Locked (Draco Malfoy)

Chapter 11

I walked down the stairs and through the maze of hallways, then, finally reached the dining room, where I spotted Lucius Malfoy. This was the first time that I'd seen him since I'd moved in here. I walked towards them and Narcissa motioned for me to sit next to Draco. "Aurelia Thorne, am I correct?" Lucius asked. Wow, he got right down to business. "Yes, that's me." I said. "How are you today?" He asked but I was sure that it was just out of courtesy. "I'm alright, Mr. Malfoy, thank you for asking." I replied. It seemed that he found my answer satisfying so he made a noise of affirmation before starting to eat dinner. Draco and Mrs. Malfoy had also started eating so, naturally, I did too. Meals without Mr. Malfoy felt so much more natural and easy going than the meals with him as both Draco and Mrs. Malfoy didn't dare make any conversation during mealtimes.

Dinner went by, it was boring and full of awkward silence, so when Lucius stood after he finished eating, and the others did too, I was relieved. We each retreated into our respective rooms, because nobody seemed to spend time together in this house, much like mine. Once we reached his room, I asked him if there was anywhere I could unpack my clothes as I'd been taking my things out of my suitcase which my back did not appreciate. "Oh yeah, I'm sorry I forgot to mention it sooner, but I cleared out half of my closet to make space for your clothes, you can put your stuff in there." Draco replied. I didn't know how to take this, did he do this for me because he wanted to, or out of obligation? I swallowed the words down and nodded my head before opening my suitcase and unpacking it.

I spent a maximum of 10 minutes on it, that's how much I owned. Soon, I got bored. Neither Draco nor I could fall asleep, so I missed my chance at being able to throw up. I'd just eat less and throw up tomorrow's breakfast. Draco, as usual gave me my pill before I went out to the balcony that was attached to his room. It was the first time that I'd gone out there and chilly air hit me the moment I stepped foot outside.

I spent a while just looking up at the stars, leaning my forearms on the railings and keeping my gaze fixed on all the constellations in the sky. I don't know how long I was just staring into space- literally-when I heard the door slide behind me and Draco walk towards me. He only spoke when he had fixed his position beside me. "I see you're an awful lot interested in the stars tonight." Draco commented. "I've always liked the stars, but I've never had a chance of learning much about them." I sighed. "Which one is your favorite constellation?" He asked. "Perseus." I replied. "Oh, I like that one. It's pretty cool." He said. "Do you know its origin story?" He asked. I perked up, intrigued. "No, I don't." I said, prompting him. 

"Well, let me tell you then." He continued, "According to Greek mythology, Perseus was the son of Zeus and the mortal Danae. He was born human but was half divine due to his father's lineage. Perseus grew up with his mother in a remote area and led a peaceful and happy life surrounded by nature until his family was threatened by King Polydectes. Perseus killed the king and rescued his mother and her sisters, the Danaids, who had been forced by Polydectes to spend the rest of their lives in the sea. Perseus was rewarded for his brave deeds by being granted the constellation of Perseus in the night sky."

Woah, that sounded cool. "That is very interesting, how do you know so much about it?" I asked. "Well, I'm very interested in astronomy, and I read Greek mythology books for entertainment, I have nothing else in this house to keep me going." He replied. "It must be lonely here." I said sympathetically. "Yeah, it gets lonely sometimes and it sucks. Having no siblings and living in this huge house does not make it better." He half joked. "I can't relate, I love my sister." I said, half teasing, half serious.

He smiled and continued staring at nothing in particular in the sky. I took a second to stare at his dimple that would appear in the moments he'd smile. It was rare and I learned to appreciate it every second it was there. It was starting to get colder by the minute and a shiver rolled down my body. Draco seemed to notice because he shed his hoodie and put it on me. What the fuck? Why was he being so nice?

In our first year, Ronald Weasley, my first friend, told me what a bad person he was when he walked toward me and introduced himself. For the first few weeks, I did think he was bad, that's the impression everyone had me under, and he was quite a bitch to me in all my years there, but maybe he's changed now.

"Thanks, but aren't you cold now?" I said. Draco's scent surrounded me until all I could smell was him-peppermint and a little bit of spice. "It's fine, I don't get cold easily." He said, still not meeting my gaze. "You're shivering." He rather stated than questioned. "I'm fine." I said. I didn't want him to think that I couldn't deal with a little cold temperature. "Let's go back inside, I'll get you something hot to drink." Draco insisted. "You don't need to do that." I said because he really didn't have to. "I don't want my future wife to get hypothermia, is that so wrong?" He said. I didn't know what to think of that. When he called me his 'future wife', a weird feeling ran through my body. I was to marry this man and have his baby. What have my parents gotten me into?

Something must have changed in my expressed because the next thing I know, I'm being guided inside by Draco. His strong, firm hands on my shoulders made a shiver run through me that was definitely not because of the cold. He stepped inside behind me and shut the door to the balcony. "When did the room get so warm?" I asked because the room was definitely not as warm before, his room was always weirdly cold. "I turned the heating on before I came out." He stated matter-of-factly. "Oh." Was all I managed to say because I was suddenly hyper aware of his hands that were still in my shoulders. He seemed to realize at the same time, and he quickly ripped his arms away. "Sorry." He mumbled. I pretended not to acknowledge that happened as I made my way back to the bed.

Draco summoned dobby and asked him to get us two hot chocolates from the kitchen. I tried telling him that he didn't have to, but Draco was having none of it. Once Dobby brought us our drinks, I thanked him, and he left so we finished drinking and I laid down on my side. Neither of us made any move to start a conversation and so, I decided to sleep.