NUMB | D. MALFOY {EDITING}

xvi. the burrow

« THE BURROW »

A cold shiver brushed past Anastasia's covered arm as she stood right in front of the door. Under her breath, she muttered different ways to greeting the Weasley's and creating several lies of why she was standing there in the doorway. Eventually, she raised her hand and knocked two times.

She exhaled deeply and closed her eyes to make her heartbeat get calm and her legs to stop shaking of nervousness. After all, she basically ran away from the Malfoy's manor to spend the holidays with them.

"Annie!" Ron was the one who opened the door. "You are here!" He seemed happy as he hugged the girl tight.

"Who is it, dear?" Anastasia heard Mrs. Weasley's voice from inside and smiled when the caught the sight of the quiet girl. "Anastasia, you are here!" The woman happily strode to her and embraced the brunette in a tight hug, just like Ron did. "Welcome, dear. We've been waiting for you."

"I couldn't wait until tomorrow." Anastasia smiled, letting Ron take the trunk from her and put it away. It wasn't particularly a lie; she really couldn't wait to feel the welcoming love of a family.

"Oh, dear! You are so sweet!" The ginger woman embraced her once more when Harry ran down the stairs and smiled when he saw one of his friends in the doorway.

"Annie!" He smiled and hugged the girl tightly, the girl's heart melt at the love she was receiving. "I'm really glad we get to spend the holidays together." The boy hugged her once more and soon the entire family was dragging her to the dining room.

"You must be hungry." Mrs. Weasley paced around the kitchen and searched for her cooking utensils. "Let me prepare something for you." She smiled and Anastasia simply nodded.

"How was living with the Malfoy's?" Ron asked, making Anastasia's heart sank at the thought of Draco and the life she left behind.

"It was..." She trailed off, discretely glancing at her forearm. "Alright." She continued, curving the end of her lips in a half-smile.

"They didn't hurt you, right?" Mr. Weasley questioned, crossing his arms with a worried look. "If they—"

"You don't need to worry." The emerald-eyed girl spoke, sending a reassuring smile to the family. "I'm completely sane." She lied, but no one seemed to notice.

"Is it true Malfoy sleeps with a teddy bear?" Fred jokily questioned, gaining a laugh from Anastasia.

"I wouldn't know." The girl shrugged, glancing at the twins with a smirk.

Mrs. Weasley placed a plate with food in front of the girl and she shyly started to eat, trying her best to not fill her mouth with too much food, just like her mother taught her.

Anastasia carefully listened to the conversation as she silently ate the food and sighed deeply when she felt herself getting full.

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Weasley." The girl stood up and gave the woman the plate. "It was delicious." She shyly spoke, almost like she didn't want to be listened.

"Oh, it's nothing dear." The woman caressed Anastasia's cheek in a motherly way. "This is your house." Something in the girl's face changed when those words left the woman's mouth. Almost everyone noticed.

"Can—Can I hug you?" The words came out so soft that nobody listened, only Mrs. Weasley did and she only smiled widely at the girl in front of her. The woman embraced Anastasia in her warm arms and the girl let herself crumble inside.