Green Apples and Parchment

Chapter Twenty-Two

My dad had been at Saint Mungo's for a few days now. He finally woke up yesterday, and it was so good to hear his voice again. I went back to visit him earlier today, but came back home to eat dinner and sleep. 

A knock sounded at the door. I forced myself to get out of bed. Sighing, I left my room and walked down to the entryway. Pulling the door open, I came face to face with none other than Draco Malfoy.

"Draco?" I sputtered. "How...? What? Huh-" I was at a loss for words. 

He used my confusion to push through the door and into the house. Accepting defeat, I closed the door behind him. 

Draco looked me up and down with a smirk. "What are you wearing?" he asked. 

I looked down at my outfit. I was wearing an old cropped t-shirt and athletic shorts. "Clothes." I scowled, crossing my hands over my exposed stomach. 

"You know, I don't think I hate muggle fashion." Draco said.

I rolled my eyes, but decided to ignore his flirtation despite the fluttering in my stomach. "What are you doing here?"

"Can I not get concerned when my girlfriend mysteriously disappears from class?"

"You can, but I didn't realize that you thought of me as your girlfriend." I lied. I knew exactly what Draco thought of me, but it was fun to play with him sometimes. 

"Am I not snogging you enough? Because that can be fixed." He said cockily. 

"You know what I meant."

"Fine. I'll tell people that you're my girlfriend if it makes you feel better." 

My heart warmed, even though I knew he was unlikely to follow through. "Good. Now tell me how you got here."

Draco launched into his story. "Well, I harassed some Hufflepuffs after you didn't come back to class. No one was telling me anything, so I started threatening people."

"Draco!" I protested. 

He ignored me. "Eventually, Abbott found me and told me that she'd tell me where you were if I promised to leave the Hufflepuffs alone. After she told me everything, I owled my mother and made her take me out of Hogwarts for the weekend."

"And she let you?" I had never met Draco's mother, but I couldn't imagine my parents letting me leave school just because I asked to. 

"Yeah. I told her that I needed to stay in London for a few nights and that I booked a hotel room. I refused to tell her anything about you or what happened, but I think she might suspect, though."

I felt incredibly nervous at the thought of Draco's mother knowing about our relationship, but from what Draco had told me, Narcissa was the nicer of his two parents. 

"Next time that something traumatic happens, try and remember to owl me and tell me that you're okay." Draco continued cooly, but I could detect a hint of concern in his voice. 

"I'm sorry." I said honestly.  "But in my defense, I was mad at you. I still am, actually." I had forgotten about our argument in the joy of seeing him again. 

"I don't believe any of that, and I haven't for awhile. I did when I was little because of everything my father said to me. But once I got to Hogwarts, I realized that he was wrong. I shouldn't have said all that stuff. It's just what everyone expects from me, and I don't know what else to do. I'm sorry, Cass. I wouldn't be saying that if it wasn't true."

"It's okay. I believe you." I sighed and leaned into him. Draco never apologized, and the fact that he just did was a big deal. From everything I knew about him, he was telling the truth. Besides, I had missed him. So much. It was so good to be able to talk to him again. To hold him again. 

We stayed like that for a few moments, everything else forgotten. "How's your dad?" Draco asked softly after a while. 

"He's okay. He was out for a while, but he woke up yesterday, so that's good." I grabbed Draco's hand and gestured for him to follow me. "I don't want to stand around in the hallway all night." I explained. He grabbed his trunk with his free hand and trailed after me. 

I lead Draco to my room as I continued my story. "My mom's really freaked out though; she doesn't really get how magical healing works. She won't leave his bedside, and only comes home to shower occasionally, really."

I pulled open the door to my bedroom. Draco followed me inside and looked around the room. I tried to imagine seeing it for the first time from his point of view. 

My bed rested in the center of the back wall. A small table sat nearby, with a stereo that was softly playing music sitting on top of it. Lyra sat in her cage on the windowsill, cleaning her feathers.  

Moving pictures adorned the walls. Hannah's face smiled up from every direction; her wrapping her arms around me, us laughing while baking, smiling together in our Hogwarts' robes. My parents appeared frequently as well.

There were even a few pictures of Draco that I had hung in moments of weakness this week; Draco relaxing by the black lake, my head resting on his chest, Draco celebrating while holding up the golden snitch. I saw him notice them with a smirk.

We sat down on my bed and I finished telling my story. "I think part of the reason she's so worried is because of my brother."

"You have a brother?" Draco asked. "I've never heard you talk about him."

"He died when I was five. He was fine one day, but then he suddenly got really sick. Even the healers didn't know what was wrong with him. After a few months of failed treatments later, he died. He was only nine. 

So now, whenever anyone in my family gets sick, even if it's just the flu, she gets super freaked out. I can't imagine how hard this is for her."

"I'm sorry, Cass. That's terrible. What was his name?" 

"Matthew. I don't really talk about him because I don't want to be seen as the girl with the dead brother, if that makes sense. I just can't take the pity."

"Do you remember him?" Draco asked softly.

"Only a little bit. I remember him laughing and hanging onto my dad's leg. He tried to teach me how to climb a tree once, but I wasn't very good at it." I laid down on my back and Draco followed suit. I was glad to finally tell Draco, but I was scared that he would start acting differently towards me. 

In the silence, the music coming from my stereo seemed much louder. 

So if you're lonely, no need to show me. If you're lonely, come be lonely with me. 

Draco stood up suddenly and extended a hand to me. 

"What are you doing?" I asked him. 

"Dance with me."

"Now?"

"No, next week." He said sarcastically. "Yes, now."

I hesitantly grabbed his hand, and Draco pulled me to my feet. He wrapped his arms around me, and we swayed gently to the music. 

Are you lonely? Passion is crashing as we speak. You seem so lonely. You're the ground my feet won't reach.

I rested my head back against him, content just to be close to Draco. 

So if you're lonely, darling you're glowing.

His hands played with my hair.

If you're lonely come be lonely with me.

It was here, with my head laying on Draco's chest as we spun softly around the room, that I realized I was in love with him. 

A/N: I had to use a modern song (this side of paradise by coyote theory) because i know nothing about 90s music, so sorry about that. hope you still enjoyed the ~vibes~, even if the timelines don't match up