Draco, The Boy Who Needed Saving

Chapter 10 : The Dress

***This Chapter starts in Draco's POV***

As Marla walks down the rows of garden boxes, I watch as she becomes level with the ginger plant; her white dress inflating like a balloon around her as she sits on her knees. She's careful to pull the roots from the ground, apologizing to the plant itself,

"Sorry guys, hate to disturb you, I just need to bring you to a friend of mine."

I laugh as I walk behind her to get to the lavender.

"Are you laughing at me?" She stands tall once more.

"You are talking to a plant," I raise my eyebrow at her.

"And what's wrong with that?" She offers, lifting her chin, "They are living things too, you know." She laughs at herself and as she laughs, her hair shutters in the wind.

As I approach the lavender, I stoop down and smell the aroma; an aroma that smells all too familiar. As I am about to pluck a random stock from the soil, Marla sounds from behind me,

"Are you sure you want that one?" Her body is now standing beside mine, I feel my stomach get a weird feeling that I've never felt before.

"Which one would you suggest then?" I stand to my feet once more, looking Marla in the eyes as I do so.

"Mmm," her eyes scan the hundreds of stocks, "Ah! That one!" She points to the stock with the most buds; the one that grows into the forest.

"Marla, I'm not going in there to get that," I say stubbornly.

She turns to me with a smirk, "When did I ever say you needed to get it?" She starts for the forest, hopping on a fallen tree truck,

"Marla! Be careful, that could snap at any moment!" I call to her as she balances herself,

"Oh hush," she waves me off.

"Marla! I'm serious you're going to get yourself hurt," I watch as her foot slips slightly from underneath her. As she gets higher and higher I mumble under my breath, "She just doesn't know when to stop does she?"

I start in after her, climbing my way up on the trunk myself. As I slowly start to rise, I look down at my feet to balance. Marla stops in her tracks, turning her head to flash me the biggest smile. She laughs as she skips back over the wood,

"I knew you would join me," she says taking my hand once more in hers.

As she starts to pull on our grip I feel my knees shake, "M-marla," I muster out as I look down at my wobbling feet.

"Wh-" She turns to see me tremble, "Draco, are you scared of heights?" Her pull stops and our hands drop.

I look to the ground that is about nine feet down, "You could say that," I swallow hard.

"Hey," Marla says softly, moving her head into my view, "Look here," my eyes follow hers, "That's it, now give me your other hand."

I place my right hand in hers as she slowly starts to walk backward. I catch myself looking down at the ground once more as I feel the wood from underneath us give in slightly.

"Draco look at me," she repeats, "look in my eyes, nothing else alright?" Her voice travels through the air like honey and for a second she is the only thing I see.

I see her caramel hair glisten in the sunlight that pokes through the green leaves that shelter us from the real world; a green that is no green compared to her eyes.