Our Little Secret || Draco Malfoy

Chapter 4.

"You said the Death Eaters are starting to monitor everything, right? Well, I worked out a way that we can talk to each other with no one else knowing. The parchment is enchanted. Whatever you write on it will appear on an identical piece that's sitting in my trunk right now. And, whatever I write on that one will show up on yours. It disappears after a few minutes, and it's completely undetectable." I said, and Draco beamed at me with pride. "You're brilliant. I love it, Isabelle." He said, leaning forward to kiss my cheek.

"So, where's my present?" I said jokingly, and Draco laughed. "Close your eyes and hold out your hand." I obeyed, biting my lip in excitement. I felt something small and cold being placed on my wrist, and I opened my eyes to see a small silver chain bracelet around it. I turned my hand over and my mouth fell open a little when I saw a small silver circle with something engraved on it - the Malfoy family crest. "Draco, only Malfoys are allowed to wear the crest, I'm a Potter and even I know that," I said, looking at him wide-eyed. Draco smiled, taking my hand in his. "I know."

I looked at him for a second and then gasped. "Holy hippogriffs, Draco, are you proposing!?" I exclaimed, not sure whether to be overjoyed or horrified. 

"No! No, not at all, Isabelle! I mean, not that I wouldn't want to but we're only sixteen and it's just that-" "Draco." I said firmly, cutting him off. Draco took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts before speaking again. "It's not a proposal, Isabelle. But it's a promise. A promise that I fully intend to keep, because I want you to be Isabelle Malfoy one day."

I practically launched myself at Draco, throwing my arms around his neck and kissing him hard as tears sprang to my eyes. He wanted to marry me. He wanted us to get married and have a family and grow old together. Draco pulled me into his lap so I was straddling him, holding me there and kissing me back with fervor. I could have stayed like this forever - wrapped up in my lover's arms, doing what we do best, but both of us knew in the back of our minds that our time in this room was coming to a close and fast.

We stayed like that for a few moments more, reveling in the quiet stillness of the room, save for the crackling fire, and the soft glow of the lights around us. "It's only for the holidays." Draco murmured, chuckling when I refused to let go of him when we stood up. "Three whole weeks without you," I grumbled, looking up at him with sad eyes. Draco leaned down, pecking me lightly as we walked towards the door. "Don't the muggles have some kind of saying that goes 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'?" He said, and I nodded. "Yeah, they do. It's hippogriff shit."

Draco laughed loudly, and the sound brought a smile to my face. He had seemed so stressed lately that seeing him like this, relaxed and happy because of me, made me feel invincible. "We can try out that magic parchment of yours, yeah?" Draco said as we reached the door, both of us stalling our inevitable. I nodded, hesitating for a second before wrapping my arms around his neck and hugging him tightly, burying my face in the crook of his neck. "It's not forever, Isabelle. And just think, one day soon, we'll have forever all to ourselves." He said, rubbing my back soothingly. I smiled against his skin, thinking about the amazing future Draco and I had ahead of us and suddenly, three weeks didn't seem so awful after all.

------

I was wrong. three weeks was absolutely awful. I made it all of three days before I packed a bag and left Snape's house, escaping through the Floo Network to the Burrow. I could hear him yelling from the drawing room when the roar of the emerald green flames echoed through the downstairs, but I had disappeared into the fire just as he walked into the kitchen.

I landed hard in the Weasley's large fireplace, stumbling out of it onto the kitchen floor as I tried to find my balance. Coughing and brushing the soot off of me, I looked up to see a kindly-faced Mrs. Weasley standing in front of the sink, smiling at me. "If you can't handle the Floo Network, how are you going to handle apparition, dear?" She said, coming forward to brush some soot from my hair and face. I chuckled, giving her a hug. "You just missed dinner, but I can whip up something quickly if you'd like?" Mrs. Weasley offered, and I shook my head.