Under the Willow Tree | Draco Malfoy

chapter 37: seasons

Draco Malfoy | 5th Year

After his worst Christmas break to date, Draco was packing his things in his bedroom and trying not to wince every time he reached for something. He had to change out the bandages on his stomach quite regularly because of how much his newest wounds bled, but he convinced himself it was worth it.

He could imagine the melodic giggles that fell from Lorelei's lips when Azore, his eagle owl, arrived on Christmas morning with a gift for her in tow. His soul ached to see the rosy flush that surely spread across her cheeks when she read his note spelling out the nickname he so loved to assign to his real life angel.

Overall, Draco just missed her.

However, he saw her sweet face every time he closed his eyes. She was grinning at him from behind his eyelids and creating a light so much brighter than anything he could see with his eyes peeled open.

Being able to see her face and feel her warmth despite being so very far away from her reminded him of being wrapped up in a bundle of warm blankets on a cold wintry night.

It reminded him of the smell of the earth once winter had ended and nature began to come alive again.

He thought of the days he used to escape to his friends' houses in the summers as a child, relieved to have a moment to disappear into Briar's bedroom to practice their legilimency. It reminded him of when he and Blaise would play in the underground level of his mother's manor as children, laughing and joking with one another.

Lastly, Lorelei's shining features lit up his inner world in a way that he could only be reminded of a Jack-o-lantern. Something previously so hollowed out and empty became a source of life and joy once filled with that internal glow. It was a light that came from the inside out, a light that shined through on the darkest of nights and gave hope to the frightened and jovial alike.

Lorelei was the light to fill his hollowed soul. She was the innocence of childhood. She was the promise of change as seasons shifted. She was his comfort, his angel, his princess.

Yet, they still hardly knew one another, and Draco hated to acknowledge that.

They knew a bit about one another from their letters exchanged last year, but he still hadn't told Lorelei that it was him she was talking to. How was he supposed to broach the subject? How was he supposed to explain that he was the one who had defaced his school desk and proclaimed he would never feel safe?

He couldn't. He wouldn't.

Lorelei was the most priceless work of art anyone could ever own. With every breath she took, more broad strokes of vibrant color were added to the mosaic of beauty that was Lorelei Jones. Her every word uttered another gentle color added to the setting of her masterpiece.

Younger Draco would have liked to obtain such a priceless possession, but he knew that someone like her wasn't for him to own. Simply gazing at someone like her was considered privilege enough, despite his still gnawing desire to pick up her canvas and steal her away. 

His chest ached with these thoughts, but it helped to distract him from the burning and aching in his lower abdomen for a few moments.

Once his trunk was packed, he carefully hauled it up to his side, careful not to tear open his still healing wounds. He slipped down the stairs, avoiding the creaky spots in the dark wood, and fortunately disappeared into the floo network before anyone else in Malfoy manor had even noticed his presence.

—

Draco was dressing his wounds in the otherwise unoccupied bathroom on the Hogwarts Express. He had locked the door to prevent anyone else from coming in, and he was trying to keep his hands steady as he changed his bandages and washed away the few specs of dried blood that still clung to his pale flesh. He was erasing the pain, always trying to rid himself of the horrible suffering he could never escape.

At least he could rid himself of some of the reminders.

While he was still in the process of bandaging some of his larger wounds, a stressed knock sounded on the door of the bathroom. It was a fervent and panicked rapping, and Draco's eyebrows furrowed upon hearing the sound.

"This room is occupied," he called out and glared at the door with a hardened expression.

He didn't hear a response immediately, so he tugged his wand from his pocket and inched closer to the door, and that's when he heard it. The sweet, melodic voice that could only belong to one person.

"Is there any way I could use one of the stalls? The girls' is completely crowded, and I drank way too much water before we left," Lorelei pleaded through the door.

Draco didn't even hesitate. He whipped open the door without bothering to check his appearance, but the blonde girl hurried inside and let the door fall shut behind her before she noticed.

Her eyes drifted over Draco's shirtless torso with a raging blush originating from her chest and swelling up her neck and face. However, once her eyes drifted to the open wounds Draco hadn't been able to recover yet, an audible gasp fell from her parted lips, and her blush largely disappeared.

Without even batting an eyelash, Lorelei flicked her wand at the door to cast the colloportus spell. She then dropped her wand onto the counter and stepped closer to Draco with her eyes still glued to his wounds. She had a glazed look in her eyes, but she didn't ask how he got them.

"I thought it was just a dream," she whispered with her voice thick with emotion. That awful nightmare from days ago came back to her at that moment. His wounds were in the same place now as they were in the dream.

Draco didn't know if he should ask what she meant, but he didn't get the chance to before she used her delicate fingers to push him back against the counter. She grabbed the unused bandages and motioned for him to hoist himself up onto the dry space between two sinks.

His heart raced as he followed her nonverbal commands. He pulled himself onto the counter, which allowed the shorter girl a better angle at which to apply the bandages. She carefully cleaned each wound with a soft touch and her bottom lip stressed between her teeth, but it didn't hurt him once. She used the palm of her hand to smooth the material over his skin, and it sent shivers tumbling down Draco's spine.

Lorelei froze when this happened, and her eyes slid up to meet his. Her lips parted, and her breaths became heavier.

Draco was in a sort of trance. He had lifted a hand to cup one half of her face, surprised when he saw the chills spreading over her skin in the shape of dozens of little bumps.

He leaned closer and parted his lips to ask if what was happening was alright, but before he could, an aggressive knocking shattered the perfect moment.

"Why is this door bloody locked? I ate way too much of those peppers, mate. Let me in!" Vincent Crabbe hollered.

This caused Draco and Lorelei to spring apart. She darted backwards and flung her hand towards the door while Draco dragged his shirt over his body hastily, his eyes tracking her movements as she bolted out of the bathroom and apologized to Crabbe.

Crabbe stumbled in and gave Draco a funny look, but Draco merely threatened, "If you dare mention a word of what you saw to anyone, you will regret it. Understood?"

Crabbe nodded vehemently and watched as Draco stormed from the room after crushing the rubbish from his bandages and stuffing them into the bin. He couldn't have been more furious with his roommate because none of the spells, charms, or curses Draco had ever performed felt anywhere near as magical as the space between him and Lorelei had.

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