either reason wasn't fair. They were merely children. The venom that sat boiling in the blood of her forearm wasn't a minor annoyance; it was absolutely dreadful.

It was Valentine's Day.

Maybelle had always hated Valentine's Day, and yet a small piece of her heart felt the slightest bit excited this year.

They sat at breakfast besides their other marked friends.

"What are you and Daph doing for vomit-ine's day?" Pansy asked Blaise curiously, picking at her scrambled eggs.

"Probably shagging," Draco answered for him, and Daphne choked on her water.

"Could say the same for you mate," Theodore exclaimed, patting Draco's back in laughter, "Absolute hypocrite."

They all stared at him in surprise, the table falling silent. He hadn't cracked a joke the entire month, let alone spoken at all lately.

George had broken up with him by mail after the incident at the burrow. He said it wasn't safe for either of them. Theodore knew George didn't blame him for a thing that happened that night, but he felt guilty nonetheless.

Long distance was far too difficult due to their intimacy, especially when it came to Order against Death Eater.

He'd been quiet ever since the letter slid under his bedroom windowsill.

"I mean... You're not wrong. Daph is pretty good with her mouth," Blaise broke the silence, nudging Draco's elbow.

"Hey!" Daphne butted in, slapping Blaise across the arm, "None of their business."

"Blegh, I don't want to hear about my brother's love life," Naevah complained with a grimace, fake vomiting whilst sticking her tongue out in disgust.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you've given Neville head. Is he submissive?" Daphne laughed with sly eyes, placing her fork and knife back on the table.

"You're being ridiculous-"

"Oh my god, Navs, you totally have!" Maybelle gaped, "Thank you for giving the poor boy some action, he's probably bloody ecstatic-"