Legilimens

| Nine |

23 July, 1996

Waking up from a dreamless slumber, Josephine looked around the unfamiliar room, forgetting for an instant where she was. The dark grey walls didn't ring any bell, and the drawn curtains had plunged the room into darkness, making it impossible to see farther than the large four-poster bed. Then the memory all came back. Turning on her side, she faced the sleeping man beside her. Even in his sleep, a constant frown marred his face and Josie softly stroked his cheekbone, up to his forehead and pushed back some silvery blonde hair. Draco huffed in his sleep, and his eyes opened, alert and ready to fight back whatever had woken him in the first place. Josie flattened her palm on his cold cheek and shushed him, to calm his nerves. He would die of a heart attack if he didn't stop worrying so much, she always scolded him. When Draco noticed that nothing was threatening them, he let his body relax, cuddling his girlfriend to try and go back to sleep. His nose buried in her long curls in the crook of her neck, he asked.

"What are you doing, waking me up so early?"

Josie chuckled gently.

"That wasn't my intention, love."

"Oh, so you were spying on me, then?" He asked, eyes still closed but a cocky grin appearing on his lips.

Josephine felt the blush rise to her cheeks.

"I was not!" She tried to appear offended.

"I swear, woman, you can't lie to me. And I bet you ten Galleons you're blushing like crazy."

He still hadn't open his eyes.

"N-no." She stuttered, wondering how he could know her so well.

His pale grey eyes cracked open and he smiled one of his rare, big and childish smile that she loved so. These smiles were even rarer nowadays, and seeing him in such a happy and playful mood was so refreshing. Josephine always feared the man she loved would disappear under the influence of the dark witches and wizards in the house that she tried her best to remind him of who he was and who he always wanted to be. Some days were worse than others, but Draco wasn't easily manipulated, not anymore. He was done cowering under his father's orders, and now that Lucius had been imprisoned in Azkaban, Draco had thought he would finally be able to be himself and act the way he believed was right, and not obey his father. But he had thought wrong, the Malfoy family was now more tangled with the Dark Lord and his army of Death Eaters than ever. Voldemort had punished every disloyal member of his army, including Lucius, and Draco had been a target to the Dark Wizard. He absentmindedly rubbed the scar on his arm, then spoke to his sleepy girlfriend.

"You owe me ten Galleons, love." He pecked her on her plump lips. "Go back to sleep, Josie. Stop worrying about me, I'm fine."

Josephine huffed in protest, she couldn't stop herself from worrying, but closed her eyes without complaining and snuggled closer to Draco, hoping the heath coming from his body would make her feel safe enough to fall back asleep.

***

Josephine woke up several hours later, feeling rested for the first time in weeks. Draco was already up, as usual, and he had drawn the curtains open on his way out of the bedroom. She could hear faint voices coming from down the hall, and the sound of dueling that chilled the blood running through her veins. She knew the Death Eaters training Draco how to fight wouldn't dare hurt him badly, but she still hated it all. She cast a quick Muffliato at the room, drowning the voices, then showered and dressed quickly. She picked up her wand before leaving the room, tucking it into her boot. Careful not to draw any unwanted attention to herself, Josie made her way down the stairs and into the entrance hall. She stepped out of Malfoy Manor, and sat down on the porch, looking out at the peacocks walking around, proudly showing their colorful train. Josie loved to spend her days out in the sun, away from all the darkness residing in the manor. She didn't mind being by herself, as long as she found Draco safe and sound at the end of the day. More often than not, Draco was battered and exhausted at the end of the day, and sometimes of poor company. The weight they were putting on his shoulders was threatening to crush him, and Josie helped him as best as she could. But it still hurt her to see him this way. Trying to stay out of the house as much as possible, she spent her days working on her Hogwarts' homework and practicing her wandless charms, even though she was not of age to perform unsupervised magic. But the ministry was too busy with the eventual return of You-Know-Who to take the time to track down the wrongdoers.