Never • The Lost Daughter | A Draco Malfoy Love Story

Chapter 92 - The Face of Torment

"Everything will be okay now. I promise," he said.

I didn't react. Mostly because I couldn't believe that anything would be the way it was or at least turn for the better. And come to think of it, was anything ever okay so it can be okay again?

"Say something," he said.

Despite the fact that I didn't even know if I would ever be able to pronounce a word again, I didn't know what to say. What do you say when you're tortured, when your life is destroyed, when you are a step away from real madness, when you can't even think straight, when you can't walk or move, when you have to fight on for the greatest good but you don't have the strength? What do you say when words are not enough?

"Why couldn't..." I muttered.

"What?" asked Harry. Probably my voice was so weak one could hardly understand what I was saying.

"Why couldn't you save Draco instead?" I said and closed my eyes. Half believing and half hoping I would never open them again.

*     *     *

I think it must have been two days since we got here. The most ridiculous thing is that I don't even know where here was. It's a house right next to the beach where we Apparated. I remember Harry carrying me inside and after a while, he led me to a bed where I could sleep. The bed was soft and so were the pillows. And the covers were thick and warm. I had almost forgotten how it feels not to sleep on the cold and wet floor.

I slept quietly. Or at least that's what I think I did. When I woke up the first thing I saw was Harry sitting next to me and sleeping. And somehow, just seconds after I opened my eyes, he opened his, too. It was like he felt I was awake.

"Anne?" he said with a weak and sour voice. I tried to speak but there was no sound coming out of my mouth. "Anne?" I thought it was pointless. I turned my look outside the window.

It was easier to think about today. And I thought.

I thought of all the things I had lost for the past seven years. How much it had hurt seeing everything turning into ashes in what seemed like a second. I saw everyone. My parents, Cedric, Sirius, Albus and then a series of people that I knew and were now dead because of Voldemort. I thought of Constantine and Dimitri, who had died for me and my safety, a debt I was never going to repay. Then I thought of Dobby, the free elf, and how he sacrificed himself to save Harry Potter. Come to think of it, I owe him my life. And I didn't even know him. I could only feel that his eyes were so full of love and that even if I didn't know him, he was my friend.

And then I thought of Draco. The first and the last time I saw him, the first and the last time we kissed, the first time and the last we slept together.

Oh, that kiss. I would give my life for one more moment with Draco.

I started doubting if I would ever see him again. If Voldemort found out that the Malfoys let Harry Potter slip through their tiny fingers and that I was rescued, death would be sure.

One day passed and I had not spoken yet.

"We'll stay here for as much as it takes for you to recover," he kept saying and I was thinking how bad that was for us. I mean, the longer we would stay here the stronger Voldemort was getting. "I know it must be hard for you. I wish you could tell me what they did to you," he said. And I hope I could speak to you, too, I thought "Do you want me to bring you something?" he asked expecting me to answer.

I turned my face the other way and looked outside the window.

"Draco..." I answered with a weak voice. I doubted he heard me. And I must admit I was afraid of saying it again. It was weird how of all the words that I could spell, this name was so much easier for me to say. It was like it was coming out naturally.