𝑩𝑳𝑨𝑪𝑲|𝑺𝑰𝑹𝑰𝑼𝑺 𝑩𝑳𝑨𝑪𝑲'𝑺 𝑫𝑨𝑼𝑮𝑯𝑻𝑬𝑹

Part Of The Deal

"Just before the children came" I sang with him, feeling my heart begin to warm with love for the man who'd raised me when I had no one else.

"Come up here" he sang even louder than me with a big grin on his face as he slid his way to me.

"Little Bessie" we both laughed as we sang and he took my hands in his, spinning me around and dancing with me. "Come up here live with me, where little children never suffer, never suffer through eternity" I breathed a laugh at the end of the lyric when he pulled apart from me only to twirl me back to him.

We both stop singing, laughing too much to carry on.

Hermione and the boys clapped and cheered jokingly with beaming smiles. My cheeks flushed red and I glanced up at my father, his eyes happy and cheerful.

And I really did want to tell him that I forgave him. To tell him that it didn't matter that he left, that he was here now and I loved him. But this horrible, churning feeling at the bottom of my stomach told me that he'd leave again. I was terrified of him leaving and I couldn't just live my life controlled by an emotion.

I dropped my hands from his and it was like all the joy had been sucked from the room.

Of course I forgave Remus, however I didn't think that he should know that straight away. We'd be okay, just not right now and that was okay.

"I'm going to check on Draco" I coughed awkwardly.

"Why? Let the git stew" Ron dismissed.

I rolled my eyes at him and turned off the running tap.

"Keep an eye on the chicken, will you Harry?" I asked him, "and Fredrick if I catch you touching those biscuits I will shove one-" I began my threat but cut off by Ron.

"We don't need to know what you two get up to in your spare time!" Ron jostled.

Fred winked and Hermione scrunched her face in disgust.

I jogged up the stairs and turned the hallways until I found the room that Draco had locked himself in. With an inhale, I knocked on the door lightly.

"Draco? It's me, Nerezza. Can I come in?" I requested, hoping he would let me in.

I didn't hear anything for a second but was surprised by the lock clicking and the door creaking open.

Draco was sat on the end of the bed with his hands clasped together. His white hair was mussed and still dirty from when he'd landed in the sand the other day, he was wearing the same suit he'd arrived in which was smeared with dirt on the back.

"What do you want, Black?" He asked harshly.

I lingered in the doorway at first, unsure of whether to approach him or just leave him alone.

On one hand, Draco had bullied my friends relentlessly throughout their years at Hogwarts and his family had just tortured Hermione and I while locking my friends in the cellar. He'd had a lasting impact on them and that wasn't something that could be ignored.

On the other hand, was Draco just like my Father? Sirius and Remus had both bullied Snape at Hogwarts too, yet we'd excused their actions. Sirius's family was also a prominent family of death eaters who believed in pureblood supremacy-he'd been controlled by them. The only difference is that Sirius had friends to escape to, Draco didn't. Draco never had a choice and I understood that now.