Poison Ivy || Draco Malfoy

39 - Owl Post

The art classes, of course, had to go on.

I felt apprehensive, knowing that Percy knew exactly where I was at that point in time. I was terrified he would show up, causing a scene and demanding to speak to me.

"I promise you, Ivy, if he turns up, I'll fucking kill him." Draco said, shrugging on his overcoat as we got ready to leave. "You don't owe him any explanation as to why you have left. He fucking hurt you, and I won't fucking stand for it anymore."

We descended the lift together, my heart racing in nerves despite having Draco with me.

I was glad when we stepped out into the night, revelling in the moment that I could Apparate alongside him. Although we only needed to make one point of contact for Side-Along Apparation to work, he pulled me firmly into his arms, and I couldn't help but press my body comfortingly against his, feeling his steady heartbeat beneath his chest and drowning in his familiar scent.

When we arrived outside the studio, we held onto one another longer than was necessary.

"Are you ready?" He murmured above my ear, his arms tightening a fraction around me as I shivered in the cold biting wind.

I tilted my head up, meeting his piercing silver grey eyes. "I'm ready," I whispered.

We reluctantly broke apart, Draco leading the way as we entered the building.

As much as I loved being in the studio, I still felt nervous; jumping slightly at any unexpected noise close to the door.

I could sense Draco watching me carefully as we began to set up for class.

"You know, we could always take the lesson elsewhere," he suggested gently, after I nearly dropped an easel in fright over a distant creaking sound, "get them to draw me scaling the roof of Buckingham Palace or something?"

A smirk played on his lips as I gave him a startled look. Normally he hated it when I made us go out on class 'field trips'.

"As much as it would excite your little fan club to see you get handcuffed by the Queen's guard," I answered, not being able to help but smirk back, "it's a bit cold and dark for such an outing tonight."

"Anything for you, though, Parkinson," he drawled, as an amused glint flashed in his eyes.

It was to my relief when the classes went by without any unexpected visitors.

However, I was to receive two bits of post during the course of that first week at Draco's, both of which left me feeling shaken.

The first one arrived on the Wednesday morning, four days after I'd walk out on Percy.

It was from my father.

And came in the form of a red envelope.

"He's sent you a fucking Howler?!" Draco hissed as my father's huge brown barn owl deposited it on the kitchen island where we were sat having our morning coffee.

Before I could react to this, the envelope flew up into the air and my father's thunderous voice bellowed all around us.

"How dare you bring shame on our family, child! ...Breaking your engagement to a war hero to shack up with a Death Eater of all wizards?! ...What ever have your mother and I done to deserve this? ...Is it not bad enough that your sister has embarrassed the family as it is? ...Until you come to your senses, Ivy, I wish not to call you my daughter!"

I could not look Draco in the face once the ranting was finally over and a heavy silence filled the room.

"You need to tell them, Ivy," Draco said gently as I quietly wept into my hands. "Your father wouldn't be saying this if he knew."

But I just shook my head, as tears splashed down my face. How could I explain that the thought of telling the truth was more horrifying than letting everyone think I'd gone off with another man?

Wednesday rolled into Thursday and Percy still made no attempt to come into contact with me.

And even though a part of me was relieved, somehow his ongoing silence just made me more apprehensive.

"It's because he knows he's the one in the wrong." Draco snarled when I brought this up on Friday morning over breakfast, almost a week to the day that I'd walked out. "The bastard would be doing the world a favour if he just jumped off a cliff."

"Draco, don't say that!" I cried, my stomach knotting unpleasantly at the the thought of the Weasley's having to suffer another death.

"How can you stick up for him after what that fucktard has done to you?!" Draco bellowed, slamming his coffee down onto the kitchen island.

"The Weasley's don't deserve any of this," I whispered, my voice cracking as that familiar wave of shame and guilt engulfed me.

"Neither do you, Ivy," Draco said vehemently, his silver eyes flashing angrily. "Don't you dare feel guilty for what's happened. He's the one with the problem, not you."

I went to open my mouth to respond but was interrupted by a large snowy owl tapping impatiently on the window, carrying a cream coloured envelope in its beak.

"That's Ginny and Harry's owl," I said, my heart thumping wildly as Draco jumped up to let it in.

It flew straight over to me, perching on the island next to my cereal. I removed the letter from her beak and allowed her to peck at my toast, much to Draco's disgust.

"It's good to see you again, Hedwig," I smiled, feeling a surprising warmth at seeing a familiar friend.

"I thought Potter's bird died?" Draco asked, retaking his stool back at the island and eyeing the owl with a look of disdain.

"She did," I said, peeling open the envelope with nervous curiosity. "But Harry was so heartbroken about it, he decided to just replace her with an exact copy and pretend like it never happened."

"Christ," Draco muttered scathingly as he took a fierce bite out of his toast, "next you'll be telling me he's adopted an old tramp off of the streets and calls him Dumbledore."

I didn't answer, my attention instead drawn to the writing on the yellowed parchment I'd just unfolded.

"Ivy?" Draco frowned as I mutely stared at the letter. "Potter's not giving you more grief about Weasley, is he?"

"No- erm... it's Ginny," I said flustered, the letter shaking in my hand. "She wants to meet me- today."

My heart was racing. The tone of her letter gave me no indication of how she felt; I had no idea if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

"How do you feel about that?" Draco murmured, slowly lowering his toast back down to his plate as his other hand scratched down contemplatively along his jaw.

"I- I don't know," I said honestly. "I have no idea what this means."

Hedwig started to peck impatiently at my hand, and I knew that Ginny must have told her not to come back without a reply.

"Ivy, listen to me," Draco said firmly, leaning towards me as his silver eyes fixed intently upon mine, "you need to tell her what's happened. I know you don't want to upset any of them, but you must understand that's on Weasley, not you. If that bastard won't get help then there's every chance he'll do it again. Please, Ivy, tell them. I know you know I'm right."

"No, I can't-" I gasped, immediately clutching at my throat, the panic hitting me almost instantly. "How can I- how can I ever say the words?"

Draco immediately slid his arm across the table, taking my hand in his. "Let me tell her, then," he said fiercely, "you're not on your own in this, Ivy. Use me while you can; that's what I'm here for - let me say the words for you."

And, as I looked into his imploring eyes, I knew he was right, that I couldn't continue to bury my head in the sand any longer.

So, slowly, I nodded my head.

Draco closed his eyes as he exhaled a small sigh of relief. "Thank god, Ivy," he breathed, "you're doing the right thing."

I sent Hedwig back with my reply.

It was time to tell the truth.

*****