That night I woke up several times, all due to nightmares about the Battle. Usually, I would only wake up once or twice, but tonight not even the strengh of the Night Combinations they had made for me could keep me in a dreamless sleep. This is why, when I finally could stay asleep, Lucius let me sleep in, even through breakfast. It wasn't until eleven thrity or so that I finally woke up.
"She's doing very well." I heard Lucius reply. My eyes were still closed.
"I'm very proud of her. I can't imagine how hard this is for her, though." Another voice said.
"She's doing better." Lucius assured.
"I just wish she would take to me better. After all, then you might be able to go to work and I could stay with her."
"I know, it's just hard for her. She's affraid if I go away, I'll die as well."
"Lucius...?" I sat up and rubbed my eyes. He turned to me, and I now saw that the other voice belonged to Narcissa. As expected, it was just her and not Draco. He had stopped coming weeks ago.
"Goodmorning, Elle." He sat down on the edge of the bed. I hugged him.
"She's early..." I commented. He shook his head.
"No, dear. I just let you sleep in. You had a bad night last night."
"Yeah..." I closed my eyes and shook my head at the thought of it. As I said this, Narcissa came to the other side of the bed and sat. Orion, who she usually brought with her, jumped onto the bed from the end and curled up beside me. I gratefully petted behind his ear. He let his toungue lawl out of his mouth.
"Are you feeling better this morning?" Narcissa asked. I bit my lip and nodded my head yes before turning back to Lucius.
"Lucius?" I questioned. He pushed some hair out of my face.
"Yes?"
"I'm hungry..." I pulled on my hair. He took my hand away from it and laid it on my lap.
"You slept through breakfast, so I would say you are. Can you stay here with Narcissa and go brush your teeth and hair while I go get you something to eat?" He asked. I nodded my head yes. He stood up. "Okay, be good. I will be right back. " And he went out the door. I started at Narcissa.
"You need to get up, dear." She reminded, standing up. I slid down a bit, biting my lip. Did she truely care about me? I mean, she was here, but still.. In the past she had never liked me. The whole thing really make me kind of nervous. I reached for Melivn, but... I couldn't find him. I reached on the other side... nothing. I gasped.
"What is it?" She asked, concerened. I frantically shook my head and jumped out of bed. I got on my hands and knees and looked on the floor and under the bed, seeing if maybe he had fallen out during the night. Still, there was nothing. Melvin was gone.
"M-M-Melvin!?!?" I instantly started crying. She stepped towards me as she started to put the situation together in her mind.
"What about Melvin, Eleanor?"
"Melvin's gone!" My chest started to clench. Where could he be? I couldn't breath. I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything. My body fell onto the floor, so I curled up into a ball as I started to hypervelelate.
"Shh, it's okay..." Narcissa came to me, as well as Orion. He sniffed at me and whimpered. Narcissa reached for me.
"Don't touch me!" I somehow got out. I didn't want her to touch me. I didn't want to move. I didn't want anything. All I wanted was to have Melvin, where ever he was. I needed him.
"Eleanor, you have to get off the ground. It's dirty." She tried again. I tolled over so I wouldn't be facing her.
"Noooo! Where is Melvin!!" I demaneded. She looked around.
"I... I don't know, but I'll find him, okay? When was the last itme you saw him?"
"I had him when I went to bed!" I wailed. She thought for a moment.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!!!!" I was getting argrivated with her. Luckily, Lucius came back with some peanute butter crackers, one of the only foods they could get me to eat.
"Elle? Are you okay?" He put the crakers on the night stands as he passed it before squatting down beside me.
"No!" I cried, covering my face.
"She can't find Melvin." Narcissa explained. Lucius knitted his brow.
"Are you sure you had him when you went to bed last night?" He questioned. I sat up.
"Yes! I did!" All this questioning was making me angry. Didn't they realise we had a crisis on our hands! My poor Melvin was out there somewhere, and I needed him badly.
"OKay. How about you be good and sit on the bed and eat your crakers while I go out and ask Healer Green if he's seen him." Lucius instructed. My eyes widened.
Healer Green. Yesterday he had told me that I needed to stop carrying him around. HE must hav taken him so I didn't have a choice! I couldn't believe it! Of all people, Healer Green!
I stood up.
"Elle?" Narcissa questioned. Orion stood at my heels, panting now htat I wasn't crying on the ground. I still had tears in my eyes,though, but they were angry ones.I stormed across the room.
"Elle?" Repeated her husband. I tuned them both out and went out the door. Orion followed. I didnt stop until I was at Healer Green's office door. I agressively knocked.
"One moment, please." I heard him say before opening the door enough for me to see him. "Goodmorning, Eleanor. Do you need something?"
Instead of saying anything, I balled my hands up into a fist and hurled it at him. Before it could hit his face, he moved the door so I hit it instead. I exclaimed my favorite word, and this time I wasn't calling for Healer Fuchs. I grabbed my throbbing hand.
"Is everything okay?"
"Give him back!" I demanded, stomping one of my feet. He looked at me in confusion.
"Who?"
"Melivn! I know you have him! Where is he!?"
Melvin? I don't have Melvin. Did you check your room?"
"I know you have him! Stop lying!"
"Eleanor, you know I wouldn't take him until you feel you are ready to go without him."
"Liar!" I screamed, and went forward. I pushed him out of my way and waltzed in, not caring about anything but finding my stuffed dragon.
"Eleanor?" Ivy, who was laying on the brown couch, asked. I ignored her and started tearing the room apart, looking for Melvin. I opened drawers and threw them out of their places when I discovered he wasn't there. Tore books out of theirs shelves. I even checked in the fireplace, which resulted in getting covered in ash. I was just about to throw Ivy off the couch to look under it when I was grabbed by a familiar pair of strong hands.
"Let go of me, Mother Fuchs! I'm on a search and rescue!" I yelled, but this had no effect on the Controler. She simply stood there, very calmly, and asked,
"Will you nicely and quietly come back to your room, please?"
I looked at her as if she were crazy: And I was just about to give her an earful when Lucius came trhough the door.
"I am so sorry." He immediatly started appologizing. I wiggled out of Healer Fuchs grip and ran to him, throwing my arms around him and begining to sob.
"Make him give him back!" I cried. "Please! Please make him give him back!" Lucius held me as close as he could while standing up.
"I'm sorry." He repeated. "She's paniced because she can't find Melvin. Do you know where he is?"
"I'm affraid not, but I will keep my eyes open. I will tell you if I find anything, okay?" Healer Green said more to me than to my caretaker. Lucius looked down at me.
"Do you hear that? He doesn't have him." He tried to cheer me up even more, but that didn't work. It only made my anxiety worsen. What if he was thrown away. Or worse: what if someone like William had him? If I ever got him back, he would be headless! Any tears that had dried up quickly came back. "Come on, Elle, lets go back to the room and eat your crackers, okay?"
With out anything else I could do, I follow Lucius back. When we got there, I found that Narcissa and Orion were gone.
"W-where are they?" I sniffed as he sat me down on the bed. Lucius handed me the crackers.
"Narcissa went out to run a few errends, but she said that she would come back tonight and stay with us until you fall asleep. Is that okay?"
I thought for a moment: Lucius would never let her do anything to me, so it couldn't be too bad. I shook my head yes.
"Great. Now, here, eat some." He guestered to the crackers. I looked at them and then handed them back to him: I wasn't eating until we found Melivn.
..................................................................................................
That night Narcissa came back as promised. Unforunitly, the didn't bring Orion back with her, but she did bring Draco. Like the other times he had come, he sat as far away from me as possible and leafed through a Quidditch Magizine the whole time. Narcissa sat on the edge of the bed like she had earlier.
"Have you found him yet?" She lightly asked me I swished some water around in a paper cup. I tearfully shook my head no. "That's too bad, but I do have something else for you..." She leaned down and picked up a bag that she then laid on her lap. Then, she reached inside and pulled out something big and dark red. Upon further inspection I saw that it was a stuffed squid. "I got you another friend to keep you company until you find Melvin." She handed me the toy. I looked at it for a couple minute before, finallly, throwing back at her.
"I don't want this! I wan't Melvin!" I crossed my arms.
"I know, and we'll find Melvin. But you can hang onto him for now, right?"
"No!" I shook my head. "No! I want Melvin!"
"Just leave it, Mum." Draco looked up from his magezine. "She's just going to cry about it." At this I slid down in my bed, feeling guilty. Of course he didn't understand. He never wouldn. No one would. I began to cry.
"Draco!" Narcissa scolded.
"See, I told you." He simply stated, starting to read again. Narcissa stood up and took it from him.
"You are behaving terribley, yound man."
"Oh, so she can punch holes in the doors and hit Dad, but I can't make a simple comment..."
"Draco Lucius Malfoy! You stop it this instant!"
"I'm sorry, do I have to be crazy to have an opinion." For a moment, it seemed like Narcissa was just going to snap, but she somehow held it back. Instead,, she turned to face her husband and calmly said,
"I think it is time for us to leave. You're son must be feeling very tired from working at the Apothicary." She walked back over to the bed and grabbed her bag. "It was nice seeing you, Elle. I will come back next week, as always." She, a bit forcefully, grabbed her sons arm and started dragging him towards the door. I stopped them before they got there.
"Wait!" I called. She stopped.
"Yes?"
"No!"
"No what, dear?" She questioned. I pointed to the bag. At first, she didn't know what I meant, then she thought for a couple seconds. "Do you mean the squid? I thought you didn't want it. You wanted Melvin?"
"I... I want both..." I addmitted, and tugged on my hair. She smiled and let go of her son to reaproach me.
"I hope you have a better night." She handed me the stuffed squid and smiled. I took it and hugged it tightly. "Goodnight." I bit my lip.
"Go on." Lucius encouraged, giving my shoulder a nudge. I look up at Narcissa.
"G-good night." I said, then grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Her smiled got bigger and she gave it a squeeze back.
"Thank you, dear." She grinned, then left with her son. Lucius and I sat a while in silence. All the while I hugged my new friend, whom I had named Wolfgang.
.......................................................................................................
Around eight fifteen, Lucius had me take a shower and get ready for bed, as usual. After getting dressed and brushing my teeth, I excited the bathroom to find Lucius talking to a House Elf.
"Nubby is so sorry, Mister. Nubby had no clue this would cause to much trouble. Nubby thought toy was very dirty and needed cleaned. Next time, Nubby will ask."
"Thank you very much." Lucius seemed to force himself ot say. It was very evident that he didn't like talking to this common worker. "You may go." He instructed, and the Elf bowed and Disapparated.
"Lucius?" I questioned. He turned around with a big grin on his face.
"Eleanor, I have something for you." He said, and then held up something I was very happy to see. I ran to him and grabbed my Melvin.
"Melvin!" I happily exclaimed. "Oh, Melvin! Where was he! Who took him!?"
"It was all a misunderstanding." Lucius explained.
"The House Elf that cleans your room thought he looked dirty, which was true, and had him cleaned. See? Now he looked much better." I shook my head.
"I don't know if I can sleep tonight! I'm too happy!" I never thought I would say that. I was actually happy. Sincerly, bubbly happy.
"You're going to have to try. You know if you don't get enough rest you are very hard to deal with." He ushered me into bed before handing me my Combination. I obediantly drank it.
"I know, Lucius." I knodded and hugged my Melvin.
"I know you know." He replied before bending over. "Goodnight." He kissed my forehead. I kissed his cheek.
"Goodnight Lucius." I grinned, then closed my eyes, making sure to have a tight grip on Melvin. This time, no one was getting him away from me, misunderstanding or not.