Habits Of My Toxic Heart - Draco Malfoy

Chapter six- Late letter

Draco

Summer had dragged on. I had spent most of summer in my room, distracting myself from my fathers rage towards my mother. Today, she had ruined dinner according to him. I tried to shut out her crying as I buried my mind in my book. Holly had been carrying it around all of last semester so I wanted to know what the fuss was all about. I won't lie, it was immersive. I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and my door opened.
"What are you reading honey?" my mother asked me as she came and sat down at my bed.
"Just this book," I spoke. I looked at her impassive face and you could barely tell that she'd been crying. She got better at hiding it. Practice makes perfect right?

"I just wanted to let you know that I am going away for the weekend so it will only be you and your father here," she spoke softly as if she didn't know how horrendous the situation had become.
"You and I both know why you're leaving. I'm the only one that he doesn't despise right now," I said and kept my eyes in my book.
"Darling, your father is just stressed about.. Work," she finished and I looked at her in disbelief.
"Work? As in the return of you-know-who?" I spat at her, furious about how she treated me like a fragile child.
"You seriously think I haven't heard about Potter's encounter with Voldemort at Hogwarts?" I sat up, not being able to control my anger.
"Do Not say his name," she said in anger, hiding what she truly felt. Fear.
She got up and left the room, slamming the door on her way out. I sighed and felt how tired I was. Constantly drained and exhausted. Every minute in this cursed house kept me on my toes. I rubbed my eyes and checked the time. It was way too early to go to bed but I didn't care. I couldn't keep my eyes open. I remembered that I would spend the weekend alone with my father and I fell asleep in an agony of nightmares.

The next day I woke up to the sunlight beaming from the window. I had slept almost fourteen hours I stated as I checked my watch. Not feeling as well rested as I should be, I grabbed a clean shirt and pulled it over my head. Not caring about changing out of my pajama pants I opened my door and went downstairs. I walked into the kitchen to find a note from my mother, wishing me a good weekend. My father was nowhere to be found but I really didn't care. If anything I was thankful, because it meant that I could let my guard down for a moment. I ate my cereal in peace as I went through the mail, hoping Holly would have written back to me. To my disappointment the only letter I had received was from Theo. I didn't bother to open it. I just sat at the kitchen table, enjoying the first peace and quiet morning I've had since I got back home. I was comforted by the thought of there being less than three days left before I could get the hell out of here. Just three more days.

Holly

I thanked Mrs Greengrass for her kindness of letting me stay at their summer house for the week. Me and Daphne had had an unforgettable week. We had been swinging ourselves from a rope tied to a tree and down into their own private lake, we had been eating ice cream every day and tried every possible flavour, we had tested sleeping outside under the stars, barbecued with Mr Greengrass, joined mrs Greengrass in her daily sunbathing, I had learned Daphne how to make s'mores and she had taught me wizards chess. This had made my entire summer and I was forever grateful for Greengrass's hospitality and kindness. As I hugged them all goodbye it felt just as sad as leaving Hogwarts. I had grown so close to Daphne and now her family that it pained me to leave. My mother had come to pick me up, although Mrs Greengrass had offered to teach me how to use the Floo Network but my mother had insisted that I was too young.

The car ride home was filled with my chatter of how amazing my week had been. My mother kept her facade of how happy she was for me but I saw through her how jealous she was of the Greengrass's ability to spoil their children. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it, to let her know I'm grateful for all that she has done. When we got home I checked our mailbox and saw a letter addressed for me. I tucked it under my arm and grabbed the rest of the mail and headed inside. I sat down at our austere kitchen table and opened the letter. It was from Draco.
Holly,
Hope your summer has been great. Mine has been uneventful and I can't believe i'm saying this but I miss school. I'll probably try out for the quidditch team this year, what do you think? How was the visit at Daphne's? And have you asked your mother about your dad? Sorry my letter isn't more exciting. I'll see you in a few days.
Xx Draco

It had taken him all summer to answer my one letter I had written the first week of summer. I felt let down and disconcerted at his lack of effort. I threw his letter on the floor in frustration as I went to my room, to pack for school next week. I remembered that I had to ask my mother about my father before I went back, and decided that I'd try at dinner.

My mother called me down an hour later and I had almost finished packing. She had made waffles and it smelled heavenly. I sat down and grabbed a waffle. As we sat in silence and ate, I thought about how to bring this up.
"Honey, there's something we need to talk about," my mother spoke and looked at me.
I looked at her in surprise but I nodded and waited for her to continue.
"You are old and mature enough now, and deserves to know what happened to your father," she spoke as if she had read my mind.
"We met for the first time at Hogwarts, both of us were first-years and we have been acquainted our entire life. When I took the job in Romania he was one of the handlers there. We spent every day together and fell in love. He then confessed that he was a death eater, but I chose to be with him anyways because our love meant more to me. I then found out I was pregnant and he decided to try and leave the life of serving the Dark Lord. He knew how dangerous it was but he wanted to risk it for you, and for us. He didn't want the life of a death eater for you, so he had to leave. He left the Dark Lord and we went into hiding.  Eventually the Dark Lord found out where we were hiding and your father was-" she let out a sob and I saw tears fall down her cheeks. I grabbed her hand and she continued.
"He was taken from us way to early, and I want you to know he wanted to do the right thing. For you and for me. And he loved you, he really did." I felt my heart ache as tears were burning behind my eyelids.
"In order to protect you, I asked for mercy to the Dark Lord. You were almost due and I begged him for mercy and offered him my magical powers, letting him know I would never be able to go against him. For some reason he accepted and showed me tolerance and took my powers. I was quite an excellent wizard and I think that was why he accepted my offer. I was able to give birth to you and I learned how to be an ordinary muggle." My mother smiled at me and I felt soothed, finally knowing the truth. I came around the kitchen table and hugged my mother, now knowing how much she and dad had sacrificed for me.

A/N: if you guys only knew what's coming..