Blooming in the Dark (Flora Weasley and Elwin Malfoy romance)

8. Even While the Sun Brings Her Prize

Elwin quickly stepped into his shop, locking the door behind him as he carried Flora up the stairs to his flat. She had fainted again, but she was muttering in her sleep. It was mostly unintelligible, but occasionally he caught a word or two like 'no' or 'please.' The meaning of these muttered words, however, he hardly dared to guess. 

Having reached his room, he laid her down in his bed, pulling a blanket over her. Pulling up a chair, he sat down to wait until she revived. Azar flew in, perching herself on the bed near Flora as Finn climbed out of his pocket and onto his shoulder. None of them made a sound as they each sat, waiting. 

☽ ❂ ☾

It was nearly dawn when Flora's eyes finally opened. She was confused at first as to where she was, but the soft cawing of Azar instantly told her the truth. Blinking to clear her vision, she fixed her eyes on where Elwin was sitting, reading a book in his lap, but the longer she watched him, the more she realized he was barely reading anything at all. It seemed to be taking an impossible amount of time for him to finish the page he was on. At long last, he sighed, shutting the book and setting it aside. 

"What happened?" Flora asked. Elwin instantly looked up at her. 

"Hey," he said, scooting forward. "How are you feeling?" 

"Tired, but fine," she replied. "What happened, Elwin?" 

He hesitated before finally admitting, "Well...you fainted. Death Eaters were coming across the field and the next thing I knew, you...well, you fainted." 

"What about my family? Are they okay?" Flora asked desperately, sitting up in a panic. 

"I don't know," Elwin admitted. "Your dad asked me to take you somewhere safe. I didn't find out..." 

"Elwin, I have to go back!" Flora cried, jumping to her feet. "I have to know!" 

"Flora, I can't just let you go if there's going to be danger," Elwin said calmly. "Wait here. I'll go back and see what's going on, okay?" 

"Elwin-" Flora began. 

"I said I would get you away from there," Elwin interrupted. "I can't just let you go back." 

"Let me come with you!" Flora retorted. 

Elwin sighed. Finally, he said, "Only because this isn't a fight I think I'll win." 

"You wouldn't," she said. Together, they walked out of the room, down the stairs, and out of the shop. Grabbing hold of each other, they apparated back to the campsite. 

The crack from the apparition echoed through the still place. Tents had been burnt and there were signs of all kinds of other damage, but the Weasley tents were unaffected. Without a moment's hesitation, Flora rushed to the bigger tent, glancing inside to see if her family was there. After a moment, she dashed forward and Elwin, who followed after her, saw she had rushed forward to embrace Bill, the only one awake. 

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly, catching sight of a large cut on his arm. 

"I'm fine," Bill said. 

"Here, I can..." Elwin began before trailing off. Stepping forward, he drew his wand, removing the temporary bandage Bill had put on it. Without muttering a word, Elwin drew his wand across the cut. It sealed itself as he moved across it until finally, it was as though there had been no cut at all. 

"Thank you," Bill said. Elwin nodded, digging his hands in his pockets and averting his gaze to the ground. 

After a short moment, he said, "I should probably...the shop has to open soon, so..." 

"Bye, Elwin," Flora said, hesitating a moment before wrapping her arms around him, careful to not crush Finn in his pocket. After a short hesitation, he returned the embrace. Pulling apart, Flora gave a small wave. Elwin smiled before leaving the tent. 

As he approached the woods, a sharp voice interrupted his thoughts. 

"Elwin!" 

Turning, he was surprised to find his father facing him, his robes slightly scorched and his hair in disarray. 

Letting out a sigh, Elwin asked, "Pleased with yourself, are you? What happened? A few too many of you got drunk and decided to get a little thrill of the good old days?" 

"There is no time for your morals, boy," Lucius snarled. "Someone sent the Dark Mark over the forest. The Dark Lord..." 

"Oh, please," Elwin snapped, meeting his father's angry gaze with one equally as fierce. "Don't pretend you have any real loyalty to him. He's just another person for you to use to justify your beliefs while in reality, you're just too much of a coward to admit you're terrified of him." 

Before the words had finished leaving his mouth, Lucius raised his hand as though to strike him. Elwin flinched. Letting out an angry breath, Lucius lowered his hand, taking a step closer as he snarled, "Were this to actually mean something and the Dark Lord returns, you should know that the loyalty of the Malfoy family is not an option. I will write you out of my will if that is what it takes." 

"I don't give a fig about your damn money," Elwin scoffed. "Go ahead. Write me out of the stupid will. I don't want your money anyway. Draco's always been everything you've ever wanted, so you might as well leave behind your disgrace of a son and put all your effort into the one you actually give a damn about." 

Glancing one last time at Lucius, Elwin turned away from him, but before he got far, Lucius shouted, "Elwin, wait!" Elwin slowed to a stop, turning slowly to face him. "He will kill you." 

Elwin hesitated, his eyes never leaving the ground before he said in a soft, resigned voice, "Then I'll die, Father, and hope my family doesn't suffer for it." 

Without another word, he apparated out of sight.