Cursed | Draco Malfoy, 18+

T h i r t y - f o u r

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'' I was feeling a bit lonely.''

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'' How did you sleep?'' Amelie was standing in the doorway to the living room in a nightshirt, almost twice her size,

Draco rushed a hand through his hair, groaning as he sat up on the couch,

'' Fine.'' He mumbled, '' I slept just fine.''

Her feet scored cold against the wooden boards coating the floor of the cabin — shivers soared at her bare legs by the brisk morning air.

Amelie always woke up long before Theodore did, and she cherished the moment she had alone as the sun rose between the mountains.

It had turned colder outside, she noticed by the stains of freeze, crackling its way up the windows in the morning and the leaves coated in verglas.

'' How did you sleep?'' Draco caught her attention again, and her head tilted to look at him. His blonde hair fell dowdily over his ashen skin,

Amelie couldn't help but smile at the tired boy in front of her. His spine rested against the backrest of the sofa as the sheets covered half of his body.

Her eyes dragged across him, studying him before they landed on the scars carved into his chest. It looked painful — even if most of them were healed and only the outlines of the torture still showed, it seemed like it still hurt.

'' I slept just fine.'' Amelie tried to smile, '' I was feeling a bit lonely.''

Draco huffed, his hands stroked over his face to brush the fatigue out of his eyes.

'' Me too.'' He whispered, letting his arms fall beside him as he looked back at her again.

He studied her too. He watched as her toes twitched over the cold floor, her knees slightly shook out of the chilly room, and her fingers grasped at the edges of her sleeves.

In reality, she looked ridiculous, standing in that oversized shirt — it seemed like she could drown in it, with her hair tangled by the deep sleep, but to him — to him, she was more than perfect.

Draco adored the small details about her, of how she did not really care about how she looked in front of him. She was confident with him and that he valued.

''May I read you something?'' Amelie whispered from across the room, her lower lip sucked in between her teeth in hesitation.

Draco's face softened as he nodded towards her, folding the edge of the bed linen to the side for her to slip underneath it on the sofa next to him.

Her face brightened, and her eyes glistened with hope as she stepped up to the furniture, dropping down beside him. Draco tucked the sheet around her, making sure that the freezing air wouldn't bother her.

'' Read me what?'' He mumbled, peering down over his shoulder at her, '' It didn't end that well when you read me something last time.''

Amelie swallowed, feeling the shyness waver her at what he spoke.

'' I'm sorry.'' She breathed out, reaching over her legs to grab the book resting on the living room table.

Draco's eyes widened, '' What could you possibly be sorry for?''

Amelie's chin rose, and she saw the corner of his eyes twitch. He looked exhausted.

Even if he had been sleeping on that couch for three days, he was still tired beyond explanation. He had been on edge for over a month as he looked for her — as he haunted every clue of her down, and now, it all came crashing over him.