Narcissa left the bedroom and locked the door behind her. As soon as she was gone, I stood up and limped into the bathroom. My entire body felt so sore.
It was a nice sized bathroom, with a toilet in the corner and a bathtub against the wall. I looked at myself in the mirror again. I looked even worse up close. I ran a finger through my hair, which was very dry.
My stomach suddenly lurched and I clapped my hand over my mouth. I rushed to the toilet and began to vomit everything that was left in my stomach. My throat burned as I stood up. I felt awful. I gripped the wall as I stumbled back to the bed, trying to avoid falling. White spots danced in my vision.
I collapsed onto the bed and curled myself into a ball. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to get the light-headed feeling to go away. I laid there for a few minutes, trying to push away the sickness.
There were footsteps from the hallway and the door clicked open. I flipped around and saw that Draco had just entered the room.
I sat up. "Draco," I breathed.
He shut the door softly behind him and rushed over to me. He sat beside me on the bed and wrapped me into his arms. "Thank God you're okay."
I pressed myself into his chest, savoring his warmth. It was the first time I had touched him in months. It was torture, talking to him through that cell door for months.
"I wanted you to get away," he said softly. "I wanted you to escape."
"I was so close," I choked out. "So close."
"I know," he said, reaching out to stroke my hair. "I know."
We sat there for a moment, just taking in each other's presences. "I probably smell awful," I said with a small laugh.
His face broke out into a smile. "Just a bit," he replied.
"Yeah," I chuckled. "I haven't showered since... December."
"Let's get you cleaned up then," he muttered. He released me and stood up, holding his arms out so I could take them.
I reached my hands out and gripped onto his arms. He pulled me up into his arms. With his help, he half-carried me into the bathroom. He lowered me onto a stool by the bathtub.
"I think I can do it by myself from now," I said.
"You can hardly walk, Evangeline," he replied. He switched the faucet on and water began to pour out of it. He stood up and walked over to the cabinet below the sink. He opened it and reached inside. "Want some bubbles?"
"Sure," I said, a smile creeping onto my face.
He pulled out a bottle and walked over to the bath. He poured the soap into the bath and bubbles began to form in the water.
I gripped the edge of the stool. "So, um..."
"I can go if you want," he said quietly. "But, er, you don't look so good. I don't want you to... pass out or anything."
I bit my lip. "No, you should stay. Turn around."
"What? Oh— Alright." He quickly turned around.
I pulled off my shirt and tugged off my pants and underwear. I lowered myself into the bath, which was now completely filled with bubbling hot water up to the top of my chest. I sighed as the water warmed my entire body up. I dunked my head back into the water and wet my hair.
"You can look now," I said.
Draco turned around and looked at me. His pale face was slightly flushed. "You okay?"
"Yeah," I mumbled. I rubbed my arms and legs, trying to scrub the dirt from the cellar floor off of them. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me," he said. He shook his head. "I should have... I should have done something. I should have gotten you out of there. I was a coward."
"Hey," I said, turning to look at him intensely. "You are not a coward, Draco. There's nothing you could have done."
"Yes, there was. I could have helped you escape," he pressed.
"But what would your parents have done... your father have done... You-Know-Who have done... Draco, you couldn't have done anything," I finished.
He stared at me. "Thank you. Thank you for saying that. I've just felt... awful lately. I mean, obviously not worse than you have felt, of course, being locked up. But, I've just felt so guilty."
"I get it," I said. "I do. And you have every right to feel that way."
I reached up and ran a hand through my hair. It immediately got caught on several knots. I grimaced and tried to break through them, but my hands were shaking so badly that I couldn't get through them.
"Let me help you," Draco said. He scrambled up and opened a drawer, grabbing a hairbrush. He came back over and sat down on the stool.
"Are you sure you can—"
He began to run the brush through my hair. I grimaced in pain as he brushed out my knots. My hair had never gotten this bad before.
"Sorry," he mumbled. "I know it hurts."
"It's okay," I mumbled.
He continued to brush out my hair. My stomach fluttered with butterflies. He was so close to me, I could feel his breath.
He brushed out the last of my knots and pulled the brush away to examine it. "Did I get them all? Sorry, I've never done that before, so..."
Hands shaking, I ran my fingers through my hair. "Yeah, I think so..." I turned to look at him. "You're pretty good at that, you know."
He smiled proudly. "Thanks."
He put the brush down and I continued to scrub every inch of my body of dirt.
I looked over at him. "I don't have any clothes to change into," I said.
"I can get you something of my mum's," Draco replied. "You're probably about the same size."
"Alright, thank you," I said.
He stood up. "I'll be right back."
I nodded. He turned around and walked out of the bathroom and out of the room.
I tucked my legs into my chest and wrapped my arms around them. I tried to savor the warmth of the bath, which was now cooling.
I pulled the drain stopper on the bath floor up and the water began to drain. I stood up, grabbed a towel from the towel rack, and began to dry myself off. When I was finished, I wrapped the towel around my body like a dress.
I heard the door click as Draco emerged into the room. He was carrying a bundle of clothes in his arm. "Hey, my mum gave me some of her clothes." He held them out to me.
I reached out and took them. "Thank you," I mumbled.
"Alright," he said, scratching the back of his head. "I'll leave you alone." He opened the bathroom door and stepped out, closing it behind him.
I looked at the clothes he had given me. It was a dress and a black cloak. It wasn't something I would usually wear, but it was better than the clothes I had before.
With all of my strength, I dressed in the clothes. They were slightly loose. They probably would have fit me a few months ago, but I had lost weight from not eating enough.
I opened the door and stepped into the bedroom, where Draco was sitting on the bed waiting for me. I limped over and sat down next to him. The hot bath seemed to have improved the sore feeling in my muscles, so it was slightly easier to walk.
He reached out and wrapped his arm around me. I rested my head on his shoulder.
"Thank you for helping me," I whispered.
"It was no problem," he mumbled.
He planted a soft kiss on my forehead, and butterflies erupted in my stomach once again. I snuggled myself closer into his shoulder.
"What time is it?" I mumbled.
"Er, around eight I think," he replied.
I yawned. "I'm so tired."
"Well, you should go to sleep, then," he said. "You deserve a good night in an actual bed."
"Okay," I said softly. I scooted back onto the bed and pulled the covers over myself.
He stood up and tucked his hands into his pockets. "I'll leave you here," he said.
"Good night," I said.
"Good night," he muttered.
I watched as he opened the door and walked out, locking it behind him.