"I COULDN'T WAIT TILL MORNING."
Elara didn't want to waste any time - she only had ten minutes with him.
Draco shrugged, his hands in the pockets of his black trousers as he walked towards her. "I was awake anyway." He glanced around the infirmary. "You're lucky no one else is here."
Elara hadn't even noticed. She tried to ignore the fact that he looked so devastatingly handsome standing in front of her, expectantly.
"Don't do anything," she blurted out before shutting her eyes to try and compose her thoughts. Why was she so flustered? It wasn't like she'd never found him attractive before.
Not the time.
"About?" Draco said, slowly, his eyebrows lifting.
Elara swallowed and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Fletcher."
Draco went still.
"I saw the look in your eyes," she went on, making sure Madam Pomfrey was out of earshot. "If I hadn't been there, you would've torn him to shreds. Easily."
She saw his jaw lock. "But you were there."
Tragic. Why did he always look so tragic?
"You're saying you haven't thought of going and finding him to finish what you started?" she demanded, rising to her feet.
"You should stay in bed," he said, emotionless.
"Answer my question, Draco."
He glared down at her, all harsh eyes and tight mouth. "You want me to let him walk away? You don't want to tell anybody and that's fine but if I don't do something, he'll walk away scot-free -"
"And since when do you care?" Elara shot back. "You're Draco Malfoy. You make it quite obvious that you don't care about anybody but yourself."
She may have imagined it but she thought she saw him flinch. "I'm not okay with letting a rapist -"
"Shhh!" she hushed him, alarmed that Madam Pomfrey would overhear. "I'm asking for something so simple -"
"He did it to get revenge on me, didn't he?"
Elara looked away.
"Yes or no, Elara?" His voice had dropped an octave lower and it shouldn't have but it sent shivers down her spine.
She hesitated again. "I don't know -"
His hand shot out and closed around her wrist, tugging her to him, just as the other one moved to pull the curtain closed, sealing them from Madam Pomfrey's gaze - even though she hadn't even been looking.
Elara stifled a cry as he pulled her flush against him, his silver eyes shining like a cat's as they caught the moonlight filtering in through the window beside them.
Moonlight had looked good on him that night by the Great Lake; now, it made him look deadly.
"Do not lie to me, Elara," he hissed, so close she felt his breath on her face. "Do not lie to me because you want to spare me. I do not want your pity. It's useless to me."
She wanted to feel angry and offended, wanted to remove herself from his grip but it had been such a long, terrible forty-eight hours.
More like a long, terrible two months.
"Elara, honey?" Pomfrey's voice floated in. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes," Elara said without hesitation, her eyes still fixed on Draco's face. He didn't let go of her, their chests still brushing against each other's. "Everything is fine."
She waited until Madam Pomfrey's footsteps receded before speaking. "Does it even matter?"
He seemed surprised at her composed tone and his grip loosened on her wrist.
"Yes or no?" he said, quietly.
She averted her gaze. "Yes."
She knew he'd already known that but his shoulders still dropped, rage flickering on his face for a second before he masked it.
"I'll tell them," Elara said, softly. "I'll tell them eventually and he'll face the consequences. But I do not want you getting expelled for doing something violent." She slid her wrist out of his grip and looked up at him, imploringly, as she stepped back from him. "Please, Draco. It's the only thing I ask of you."
Draco observed her, silently.
"You have to go," she told him, gently, sitting back on the edge of the bed. She was already tired out. When would things start looking up for her? She was starting to think they never would.
Draco's eyes rested on her for a heartbeat longer before he turned, yanking open the curtain. "Fine. But I make no promises."
He vanished before she could respond.
|
Elara insisted on being discharged from the infirmary the next day. She absolutely could not miss any more classes.
Despite Freya's insistence on her resting in the common room, Elara attended all of her lessons.
Even Potions where Fletcher and Draco were paired up.
Fletcher didn't dare raise his eyes from the cauldron in front of him while Draco did everything he could to make his partner's life hell. He'd mess up the simplest of instructions, add the wrong ingredients and blame it on Fletcher or shove into him so hard the smaller boy stumbled.
Elara watched in amusement but it quickly dulled when her eyes fell on Fletcher's nose. It was bruised and an ugly purple - she guessed he hadn't fixed it yet.
It made him so much uglier and Elara had thought he couldn't get more disgusting than when he'd been leering at her, his hand -
She forced the thought away and handed Cho the fairy wings.
As they filtered out of the class, Elara broke away from her friends to catch up to Draco who was walking alongside Theodore Nott.
"Excuse me," she muttered, twisting her shoulders to pass them, brushing Draco's hand in the process. It was easy to press the note into his hand before she took off.
Seven. AT.
It was all she had written but she knew he'd understand.
Elara studied with Stuart until six thirty, catching up on the material she'd missed while in the infirmary.
"You really should be resting," her best friend said for the thirty-first time that hour. He was examining her with concerned eyes.
Elara groaned, grabbing his jaw and turning his head back to face the History of Magic textbook. "I'm fine. Shut up and explain."
By the time she reached the Astronomy Tower, she was almost too tired to climb the stairs.
"What do you want?" Draco said by way of greeting. He was watching her as she took the last step off the staircase.
"You need to teach me hand to hand combat."
Draco stared at her and then scoffed. "What use is hand to hand combat when you have a wand?"
She returned his gaze, steadily. "My wand didn't help me at all against Fletcher." She watched his eyes dim. "Albeit, it's not the wand's fault but still. Someone could always Expelliarmus me in battle."
Draco narrowed his eyes. "And what makes you think I'm any good at hand to hand combat?"
She wanted to say she'd seen the way he moved and seen, as well as felt, the muscles in his body first hand. He was too toned to not be doing some physical activity apart from lifting his wand.
"You're a Malfoy," she said instead. "I'm sure you know how to dance as well as you duel. Jack of all trades."
"Master of none?" he said with a quirk of his lips. She raised her eyebrows.
"I didn't expect you to know the Muggle phrase."
He lifted a shoulder. "Jack of all trades."
"Master of some," she added later after he'd worn her out to the point she felt she could collapse there and then and sleep for years.
He had barely broken a sweat and watched as she dragged herself to her feet from where he'd sent her sprawling. "Less talking, more energy."
She shot him a glare.
|
"I heard about your little episode, Miss Jacobs."
Elara stopped in her tracks, turning slowly to face Professor Snape. She had just finished giving him the weekly scoop on Draco - nothing unusual.
"It was nothing," she replied, lightly. "Just stress."
"Over your lessons? Or Malfoy?"
Elara stiffened. "My lessons. There's hardly any stress regarding Draco. He doesn't even do anything suspicious."
"Except lie to you about taking Apparition," Snape responded, pursing his lips.
"I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for that," she defended. "He has no reason to lie -"
"Why do you think he was studying Anti-Apparition wards, Miss Jacobs?"
Elara stopped. "I... I don't know? Maybe he was just interested -"
"If he was just interested, why would he lie to you about it?"
"It could be for any other class, maybe not Apparition -"
"Then, why lie about it?"
Elara fell into deep thought. He was right.
"What do you think he was doing?" she inquired, quietly.
Snape examined her, his hawk eyes seeming to peer straight into her soul. "What place do you know of that has Anti-Apparition wards that Mr. Malfoy might try to break?"
Elara stared at him, confused, and her eyebrows furrowed. "I highly doubt Malfoy Manor -"
Snape exhaled through his teeth. "Really, Miss Jacobs, aren't you a Ravenclaw?"
She bristled. "It would help if you stopped beating around the bush -" Suddenly, she froze.
But it didn't make sense. Why would Draco want to -
"Ah," Snape sat back in his chair. "She finally sees."
"He wouldn't," she protested. "Why would he?"
Snape's gaze bore into her. "It's your job to find out."
She laughed, humourlessly. "You think Draco is going to divulge why he's trying to break through Hogwarts' wards? To me?"
"Why was Malfoy the one to take you to the infirmary?"
Caught off-guard by the question, Elara hesitated. "He was the one who found me having a panic attack."
"Why?"
"He had detention -"
"No. Why did he help you? He cares about nobody but himself. He could've easily left you to have your panic attack on your own - it was unlikely you would have died."
Elara stared at her teacher. "He couldn't not help me."
"That's where you're wrong. He's Draco Malfoy. All his behaviour throughout the past six years has been not helping people, unless it helps himself." Snape narrowed his eyes. "But with you, he doesn't hesitate. He took you up when you asked him for help with Defence Against the Dark Arts, helps you get out of detention and doesn't think twice in helping you get to the infirmary. This doesn't strike you as odd?"
"He's just a boy." Her voice was so soft she wasn't even sure Snape heard her. "There doesn't need to be an ulterior motive behind everything he does."
Snape huffed in exasperation. "You are unaware -"
"Of how dangerous he really is," Elara finished. "Then why don't you explain to me?"
"It's no business of yours."
"You have me stalking him -"
Snape stood up, abruptly, and leaned over the desk. "Find out why he wants to break Hogwarts' wards, Jacobs."
"Maybe he just wants to get out of this damned school -"
"Then where does he want to go?" Snape hissed. "Lives are on the line, Miss Jacobs. Do not fail us."
Elara felt the unshakeable feeling of doom settle on her shoulders.