ZILLIAH wakes, breathing in her favorite scent and feeling like she's home; but it's only for a moment as the memories instantly rush back to her mind.
Narcissa Malfoy. The Sleeping Pill.
She remembers how she had to use her magic to fuse the dark pills into the cup of tea Draco's mother held too. She realises what would've happened if she couldn't.
She shoots straight up in bed, her eyes opening into those silver ones staring back at her, a flood of worry and guilt.
"Hey", Draco mumbles, his voice soft and trembling. His hands caress her cheeks. It tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. His breath dances on her skin. His eyes are soft and tender and sad. It's all a silent apology. "I was so scared."
She lets out a long breath, leaning back against the bedframe trying to get comfortable. But much to her dismay, her head aches. It aches so bad, so much so it feels like it will obliterate into a million pieces if nothing is done about it at this very instant.
"Snape had mentioned about the headache you'd feel."
Zilliah finds her voice, her eyes widening in alarm as she speaks. "Severus was here?"
"He still is", Draco replies, dropping his head, almost like he's ashamed of the words he has to speak. "I didn't know who else to call. You were so..", he trails off, his mind seeming to wander back into a memory. It doesn't take much for her to realize what that memory is.
"Draco..", she calls. She calls his name in a way only she could. With such tenderness. Such love. Such commitment.
She sees the water trying to fight its way out of his eyes. "You were so cold and pale and-"
"Shhhh", she mumbles, connecting her forehead with his. "I'm fine, see. I'm completely alright."
He closes his eyes against her and exhales a long breath- one he seems to have been holding in for too long. She can almost hear some pieces in him crumbling with the weight of it.
"How is your mother?"
"She is dead."
"Dra-"
"To me."
"Don't say that."
With the clench of his jaw, she can feel his anger rising. "I warned her. I fucking-"
"She's a mother. Your mother", Zilliah mumbles against his skin, her hands wrapping around the back of his neck. "She was just doing what she thought was the best for you and this family."
"I do not care", he grits through his teeth with pure disdain and rage hidden beneath. "You could've been dead."
"But I'm not, Draco. I realized what she was doing. I'm safe."
"She still-"
"And how exactly was that, may I ask?", Narcissa speaks, appearing in the doorway, Severus close behind her.
Draco jumps to his feet, pulling out his wand and pointing it at his own mother. "Don't you dare take another step towards her."
"Or what?", Narcissa's eyes burn into Draco's with a mirroring rage. "Are you going to kill me, Draco?"
"If that's what it takes to keep her safe, then yes."
There's defiance and anger and hate written upon the faces of both mother and son. But Zilliah can make out something else lurking beneath their skins- damage. Years and years of irreparable damage making the pair of them two hollow mirrors of rage and pain facing each other, burning down all the love.
Zilliah steps in between them. "Calm down", she speaks with all the strength she can muster up. "No one's killing anyone here."
"Fine. But we're leaving", Draco's nostrils flare as he speaks, his eyes fiercely burning into his mother's, almost like he is trying to set her on fire with it.
"We?", Zilliah questions, turning to face him and placing a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
"Ivan will be here any minute-"
"You bitch", Zilliah spins on her heels as she hears her brother's voice. God knows what he would've done to Narcissa if Severus hadn't thrown himself between them. "You try to murder my sister?!"
"She's not your sister", Narcissa seethes poison into her words. "And no, I wasn't going to murder her. I was just going to turn her in to the Dark Lord and see him do the job himself-"
Ivan growls, literally. Like a wild ferocious animal, he growls and tries to tackle the woman before him to the ground. But Zilliah rushes to him to hold him off. "Ivan, stop. I'm alright."
"She-"
"She made a mistake", Severus speaks, his eyes on the commotion as he leans against the doorframe. "One she will never make again."
Narcissa who is now pressed against a table, shoots her eyes straight at Severus and there's fear in her eyes. There is actual terror.
"My job here is done", Severus speaks again, this time his eyes locking on Zilliah. "You shouldn't refrain from coming to Hogwarts for your last year. Trust me, it'll only get you caught." He turns and starts to walk out of the room after one long look at her. If she hadn't known better, she would venture to say that it was concern written deep in his eyes. But that man doesn't care. He is a murderer. That's what he is. And ZIlliah can never trust him again.
"Severus", she calls loud and clear, and the footsteps halt. She walks to the door to find him halfway along the living room, half turned to place his attention upon her. "Why aren't you turning me in? You know everything. It's an easy enough task for you. One that will help you rise up the prestigious ladder of the Dark Lord. Just like you killed Dumbledore- the man who trusted you with everything- you could just-"
"Stop", Severus' sound pounds through the room making Zilliah flinch. In a swift moment, he is right in front of her, leaning down to her eye level, whispering. "I will be dead before anything happens to you."
He speaks it with such intensity that Zilliah has to close her eyes to comprehend the weight of it. And when she opens it again, he is gone, leaving her as confused as ever.
Whose side is he really on?
"Come on, let's go", Ivan appears beside her, grabbing hold of her wrist.
"What do you mean you're not staying here anymore?", a worried-looking Narcissa emerges into the room, close behind her son who keeps his eyes fixed on Zilliah as he tucks his wand inside his coat. "Draco, look at me!", his mother shouts.
He halts in his track. But he does not meet her eyes. "Did you really think after what you did, I would be staying back here, pretending like this is a happy fucking family?!"
"But Draco", Narcissa's eyes tear up, and her voice cracks. Zilliah can see the broken woman she is as all the walls crumble to the ground. "I will be alone."
Zilliah can't register even a slight impact the words make upon Draco. When he speaks, it's like he never even heard what she said. "Goodbye, Narcissa."
With that, he walks straight out the door with Ivan tugging Zilliah along right behind. But as she walks down the stairs of the mansion, she feels a bit guilty.
A father being tortured for his "incapability". A mother shattered trying to save the ones she loves. A son bearing the unbearable weight of being born to them.
A broken family, finally and literally broken; the tape that held the pretense together cut off at last, by her.