Cursed | Draco Malfoy, 18+

T h i r t y - f i v e

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"You're allowed to hold me, you know?"

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Amelie was standing in the doorway to her room at the manor. It felt strange to her, being here again.

The fact that she was heartbroken the last time he made her leave caused her chest to cave in. The heavy lingering almost made it hard to breathe.

And the truth of Adrian, being two floors down, locked up in the basement, didn't make any of it more manageable.

But if anyone was strong enough for this — it was her, even if she didn't know that herself.

Battles and struggles within your life are inevitable — Amelie understood that, but it's the way you choose to handle it, it's the way you fight back, that matters.

Her sight gazed over the room as she stepped inside of it. The look of it was almost as how she left it, yet not,

Something had changed.

The books on the shelves were brand new, not old and dusty like she remembered them. The paint on the wall next to the window held fresh — someone had coated it recently, and the stinging yet satisfying scent of it filled the room.

She didn't know that Draco had ripped this room to pieces while looking for her — that he had spent his nights crying against the wall next to her door.

Her eyes fell to the timber, noticing the handle inside of it, and she smiled.

This time was different.

This time — he wouldn't lock her up, holding her captive. This time, she was here on her own terms.

Amelie's thought spun straight to the diary she had left behind, and she rushed over to the bed, dropping down to her knees as she tucked her hands underneath the mattress — but nothing.

It wasn't there anymore.

Panic flooded throughout her veins as it clocked her — most of the things in her room were replaced, and the only reason for them to be new is if someone had been in here, shredding it apart.

'' Are you alright?'' Draco's voice scored loud from behind her. She pulled her arms out from below the bed.

Her cheeks burnt by the embarrassment, '' I'm fine.'' She lied, worried that he had found her diary, '' I was just looking for—''

'' This?'' He held her book up in front of him, and her lips parted.

Draco shoed into the room, closing the door behind him as she rose from her kneeling position.

'' Don't be mad.'' His jaws gritted, '' Don't be mad at me. I just—''

Amelie took quick steps up to him, wrapping her fingers around the leather spine. She looked at it for moments as he looked at her.

He always seemed to look at her.

Even if she knew that he'd been invading her privacy, in a way that made her upset — she couldn't be bothered. When it came to Draco, she put all of her trust in him, and if he felt the need to read her hidden thoughts, he must have a good reason too.

'' You just...?'' Her head shot back, facing his guilty stare.

Draco cleared his throat, his eyes held an agonizing glint, '' I needed to find you, and like I said — I will never apologize for doing so.''