Empire (D.M)

Part seventytwo

The days passed in the large manor. Outside the world kept moving forward, but she was stuck in her head. She couldn't seem to shake the feeling of something being wrong.

"Alice you have to stop thinking about that prophecy" Draco said to her as he walked into the living room, setting his glass of brandy down on the coffee table "it's not accurate darling"

"We don't know that, we cannot possibly know that" she sighed, wrapping her arms around herself as she stared at the fire burning in the stone fireplace "what if it is true?"

"It won't be true Allo, we'll make sure of it"

She sighed, letting her hands drop to her baby bump. Draco sat down on the couch opposite of her, glancing at her with his bright grey eyes as he picked up his glass of brandy. He brought the glass to his pale lips, absentmindedly sipping on his drink as he shifted on the couch.

"You're afraid he's going to come back too" she mumbled, looking up at the pale boy "aren't you?"

"I suppose" Draco mumbled, holding his glass in his right hand "perhaps I will be afraid of that as long as I live"

"Perhaps me too" she sighed, looking back at the fire that danced along the ashes. There was some sort of growing void inside of her, and thoughts of the prophecy consumed her. She wanted badly to know if it was real, she needed to know if it was real.

"Let it go Allo" Draco spoke again, noticing her distress "all that worry isn't good for the baby"

"What would you know about that?" she asked, looking towards him.

"I picked up a book when I was with my mother in Diagon Alley last week" he simply said, taking another sip of his brandy.

"A book?" she questioned, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Yeah you know, a book" he said, lowering his glass "about the weeks of expecting and care of newborns"

"You bought a book about that?" she questioned slightly surprised, a small smile pulling at the edges of her lips.

"Yes" Draco said, looking at his glass of brandy "I figured that I should try and learn as much as I can in order to help you and Scorpius"

It was sweet, and a side of him she really liked.

"That's responsible of you" she said, trailing her fingertips along her stomach.

"Yeah well" he huffed, taking another sip of his drink "I try"

There was a moment of silence, a rather comfortable one. Draco slowly sipped on his drink and she looked back at the crackling fire. Outside the wind whistled and from the kitchen she could hear Narcissa making a cup of tea.

Her thoughts once again wandered towards the prophecy by the unnamed seer, and she suddenly felt uncomfortable. She laid the palms of her hands on her stomach, quietly wishing for the little boy who grew in there to not be the aim of those horrid words.

"Alice?" Draco asked, glancing at her "are you thinking about it again?"

"Yes" she confessed, letting her hands fall to her lap "I can't help it, I need to know if it's true"