''𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧?'"
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻. My head rested on the pillows below me, feeling heavy. I opened one eye before I had quickly closed it again. The sun shining right down my face. Screwing my eyes shut tighter, I pushed my hands against the mattress and hung my head over my pillow.
My hair fell over my forehead, tangled and disheveled. I groaned, rubbing my eyes with the heel of my palm. When I was able to sit up in bed, I yawned and stretched my arms up and over my head. I threw the blanket to the side, my feet touching the cold, hardwood floors and moved to move the curtains aside.
The grass was greener then it had been, a calm breeze brushing past the flowers and overgrown ferns. Through the leaves of the trees, rays of the magnificent sun had shone through, creating small patches of light against the ground.
With a subconscious smile out the window, I let out a breathy sigh.
Even though I was just dressed in an oversized T-shirt and shorts, I walked downstairs to get myself some breakfast for the morning.
Today was a good day.
I haven't had days like this in a while. Where I had felt like I was free, where I could do anything without thf consequence. What a difference it was, practically skipping down the hallway and jumping over every other step on the stairs without tripping. I reached the bottom, placing my hand on the railing and twirling myself around.
When I had planted my foot, I caught sight of the empty couch. The one without Draco sitting on it, his hands behind his head and the usual smile on his face as he waited for me to make food for the both of us. How patiently he waited for me to wake, just for him to make breakfast for the two of us if I haven't woken up by ten.
Instead, it had no Draco. The sun seemed to even avoid shining itself against the fabric. There was no blonde, no warm smile and no smell of pancakes that were waiting to be eaten and settled on the kitchen counter. And I had even woken up before the usual time he starts to make breakfast.
At least, it would've been.
My good mood had been demolished. With no Draco, my good mood had found a reason to retreat for another day. My mouth had moved to the side, trying not to think much on the subject of yesterday. I made my way into the kitchen and started making myself some food. Just enough for me.
With each passing minute, I had kept glancing over to the lonely couch. Even my imagination had started playing tricks on me, because when I had look over for the tenth time, Draco was sitting there. He was sitting on the couch, his head rested against the back cushions as he stared at my with a dopey smile. His eyes scrunched a bit from how genuine it was.
I almost found myself talking to him. Before I had been pulled away from my own world and back into reality when the oven had gone off. I jumped from the loud beep of the machine, quickly grabbing a plate for the toast. It was a bit burned, but it still tasted all right.
I had spent the morning going through the mental list of things that I had needed to do. And getting dressed was the very first one. So, I had walked back upstairs - after finishing my breakfast, of course. I chose a simple outfit, while carrying on with my mental list.
—Take out the trash
—Wash uniform for tomorrow
—Start the dishwasher
—Clean around the house
—Pick up Teddy from King's Cross
I had breezed past the list, pulling on my shirt when I had checked it twice. I didn't want to miss anything importa-
Wait.
My eyes widened and I scurried to pull down the shirt. After that, I walked into the bathroom in my master bedroom, which was almost half the size of the actual bedroom. I quickly brushed my teeth and fixed my hair from the state it was in this morning.
Maybe breezing past the list wasn't the best idea. I had almost forgot that I had to pick up Teddy today from the Station. Leaving the bathroom with quick steps, I threw a look at the clock on the wall.
9:45
I'll get there in time. Grabbing my keys from the side table near the front door, I opened the locked the door behind me. I stopped just before I walked into the driveway. The last time I was out here, Draco had brought me to the cemetery before heading to Diagon Alley. Where I had seen George.
Shaking my head, I remembered that I currently didn't have time to be worrying about that. I stead of taking the motorcycle, I went ahead and Apparated straight to the station. It wouldn't take as long and I hadn't felt like taking the motorcycle at the time.
At my destination, the many chatters of people were heard. There was a secluded spot for witches and wizards that happened to Apparated in and out through here. Many of them don't, since they usually bring a vehicle or Apparated a few buildings down. So, I happened to be the only one here.
People didn't bat an eye when I stepped out from behind the wall, wringing my fingers in my hands. My keys jingled in my pocket each time someone had shouldered me. I walked up the stairs of the station, hunching my shoulders close to myself to try and avoid getting hit by other people.
That didn't end up doing me good favors when I happened to instantly get hit again. Only this time, I had ended up right in front of where I had needed to be. Momentarily lifting my brows and silently commenting how coincidental that was, I stepped through the invisible wall onto the Platform.
Like last time, I stood in the back. The train was just pulling into the station and the parents were starting to get antsy. Some of them moved forward, trying to see their kids through the windows. I chuckled at them, not bringing any attention to myself. The doors of the train had opened and kids started to pour out.
Kids old and young had pulled their trunks behind them down the station, looking left and right for any sight of who they caught familiar. I did the same thing, looking for the little, torquise haired boy that I called my son.
''Mum!''
I fixed my posture, a smile tugging at the end of my lips at the sound. With my hands in my pockets, I stood in my tip-toes to see over the heads of the many other parents.
''Mum!''
Then, through the crowd of the many joyous parents, Teddy had emerged with his trunk being hauled behind him. His hair changed from many colors and shades of orange and yellow, with small tinges of red.
My lips had curved up into a bright smile as I crouched down to bring Teddy in my arms. He wrapped his arms around me just the same, dropping his trunk where he stood. When I had pulled away from Teddy - keeping my hands rested on his shoulders, I brushed his colored hair out of his face.
''How about we head home, yeah? You can tell me all about your Hogwarts days.''
''Yes!'' He jumped with a cheer, swiftly grabbing his trunk from the ground. I laughed at his enthusiasm, standing back up.
Just when I went to turn around, I had seen Draco at the end of the station. He had seen me, too. He was staring right at me, looking sad. Heartbroken, even. We started at one another for a few more seconds, those seconds soon feeling like hours. His grey sunken eyes had shown that he hadn't slept last night.
I barley could.
Then he blinked, turning to look at his right. He had a small smile tug at his features, before he crouched down. Just as I had when Teddy had seen me.
''Mum?'' Teddy called. I returned my attention to him, seeing his head tilted and concerned look. ''What's wrong?''
I brought a tight smile to my face. ''Nothing, my son. Nothing at all.'' I reassured, no matter how much of a lie that was deep down. ''Let's head home now.''
Walking forward, I placed a gentle hand against Teddy's back, leading him towards the invisible wall of the station. I didn't glance back at Draco. I already had the urge to run back to him and if I glanced back, I wouldn't be able to keep that urge at bay.
''So, tell me,'' I started as we Apparated away from the station. We ended up being down the road from our house, since we couldn't directly Apparated there. ''How have your classes been going?''
''Really?'' Teddy groaned, trudging across the concrete while kicking a few small pebbles. ''I get back and the first thing you ask is about my classes? What about the exciting questions? Like 'what adventures have you been up to' or 'what secrets have you discovered'.''
I chuckled at the boy walking beside me before asking another question. ''All right, what adventures have you been up to? What secrets have you discovered?''
''Now you're just copying me.''
We both shared a laugh.
''Well, we found the Kitchens. And we didn't manage to get caught the second time, should you know. The house elves are nice. The food is amazing. Especially when it's fresh and nobody had eaten most of it already. My friends and I are hoping to find out something about the Whomping Willow. One person, Mark Allen, said that the Whomping Willow is haunted.''
He started to rant about his time at Hogwarts. I didn't get bored, but, I was rather amused. Teddy tried balancing along the line that separated the road from the grass, before he crossed the line. His rant never faltering.
''Enough about me.'' Teddy then said, pulling my attention back to his words. ''What did you do while I was gone? I suppose you were rather bored?'' The way he looked up at me almost made my heart melt. His eyes shone in the sun, the wind blowing through his fluffy hair.
I smiled down at him, turning to look back ahead of us. ''Actually, it was quite peaceful. No annoying little children running around my home.'' I teased, causing Teddy to laugh at me.
''You seem happier.'' He noted after a short silence.
''Oh?''
''I haven't seen you this happy in a long time. Actually, never.''
''Can't I just be happy to see my son?'' I asked, turning down to look at him with a smile and the same tilted head he did to me.
Teddy hummed as I continued to watch ahead. Cars didn't usually travel down this road, so we were pretty much alone. I inhaled a deep breath, taking in the scents of the flowers. McGonagall had given the children a summer break of sorts. Instead of just the usual Winter break.
''Who did you have over?'' Teddy then suddenly asked. I stopped my walk, furrowing my brows at his question.
''What?''
''You heard me.''
I looked over to Teddy, seeing his arms crossed and a knowing grin on his face. ''You had someone over while I was gone. Well, who was it? I'd like to know. I'm your son, after all.''
I squinted down at him with a suspicious look. He didn't falter, still awaiting my answer. I thought it over. Should I really tell him what I did? He wouldn't mind, right? Anyway, it's not like Draco is coming back over or anything. I don't even have to tell him that it was Draco that came over.
''Well, if you should know,'' I said, starting my walk again. Teddy quickly followed my steps. ''I had a friend over. That's about it. Nothing more and nothing less.''
''Just a friend?'' Teddy questioned.
''Yep.'' I nodded, giving the boy a quick smile. I heard him hum from beside me but I didn't think much of it.