« ROSIER MANOR »
Anastasia woke up around Draco's arms, but with an empty heart. Exhaling and inhaling, she tried to keep calm even though inside her mind there was a hurricane that was waiting to be free. Her eyes were lost in the sunset that she barely felt the blonde boy slowly walking up and stretching.
"Good morning." He smiled, giving her a quick kiss.
"Good morning." She looked down at him, trying to hide the fear and nervousness of her heart.
Without saying a word, she jumped out of the bed and walked directly to the bathroom. Completely ignoring Draco's confusing eyes following her in the way, her mind was full of different thoughts, scenarios and consequences that she barely had space to think about other stuff.
In a way, Draco understood her. He tried to put himself in her shoes but he was aware that she needed space and he was okay with giving it her. In silence, he walked to the sealed door and rested his arm in it, bowing his head down and thinking twice about his words before saying them.
"I'd be waiting for you downstairs." He said, sighing. "It's okay if you don't feel ready."
At that, the door opened widely and she exited the bathroom with her hands over her hips and eyes lost in nothing. She paced around the room muttering things to herself.
"I'm ready. I can do it." It was one of the phrases he could catch, but he was too busy admiring her to do or say something.
"Calm down." He gently took her arms with a half-smile. "You'll be okay. I promise." The boy kissed her softly before leaving the room with pursed lips.
Meanwhile, Anastasia was too focused in finding the perfect set of clothes, with long sleeves, to wear for the occasion. The sick feeling of nervousness tingled around her stomach making her stop to take a breath every now and then. The full-length mirror seemed not enough to her, of for the girl it felt like he was making fun of her with a distorted reflection. The emerald-eyed girl came to the conclusion that she was suffering a nervous breakdown.
Her eyes traveled over the dark set of clothes in the reflection, she looked away quickly before her eyes could find inexistent flaws and confidently took her wand from the bed. As her hand wrapped around the wooden material, she felt unfamiliar with the feeling of always carrying her wand around.
"Rosie, my parents just left." Draco peered inside the dormitory where she found Anastasia, yet again, pacing around the room with her wand in her hands. "It's okay to have second-thoughts." He reassured, walking inside with a serious look in his grey eyes.
"I'm not having second-thoughts." She snapped, which surprised her. "I'm sorry, I'm just nervous." Her arms wrapped around herself. "And scared." She added soon after.
"Don't be. I'll be there with you every minute." He stepped close to the girl and left a gently kiss in her forehead. "Breakfast is ready." The boy commented, zoning her out of her thoughts.
"I'm not hungry." Anastasia quietly replied, chewing her lower lip in between her teeth.
"But I am." Draco said, which for his surprise caused her to chuckle lightly. "Come on." He wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her through the manor.
Anastasia walked in silence as Draco confidently paced around the manor like he owned the place, which technically he did, and looked down at her every now and then. The house elves were kind enough to prepare a coffee for her nerves, even the little creatures noticed the state she was in.
The blonde boy expected her to be more talkative like she always was on the mornings, but he then remembered they weren't in Hogwarts and they were in the middle of a delicate situation. He stayed quiet as he swallowed his food, sometimes offering her the food but exhaling deeply when she denied it.
When Anastasia noticed Draco finished his food, her heart sank at the thought of being close to see her parents again and probably get slapped or killed by them. The thought of having Draco close to her made her feel less stressed but a part of her mind told her that her parents would get angrier at her if they saw her with a Malfoy.
"Let's go." She gulped and silently followed the blonde boy. "If anyone comes when we are away, tell them we are in Diagon Alley." He snapped at the house elf, which instantly nodded and walked away.
Anastasia glared at the elf with pitiful eyes and then locked her eyes with the boy's eyes. She looked down at his now stretched hand and back at the boy, the moment her shaky hand made contact with his, she felt like everything inside her was twirling around. For a moment, she was glad she didn't eat anything or else she'd find herself throwing up in the first thing she saw, in this case, the flowers her mother liked to water every morning.
"We're here." She whispered, tilting her head up to have a better look of the big manor she once used to call home. Now it looked unrecognizable for her, it seemed bigger, and darker.
"It's been a while since the last time I came here." Draco pointed out with a calm tone. "It looks different."
"I know." It was the last thing she managed to say before jumping the steps to the door.
Her eyes traveled over the tall and luxurious door, a frown starting to form into her features. Draco noticed her having an internal battle so he grabbed her hand and gave her a sweet squeeze full of reassurance and love. Anastasia sighed and with a shaky hand knocked the door three times.
She didn't look away when the door was being opened and she locked her eyes with a pair of emerald ones almost the same as hers. Anastasia found herself unable to speak as her eyes traveled over her mother.
"Anastasia?" The woman spoke softly, but her voice was full of surprise.
"Hi, Mother." The girl whispered, not caring about the small break in her voice.
"You shouldn't be here." Her mother quickly said, turning from left to right. "Leave." Draco sighed when he heard the woman's words and saw Anastasia's pained expression.
"But, Mother—" She began, but was instantly interrupted by a distant sound that made goosebumps appear in her covered arms.
"Love, who was it?" Anastasia gulped when she caught the glimpse of her father making her to the door. The moment their eyes made contact, she had to look away to avoid the hatred glance her father sent her. "What are you doing here?" He asked, quite loudly for Anastasia's liking.
"I—I came to—" The words seemed stuck in Anastasia's throat as she locked her eyes with her father.
"I told you!" He spoke, looking directly at her emerald eyes. "You are not welcome here." The last words caused Anastasia to finally let her walls break down.
"But Father!"
Of all the times Anastasia was interrupted by her father, she never expected her to be slapped by him. Never in a million years she would picture herself in the exact position she was then. A loud yelp left her lips as she let the tears roll down her cheeks and Draco's protectively side turn on.
"How dare you to—"
"How dare you to bring a Death Eater to my house!" The man was in the edge of madness as he eyed the pair in front of them.
"If you could just listen." Anastasia pleaded, looking between her both parents in search of some sort of mercy.
"I want you to disappear and never come back." His father's arm was now protectively wrapped around his wife. "Don't ever think to come back."
"I only want to explain myself." Anastasia cried, taking a step closer but only gaining a disgust glare for both adults.
"Everything is clear, Anastasia." Her mother interjected. "You chose them."
"Because—"
"I don't care why you did it, Anastasia!" Her father shouted. "You did it and that is what it counts." He sighed. "I won't repeat myself again."
"Anastasia, let's go." She heard Draco whisper in her ear but they were just empty words.
"I don't want you near my family, do you hear me?" With a broken heart, Anastasia nodded. "Because of you we lost William!" The man was now in the verge of crying as he eyed his daughter with hate. "He's dead! And it's entirely your fault!" Anastasia felt like all the oxygen was taken away from her. She didn't know how to respond but she looked at the pair of broken adults glaring at her.
Before she could say anything else, the big door was closed in front of the teenagers.
Draco knew he didn't need to do or say something, he knew that just being there and holding her hand was enough to show his support. But when he noticed her legs shaking, he had to held her close to him as she cried in his chest.
"Will is dead, Draco." She whispered with closed eyes, hoping it was just a nightmare that felt too real for her. "They couldn't—" But again words had failed as she immersed into deep sadness.
"We have to go, Rosie." The blonde boy whispered in her ear, his fingers brushing her hair in an attempt to make her feel better; this time, it didn't work.
Anastasia felt like she was glued in her position, unable to move or take a step. As her hands wrapped around his neck, she sobbed loudly trying to let out everything she had bottled up in the past months. This time, she knew his soft voice and steady heart beat wouldn't be enough to comfort her from the pain she was feeling, but she was sure he would help her move on.
"Let's go." He insisted, not breaking away from their tight hug. Anastasia didn't say anything but nodded, indicating the boy that she was ready.
The pain she was feeling was so big that she didn't feel sick or dizzy when they appeared right in front of the Malfoy manor. It took her a long time to break apart from the boy's embrace and walk hand-in-hand into the luxurious building.
As soon as she entered, her heart sank at the possible thought of William's corpse being somewhere in the house, and she couldn't do anything to save him from her mistakes. Her mind replayed the possible events that could make the evil group of people punish her with the death of a loved one, but nothing came to her mind.
"I can't be here." The girl whispered, not realizing the boy was listening carefully to every word that left her mouth. "This is too much." She sniffled and walked past the now sad, blonde boy.
The girl quickly made her way to the guest room and locked herself inside. Her heart stopped at the sight of the beautiful snowy owl standing in the railing of the big balcony, its big eyes staring into her soul.
"Hedwig?" She confusedly mumbled, walking to the owl and taking the small parchment attached to her leg. As she unrolled it, her hand traveled over the soft feathers of the animal.
Dear Annie:
Holidays at The Burrow are going exceptionally great, everybody is setting the big tree in the first floor as I'm in Ron's room writing this letter for you and a copy for Hermione.
I just want to make sure you are okay, Mrs. Weasley is concerned about your mother's health and had asked me to ask you how is she feeling, but also important: how are you feeling?
Ron and I miss you and Hermione so much. Maybe you just started to hang up with us again but we grew attached to you really quick.
I hope the Malfoy's are treating you right.
Answer as soon as you can.
Love, Harry.
(and Ron.)
Anastasia smiled softly at the letter. She knew she would never find any other friends like the ones she recently made that year in Hogwarts, and it made her heart ache that she had the task to betray them. But then, the sudden thought of choosing them took over her mind as the reminder of William being dead blurred her vision.
Quickly, she took the closest quill she could find and an old piece of parchment inside one of the cabinets of the room.
Dear Harry:
Holidays at The Burrow sound like so much fun. Tell Mrs. Weasley that mother is better now and she would be back home soon. And don't worry, I'm having an okay time at the Malfoy's, although it's rather quiet and dark.
I am replying this really fast because I was wondering whether I could spend Christmas at The Burrow, I'm having some problems here with the Malfoy's and I have nowhere to stay. It's alright if you don't have space, but I was hoping to spend the holidays with someone I know.
I miss you guys too and I wish to go back to school to see everyone again and kick your ass in Quidditch. Maybe you can teach me more tricks to become a better chaser.
Answer as soon as you can.
Love, Anastasia.
(and Hedwig.)
"Take this to Harry." Anastasia smiled and opened the window for the owl. "Fly carefully." She whispered with her eyes lost in the dark field in front of her.
The brunette walked to the bed in front of her and plopped over it with a loud sigh. She tried to close her eyes and try to convince herself it was just a dream, and she would wake up in her own bed with William smiling at her like nothing had happened.
But it was impossible, and she knew it.
▲ △ ▲
Anastasia woke up with a soft tinkle from outside the window, she blinked several times to try and lose sleep when her eyes landed over the white owl looking at her with its head titled.
She yawned and walked to the balcony, stepping outside and eyeing the animal carefully. Her cold fingers took the small parchment from the owl's leg and unrolled it. Again, she blinked to try and make her eyes adjust to the darkness around her.
Dear Annie,
Mrs. And Mr. Weasley said it would be a pleasure to have you here for Christmas. They proposed for you to stay the rest of the holidays if it's okay with you.
As I'm writing this, Ron is jumping up and down because he's excited to have you over his house for the first time. The moment he read your letter, he started to collect everything he owns of the Chudley Cannons, he hopes that is your favorite Quidditch team or you are not welcome (he is obviously kidding).
Everyone is excited to have you over, I hope you are too because it's the first time we spend a Christmas together since first and second year. I miss those days, and we know you miss them too.
We are all waiting for you with open arms.
Love, Harry.
The girl's eyes traveled over the room as she considered to leave in that moment or wait until everyone would be asleep. She softly patted Hedwig's head and ordered her to fly back to The Burrow. Her eyes scanned over the room and started packing her belongings inside her trunk, silently cursing at herself for not finding certain object.
When she was ready to go, she quietly took her trunk with her and walked down the steps of the staircase. It was past noon and the manor was silent, she could only hear the elves doing the house chores inside the kitchen.
"Where are you going?" She stopped in her tracks when Draco's voice echoed the room. His grey eyes glared her and the trunk, a sad expression taking over his features when the realization hit him. "You are leaving. Why?" His voice came out sorrowful.
"I have to leave this place, Draco." Anastasia exhaled, fighting back the tears and deciding to save them for herself.
"Just because your brother is dead you think you can leave me?" Disbelief took over her features as the words slipped out of his lips, then he knew he said something horrible.
"Well, the reason I came here in the first place was because I wanted him to be safe, but like you said, he's dead. I don't see the point of fighting for someone that I already lost." He knew she was going to cry but she pursed her lips together to hold back the tears.
"Rosie—" The blonde boy took a few steps close to her but the girl backed away.
"You clearly don't understand, Draco." Anastasia simply said, frowning. "I decided that I no longer want to be part of this."
"You are leaving me?" Draco repeated, his voice quivering.
"I'm doing it for the safety of both of us." She whispered, looking away from his watery eyes.
"You are going to join Potter, aren't you?" He sneered. "You are basically leaving me for that stupid boy and his filthy mudblood friend." Draco was now angry at her, but more at his father. Because he suspected he was the responsible of William's death.
"Maybe I am, but that's not your business anymore." The emerald-eyed girl snapped, scowling.
Without looking back, she opened the door and stepped outside to the cold breeze of December. Exhaling deeply, she thought about The Burrow and soon enough she was in the horrible process of apparating in front of the big and cozy house.
Where she knew no one would try to hurt her.