Apricity || D. Malfoy x Original Character

Chapter 42-Homemade

Ana woke up twenty hours later, refreshed after not having slept for a week and running through the woods for two days. Draco was still beside her, holding her despite the fact that he was wide awake.

"Good morning." She whispered as she turned around to face him.

"It's evening, darling." He laughed, pulling her closer and kissing her forehead.

"Is it? Oh, well I'm starving."

"Dinner is still happening, should we go down?"

"Maybe we can just go directly to the kitchen."

"Okay, we can do that." He said, standing, followed by Ana.

She decided just to go down in her pajamas, not caring what anyone thought. They walked down with his arm around her shoulder in silence. She was anxious, she felt vulnerable, but he was beside her and that provided some comfort.

She tickled the pear on the portrait and it opened up to let them into the kitchen. A house elf ran up to Ana and hugged her, squealing about how glad she was that the girl was alive.

"Me too." Ana laughed. "Can I get some dinner by any chance?"

"It's still happening upstairs." The house elf replied confusedly.

Draco leaned down and whispered to the house elf, who nodded in understanding and rushed away without another word. Draco led the girl to a table and they sat together, the house elf returning with two plates containing potatoes the way Ana liked them and a stack of pancakes covered in fruit, chocolate syrup, and whipped cream.

"Listen, love, I can't imagine what you went through over the past week and a half; which is why I need you to tell me, so I can help you." Draco said as they ate.

"I'd like everyone to know. I can't do what I have to without support, so I plan on telling Briar and them. It will be difficult enough reliving it once, so I don't want to explain it to you and then again to them... Is that alright?"

"Yes, of course." He reassured her.

She devoured the plate in minutes, asking for more. The house elf brought a second plate with chicken, vegetables, and a side of chocolate covered strawberries. Once Ana had finished that, she drank a good ten glasses of water before she was ready to go back to the Common Room. Her legs were still painfully sore, so Draco helped support her as they walked back. He would do whatever he could to make the transition back to normal life as easy as possible for the girl.

When they walked back to the common room, Ana was hounded with people asking questions and people she barely knew were hugging her, saying they missed her. Draco eventually fended off the crowds, bringing Ana and her group of friends to her dormitory.

Briar enveloped the girl in a gentle hug, Sage, Pansy, Emory, Blaise, Zina, Alastair, Theo, and Ben all joining in. Once they all released her, Sage had a difficult time letting go, Ana understanding and letting her hold on for as long as she needed.

Sage pulled back, wiping away tears and sitting by everyone else.

"I know you're all wondering what happened, and you deserve to know the truth. I guess we should start with the fact that I'm not Anastasia Redmare. I'm Alexandria Rainbrooke."

"What? Draco, did you know?" Pansy asked, having helped the boy through grieving the missing girl all those years ago.

"Not at first, not until around the end of November, when we got together." He responded.

"I was kidnapped and my memories were taken from me after the woman I thought was my aunt, Alaris, killed my parents."

"I had no idea." Alastair said, shocked at the new information.