b e f o r e
They can't stay in town, so they head further out until they hit a fairly deserted road with nothing but a shitty diner in the middle of it. They hadn't spoken since they left the alley riddled with corpses, but they all seemed to know that they had to leave.
There isn't anyone in the establishment when they enter, a bell ringing above the door. They take a seat in a booth in the corner. There's a waitress behind the long counter, chewing gum loudly as she reads through a celebrity magazine. Adeline can't see a newspaper anywhere which she takes as somewhat reassuring.
Draco sat beside her, his bloody wounds morphed into pink marks on his face. They'd healed him quickly before they left, Dean using his magic even when Draco had argued. Dean wouldn't give an explanation but from the look he gave the both of them it seemed he knew more than they did.
Dean looks over the menu, eyes scanning with interest as the two across from him stare expectantly. When he doesn't even notice, Adeline snatches the plastic menu out of his hands and puts it back down on the table.
Dean looks at them, a permanent smirk on his lips.
"I suppose you'd like to know what's going on." He said, arms folded on the table.
"I thought you were dead," Adeline stated, she was leaning against the booth with her arms crossed. It was pretty clear to everyone that she was annoyed.
"And I thought your brother was dead." He countered. "Or at least still in that pretty little head of yours."
"You know about Alexandre?" Adeline asked, leaning in closer now. "How? That was..."
Dean cleared his throat, looking down at his hands for a moment. "Yes. I was sorry to hear about Arthur, I know he was-"
Adeline waved him off, rolling her eyes slightly. "Yeah, whatever. What do you know about Alexandre?"
Dean's eyebrows pinched together, his eyes scanning over her face before quickly looking at Draco. He seemed rather confused and looked blankly back at him.
"I know that he's back." He said slowly, still processing the obvious change in Adeline. This seemed to be more than just a girl who'd lost everything. "That's pretty much it. I've been more focused on finding you."
Adeline scowled, moving back to lean against the booth.
"Does someone mind telling me," Draco started. "what the fuck is going on?"
Dean looked between the two of them, his own questions forming akin to that.
"Surprised you're here with Goldilocks," Dean said to Adeline, but then shrugged a little. "Although, then again, you've always had a soft spot for him."
"Why are you here, Rowans?" Adeline snapped.
Dean winced a little at the name. "I'm afraid that student is no longer enrolled at the fine Ilvermorny prestige."
"Anyone?" Draco tried, practically talking to the air. "Want to fill me in? Even just a little?"
Dean spared him a glance, sitting back against his chair and resting his arms on its sides. He pointed a finger at Draco.
"You didn't tell him?" He spoke again to Adeline, which only seemed to infuriate Draco more.
"I thought a failed Task meant death," Adeline stated, never taking her eyes off him.
"I only alluded to that being a possibility."
"So, why wasn't that the possible outcome here?" Her voice was strained with annoyance.
Dean ran a tongue over his lips, squinting at her slightly. "And here I thought you'd be so happy to see me, darling."
Draco slammed his hands against the table. "Someone tell me what the fuck is going on!"
His voice echoed in the diner. The waitress looked up as if she only just noticed they were there and they'd merely laughed. Dean chuckled lowly as the waitress made her way over to them.
"Can I get anything for you kids?" She was probably in her late thirties, bright red lipstick and cheap foundation brushed her skin.
"No." Adeline and Draco snapped.
The waitress looked appalled, but then Dean grabbed her attention again. "Actually, yes please." He smiled at her, handsome and charming. She seemed to melt under his stare. "Would you please do me the finest pleasure and get me a nice cup of coffee. And I'd also like the scrambled eggs with bacon, and the pancakes with both ice cream and maple syrup. And you know what, put on another side of bacon."
The waitress preened, writing down his order. "Hungry boy." She laughed out, smiling at him, then turning to look at Adeline and Draco with a frown, before scurrying off.
"Thanks, darling." He winked at her as she left, and then turned back to his two charming companions.
"You two are so rude in the exact same way," Dean stated. "It's adorable."
He was sure he saw a vein pop in Draco's neck.
"Dean worked for my uncle," Adeline explained without taking her eyes off the boy in front of her. "He was employed to babysit me during my time at Hogwarts, which is why he left when I did."
"Worked for Arthur?" Draco's brows pinched together. "Why did you think he was dead?"
Adeline let her eyes drop to the table for a moment before she turned the boy beside her. "He's enlisted in some ridiculous Ilvermorny program-"
"Was."
"Their leniency for failure is pretty slim." Adeline continued, ignoring him.
Draco seemed to ponder this for a moment. "So, you failed?" he asked Dean. "How?"
Before Dean could respond, not that he was feeling particularly inclined to tell him anything, Adeline answered for him.
"I went back home with Arthur after Sirius died and Dean was sent back to America." She said without looking at either of them. "He was supposed to stay until we graduated, and he didn't. So, he failed."
Dean looked at her but did not let his confusion show. Draco stayed quiet for a moment, digesting this new piece of information.
"Ilvermorny..." He began, looking at Dean. "Like the military program?"
They both looked at Draco, each asking themselves how he knew what they were talking about.
"Yeah, why?" Dean asked, slowly.
The Malfoy heir shifted slightly as he shrugged. "My father was going to send me there."
The quiet that came was long and suffocating. Adeline thought of Lucius Malfoy threatening to send Draco away, into the same stories Dean had told about his school.
The waitress came back with all of Dean's food before anyone else could talk. She placed his plates in front of him, smiling as she handed him cutlery.
"Thank you, sweets." He grinned, making her fluster and blush. He watched her walk away with a smirk. Adeline rolls her eyes.
He digs into his food, combining them together and making a mess. He ate like he hadn't ever done it before and both of them across from him grimaced.
Dean looked over at Adeline, a piece of bacon in his mouth as he pointed his fork at her.
"Cute haircut."
"Why are you here now then?" Draco interrupted, bringing the attention onto him.
Dean wondered why he was even here and what on earth had happened for Adeline to bring him along. He knew she was fond of him - if it hadn't been obvious for the way she'd shuffled off at the Yule Ball, but for the enamoured interest she paid when he was ever spoken of. Dean didn't think Adeline ever listened to him quite so much unless he was talking about Draco.
"Ilvermorny only kicked me out of the program because I was still enrolled in their study stages. If I was of age, the punishment would have been more severe. Instead, they erased me completely from the known world and sent me out on my own." He shrugged, cutting into his pancakes. "Probably the best thing they ever did to me."
He was really only speaking to Adeline, trying his hardest to ignore the boy beside her. Who was, without much discretion, glaring at him quite prominently.
"The trial took quite some time but afterwards, since I still have quite a few funds in the bank, I made my way through the states trying to find out as much information as I could on that fickle little family magic of yours. I couldn't find much, just a lot of the myths and mentions in old folklore. Then I came across a young witch in New Orleans, Talulah, who had quite a lot to say about The Darkness."
Adeline leaned into the table, her mind burning.
"I stayed with her for a while," There was a suggestive smirk on his lips which everyone ignored. "She was quite helpful. Told me all about this Greek god-"
"Erebus." Adeline finished, remembering the letter Arthur had written her.
"Erebus," Dean confirmed, then cocked his head as he looked at her. "I also learnt you've got quite a few more tricks up your sleeve than I was ever led to believe."
Adeline blinked at him. He could be talking about quite a number of things.
"Confide in any more spirits lately?" He smiled pleasantly, taking a bite of his bacon.
"Where did you go from New Orleans?" She pressed, more interested in how he got here than answering his question.
"Hopped on a plane to the UK." He explained. "I've been here trying to track your brother but he's a slimy thing. I knew you were back at Hogwarts and your magic isn't trackable there, but as soon as you left I was able to find you. I was surprised you went to your parents first."
She realises he hadn't been able to track her at that farmhouse. Draco had been telling the truth about it being spelled.
"From there it wasn't hard to find you in that alleyway. You left an expensive paper trail. You know people talk when some young posh girl starts selling off family jewels in the middle of the night."
Draco looked at her like he hadn't known what she'd been up to last night.
"Why did you even bother?" She asked, ignoring his stare.
Dean finished chewing and put down his cutlery. "I made a promise to Arthur. I intend on keeping it."
He watched her closely as he mentioned her uncle but saw nothing but a hollow look of boredom at the sound of his name.
"What did you find out about Alexandre?"
"Nothing other than a little about his magic," Dean sighed. "I can't even find where he is, let alone-"
"He's in London," Adeline stated.
Both boys turned to her, brows raised.
"And how do you know that?" Draco asked.
"When I spoke to him on the phone I heard one of those tour buses in the background, the ones where the guy has a microphone."
"You spoke to him on the phone?" enquired Dean.
She nodded. "Yeah, it's how I know he killed our parents."
"He killed your parents?" Dean was shocked, more so at how casually she had said it.
"We need to go to London, then," Adeline confirmed, nodding her head – almost to herself.
"All of us?" Draco asked, looking at Dean in distaste.
Adeline looked at him too, like she was considering leaving him at the diner.
"Do what you want, I'm still going to find you at the end of the day." Dean expressed, crossing his arms over his chest. She seemed to contemplate this and then shrugged.
"Whatever, just don't get in the way."
Draco looked the least pleased about this development.
By the time Dean finished with his meal, Adeline felt the edges of hunger in her stomach, and she asked the waitress over.
She was looking over the menu when she murmured, "You should eat."
Draco looked at her, slightly perplexed and Adeline looked just as surprised that she'd said it. Dean watched the exchange, amused at their equally startled expressions. She was saved by the waitress coming over, grumpy to be near her two rude patrons but flustered by the charming one.
They ordered their food, both requesting coffee, which came quickly and abruptly.
Polly, the waitress with the purple name tag, smiled dreamily at Dean from her seat behind the counter.
When their food came, Adeline began cutting into her meal, pushing aside a few ingredients as Dean watched.
"What are you doing?" He asked as she made a small pile of discarded food on her plate.
She looked up at him under her eyelashes, hands still poised in holding her cutlery.
"I don't like mushrooms." She said simply, pushing the vegetable to the side.
And then Dean sat across from them, an audience to some bizarre dance of hatred and familiarity, as Draco took the mushrooms from her plate and put it on his own before he continued eating. It was as if he hadn't even realised he'd done it; second nature of a rehearsed art. Adeline stared at him just as Dean did. It seemed so practised and routine like they'd been doing it for years.
Adeline knew it was something they'd done when they were kids. Neither of them said anything and Draco didn't even appear to realise the silence that had settled over the table or the pink in Adeline's cheeks.
"But you always ate my mushrooms when I made them," Dean argued, finding a childish insistency.
She glanced up at him, just as Draco seemed to snap out of his mindless daze and looked between the both of them. His grip on his cutlery seemed to tighten.
Adeline cleared her throat slightly. "That's because your mushrooms were halfway decent."
She remembered everything in that stupid apartment – annoyingly pleasant.
This made Dean smile, smug and broad. "Are you complimenting my culinary skills, sweetheart?"
Adeline rolled her eyes, but before she was even able to respond Draco spoke.
"So, you guys did live together then?"
His body was rigid and his eyes stern. Dean's gaze flickered to him, coy delight curling into his growing grin. He looked to Adeline, his mouth open just slightly from the way he was smiling. She looked at him, hard and warning.
"We certainly did," Dean announced, smirking at Draco. "And, boy, was it something."
"Shut up, Dean," Adeline warned. She could feel Draco tensing up by the second. She wondered if he remembered their conversation at the top of the Astronomy Tower. She bristled at the thought, knowing now that Dean was alive.
"She sure is feisty," Dean leaned closer to Draco as if sharing a secret. "But I don't need to tell you that, do I?"
Adeline kicked him in the shin, hard. He winced slightly but turned to her with a cheery smile.
"Now, love. Save it for the bedroom."
She could have killed him right there.
Adeline glared at him, Draco glowered at his food, Dean grinned at the both of them and Polly dazed dreamily at their table. No one spoke for the remainder of the meal.
The highway had a few stragglers driving through when they leave the diner – Dean leaving behind an extra nice tip for Polly – and set off for London. It's midmorning and the air should be beginning to warm from the bright sun, but the road is still slick with ice and the chill is biting.
There isn't much room on the side of the road as cars start driving by more frequently and they walk in a single line. They're heading for the next town over, which Dean knows has a station that runs trains through to London. The walk is long though and eventually, their single-file line spreads out as the minutes tick by. Draco is a bit more ahead when Dean walks into step beside Adeline, the road treaded with ice and water but large enough for two people to walk side by side. She stiffens when their shoulders touch.
"You don't tell him much, do you?" His accent was familiar and managed to sneak through the steel barrier and touch the bruised sides of her heart. She doesn't respond, not seeing any need to communicate if it wasn't about finding Alexandre.
Yet, there was a part of her brain, pushed back into the crevices of her skull that still woke up every night thinking she was back in her prison cell. The crunch of ice under their shoes echoes through her ears as another car drives by.
"What exactly is going on between you two, anyway?" Dean asks, either not understanding that she wouldn't talk to him or not caring. Another car drove by, causing a steady wind to snake under her clothes and press against her skin.
"Obviously I'm missing a few things, but considering he's here now, and all that nonsense he'd carry on about at school, there's more to the story than just a quick hook-up." He continued; it was like he was trying to discover a crime. It was ridiculous. Either way, Adeline didn't like where the direction this one-sided conversation was headed.
"You know, I think I liked you better when you were dead." She spoke finally, not looking at him but seeing the small grin on his lips. He seemed to be doing that more, even in the few hours she'd seen him that morning. She's beginning to understand how much he hated being in that program.
"Oh, Adeline." She saw him touch a hand to his chest, exaggerated sincerity lacing his words. "I missed you, too."
Adeline didn't want to listen to him anymore, so instead, she focused on the straight and taut back in front of her. She didn't know what to think of Dean or why she can't ever seem to shake him, even now. It's not like she trusted him for a second and for all she knew, he could be leading them into a trap.
Even though she was the one directing them to London.
But he had just spent the last few months finding out everything he possibly could on Alexandre's magic and that, she knew, would probably come in handy soon.
Her hands were deep in the pockets of her flannel jacket when she turned her head to him. Dean's jaw was just as sharp, his hair a little longer and curly, he had a larger collection of small scares now – littered around his skin like memorabilia. He looked so out of place in her life, it was puzzling.
"I don't trust you. I never will." Adeline stated. Letting him know that he's here only because of what he knows felt like a smart move, maybe he'd stop trying to be her friend again.
"I should hope not," Dean said, glancing down at her. "If you did then I would know someone took my lovely Adeline and traded her with an imposter."
She looked away from him and back at the white glimpse of fallen heaven.
"Speaking of, you're certainly looking a little more...healthy these days." Dean continued. "Which virgin did you sacrifice?"
Adeline had to force herself to keep looking in front of her, clenching her teeth tightly together so no amusement slipped out.
"Funny." She deadpanned.
"No, really." He urged, clearly interested in her sudden change of state.
Adeline glanced at him. "I had you lined up but then you went off and locked me in a cage." She shrugged and he looked down at his shoes.
"Well, you and I both know it wouldn't have worked then." He declared and she looked away when she saw the beginning of guilt build on his face. That was all she needed to know – she was capable of using this against him if needed.
"Look, Adeline-" He started but she waved him off.
"Don't bother, I really don't care. While I have certainly a right to be angry, I have more important things to focus on. Besides whatever happened before, no longer matters to me."
Dean was quiet for a long time, so long Adeline had nearly forgotten he was there at all.
"What do you mean whatever happened before? Before what?" He asked, his brows so tightly wound she once again thought of changing wind.
"Before I began to really understand why I'm here in the first place."
It was all she said, and it was clear that he couldn't comprehend what she was talking about. Maybe no one ever would.
She didn't give him the time of day anymore and she was growing bored of the conversation. Adeline pushed further ahead, and Dean didn't try to catch up.
Dean buys their passenger tickets while Adeline and Draco sit on a bench, hanging back and dropping their heads low. Draco even purchased a hat at the souvenir shop at the entrance. It was a dark grey gentlemen's flat cap that made him look like he was about to go golfing.
He still hadn't said much since they left the diner and Adeline knew it was because of their recent additional baggage.
The station wasn't too busy but there were enough people around that they might get recognised. It was late afternoon and the train to London was due to leave in fifteen minutes. Dean was still talking to the guy behind the glass counter, smile charming and bright. Adeline looked around the platform, eyes landing on a bulletin board tucked in the corner. It was the sort of thing people placed ads on; music lessons, cars for sale, missing pets. She stood hastily however because Adeline was looking directly at her own face. She walked over to it, eyes scanning it with keen interest. It wasn't just the illustration of her printed onto a poster, but a photo of Draco too. It wasn't the same one from the newspaper; this time it was one from school, his eyes bright and his lips set into a smug sneer as he held the Slytherin Quidditch team winning flag.
WANTED
DRACO MALFOY AND ADELINE LEVIER. KILLERS ON THE LOOSE.
Reports coming in this morning have a new lead in the missing case of the Malfoy heir. It is said that just a few hours ago today, the story of the kidnapped Draco Malfoy may be false. Witnesses say that he and classmate Adeline Levier checked into a tavern late last night and seemed to be perfectly acquainted with one another. There doesn't appear to be any bad blood between the two, but there has definitely been bloodshed. Three men were found brutally murdered in an alley around the corner from the tavern and reports say many saw the pair leaving the scene of the crime.
Beatrice Holland, the owner of the tavern, made a statement earlier today:
"Bo and his men just wanted to help him. They saw the news about him being kidnapped and all, and they thought they'd try and get him safe. I was real suspicious about it all, you know with how loved up that girl looked with the Malfoy kid. I mean, she even demanded they book a single bedroom and was getting real angry when I was asking questions. She must have thought I was stealin her fella or somethin'. Bo and his crew just wanted to help and look now. But I saw em! I saw em slice those nice men up like they were nothing but meat! It was terrible. [At this point, dear Beatrice Holland had started to cry]. It's that girl, though. She's vicious she is. She killed em without mercy, like some kind of crazed maniac!"
At this new development, the Malfoys are yet to make a statement. If you see them, be cautious. They are both dangerous and possibly armed. Contact authorities immediately if you know anything.
Adeline tore down the poster, folding it up and keeping it close to her chest. She hurried over to the bench, now occupying both Dean and Draco. They looked at her when she approached, sensing her urgency.
"We have a problem."
The passengers were being called onto the train, an announcement stating the train will be departing in less than ten minutes. They all file on, showing their tickets to the man at the front of the carriage before taking their seats. Adeline and Draco keep their heads down until they reach their booth. There aren't any compartments, which would be handy, but the booths are spread out throughout their carriage and not many people are surrounding them. Still, Adeline feels like she can't pull out the poster just yet.
They sit in the corner booth, Dean taking the seat beside her and Draco sliding across from them.
"What?" He asks, looking over at her with a frown. "What's the problem?"
Adeline doesn't say anything until the train starts moving, the constant thrum of iron tires filling their ears.
The poster sits on the table in between them. "There's been an update."
Both boys scan their eyes over the article, reading through the words and the statements.
"What the fuck." Draco sighed, running a hand through his hair. "So, I'm a killer now?"
"And that woman from the tavern is full of shit." Adeline bit out, her anger for Beatrice Holland igniting a murderous rage.
"At least the illustration of you isn't completely clear," Dean suggested, eyeing the drawing of Adeline. She was suddenly glad she'd stayed away from any and all camera over the last few years. The drawing itself was a little vague, her short hair falling out of frame.
"That guy in the alley, Bo," Draco started, his eyes pinching together. "He said something about a different reward."
Adeline remembered that too. That red-head guy trying to get him to stop before Bo hit Draco again.
"He was going to kill you," Adeline realised, her mind scolding her heart for beating so rapidly. "You think someone put a price on your head?"
Dean shuffled in his seat beside her, clearing his throat. "Yeah, about that."
They both looked to him, his gaze steady but his hands were placed firmly on the table in front of him.
"You've been added to a hit list," Dean said, looking at Draco. "Someone's offering quite a lot of money for you to stay missing."
"And you didn't think this was important information for us to know?" Draco hissed, eyes boring into his accusatorially.
"I didn't know when the right time was," Dean argued, putting his hands up in a dismissive response.
"How about, I don't know, any time during the last nine hours since you decided to show up!" His voice was a tight, harsh whisper.
"Oh, you mean when I saved your life?" Dean countered, looking at him with distaste.
Draco scowled at him.
"Would you two shut up?" Adeline snapped, growing tired of their antics. Her heart was beating harshly against her spine at the newest update.
Draco's brows were so tightly scrunched together, Adeline wanted to reach out and ease the tension in his face.
"But my parents would never let this happen." Draco tried. Dean's annoyance seemed to edge away, and it was replaced with a pitying uncertainty. "What? What else have you decided to withhold?"
Dean hesitated before he spoke again, glancing at Adeline as he did. "It was the Malfoys who set the price."
A long, strenuous silence was left behind after the sentence resounded. They both looked at Draco, his confusion and hurt were only glimpses behind his steely silver eyes. His jaw tightened and every tick of emotion left his face.
"Excuse me." He muttered, stood up and walked down the empty aisle.
Snow and green trees shot by, a movie on fast forward out the small window beside them. Dean moved out from his seat beside her and slid into where Draco had just been. He looked at her, quiet contemplation and a resigned hidden flash of confusion. His hair was a chocolate decadence of curls and a slight shadow of fallen snow. Adeline wondered, briefly, if he would have mentioned it if those men in the alley never said anything.
"When were you going to say anything about it?" She voiced her question.
Dean's wandering gaze had slipped into his hands but shot back up at her when she spoke. He looked up at her from underneath his eyelashes and for the first time since knowing him, Adeline could see how dangerous he appeared and why so many people found him so alluring. He looked at everyone he spoke to like he knew a secret and you were the special person he'd chosen to tell. His dark eyes were magnetic and shamelessly flirtatious, and his lips were painted with the lovely shades of his sinister smirk. The small scars on his face, the slice on the bridge of his nose, the incision on his left cheek, the graze against his upper lip; it all coloured a portrait of corruption and immodesty. And yet all Adeline could see was the grinning boy with a priceless crown on his head, soaking in the stares of everyone who wanted him.
"I would have said something before we got to London," replied Dean, words slow to the draw.
Adeline nodded, unsure if she believes him. For some reason, she wouldn't put it past him to let any one of those greedy hitmen take out Draco. She doubted he would have even stopped Bo if it hadn't been for her being there too.
"How much are they asking for him?"
"Four million."
Adeline didn't let a whisper of emotion show yet her mind was racing. She thought of the Malfoys, often cold and snide – but Adeline always knew Narcissa loved her son more than anything, or at least she thought she had. Lucius was the cruel one; the man whose voice haunted Draco into his dreams and pressured him into doing just about anything, that would take away anything Draco liked if it meant he was becoming his own person, that would beat him to a bloody pulp if he found out about his son's love for literature, and who was now trying to bury him.
"It's because he let me go," Adeline murmured, not particularly meant for anyone's ear but Dean heard it, nonetheless.
"Let you go?" he asked. She glanced at him for a moment then looked away out the window. "What do you mean let you go?"
Adeline considered sitting in silence and letting his curiosity eat at him, but she knew if he didn't find out from her he'd probably go and badger Draco about it.
"Voldemort wants me dead," She stated, shrugging as the words came out of her mouth. "He tasked Draco to do it."
"Draco tried to kill you?" Dean actually seemed surprised by this, leaning forward on the table, his easy-mannered cool disappearing.
"Not very well." She still looked out the window, the torrent of white and green passing her by. The sun was moving out over the horizon, preparing to descend and leave them into darkness.
"How did you guys go from that to shacking up in a tavern together?"
"We weren't shacking up," She glared. "He teleported me out of Hogwarts when the Death Eaters came. Bellatrix Lestrange was there waiting for him to kill me before he did it."
Forgive me.
"He must have known that would've been the death of him." Dean countered as if he couldn't believe the story.
"I'm sure he did."
"And you still brought him with you?" Dean asked incredulously.
Adeline turned to him, hands crossed neatly on the table. "If I was limiting my company based on who has and hasn't tried anything unsavoury toward me, I would forever be travelling alone. You should be so lucky my standards have dropped so low. Besides, I brought him before I knew his parents and the rest of the Dark Army was trying to kill him."
Dean ignored the jab, leaning back against his seat.
"So, we ditch him. He's nothing more than dead weight now."
Adeline's eyes fastened on him. "And what are you? My crowned prince come to save the day? Last time I checked; I don't need either of you."
They sat in contemplative silence for the next few minutes; Adeline looking out the window and Dean looking at her.
"That's not the only reason you took him with you," Dean observed.
She rolled her eyes, sighing delicately. "Don't think too hard on it, Rowans. This isn't some Brontë novel or Austen fairy-tale. I said I didn't need either of you, not that I couldn't use you."
Dean watched her as she slid out of the booth, straightening up her unflattering flannel jacket.
"I'm going to go check my other unsavoury guest hasn't flung himself off this train, excuse me."
Draco was sitting in an empty carriage, a random booth in the middle of the train that didn't have a table between it. His feet were leaning against the chair opposite him, his hands tucked in-between his knees as he unseeingly gazed out of the window. Adeline sat on the seat next to his shoes and they stayed in a calm quiet for a moment, both watching the world go by.
"I always thought father would be more rigorous when he decided to kill me," Draco spoke, eyes scanning the receding horizon. "Or at least he'd do it himself."
Adeline watched him as he watched the world. In the golden light of the afternoon, his hair looked brighter than ever, his lashes fanning over his cheeks, skin smooth and bright. His eyes had a silver lustre of jewellery instead of the spark of the night sky.
"This way he gets the sympathy of those common folk I suppose," Adeline suggested.
Draco lips turned upward just slightly. "Not so much now I'm a suspected murderer." He looked at her, lips plush and wet from his teeth biting into them. "Look at us vigilantes."
"Modern-day Bonnie and Clyde." She mused her own workings of a half-hearted smile appearing.
They looked at each other. It was almost a soft moment in the golden light, streaks of heaven casting down on them like a spotlight for the world to notice.
"So, what's my price then?" He asked, head tilting to the side a little.
Adeline exhaled. "Four million."
Draco made a displeased face. "I'm almost insulted. That's hardly a dollar of my inheritance."
Adeline's smile continued to grow faintly. "Yes, I'm sure a single hair on that pretty head of yours is worth more."
Draco's eyes turned teasing, a grin licking his lips. "You think I'm pretty?"
"Oh, Jesus." She snorted. "I'm not sure your ego needs my rescue."
His stare was so openly velvet and silken, it made the younger parts of Adeline thaw just a little.
"Your rescue is the only one I want." He stated.
He scares me so.
"Can I ask you something?" Adeline continued, not wanting to dwell on what he'd just said. Draco nodded, prompting her to continue. "Do you ever think about what would have happened if we never met?"
She'd thought about it often, usually late at night or in the silent moments of the early mornings when time didn't exist.
"No," Draco said, shaking his head. "There isn't a world in which I exist that I don't find you. You'd haunt me in every life, Adeline."
Forgive me.
She couldn't stop the surprise from blooming on her face, couldn't hide the vulnerability that flickered over her features in time. Her heart thumped against her chest, pulse flickering in her throat. She inhaled sharply and held her breath until she regained control. She thought of what waits for them once they get off this train.
"Alexandre is dangerous. Not all of us might come back from this." She stated, her voice strong but her shaky hands gave her away.
"I'm coming either way. I told you." Draco insisted.
"I know, just..." She faltered, trying to find the words. "He has a way of getting in my head. I'm not sure what might happen once he sees me."
Draco moved, his feet touching the floor and his hand reaching for her shaky grip. Adeline let him, though she knew she shouldn't. His thumb traced against her skin.
"Focus on the good." He said, eyes boring into hers. "And I'm not going anywhere. No matter what happens."
He searched her stare for a shred of understanding and when he saw it, Draco withdrew his touch from her hand and sat back.
"Have you ever thought about it?" He asked. "What it would be like if we never met?"
Adeline nodded her head. It seemed to bother him more than he'd ever care to admit.
"Were you thinking about this when you were shacked up with Draguar, or whatever the bloody hell his name is?"
Adeline chuckled, an exasperated smile pressing into her skin. "Merlin, you two hate each other."
"Yeah, he's a dick."
"Funny, he said the same thing about you."
Draco scoffed. "I'm sure he did."
She almost told him that it had been Dean who informed her about all those stories back at school. But she couldn't dwell on that now, it wasn't important.
"You care too much." She stated instead.
Draco's fingers tapped against his thigh. "I just don't like..."
"What?"
He sighed. "I hate thinking about assholes like him touching you."
Adeline wanted to say something else, but the cold parts of her took over her tongue. She snickered. "You're right. It's so much better when assholes shamefully push me behind corners and tell me how much they hate me."
Draco grew silent, teeth biting into his lips as he looked on apprehensively. She didn't want to be having this conversation and her buried heart couldn't stand to be around him right now.
She got out of her seat, his eyes faltering when he looked at her.
"Don't get yourself killed," Adeline muttered and found herself in a different carriage, away from both the train wrecks she was accompanied with.