The Malfoy Project

𝟒𝟔 - 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐇𝐢𝐝𝐞

༻⚜༺

     They gathered by the entrance hall, packed and ready to leave. I watched from the side as Ainsley bid farewell to her friends. I keep forgetting they are, to a certain extent, mine as well. They are all so taken with her. Blaise and Pansy, even Vaisey and Urquhart waited patiently for their turn to hug her goodbye.

     Finally, Monty took her in his destructive arms and lifted her into the air. "See you this Saturday," he said.

     Earlier, during breakfast, he told her his parents had invited her for a Yuletide celebration dinner at their home. I know the Montagues' house. Half the size of our own, and double the grandeur. Theron Montague earns enough from his position at the Ministry to buy the entire Malfoy estate three times over if he wants to. He probably does.

     I observed Ainsley's reaction. She repeated his words back to him, her mouth grinning. I say her mouth because her eyes did not. They were puffy and slightly pink, as if she'd spent the night crying. But she veiled it well with her apple cheeks and glossy smile.

     I looked away when they kissed and said something to Blaise. She said goodbye to Hannah as well. Just before she left, the blonde witch spotted me and shot me a withering glare, affirming my decision not to tell her the real reason I put a stop to our nighttime rendezvous.

     When everyone was finished touching cheeks and reciting Christmas well-wishes, they crossed the threshold of the great doors. Snaps and pops cut through the whistling wind as they began to Disapparate. One by one, their bodies twisted and disappeared until there was nobody left by Ainsley and I.

     She turned to me. "Not going home?"

     I wanted to tell her no, that I could stay with her in the castle and keep her company. Maybe I should have, because the words that came in their stead were ten times more foolish.

     "Don't go."

     She thought I was joking, and laughed. I couldn't help noticing how her eyes lit up as she did. "I live here, remember?" she said.

     "I meant this weekend," I said. "To the Montagues."

     Her face changed then. Her smile disappeared, and her eyelids flickered. "Why not?"

     I couldn't answer, because I didn't quite know the answer myself. It was something heavy within me, slow and rolling like distant thunder. If I could put it into the simplest words, it was that I feared if she went, she might not return.

     "Don't you have to do the interviews?" I said a little helplessly.

     "I think one week off from interviews won't hurt." She said this like I was stupid, and suddenly I regretted saying anything at all.

     "Fine," I snapped. "But then you'll be a week behind and you won't have time to study."

     There was an unearthly silence as she stared at me, head cocked at a slight angle. "I'll be alright, Draco," she said finally.

     She knew what I meant. I knew she knew. But still the heavy feeling did not go away. It rolled and rolled until my insides had completely flattened and I couldn't breathe. I wanted to clasp her hands and beg her to stay. I would have gotten on my knees.

     "Suit yourself," I said. Without waiting for her reply, I walked out the doors, and Disapparated.

     If she died, I didn't want to be the one who gets left behind. I have seen enough death to last me a lifetime, and I know that hers will be the cause of my own.