In His Shadow (Draco Malfoy X Reader) MOVED

Chapter 9: You Forgot Me

Harry's POV:

Effie hadn't spoken to me or anyone since last night. I tried to talk to her once but she just flipped me off and stormed ahead, her middle finger still in the air. I honestly can't tell if she's just shaken up, or if she's mad at me. If so, what did I do wrong? 

I went and sat down at Ron's kitchen table, and Mrs. Weasley gave my sister a worried look when she walked in, which was at least five minutes after the rest of us.

"Effie, sweetheart-" She started, but Effie walked past swiftly and slammed the bathroom door in Mrs. Weasley's face.

Mrs. Weasley wasn't even mad. She just seemed so concerned. She turned to me, "Poor thing. Probably shaken up about what happened last night. She shouldn't have had to go through that. You were with her, right? How was she?"

I gulped, and tugged on the collar of my shirt, "O-Of course I was. She wasn't too scared. I mean, she's really tough you know..." Yes. I lied. I can't let a mother know I let my sister who hadn't experienced the world out on her own.

Then, there was laughter. It got louder, and more hysterical. Everyone turned towards it, to see Effie had emerged.

"Whew." She laughed, "You really have to save your own ass, don't ya, Harry?"

I felt speechless, "What do you mean?"

Her expression turned angry, "I know I left the tent. Looking back, maybe I shouldn't have. But you didn't even look for me! The first thought on your mind was getting away from them!"

I stood up, "Don't you put this on me! You shouldn't have left! This is exactly why you can't be left on your own!"

Her face was twisted with anger, "How dare you!? You were the one who forgot about me! When you were running through the woods, all I thought about was your safety! For someone who's 'so thankful for having family again', you seem to not think about me a lot!"

"I've had to keep you in check this whole summer! Do you really think I wanted to babysit a stupid child my whole vacation!? If you just listened, none of this would be happening!" I yelled.

"Oh really!? Maybe if you weren't a controlling asshole, I wouldn't be doing anything wrong."

I scoffed, "Says the girl who wouldn't leave Draco Malfoy's side!" 

She looked appalled, "And what's so wrong with that?!"

"BECAUSE HE'S USING YOU, A BUG WHO HAS A CONNECTION TO ME!" I yelled, then immediately realized what I had said. I reached out my hand to touch my sister, but she backed away.

"I see. I'm just a bug to you. To all of you. I'm just a nuisance, a bug that you want to call pest control on. I get it. But here's something for you to understand." She lifted her head up from the ground, "This bug is fucking poisonous." 

I felt something heavy hit my face, and everything went black.

Epona's POV:

I had punched Harry in the face and he fucking dropped like a sack of potatoes. I sighed, flipping my hair behind me. What a shame it had to turn out this way.

I walked away, in to Fred and George's room, because they were okay with me staying in there for a bit. They seem to be the only people here who haven't judged me yet. I guess I'm being sensitive and dramatic. I opened NecroGram and liked all of the photos that showed up on my feed, but stopped at one posted this morning. 

My face got hot as I stared at the three photos. Draco had posted the pictures of us at the game. I thought he knew I didn't want to be seen yet. Asshole. I smiled and liked the pictures, and read his comment.

Got to meet this little box of mysteries. Can't wait to open her up.

I felt a shiver down my spine.

"That reminds me..." I mumbled, "Draco said something like, Kiss, I think. I still need to look that up."

I opened the internet and googled, "what is a kiss". I clicked on the first link and read it aloud.

"A kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, sexual activity, sexual arousal, affection, etc..." I cocked my head to the side. I have no idea what half of those words mean. Maybe I don't want to know actually. Draco can keep his inside joke to himself. 

Who knows how long it had been, because I heard a knock on the door, "Come in."

Harry entered the room cautiously.  He closed the door behind him quietly, and stood there silently. Neither of us spoke, we just looked at each other.

"I wanted to apologize to you." He finally said.

"Okay." 

"What I said, and the way I acted was wrong and completely out of line. I've been an asshole to you this whole trip. I didn't mean what I said about you being a bug. I'm just worried. Draco Malfoy isn't a good person. He's...abusive and cruel and arrogant and so much more. I...I don't want you to get hurt." Harry looked me in the eyes.

I sighed, "I know, but right now, he hasn't done anything wrong to me yet." I stood up, "We'll tackle that bridge when we come to it, okay? And we'll do it together, because we fucking rock. And I don't think I'll meet anyone else in the world who will  yell sing Roar with me like you do." I smiled, and Harry laughed a little. Then his expression became worried again.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Would you ever tell me what your nightmares are about?" He asked.

"What nightmares?" I responded, confused.

"Are your dreams ever scary? Or bad or sad? You're always shaking and crying when you sleep, like your in some kind of pain. Would you ever tell me if you needed help?" He was messing with the bottom of his shirt.

For a bit, I avoided eye contact. It's weird to make eye contact with him. It's like looking in a mirror, and I don't just mean the color of our eyes. I mean what's behind it to. Raw emotion that we share, like we can read each others minds, and have a conversation with one another without ever opening our mouths. Then, I looked him in the eyes and hugged him.

"When I find the words and the courage to tell you what's in my mind, I will. I promise you that, Harry. But right now, I don't have either of those things. Know that that doesn't mean I don't trust or love you, but that I still don't know who I am. And until I do, I can't tell anyone else who I am." I hugged him, and he hugged back tightly.

"I love you, Effie. And no matter what happens, I will stand by your side. Because family is family, and we only have each other. And I'll wait, however long it takes, for you to be comfortable enough to tell me what's going on in your head. I might not understand, but I'll always love you." Tears pooled in my eyes, and I laughed.

"Don't get all sappy on me." I joked and backed away. Then raised an eyebrow, "What happened to your face?" I wiped the tears from my eyes.

He touched his nose, and blood dripped on to his fingers, "You punched me in the face. Remember?"

I gasped, "I hit you that hard? I just remember being upset about you calling me a bug. I'm so sorry!"

"No, no it's fine." Before he could talk more, a certain song started playing on my speaker.

And we both started singing:

"I USED TO BITE MY TONGUE AND HOLD MY BREATH!"

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Hi, hope you're enjoying the story so far! If you're upset that Harry isn't nice to Epona, there is a reason that has been hinted at, but it won't be flat out said until really later on. SO, he is still the good guy, and is a good guy, it's just this...thing that makes him that way. Yeah, please don't worry, I'll add more sibling bonding moments as well.

Until Next Time, Byeee!