Youngblood: Retrieval {Year 5, Book 3}

= Chapter 29 =

Aspen glared out the window, watching the giant squid of the Black Lake play with a swarm of small, sterling grey fish. Mystic was perched on the sill, nuzzling her elbow with his beak. She smiled and looked down at him, running her fingers through his silky, white feathers. He ruffled his feathers before flying off somewhere, only to return a moment later with a note grasped in his beak.

Excited to see you this evening. I've got a surprise. Meet early for dinner at the Astronomy Tower. <3 Dray

Aspen smiled a rare, happy smile crossed her face. She nodded, looking back as she saw Draco walk out of the common room, glancing back at her and winking before he left.

"Aspen!" Lillian came running down the stairs of the girls' dorm. "What was that all about?"

Aspen shook her head, smiling giddily as Lillian smirked. "Nothing."

"You're going with Draco, right?" She asked with a slight frown as Aspen nodded. "Why?"

Aspen, not taking her eyes off the door, sighed, but still smiled. "It's... complicated."

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"Which one?" Mya asked, holding up two dresses, a sparkly pastel pink and a white and teal two-piece, for Dove's opinion.

"Hm... pink." Dove nodded, still checking the rack for a dress.

"Who are you going with?" Mya tilted her head to the side as Dove shrugged.

"Friends. I don't have a date." She plucked a longer, floral pink dress from the rack and went into the 

"Right... Harry." Mya nodded meekly, looking as if she was going to add to the sentence, but then decided not to.

Dove shook her head as she decided between a long, red two-piece dress and the floral pink one she'd loved from earlier. She moved to purchase it with Mya at her side.

"So what's up with you and Adrien?" Dove asked as Mya blushed, not embarrassed, just this wasn't the subject she'd hoped to expand on.

"N-Nothing." She muttered.

"But, didn't he ask you to the formal?" Dove inquired.

Mya let out a long-awaited sigh. "I was talking to him and I accidentally let it slip that I didn't have a date to the formal, then he said that he could take me as friends." She said the last word with venom on her tongue which made Dove wince.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it. Maybe he was just shy." She tried to lighten the mood.

"No, he meant it. He even tried to emphasize it. Ugh! My love life sucks!" She exclaimed, thanking the cashier and taking her dress back to the castle, leaving poor Dove behind.

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"Goodnight Aspen," Ember said grumpily as she planted her face back into her pillow.

Aspen just chuckled. "Goodnight Emmy." Ember looked up from her pillow, glaring deathly at the nickname Aspen had given her as Lillian just giggled.

She finally placed her head back into her pillow, as did Lillian, but Aspen tossed and turned in her bed until she finally fell asleep.

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"Aspen? Aspen? Hellooooo?" It was Draco's voice as her eyes opened in a whole different world. "Get up! We've got to go! Who knows how long that'll hold them off."

Draco's hair was fringy and hung in his face, his eyes in a pleading hurry. Aspen looked around, the whole campus of Hogwarts on fire. She wanted to ask what was going on, but instead, she just took his hand, allowing him to lift her from the ground.

"Run!" He shouted as unfamiliar voices could be heard from behind them.

She broke into a sprint but suddenly separated from Draco as she reached the Forbidden Forest. From there, her vision darkened, only to come back seconds later. But her vision was more vivid and she saw colors she'd never even imagined existed before. She was walking on all fours, but her legs were unhuman and hairy. She sprinted faster than any human could, her eyes latched on to one target and her dog-like nose smelling him out.  She let out a high-pitched, dog-like howl and charged at the figure in front of her, only to realize it was her father.

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"Aspen! Aspen, wake up!" Lillian roughly shook her awake.

Aspen's eyes snapped open as she shot out of bed, a cold sweat breaking her forehead. "I'm sorry..."

"Even my nightmares aren't that bad, what was going on?" Aspen wanted to tell her how she became some sort of canine creature and most likely devoured her own father - but she preferred the simpler explanation. "Just the Dark Mark dream again."

Lillian nodded. "Apologies for waking you." Aspen nodded, looking at her bare feet.

"I'm going to get some water." She coughed hoarsely and slid out of bed, making sure not to wake any of the other girls who were still sleeping.

Lillian flopped back in her bed as Aspen offered a faint smile to her before turning and heading towards the common room, staring at her feet the whole time she went down the stairs and trekked the long hallway.

"You lost?" Draco asked, his voice strained and choky, as if he had been crying.

Aspen turned around - he had been crying. Tears stained his pale cheeks and his normally deep-set grey eyes were red and puffy. He noticed her staring and wiped his eyes with the backside of his hand.

"Sorry." She looked down at his feet. "And to answer your question, no, I'm not lost, just wandering."

He nodded, not coming up with any witty comebacks or flirty quotes. She longed to ask what was wrong with him. She'd rarely seen him cry, let alone let anyone see him crying. Then again, she was always the odd exception to Draco.

"Are... Are you alright?" She asked, her voice shallow.

He just shrugged. "I could be better."

"Want to talk about it?" She offered, only adding when he looked away. "I'll tell you why I'm up."

She offered her hand out to him, watching as he reluctantly took it, offering nothing more than a faint smile. She led him down the remainder of the hallway to the common room, which was now vacant due to it bein around three in the morning. She plopped down on the black leather couch, somehow finding the cold leather nice as it contrasted to her burning skin. Draco sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling a warm, green and black checkered blanket from the armrest.

"It-It's just... Everything's going to be different when we go home for the summer." He stammered, tears once again welling in his eyes.

"At least you have a home to go home to." Aspen stared into the flickering flames.

"Oh... right... I'm sorry, darling."

"It's okay, actually." An awkward silence passed before she spoke again. "I feel like you're the only one I can actually talk to - like you're the only one who can understand me. I mean - Lillian's great to talk to and everything... but... she isn't you."

He cupped her face in his hands, smiling warmly at her words. "It's because we do understand each other. We're in this together - going through this situation together - is what I mean."

She smiled a genuine, comfortable smile. "You're right, thank you, Dray."

She rested her head on his shoulder and he rested his on her head.

"As much as I love this set up, we really should be getting to bed. We do have a formal to attend tomorrow." He chuckled lightly.

"You're probably right." But neither of them moved, except for Draco dragging the blanket further around the both of them.

Soon enough, sleep succumbed them both.