Guiding Light || OC x Draco Malfoy

Chapter 9:

Once more, the weeks passed by with ease, Draco coming and unfortunately going as his hours permitted. Just like I had done with every facility that I had been in in the past, I was adjusting to life again. The feeding schedule of once a day, the sleep schedule of whenever my mind decided to shut off, and my socializing schedule of awaiting Draco at every moment of the day. I was still trying to wrap my head around that last one.

Now that he was an active part of Scorpius' life, he couldn't spend every day with me. His mother or sister-in-law, Daphne, would watch him when Draco was away, but I was starting to come around to the idea of prioritizing others. Scorpius was all Draco had left, and if he wanted a day to stay home with his kid, I needed to understand that.

Today was one of those days.

The nurse came in, and Draco wasn't with her. I told myself that I didn't care, but there was something arguing against that in my brain. I yelled at it to shut up and to go away, but it wouldn't no matter what I tried. I missed Draco, and it affected me a lot.

"He's quite fond of you. Did you know?" The nurse who always came in to change my tubes rarely ever talked to me. If she needed me to hold something or move, she would ask, but she had never tried to strike up a conversation with me. At least I think that's what she was trying to do.

" He kind of has to, doesn't he? I mean, you and him are the only two people that keep me alive. Up until now, he's the only one who's talked to me too."

" Well that is why I am here. No one overseeing your care is allowed to speak to you directly. Draco is the exception because he is your representative. He has to report back to us and tell us everything that you need after you get done talking with him. Like how that clock got installed."

It was obvious she was from France, given how thick her accent was, but her english was near perfect. Certain words had crisp edges to them and I found myself mesmorised and sedated by her voice.

"So now that Draco isn't here, you can talk to me?" She gave a little nod as she drained out the reservoir and IV tube. " You know, I'm not as dangerous now. I was when I first got here, but not anymore. They're practically starving me now, and my muscles are unused and weak. I can't even walk on my own, let alone do something like escape. They really don't even need to restrain me, I can barely move my arms up and down at this point."

Her face flushed with color at the mention of how poor my treatment was. None of it was her fault directly, but I guess she still felt a little ashamed about it. She reconnected my tubes quickly and hung up a new bag, same as she did every day. Straightening up, she walked to the foot of my bed, and had a chair form for her. She reminded loads me of Draco in a few ways, but they were vastly different in others.

Her blonde hair, a dustier shade than Draco's platinum-blond head, was pulled back into a half-up bun. She was younger than him, but just as sweet, so far as I could tell. Her eyes were an icy green, rather than pure steel, and her face was youthful and bright, whereas Draco's face was snow-pale and etched with deep lines of worry that looked like they had been there since he was born. They had both seen some terrible things, if I had to guess, but Draco had been part of the cause, and this nurse was part of the solution.

"What did you say your name was? Seeing as this is the first time we've ever had a formal conversation, I don't think I've ever heard it before?"

" Oh, well, probably not. You are under very tight security, Adeline. But, rules can be bent when the time feels right, and I see no harm in it now, so why not. My name is Gabrielle."

"That's a lovely name. I'd ask if it's French, but that seems like the stupidest thing in the world. I take it you've lived in France most of your life?"

" Yes. I visit England a lot, though. My sister, Fleur, married a man from England, so I visit them and their children a lot. I'd like to think my English is quite good, even though my accent is bad."

" Yeah, it is pretty good. Do you have any children yourself?" Another blush crept its way up her pale and freckled face.

"No! No, I'm still quite young. I'm not even in that serious of a relationship, so I don't think kids are not in my near future. What about you?" Now it was my turn to be embarrassed. And alongside the flush was that nagging feeling of emptiness. That loose-tooth vacancy that filled my brain with a thickness akin to glue. There was something missing here too.

"I—not really. Love isn't really something I get, so that's a no from me too." She looked at me with her large, doe-like eyes as I said that.

"Well, I would not hold your breath if I were you."

"Excuse me?" My tone didn't seem threatening in my head, but it must have come across as such since Gabrielle flinched back slightly.

"I-er- all I meant was that..." She stopped mid-sentence, still sitting noticeably farther from me. I assured her that I hadn't meant any anger, and she relaxed slightly, but was still visibly tense.

" I meant that you might find it in an unexpected place. Draco is starting to fancy you."

Again, I couldn't stop myself long enough to check the tone of my voice.

"Excuse me?" There was no way that she meant any of what she had just said. Her giggle was making me reluctantly think otherwise.

"Yes, he told me himself. Unless he was lying deceptively well, I think it's true. I've seen the way he has grown on you recently. Especially now that you have both come to terms with what happened."

If there was one way to describe how I felt about what happened, it would not be that I've 'come to terms with it'. I could understand the initial relief of having Scorpius back, but not that he could possibly fancy me. There was simply no way.

"You surely must have misheard him, Gabrielle. Draco has been tasked to tolerate me. There's no reason for him to feel that way about me. It just..."

Gabrielle didn't need the rest of my sentence for her to connect the dots in her head. I was a glad about that, because I wasn't sure if I was prepared to finish my thoughts either. She merely gave a small yet oddly angelic shrug of her thin shoulders before she gave a verbal response.

" Perhaps I did, or perhaps you are just blind to it. There are a lot of troubles in your past, Adeline. Maybe having someone to care about you in that way will be better than you think it to be. Just don't shut the idea out. Draco is alone too, now. He needs you just as much as you need him."

For better or for worse, the buzzer sounded outside my room, and Gabrielle was called away. She sighed almost reluctantly as she stood, her small-heeled shoes making no noise against the padding of the floor as she made her way to the opening for the door.

Similarly to what Draco had done all those weeks ago, she hesitated, though this had an air of general desire to stall, rather than the macabre curiosity that Draco had. She was trying to stay longer at a friends house, while Draco was driving past a car crash.

"Just... don't shut him out. He cares about you a lot, and I think that, deep down, you do too. Just think about it." Pressing on the moving panel, it slid back and she left, sparing me a damp smile as she disappeared, returning tomorrow.

Or so I thought...