𝑯𝒐𝒂𝒙 || draco malfoy

007.

         [ so I keep thinking back to , a time under the canyon moon ]

        *.·:·.☽✧ ✦                                                                               THE MORNING was unprecedentedly dull , the air stale as the four made their way through the city towards a safe apparition point draco had previously marked.

"we'll go ahead", theo spoke — shadows crouching behind him like inked pillars , eyes almost worn grey by the sleepless nights each of them had while keeping watch. evanna nodded from beside draco , watching as pansy waved at them nonchalantly before the pair apparated with a sonorous crack  — leaving the mists of their bodies like carvings in the air.

draco's gaze directed towards evanna , who had already been staring at him questioningly. 

"what ?", he asked , hands in his pockets.

"have you made the list of all the apothecaries ? let's tally it once", she replied.

"we are running out of time , there are hardly five in the entire alley", the boy told , bring his wrist up once to read the time before looking beside him. there shoulders were almost brushing together , and although the skies above them were moulded of rotten ash  — her blue eyes shone like a hidden sun. her brows furrowed lightly as she nodded with a bright smile.

"then let's go !", she exclaimed , pointing her finger nowhere before looping their arms together. he didn't know why she was so happy , they were fugitives with their lives dangling by a thread on the edge of a cliff. and yet , he held down a tug of his lips at the brunette's enthusiasm. and although his heart skipped a beat , he shook himself from within.

later , he reprimanded. i'll fall in love with her later.

they were engulfed in a tangle of limbs , yet the pair landed gracefully at the crossings of the murky streets. puddles had formed at the cracks between the cobblestones , threaded a rust colour by the soles of the feet passing through. draco tilted his head sideways , greeted by his refelction against a blurry shop window. it was funny how he had his mother's eyes and his father's mouth and yet he was a different person altogether.

"knockturn alley really did the number , huh ?", evanna mused , and despite the gloomy atmosphere and the mildew odour , having someone he trusted with him made things a little more bearable. he could laugh at the way his life had turned the corner.

"yeah", draco replied monotonously. he remembered coming there each year , a week before school reopened  — along with his father. draco remembered indulging himself in the artefacts of borgin and burke's. he remembered being scolded before he would always spot an unmistakably tall figure down the lane  — a smaller person tagging behind her. he remembered seeing lyra frey , clad in velveteen formals and adorning a passive expression as her shoes clicked against the ground  — he remembered breaking into a small smile as she would enter the shop , followed by evanna , who would offer him a sprightly smile. he remembered watching as lyra would greet lucius , a hand clamping around her daughter's shoulder before lightly pushing her forward and asking her to greet his father. he remembered feeling as though she had gripped the young girl's shoulder just a tad too hard , but evanna would always brush it off  — unconsciously rubbing a hand against the skin of her shoulder where her mother had touched her.

he never really cared for these visits with his father to that old man behind the counter at borgin and burke's  — except for those few occasions lyra would also come with evanna trailing after her. but they brought forth a steady flood of memories , memories that sung of some form of normalcy in his vagabond mind. and now , that normalcy had been wrecked and his heart licked against his mouth as they fell into step once again , tracing the same old lanes of shady wizards and witches , their features matured beyond their years.

evanna walked ahead , draco a few paces behind her. he brought out the piece of parchment lingering in his trouser pockets , before looking ahead at evanna. the girl turned around once to meet his stare. he wondered why she even bothered to pull that short hair of hers into that mess of a hairstyle , a few strands always escaping and falling to her eyes. but maybe , she had just mastered the art of styling her hair in such a way that it always fell to place in that uncanny way.

"nietrez's first", draco affirmed. she nodded. "i'd figured."

their absent minded steps landed them right ahead of  nietreze's  — the floorboards cracking and rotting , the wallpaper peeling off and the windows shut close. the weary sign over head read barely in scrapings of cheap wood 'nietreze's.' the shop was abandoned , and the glass jars witholding ingredients had seemed to collect dust over the last couple years.

he stood there , waiting. as though waiting would simply turn back the clock.

"ferret boy ! move your arse , we don't have time !", he heard evanna call , turning to see that the former ravenclaw was tapping her fingers against her wrist. yes , there was no fucking time to mourn and be nostalgic.

they walked on ahead , observing their quiet , still surroundings that so heavily contrasted that of diagon alley's. diagon alley , however , was not for them. this was were their roots , were they had belonged — amongst those devastated , crooked buildings and the puddled roads and the scant few people and open shops , and it felt as though the war had swept by every little thing that knockturn alley had been infamous for. as though bolts of thunder had struck down everything , all that ever was burning up into ashes.

it all felt so long ago , but it had hardly been a year.

at the corner of the spiraling web of streets , both of them chanced upon a shop , an 'open' sign hanging from it's considerably clean front window.