Belong (D.M)

Part ten

The black lake laid before her, dark and completely frozen over, but she knew of the creatures lurking deep beneath the frozen surface. She knew the abilities they held to give her nightmares for an eternity if she ever had the misfortune to stumble upon them. That goes for the dark forest that lies just around the corner too.

The pathway by the lake was surprisingly empty for it being such a nice day, but of course he was there. Two Ravenclaw boys strolled along the shore and a Slytherin girl was happily playing in the snow with a Hufflepuff girl, and just by the edge of the frozen lake he stood alone, gazing at the horizon with his hands in his pockets.

"Draco Malfoy" she said, quickly stepping up behind him. He seemed to be lost in his own world, or in his head perhaps, because her words made him jump slightly before he turned around.

"Hi Ellie, out for a stroll?"

"Yes" she answered, nodding her head as she looked at him "what about you?"

"Just thinking"

"What are you thinking about?" she asked curiously, tilting her head to the left slightly.

"Stuff" he mumbled, looking up at the clear sky above them "just stuff"

"Alright" she said, pushing her lips together as she observed him "well how are you?"

He looked back at her, a small smile pulling at the edges of his pale lips. He looked content, he had this playful glimmer to his eyes.

"Me? I'm good" he shrugged "fantastic even, what about you?"

"I'm quite well actually"

"Want to walk with me?" he asked, and she nodded. The two of them, the snowy blonde haired Slytherin boy and the chocolate brown haired Gryffindor girl, began walking next to each other. They trekked through the glistening snow, leaving a trail behind them.

"So you have fifteen cousins?"

"Yes" she laughed "it gets quite... busy at our house during the holidays"

"They all come over?" he asked, looking at her with a sceptic look upon his face.

"Uhu" she mumbled as she nodded her head "my mother has three sisters and my father has a sister and a brother and all of them have children, and all of us plus my grandmothers and grandfathers celebrate together"

"Oh wow" he said, laughing slightly "sounds quite nice"

"It is, chaotic but nice"

He nodded his head slowly before he gazed at the sky once more, the sun was shining and a few birds or various sizes flew by. She looked at him for a moment, observing the slight curve of his nose and the smoothness of his pale skin.

"Are any of your cousins your age?" he asked after a while.

"Oh yeah" she said, nodding her head "Samuel is born the same year as me, Damien is only a year older and Elliot and Adam are seventeen, I have a few older and younger ones too"

"Are they all wizards or witches?"

"No, just me and my sister" she said, thinking about her family and how they had reacted when her Hogwarts letter had arrived. She suspected that the magic ran on her father's side of the family since he remembered his grandmother to be able to do all sorts of unexplainable things. He had mentioned her spending her younger years at a boarding school in France, which she used to speak highly off at every chance she got.

"You have a sister?" he asked, gazing over at her.

"Yes" she said, smiling "my little sister Rebecka, she's such a sweet girl"