Heartbreak and Lies
Chapter 8
The next three days were sheer bliss for Elizabeth. Draco treated her like a queen. The first morning when she woke up in his room he had room service waiting on her and she was starving. After breakfast Draco took her to a nearby wizard village and he helped her learn spells with her wand. They started with simple spells and it tickled Elizabeth that she was able to do them. And Draco was proud of her because she was a natural. He talked to her about the differences in the spells and the magical history of them. But when she asked him if there were any that should not be done he got real quiet and withdrawn. She had struck a nerve. He explained that there were certain spells that were forbidden but she did not need to worry about those because he would never teach them to her.
It was getting late, so Draco apparated both of them back to the room at the Leaky Cauldron. Elizabeth was getting used to it now and Draco was already teaching her how to apparate. “Why did it bother you so much when I asked you about forbidden spells?” Elizabeth spoke up.
“They are not spells, but curses,” Draco said faintly, not looking at her.
“Why did it bother you that I asked?” Elizabeth persisted.
“It is just not something I wish to talk about,” he evaded her.
“Draco, look at me,” Elizabeth came over to him and took his face in her hands, making him have to look down at her, “You can talk to me, you know,” she said softly, “I am here for you.”
Draco looked back at her and he wanted to believe it so badly. He decided to tell Elizabeth about his past, because she was sure to find out about it sooner or later. “Sit down,” he told her, taking her hand and leading her over to sit on the settee in the bedroom. Draco sat beside her and took her hands in his, “Elizabeth, I have done some things in the past that I am not proud of,” and Draco began to tell her about himself at Hogwarts. He also explained about his parents and their pureblood mania and the Dark lord. He told of how he had become a death eater at the age of sixteen. He told of Harry Potter and all that he knew and had happened to him during Hogwarts. The only thing he left out was his marriage to Astoria. He still had to figure out how to tell her. “I did a lot of things that I wish I could take back. I was not a very nice person,” Draco finished, looking down, afraid of Elizabeth’s reaction, but she surprised him; she moved over closer to him and put her arms around Draco.
“Draco, don’t be so hard on yourself,” she kissed his cheek softly. “You were only a boy, doing what your parents told you. The important thing is you learned from it and realized your mistakes. You are a good person no matter what you think,” she kissed his lips gently. She felt the tears on her lips and realized he was crying. It made her angry thinking about Draco being burdened with such terrible things caused by his parents and that evil Dark lord.
Suddenly Elizabeth realized what time it was, “Oh my goodness, I have to get ready to work at the coffee shop,” she jumped up.
Draco grabbed her hand, “Don’t go,” he whispered, pulling her into his lap, “I am very wealthy and you would never need anything. You don’t have to work ever again. Let me take care of you,” he begged, putting his arms around her.
“That sounds nice, but I am obligated to work at the coffee shop. And I don’t want anyone to have to take care of me. I can take care of myself,” Elizabeth said proudly.
“You really hurt me with that, Elizabeth,” Draco said seriously, “I know you can take care of yourself, but for once you need to let someone take care of you. Besides, call me greedy, but I don’t want you away from me.”
“I don’t want to leave you but I have to,” Elizabeth kissed him quickly; “I promise I will be back as soon as my shift is over.”
Elizabeth went to work that evening but Draco was in her thoughts all night long. All the things he told her made her realize how truly lonely Draco had been most his life. All the people who had been in his life had never been his true friends; they only pretended to be because of his family’s name and status. Sure he had done some bad things and had treated people badly, but that was not who he truly was. Draco had been a victim of his family upbringing, the same as she had. The only difference was that his parents had something to do with him, while hers acted as if she didn’t exist.
Draco was waiting on her outside the coffee shop when her shift was over. It was raining and he put the umbrella up over her head, “I bet you didn’t bring an umbrella with you, did you?” he laughed at the look she gave him, “See, you need someone to look after you. And I didn’t like the thought of you traveling these streets late by yourself.”
Elizabeth wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. They had not been apart long but she missed him awfully, “What would I do without you?” she asked with a smile on her lips, her sea blue eyes looking into his. And she meant it. She could feel herself falling hard for this man.
Elizabeth and Draco made it back to his room at the Leaky Cauldron and spent the night in each other’s arms. It was the third morning Elizabeth spent with him and she had just gotten out of the bath when there was a knock on the door to his room. Elizabeth was in the bathroom but she heard the knock as she was dressing.
Draco went to the door wondering who it could be and whether he should open the door. He knew he shouldn’t have because there stood his father, Lucius Malfoy. Draco was older now, but his father still intimidated him. Lucius’s long blond hair had turned silver and all he had been through with the Dark lord had aged him, but he was still the same hard man.
“Would you like to tell me why on earth you are staying here?” his father asked harshly.
“I don’t think it’s any of your concern, father,” Draco said strongly.
Lucius walked into the room as if he owned the place, looking around disgustedly. He started picking up a few things that were lying around. First he picked up a lacey camisole that Elizabeth had worn under her shirt just last night. He flung it aside in displeasure and then he found the sketch book that belonged to Elizabeth, the sketch she had done of Draco right there for Lucius to see.
“What is all this?” Lucius asked angrily, “You should be home with your wife and child, not here frolicking with some little slut.”
“This is none of your business,” Draco said in anger, “I am not going back to Astoria. I never loved her and only married her to please you.”
“Look Draco, you can have your little fun. That is fine. But you will not leave your wife and there will not be a divorce. Do you know how upset Astoria was when she came to us? And poor little Scorpius misses his father.”
“I love my son and I will be with him as soon as things are settled, but things are not going to change with my wife. She is only upset that she will not have all of my money anymore.”
Lucius made his way to the door, “This is the last time I will tell you this, and you will go back to your wife. If you do not, you will leave me no choice but to disown you. I will not have my son shacked up with some common, mudblood whore. Do I make myself clear?”
Draco didn’t answer him, but just looked at him with that angry Malfoy sneer. His father was not going to intimidate him like he used to, “Goodbye father,” Draco sneered. His father gave him one more disgusted look before slamming the door shut as he left.
At that moment Elizabeth came out of the bathroom and Draco looked at her and saw the distressed, despairing look on her face and the tears running down her cheeks. He went to her but she pushed him away, putting her hands up to keep him away, “You are married?” she asked raggedly in a low whisper. Draco watched as Elizabeth crumbled down to her knees. She could feel her heart breaking; her hands covering her face, “oh my god, I broke up your marriage and you have a child too,” this seemed to upset her worse than anything, and she started sobbing. “Your father was right; I must be a whore.” Draco tried to go to her and went down to the floor beside her; trying to lay his hand on her shoulder, “Don’t touch me,” she whispered.
“Elizabeth you have to listen to what I’ve got to say,” Draco pleaded.
Elizabeth jumped up and started gathering her things together and stuffing them in her bag. Her clothes, her sketch pad and all she could find despite the blur of tears. She could not look at Draco or she might crumble again. How could she be so stupid and blind? Of course he was married. That was why he was staying here and not in a house. And that explained why he was gone for so long between seeing her. Draco had been with his family until she came into the picture and she had destroyed his marriage. She felt so vile. She started for the door, but Draco grabbed her arm strongly, not letting go.
“Elizabeth, you didn’t do this. It was my fault. I should have told you about my marriage, but it was already ending before I met you. You have to believe me,” Draco said roughly, “I found you, the one and only person I have ever wanted. I can’t help that. You are the one for me and I was not about to just let you slip through my fingers, married or not.”
Elizabeth couldn’t help the sob that escaped as her tears got worse as she spoke, “Draco,” she cried, “We are over. I can’t do this.”
“Don’t say that, Elizabeth,” he pulled her towards him, but she resisted, “Please,” he said desperately.
“There is something I must tell you to,” she said in a harsh whisper, looking at him with her tear drenched sea blue eyes, the little bit of green in them shining more now. Draco’s own silver-blue eyes were wet as well, “I am engaged to someone else,” she finished.
Draco looked at her in shock a little, but he recovered, “But I know you were not going to marry whoever it is or you would not have made love to me,” he was sure of that.
“Well, things have changed,” Elizabeth said sharply, “That was before I found out you were married. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“The same thing applies to you. Why didn’t you tell me you had a fiancé?” he asked her angrily. Now he felt like hurting her like she was him. “You came to me too, knowing you had someone else.”
“You don’t have to remind me, I know the mistakes I have made, but it will not happen again,” she jerked her arm from his hand angrily, “Goodbye, Draco Malfoy,” and with that said Elizabeth stormed out his door.
The anger and hurt Draco was feeling right now was unlike any he’d felt in his life and he couldn’t control it. At first he started slinging things in the room and then he planted his fist into the wall, hearing his knuckles crack and then the pain which suddenly helped calm him as the pain shot through his hand and up his arm. This was the reason he had not told Elizabeth about his marriage, because he knew she would be lost to him. She was too full of virtue and honor to have had anything to do with him knowing he was married. He shouldn’t have lied to her, but then she’d lied to him as well, he thought angrily. She was engaged to be married and yet she had said nothing about it. It was almost as bad as his secret. Now he had to try and find a way to reach her because he’d be damned if he was giving up on them. Now that he’d found the one woman he loved he wasn’t about to lose her that easy.