The Ultimatum ~ Draco Malfoy

Chapter 19

"You don't sleep at night."

He looked at her with tired eyes for a few seconds, then pushed past her and walked over to his bed. Sitting down on the edge of it, the muscles in his legs finally relaxing, he slowly began to unlace his muddy, black boots.

"What does it matter to you?" He then asked, sensing her eyes still on him.

Feeling the slight bitterness in his tone, she didn't respond.

"Right," he said, kicking off his boots. "It doesn't," he added, exhaling heavily, then clenched his jaw as he rose from the bed again.

All June did was observe him from the same spot she had stood frozen in ever since he came into the room.

"Now if you'll excuse me," he continued, pulling the heavy, black cloak off his shoulders and tossing it onto his chair. "I'd like to go to sleep," he told her, eyeing the door, waiting for her to leave.

She studied his eyes carefully, never quite getting past the dark circles beneath them, before opening her mouth to say "Will you, really?"

"What?" He frowned, rubbing his shoulder like it was sore.

"Will you actually go to sleep now?" She asked. "Because I don't believe it," she explained. "Not by the looks of you," she added, looking explicitly at the dark circles under his eyes.

He sighed, shoulders slumping, before letting himself fall backwards and land flat on the bed with a soft thud. "I do sleep. Everyone does," he said, closing his eyes as he pinched his nose. "You just have to be tired enough," he continued, now dragging his palm down his face. "And I don't know if you noticed, but I could really use some sleep right now," he added, the sarcasm slightly muffled in his palm.

She put the book back in its place on the shelf. "Alright then," she said, clutching the sheets to herself as she began walking towards the door.

Upon reaching the door, she turned around to wish him a goodnight, but he was already fast asleep. So she walked out of the room, careful not to shut the door too loud on her way out, and tiptoed back to her own room.

As she found herself back in her room, she couldn't help but dwell on the fact that she had been in the manor countless of times, yet she had never seen his room. Not once during all of their plays or fights had she stumbled into the room. She thought she had seen it all, every square inch of the property, flashing before her eyes as she chased Draco down the halls—or he chased her.

She supposed that she must've seen it at one point, but no, she could not recall it. Embedded in her mind was this idea of a lavish boy room, trophies cramming on every shelf, leather and tufted furniture, the Slytherin colours through and trough. But the reality was far from it. She never would have thought that the notorious Draco Malfoy could live so simply. —How could that possibly be?

~*~

She stayed in her room for most of the day, chiefly reading or napping, until there was a light rasp on her door and Draco walked in looking a bit more rested, but just slightly.

"Mother sent me to tell you that she would love it if you joined us for dinner this evening," he said shyly.

"Umm—", June gulped, scooting up the bed until she was sitting up properly.

"Only if you're comfortable, of course," he quickly added.

"I think that would be nice," June said after a bit of thought. Narcissa had always been like a mother to her—and Lucius, oddly enough, was closer to a father-figure than her own father ever was.

"But I'm afraid I don't look well enough to be seen," she added, biting her still swollen lip.

Draco's eyebrows scrunched together for a seconds as he watched her, before they relaxed again. "We could easily fix that with a quick concealment charm. I'm sorry I didn't think of that earlier," he said, already whipping his wand out.