Desolation Row | A Draco Malfoy Fanfiction

Chapter 26

Draco and I had become accustomed to catering to our pregnant best friend in a matter of days. It was almost like a switch had been flipped in our brain that meant we were automatically there, by Elisa's side, if anything went wrong - it was almost like a sixth sense. Sometimes Elisa appreciated this, other times she would grow frustrated, saying she needed to be able to do things by herself. Draco and I were never offended by her outbursts, understanding that she could not control her emotions at the moment and we would take a step back, still watching critically, just in case. It also helped that Elisa would apologise profusely every time she thought she could have offended us in some way.

         Now was one of those times. Elisa has assured us that we could leave her to make breakfast by herself, in order for Draco and I to get ready, however, I was still listening out for her in the kitchen as I pulled on my clothes. Draco had tried to persuade me to let him shower with me but I had (sadly) had to decline. Just as I ran a brush through my long hair, I heard a frantic knock come from the living room. Although it was muffled, I was still able to tell that it meant someone was at the door. That never happened. Pulling on a pair of socks and grabbing my wand, I listened to the suppressed noises of Elisa's pained, panic-stricken voice through the wall. I couldn't work out who she was talking to, though the voice held a faint familiarity. As I quietly pulled open the door to the spare bedroom, I could hear the voice more clearly. I made my way down the hallway, hearing Draco turn on the shower in the bathroom to my right. Clearly, Elisa's 'guest' had heard it too as I was suddenly aware of the voice hissing something at Elisa. I became suddenly very protective of my best friend. As I drew nearer to the living room, I reeled back in shock. The voice was so clear now. But it couldn't be, could it? I hovered by the door for a second, listening to Elisa's voice growing louder in annoyance. It sounded like Ron. I had to see what was going on.
"Elisa? Who, wh-who's here?" I asked, glancing around the room, my eyes resting on a tall ginger boy.
Not Ron. No, a Weasley though. One of the twins I was sure. Fred? George? I didn't know.
"You're helping them?" growled the Weasley boy through gritted teeth.
Elisa whipped around in her seat.
"Excuse me?"
"The stuttering Slytherin!" continued the ginger boy and I reeled back in anger. "Don't you know it's common knowledge that she's close to the Malfoys?"
He spat Draco's surname like it was poison. I gritted my teeth and folded my arms, about to retaliate before I felt a presence behind me and a pair of hands on my shoulders.
"Say another word about my girlfriend and I swear to Merlin, it won't be the Death Eaters you'll need to worry about," growled Draco calmly, his grip tight and protective on my shoulders.
I leaned back into him and became suddenly aware that he was wearing only a towel. I smiled slightly to myself as Elisa began gesturing wildly at the Weasley in her living room.
"You come here, George Weasley, accuse me of hiding my own twin sister and insult my best friends? And here I thought I could count on you to help me with your niece or nephew and keep my sister safe. Go to hell." sneered Elisa and I was secretly impressed, amazed at the amount of power it must have taken her to speak to her boyfriend's family like that. "And get out. Now."
Who I now knew to be George Weasley sighed angrily and stormed from Elisa's flat. We all let out a collective sigh of relief as the door closed behind him. I watched Elisa shake her head in disbelief before my gaze slowly shifted to Draco's half-dressed torso. I heard Elisa snicker and came to notice that Draco's towel was beginning to slip.
"Uh, Draco?" choked out Elisa before she was overtaken with laughter, her hands gesturing wildly to Draco's towel.
He looked down and grabbed the towel before it fell, eyeing me suspiciously before glancing back over at Elisa.
"I'm going to get dressed before she dies." laughed Draco, nodding towards me and I smiled sheepishly.
"Please do." answered my best friend with a laugh.
I opened my mouth to respond but Elisa cut me off.
"No, Ophelia, you cannot go with him. You already broke the bed."
I stuck my tongue out at her, my face going slightly red, before collapsing down next to her on the sofa, stowing my wand in my pocket as I did so. I saw Elisa's face drop. Something was wrong.
"El? Ev-ev-everyth-thing okay?" I asked softly, worry laced in my voice.
"Yeah... I just..." Elisa had answered absently and I knew she wasn't telling the truth. "Excuse me."
Using the wall to help her, Elisa stumbled down the corridor and I exhaled the breath I hadn't realised I was holding in and shook my head. I was so worried for Elisa. She was strong, there was no doubt about that, but sometimes I worried. That 'sometimes' was becoming all too frequent as of late. Slowly lifting myself from my seat, I followed Elisa into her bedroom, knocking when I reached the door.
"El? Are y-you okay?" I asked through the closed door.
"I need to... be..." began Elisa as I pushed open the door. "be a-alo-lone..."
Yeah. Like that was going to happen. I crossed the room and sat beside Elisa, wrapping my arms around her as she began to sob. She wiped her face when she felt my touch and sniffled, looking up at me.
"They took her, Lee."

        Elisa had explained everything. Why George was here, what she was worried about, everything. I appreciated that she trusted me, it meant so much. We had talked for a while, I didn't say anything, just listened to my best friend pour her heart out. I let her get everything that had been worrying her off her chest and now we were sat in the living room, each with a cat on our lap, Draco in the kitchen making us drinks, talking more heartily about lighter topics. We had been joking about Duchess' stubbornness as she sat on my lap, meowing defiantly every time Buchanan even looked in her direction, something that caused Buchanan to look slightly offended. Elisa stroked Misty delicately as she purred away sweetly on her lap.
"I don't want you going off and getting pregnant!" laughed Elisa at me and I giggled, scratching Duchess' head.
"You d-don't need to w-worry about th-that. Not y-yet at least!" I laughed as Draco placed down a mug of hot tea before me. "Mhm, th-thank you, Dray."
Elisa thanked Draco as he passed her a mug of coffee and collapsed beside me on the sofa, clearly disturbing Duchess who streaked off into the hallway. I laughed, smiling. It felt nice to be laughing and smiling again after everything. We felt like teenagers again, we felt normal.