HIS EXCEPTION || Draco Malfoy

T W E N T Y N I N E

The pair fell back into isolated bliss with one another almost immediately.

After the house elf hand managed to disapparate from the Manor with everyone who was being held in the dungeons, Draco had to sit through multiple family meetings about what had happened and how they were going to move forward.

Basically, whether or not they would tell the Dark Lord.

They decided to not say anything, aware that they would all be killed if he knew.

Now that the weather was beginning to clear up slightly, the windows to the room were open much more regularly. It had been months since Ariana had left the bedroom, Draco feeling guiltier as time went on. His heart ached whenever he watched her sitting on the window sill, trying to get as much sunlight on her naturally tan skin as she could. The freckles across her nose that he had come to adore so much had faded after spending so long indoors, and her skin didn't have the same glow to it. As she leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes, letting the sun hit her face, Draco studied how her lashes rested on her cheeks, how loose strands of her dark hair fell over her face, the rise and fall of her chest, and he was certain she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, regardless of how long it had been since she'd left his room.

What he would give to just do normal things with her, like attend class, visit Hogsmeade, or even bloody muggle London. He didn't care. He wanted to hold her hand in the street, take her to fancy restaurants and have her show him muggle ones, hold doors open for her, buy her gifts- he shook his head, realizing he was staring at her as she dozed.

The way he acted when it came to her was embarrassing.

His younger self would've been disgusted with his present self if he could see him. But his younger self was a bloody git.

The morning of Ariana's birthday, she woke up to the sound of the shower turning off in the ensuite bathroom. Judging by the sunlight beginning to stream through the curtains, she could tell it was still early. She had been somewhat dreading her birthday, as it meant Draco would be returning to school in the next few days that followed. She wasn't sure how much longer she could handle sitting in this room on her own.

Draco had brought her extra books to read from the Manor's expansive library, had even offered to buy her whatever she wanted from Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley to keep her busy and entertained, but she was now just craving the feeling of her old life with him. She missed her father and friends.

She wondered what her father was doing today; the day his only child turned eighteen. The child who he hadn't seen or heard from in months and months.

Ariana was snapped from her thoughts as the bathroom door opened and Draco stepped out, wearing only black sweatpants as he towel-dried his hair. He glanced at her and noticed she was awake.

"Did I wake you?" He asked, tossing the plush towel on the floor. It vanished immediately, as usual.

Ariana shook her head, sitting up and pushing her hair out of her face. "No." Her voice was slightly croaky from sleep.

Draco tilted his head to the side. "Are you alright?"

She nodded. "Just thinking about dad."

He moved to sit on the bed beside her, his damp hair messy. "Once this is all over, we're going straight to him, you know that?"

Ariana raised her eyebrows, now sitting cross-legged beside him. "Both of us?"

Draco smiled and nodded, amused by her surprise. "As if I'm going to be separated from you ever again after this."

"Have you ever met a muggle before?" She teased.

Draco squinted in thought. "Not properly. What better muggle to meet for the first time than the one who created you?" He reached over and squeezed her hand. "Actually, speaking of..." Picking up his wand from beside the bed, he waved it once and a small box floated out of the walk-in robe and landed in his hands. It was a black, flat, rectangular box. Very unassuming. Even if Ariana had happened to find it in there, she would never have thought to look inside it.