THE VISION THIEF - D. MALFOY

24. you were right

"I knew they were angry, but I hardly knew it would result in this. I thought our troubles ended with the war," Minerva says. He shakes his head solemnly. "It won't really ever be over until every one of those Death Eaters are locked up or dead," he says. A chill runs up my spine. I never knew the severity of this. I always had known I was sheltered living back in California, but this was just next level. And for it to seem completely normal to Malfoy and my Aunt was nearly bewildering.

I let out a loud yawn suddenly and Minerva looks to the clock on the wall. "Oh dear! You two must be exhausted. Thank you for telling me Emma, and thank you, Mr. Malfoy, but you two better be off to the dorms," she says to the two of us. I look to the large clock, and my eyes grow wide as I read 1:24 AM. These past two days it felt like I was stuck in a time warp. I felt groggy and confused by it all.

I stretch my legs as I stand up and face Minerva. "If my father really is still out there, how will we find him?" I ask her. She smiles softly. "If what your mother said was true, it sounds like it's up to you to figure out where he is," she says, a twinkle in her eyes.

"But I can't do that. I can hardly do magic!" I say. She scowls. "In case you forgot dear, you happen to be a Seer, and now that I - er - we know that, we have quite the advantage," she smirks.

"I - But -" She cuts me off. "Enough of that! It's late and time for you to go to bed. We will talk later!" She snaps as she grabs my hand and pulls me towards the door. I step into the stairwell that leads up to her office, but before she lets go of my hand she gives it a tiny squeeze and smiles warmly at me. "Goodnight darling," she says.

"Goodnight aunt Minerva," I say sleepily.

* * * * *

"Are you okay now?" I ask Malfoy as we walk through the dark and empty hallways. He throws me a curious sideways glance, the dim candlelight illuminating our surroundings. "I could ask you the same," he says.

"Well I asked first."

He doesn't respond for a second, nothing but the sound of our footsteps filling the air. "I just don't want another war," he says so quietly it's nearly a whisper. I stop walking for a second. He turns around and throws me a questioning look. "What happened?" I ask stupidly.

"What?"

"You said you lost people who were important to you. Who?" I wonder aloud, ignoring the fact that I could be completely overstepping. His mouth parts slightly and his eyes grow distant. "Probably the only person that ever cared about me," he says, his voice hollow and empty and it pains me to hear these words leave his mouth. It pains me because I know he believes it, but he couldn't be further from the truth, because here I stand, in front of Draco Malfoy, a boy that I have realized I care about more than I've let on.

"That's not true."

"How would you know?" He snaps. "People care about you Malfoy," I frown. "Like who?" He snarls. I pause and inhale a sharp breath of air. "I care," I mutter suddenly.

"You hate me," He says instantly, like he's correcting a mistake I've made, or like he can't allow himself to believe it. "Only sometimes," I smile slightly, looking at the ground. He lets out a short humorless laugh that sounds like a scoff. I look up at him, returning to his silver gaze made of storm clouds and thunder. "But I do care about you. And I know you care about me," I say.

He looks taken aback, like he wasn't expecting me to say that. He opens and closes his mouth several times like he's trying to figure out what to say. But it really seems to come as a surprise to him when I take several short steps to close the empty space between us and wrap my arms around his tall frame. I slide my arms around his torso and pull him into my embrace and feel as his whole body goes rigid at my touch. He freezes and feels incredibly stuck, but a small smile plays on my lips as he finally relaxes. Slowly but surely, his strong arms wrap around me, and he pulls me tighter into him.

"I'm sorry," I whisper into his chest. "Why?" He mumbles back. "For your loss," I say as I slowly pull away. A light blush rests on his cheeks, and I can barely see it in the glow of the candlelit hallway. "Thank you," he says as he looks away, "Maybe one day I'll tell you about her," he says. Curiosity spikes inside me but I ignore it. "Ok," I smile lightly.

It only takes about a minute or so to get back to the common room. We enter inside, being extra quiet. The whole room is nearly dead silent besides the crackling fire in the corner. I walk towards the stairs leading to the girl's dorm and turn back around to say goodnight. Malfoy stands a few feet away, in front of the fire. "I'm just going to stay down here for a bit," he says, staring into the flames endlessly. Was he ok? He seemed upset this whole night.

"Is everything alright?" I ask. He nods, avoiding my gaze. "I just need some time alone," he says simply. "Oh. Ok," I pause. "Well goodnight then," I mutter.

"Ashwood?" He says as I turn to walk up the stairs. I stop on the steps and turn towards him to find him staring at me intently, deeply, completely rid of his empty stare that had taken over his face only minutes before.

I feel caught in his gaze suddenly. "Thank you. For running after me tonight, and you know - everything else," he says, pausing as he looks to the ground. "You were right," he begins as his eyes flick back up. He stares at me beneath his suffocating stare. "I do care about you," he says, a small smile twitching at his lips.