Under the Willow Tree | Draco Malfoy

chapter 59: i need you

"What do you think will happen? Now that you've ignored your task with that cabinet?" Lorelei glanced up at Draco with a worried gaze as she asked this. She had tried to keep the concern clear from her expression, but she had never been very good at concealing her true feelings.

"I don't know. Hopefully nothing. I just hope my lack of cooperation will be enough to keep everyone safe here," Draco admitted.

He brushed a few strands of hair away from Lorelei's eyes, and she relaxed once again. She snuggled deeper into his chest, and Draco carefully shifted the two of them further down the bed and more under the covers.

"I love you, Draco," Lorelei whispered in the peaceful room.

Draco smiled and whispered back, "I love you too, Lorelei."

They both grinned and closed their eyes, beginning to fall asleep to the quiet lapping of the water against Draco's dorm window, but their peace was interrupted by the slamming open of their room door.

Draco sat up at once and grabbed his wand in a flash. He pointed it at the door while simultaneously shoving Lorelei behind his back.

Panting in the doorway were the rest of the Slytherins in their group. Theo shut the door behind them and sprinted over to the young couple. He panted, "Thank God you're both alright, but you're in danger."

"What do you mean?" Draco demanded.

Daphne and Millicent shoved one of the wardrobes in front of the door.

Pansy stared up at the ceiling with a twisted up expression that made Lorelei feel deeply afraid. Something truly horrible must have happened.

"They're here. The death eaters. They're probably after many of us, but we think they're especially after you for betraying You-Know-Who with your task to finish that cabinet," Theo said with worried eyes.

Pansy collected herself enough to move again. She darted around the room and shut all of the curtains. "Luna was with Hermione Granger tonight. The two were studying together, so she should be in the Gryffindor tower, and Briar is there as well, with Longbottom. The only person unaccounted for is Blaise. Nobody's seen him."

"What if he's hurt?" Lorelei panicked.

"He's hardly been sleeping the last few days. I noticed that he's hardly even in the dorms lately, and he seems even gloomier than usual, if that's possible," Theo rambled.

"What Theodore intends to say is that we're doubting he's a victim of this intrusion... It's more likely that he's the one hosting this particularly unwelcome party," Daphne added. She was still out of breath from moving the heavy cabinet, and Millicent had already plopped on Crabbe's old bed from her exhaustion. Their group had sprinted all the way back to the dorms after catching sight of Bellatrix Lestrange.

"What if others are hurt? I can't just hide in here if others could use my help," Lorelei begged, silently hoping they would move the cabinet for her. She hopped out of Draco's bed, but Draco quickly grabbed her waist and pulled her back.

"Lorelei, no. I can't have you getting hurt."

Draco's chest was constricting harshly. If Lorelei chose to go out there to help, he couldn't stop her, but he wasn't going to pretend to be happy about it. If she left through those doors, anything could happen to her, and Draco wouldn't ever know until it was too late.

"But they might need me," Lorelei reasoned through a new wave of emotion that left her wanting to sob.

"I need you," Draco breathed.

Sure, it was one of the most selfish things he had ever said, but to him, there was no amount of life saved that could matter more to him than Lorelei's well-being. She was all that mattered in that moment, and he wanted her to know it, to hear him admit it. If she left and never returned, Draco would be shattered, and no amount of lives saved at her hand would ever bring his love back to him if that happened.

Lorelei fell back into his arms and cried. She was scared and had no idea what to do. For all she knew, students' bodies could be lying throughout the corridors in desperate need of help, but she couldn't do anything about it because her friends didn't want her to be another one of those bodies.

"I love you," Draco whispered again, feeling his own fears caging in his heart and making him wonder if she could still love him after seeing his selfishness.

"I love you too," Lorelei whispered and held onto Draco tighter. She decided that maybe if she just shut her eyes and listened to the sound of his heartbeat a little longer, maybe she could delay this war.

However, Lorelei knew that, just like with her inevitable plummet into sleep each night, no amount of avoidance or delay could stop the war that was upon them.

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