« D-Draco... » She stammers.
They remained prostrate for long minutes, the touch of their fingers reassuring each other. Draco's ears, hit by the Cry, hurt like hell on Earth. A hiss swirls in his head, ingraining the worst migraine he ever experienced.
« Draco, I can't stay. »
Nora leans towards him to meet his gaze in vain. The boy's eyelids stay stubbornly closed as he focuses on his pain. He opens them when the girl's hand slips from his. She stands upright, one hand pressed over her mouth and nose. She cannot stand it anymore. Swiftly getting on her feet, she runs away by the stairs.
Draco sighs as he falls on his back. He should go after her. He knows, but he does not have the strength. In a heroic effort, he straightens up thanks to the railings. The walls dance the waltz around him and the nausea rises in his throat. The stairs are a deadly trap. Each of the steps may see him falter, break his neck at the bottom of the tower. Fortunately, he arrives downstairs unharmed.
Nora is nowhere around. Maybe... It's worth a try. Still standing on the walls, the young wizard drags himself to the seventh floor. Crescentia's painting openly mocks him.
« Apparently, you found her. »
« Open the door. »
« Are you sure ? It may not be the right time. »
« By Merlin, OPEN ! »
The banshee scowls. Even the crow in the painting is croaking furiously. But the frame rotates on itself to reveal the arch accessing Nora's living room. Empty. It is not like in Draco's memory. Dust has accumulated on the furniture, pushed back against the walls. Strange symbols stain the blackened floor, radiating from the center of the room and climbing on the stones. Around the fireplace, what seems to be a list attracts him. Names. of the missing ones. He recognizes some of them. At this instant, the door leading to the bedroom opens slowly.
Nora stands in the frame, her head shamelessly bent to the ground. She assumes he has a thousand questions to ask. Questions she does not want to answer, but she must.
The young man considers her, and as he presumed, she has just eaten. That is why she left so quickly. But now she fed and calmed down, he can hope for answers. With a touch of bitterness he cannot hide, he launches out.
« Snape told me you were dead. »
The girl silently shakes her head. She still has not looked him in the eyes.
« So since January... Why ? Why, Nora ? I know you think I'm weak and a coward. I certainly am, but... You could've... I don't know. At least write me a letter ! I told you about my nightmares ! Do you really think I would've betrayed you ? After all he did to us, did you really think I was going to give you up to the Dark Lord ? Have you trusted me even once in your life ? »
The girl angrily looks up at these words, stifling Draco. He bites his tongue in anger. It was not his intention to run riot, but he could not contain himself. A stony silence settles. Frustrated, he refuses to meet her gaze again. With his chin, he prefers to point to the list of names, changing to a less brutal subject :
« There's a lot missing. »
« I guess. What day is it ? » She asks, approaching slowly.
« First or Second of May. Depends on the time. »
She nods thoughtfully, staring at the list. How much has it lengthened ?
« I'm sorry. » She finally blurts.
« You really thought I was going to betray you ? »
Finally turning to him, she plunges her piercing eyes into Draco's. No spark of mischief, just the pure truth.
YOU ARE READING
The Banshee - a Draco Malfoy fanfiction
FanfictionFreedom ... This word echoes like a dream, unattainable. At 16, Nora struggles to find her place in the world. Half banshee, she does not belong to the Black Forest where her mother came from. Half witch, maybe she has her place at Hogwarts. So when...
