Trust Me (Drarry)

Chapter 51

DRACO POV

It really was beautiful at Shell Cottage. The protective enchantments not only covered the house and garden, but also the small stretch of beach which lay in front of it. I spent most of my time sitting between the sand dunes, beside Dobby's grave.

Here lies Dobby, a free elf.

Harry wrote that. He was distraught when he saw what my aunt had done to the house elf. We all were. We still had no idea who had sent him to help us, but he saved everyone from the Dark Lord that day. Including me. Dobby had done so much for me over the years, and now that I no longer had the opportunity, I realised I had never thanked him.

Harry wasn't particularly pleased to see me. He was furious, in fact. But Ron's brother, Bill, just looked at me carefully as I followed them up the path, and agreed that I could stay. On the condition that Harry stayed in charge of my wand, and at night I was to be locked in the attic bedroom. I decided this was so I couldn't smother them while they slept.

I hated that they thought so badly of me. But I had brought it all on myself, I knew that. They had every right to be cautious after what I had done. I just wished that Harry would look at me. He did sometimes, when he thought I wasn't looking, but when I tried to catch his eye, he turned away immediately. But not before I saw the betrayal and disgust in his expression.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were spending a lot of time in Griphook's room, only really coming out for meals and to sleep. They were discussing something important and serious, and I was dying to know what it was. And why they had decided to trust a goblin.

They didn't trust me. I knew they would never tell me what they were up to, and I kept wondering whether they were going to up and leave. Whatever they were doing when the Snatchers caught them, they must need to continue with at some point.

One morning, I watched from the kitchen as they disappeared upstairs with Griphook. Harry hadn't so much as acknowledged my presence at breakfast, and the overwhelming feeling of being a total outcast was starting to get to me.

"He'll come around," Luna said softly, making me jump. "He really likes you. Just as much as you like him."

She was standing by the doorway leading into the garden, and she began to walk down the path, pausing to check that I was following her. I quickly washed my bowl and spoon and went outside.

"How did you-?"
Luna just smiled. "The way you look at each other when you think no one is watching."

I was astonished. I knew I had been watching Harry a lot, but I didn't realise that he had been doing the same to me. Or that anyone had noticed.

"You've made some very bad decisions, Draco," Luna said matter-of-factly, and the way she said it wasn't accusing, just sad. "But Harry has too. You're both so afraid of the future, that you're letting the present get in the way of what you could have."
"We might not have a future," I said quietly, and she gently reached out and squeezed my hand.
"Everyone has a future, Draco. Whether it's fifty years or one week. But you can't reach that future without dealing with the present first."

I blinked. Luna's words were complicated, but the more I went over them in my head, the more sense they made. She squeezed my hand again, and I looked up into her eyes and smiled.

"Thank you."

-/\-\/-/\-\/-/\-

Luna and I sat in silence for a while, just listening to the sea, before I stood up and went back inside. The house was quiet, which surprised me, as there are so many people staying here at the moment that there is always some noise.