𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓 𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐍

❃ fireplace

"Draco, what the bloody hell is going on?" Blaise exited the main doors with Daphne on his hip, her eyes red and lipstick smeared.

"He-" punch. "tried to-" punch. "fuck-" punch. "my girlfriend-" punch. The boy was practically bleeding out onto the floor as I sat and watched in amusement.

"I'm sorry I-I didn't know-" he tried stammering and was met with a punch to the teeth.

"Get off him, mate," Theo entered, both him and Blaise pulling Draco off of the boy as he stumbled away, his face reddened with blood.

"Stay away from my girl," Draco yelled as the boy ran off, still under Blaise and Theo's grasp.

He turned and looked at me as my teeth began to chatter.

"Come on, Flower," he picked up the rags with his bloodied hands, "let's get you warm."

He nodded to the others as his hand slipped around my waist, half carrying me back to the dungeons.

He sat me down on my bed, peeling the white, form fitting shirt from my torso.

"I'm gonna-shower," I slurred, standing to go to his bathroom, but to no avail, as I abruptly fell over.

"Flower," he caught me before I could hit the floor, "sit down."

I crossed my arms, pouting.

"Now."

I sat down.

"Good girl, now stop with the attitude and let me clean you up so I can run you a fucking bath."

I sat silently as he wetted the rag, cleansing my chest of alcohol.

"Your getting blood on the fucking rags," I whined, moving away from him.

"Christ, Flower, you're so annoying when you're drunk," he rolled his eyes, muttering a few charms to clean the dried blood from his knuckles, conjuring bandages over his wounds.

"Why can't you just do that to me?"

"Because I like taking care of you, now be quiet," he murmured, picking me up from his soft bed only to placing me down in the hot bath water.

"It burns,"

"Stop complaining for five minutes," he snorted, sitting down next to me to rub shampoo into my hair.

"No, let me do it," I slurred, stealing the shampoo bottle from his hands.

"Fine, fine," he stood, throwing his hands in the air, "you do it," he sat down on the toilet, leaning against the wall with one leg crossed over the other, conjuring a book to read. His white blouse shirt sat with half the buttons open, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, black trousers with slate dress shoes over his feet as his ring-born fingers flipped through each page.

"You look really hot right now," I muttered, peeking over the side of the tub with bubbles in my hair.

"Do I?" He chuckled, looking up for a moment, returning back to his paragraph. "You don't look too bad yourself."

I knew he was lying. I probably had smudged mascara all over my face, looking absolutely wasted with a sudsy lion's mane.

"I know what you're thinking. You still look gorgeous as a raccoon, darling," he looked back up at me with a smirk.

"Fuck you," I flipped him off with a roll of the eyes, rinsing my hair, cleansing the rest of my body before I allowed the water to drain.

"Not while you're drunk, but I'll take that as an invitation for later."

He threw me one of his robes as I stepped out of the water, drying my hair with a quick spell as I slid into one of his t shirts, snuggling under the warm, fleece covers.

"Goodnight, Flower," he placed a kiss on my forehead, sitting down on a chair next to the bed.

"Are you not sleeping with me?" I mumbled into his pillow, curling into a ball.

"I'm reading, and not tired. Get some rest," he cast a warming charm over my body, the bedsheets toasty, sending me into a deep slumber.

𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒐 𝑴𝒂𝒍𝒇𝒐𝒚

Once I made sure she was fully asleep, I closed my book, placing it on the nightstand.

"Sleep well, love," I whispered, placing another kiss on her forehead as soft snores left her nostrils, shutting the door softly behind me as I made my way down to the common room.

"How much progress is being made, Draco?" The Dark Lord spoke through the crackling green flames, his face emerging out of the fireplace.

"Tabs on Gryffindor house and The Order are still being kept, we have watch over every corridor along with Dumbledore's office, My Lord."

"And the students?"

"Being kept under control by The Carrow's and others, My Lord."

"Well done, Draco. Doing better than your Father, I see. Off to bed, I sense others are coming," his face faded back into the burning blocks of wood, turning into charred ash and burning splinters.

I released my breath as the two students passed, standing shakily from the fireplace as I returned to my room.

She was sound asleep when I returned.

I lifted the covers as her face warped slightly from the cold, making a content expression when my body pressed against hers, my arms wrapping around her waist returning her warmth.

"I love you, Maybelle Flower Cliffdane," I whispered.

It was then I realized I hadn't said her full name in years; or ever.

"Maybelle Flower Malfoy," I whispered to myself. Has a bit of a ring to it.

When this is all over, I'll buy her a ring.

❃

𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓 𝒗𝒐𝒕𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒅𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒓𝒚 <3

~ 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝, 𝚒𝚕𝚢