Draco had barely made it through the entrance hall that day when he heard his mother's cries coming from somewhere upstairs in the manor
( Read more... )
She hadn't yet heard from Ron about his initial interrogation with Draco and there was already a letter waiting for her at the window. Still, as she took in the shaky handwriting, no doubt Draco's, she couldn't help but feel a little bit relieved that her hunch had been correct.
If only because that meant she wasn't going crazy, herself.
Still, she knew that just up and leaving to go to Draco probably wasn't the smartest idea considering he had until very recently under the Imperious Curse. But if they had released him-
Well, he must be back to normal.
She grabbed for a spare bit of parchment and a quill, jotting a note to send to George just so he knew where she was. There was an inkling in the back of her head that not alerting someone was probably a pretty poor idea.
George,
Draco's been released- I'll be at the Manor.
-CeciliaIt was short, simple- nothing else Cecilia thought she could write down that she thought would make any sense, or wouldn't worry him in some way
( ... )
In all the years she had known Draco, she never would have expected him to answer his own front door. Typically, it was one of the house elves working in the Manor. But with what Draco had just been through, living the last two weeks in Azkaban, Cecilia was sure that the little things were probably something he'd missed very much.
She followed his gaze, taking in the sight of the man in robes just outside the Manor and something in Cecilia floated away, the tension settling in her shoulders seemed to vanish. At least someone was here to watch over them.
"Draco-" she said. Once they were inside, she barely took a moment to look him over before reaching out to hug him. "Merlin- I'm so glad you're alright-"
Of course Draco had to get the door, Cecilia couldn't see Keeley in her present state. That would give away all the fun before it even started.
He promptly closed the door once she was safely inside.
Draco placed his chin on her shoulder and squeezed back. "Me too," he said with a slight grin.
"I have some tea waiting in the Drawing Room, we can sit and catch up," he offered his hand leading toward the back of the manor. "Just leave you things on the chair, Keeley will be by to hang it up soon."
George was in the middle of the sales floor, wrangling up a few stray Pigmy Puffs that had gleefully been set loose by a few troublemaking kids (and by troublemaking, he really meant brilliant and clever and hilarious) when Cecilia's owl quite literally ran into him, knocking against his shoulder before fluttering itself back into a semblance of composure and perching itself on top of the Puffs case. He snatched the offered letter, unfolding it with a mildly confused frown-
-Which quickly turned into a much more concerned, displeased sort of frown as he read over her words.
He didn't bother to announce himself to any of the other employees on the clock before storming up the stairs and through the curtains that led into his and Fred's office and promptly Disapparating out to land on Ronald's doorstep.
His fist heavily connected with the door, all manner of questions and concerns reeling through his mind as relentlessly and obnoxiously pounded away, Cecilia's letter still clutched in his hand.
This had to stop happening. Didn't people ever come visit for tea or a nice chat? No, they had to come over and pound on the door like they were in the middle of the worst event of their lives - to be fair, that had been happening a lot in Harry's life recently - when Ron was tying to sleep before taking on what was likely to be the most boring and tedious 12 hours of his life.
His hair was still half flat and ridiculous on one side when he pulled the door open. "What?" His face sobered, though, when he saw the look on his brother's face and he asked again a little less snottily. "What?"
"Malfoy was fucking released?" he spit out as a form of greeting, completely past the point of pleasantries the further his mind ran with the possibilities of what that fact could possibly mean as far as Cecilia's well-being was concerned.
Whether the Imperius Curse had been involved or not (and, as much as he wanted to pin that prat as the bad guy, if Cecilia was convinced, then hell, despite everything, so was he), he found no comfort in knowing that Malfoy was no longer under strict guard in an isolated location when the person that was supposedly behind his wretched actions had yet to be figured out, much less stopped or captured. The idea of Cecilia being in his presence even now was genuinely unnerving, especially considering the fact that she had apparently felt the need to send a message just for the sake of alerting him as to her whereabouts-
"Okay, about that - " Ron took a step back and shoved a hand through his hair. He was hoping to give Cecilia another day before he dragged her in and updated her on everything.
But of course, George had found out and was in a rage. Ron couldn't blame him.
"I can't get a lead on who's had him under the Imperius Curse if he's locked up. What's the point of using it when he's in a controlled environment? I needed him out. He's being watched."
Cecilia was all but finished with Lucius, wanting nothing more than to blast him through the wall, anything to get him to just shut up or disappear- though both would be preferable.
But then Draco stirred in her lap and her attention turned back to him, her hand cradling the side of his face.
"Draco?" She shook him just slightly, gently. "Draco- Draco- wake up-"
Lucius wiped some blood that had trickled down his brow with the back of his hand. He noticed the water starting to leak out of the room, he muttered a barrier spell. The water hit the invisible barrier in the doorway, and so it began to rise, slowly and steadily. The water redirected his thoughts to the reason he had called her here that day.
"I have something for you Cecilia."
He made his way over to the back wall, where presumably two tall bookcases sat. Lucius pulled the third book from the left on the third shelf from the top, and the whole thing came away from the wall to reveal a shallow closet. "I found it especially for you."
Lucius pulled out a long, white silk robe and draped it over his arms like it was something precious.
The Malfoy manor was entirely too unnecessarily large. They didn't have time and Ron didn't have the back up or patience to search every room. He paused, briefly, running through the most likely locations in this damn place.
There wasn't a damn thing to indicate there had been a fight in any particular direction.
Then he saw it. Water that was very out of place. "This way," he hissed at George, doubting he actually had to say anything at all when taking off at a sprint was enough to indicate there was something to be followed.
He followed the trail, then the sound, skidding to a stop before crashing into a doorway with a vague shimmer of a barrier in place. There was water gathering at the bottom.
Comments 79
She hadn't yet heard from Ron about his initial interrogation with Draco and there was already a letter waiting for her at the window. Still, as she took in the shaky handwriting, no doubt Draco's, she couldn't help but feel a little bit relieved that her hunch had been correct.
If only because that meant she wasn't going crazy, herself.
Still, she knew that just up and leaving to go to Draco probably wasn't the smartest idea considering he had until very recently under the Imperious Curse. But if they had released him-
Well, he must be back to normal.
She grabbed for a spare bit of parchment and a quill, jotting a note to send to George just so he knew where she was. There was an inkling in the back of her head that not alerting someone was probably a pretty poor idea.
George,
Draco's been released- I'll be at the Manor.
-CeciliaIt was short, simple- nothing else Cecilia thought she could write down that she thought would make any sense, or wouldn't worry him in some way ( ... )
Reply
His eyes tailed to the grounds, spotting his ministry appointed guard. "Please, come in," he said gently, putting his eyes back on her.
Reply
She followed his gaze, taking in the sight of the man in robes just outside the Manor and something in Cecilia floated away, the tension settling in her shoulders seemed to vanish. At least someone was here to watch over them.
"Draco-" she said. Once they were inside, she barely took a moment to look him over before reaching out to hug him. "Merlin- I'm so glad you're alright-"
Reply
He promptly closed the door once she was safely inside.
Draco placed his chin on her shoulder and squeezed back. "Me too," he said with a slight grin.
"I have some tea waiting in the Drawing Room, we can sit and catch up," he offered his hand leading toward the back of the manor. "Just leave you things on the chair, Keeley will be by to hang it up soon."
Reply
-Which quickly turned into a much more concerned, displeased sort of frown as he read over her words.
He didn't bother to announce himself to any of the other employees on the clock before storming up the stairs and through the curtains that led into his and Fred's office and promptly Disapparating out to land on Ronald's doorstep.
His fist heavily connected with the door, all manner of questions and concerns reeling through his mind as relentlessly and obnoxiously pounded away, Cecilia's letter still clutched in his hand.
Reply
His hair was still half flat and ridiculous on one side when he pulled the door open. "What?" His face sobered, though, when he saw the look on his brother's face and he asked again a little less snottily. "What?"
Reply
Whether the Imperius Curse had been involved or not (and, as much as he wanted to pin that prat as the bad guy, if Cecilia was convinced, then hell, despite everything, so was he), he found no comfort in knowing that Malfoy was no longer under strict guard in an isolated location when the person that was supposedly behind his wretched actions had yet to be figured out, much less stopped or captured. The idea of Cecilia being in his presence even now was genuinely unnerving, especially considering the fact that she had apparently felt the need to send a message just for the sake of alerting him as to her whereabouts-
Reply
But of course, George had found out and was in a rage. Ron couldn't blame him.
"I can't get a lead on who's had him under the Imperius Curse if he's locked up. What's the point of using it when he's in a controlled environment? I needed him out. He's being watched."
Reply
He was in incredible pain, and wet?
He groaned and tried to escape back into unconsciousness.
Reply
But then Draco stirred in her lap and her attention turned back to him, her hand cradling the side of his face.
"Draco?" She shook him just slightly, gently. "Draco- Draco- wake up-"
Reply
"I have something for you Cecilia."
He made his way over to the back wall, where presumably two tall bookcases sat. Lucius pulled the third book from the left on the third shelf from the top, and the whole thing came away from the wall to reveal a shallow closet. "I found it especially for you."
Lucius pulled out a long, white silk robe and draped it over his arms like it was something precious.
Reply
There wasn't a damn thing to indicate there had been a fight in any particular direction.
Then he saw it. Water that was very out of place. "This way," he hissed at George, doubting he actually had to say anything at all when taking off at a sprint was enough to indicate there was something to be followed.
He followed the trail, then the sound, skidding to a stop before crashing into a doorway with a vague shimmer of a barrier in place. There was water gathering at the bottom.
Reply
Leave a comment