Shelter

Draco Malfoy

How was the girl taking this all so well? It was as if the only thing Lena cared about was the fact that the young Malfoy was freely talking lowly about himself. It would all run much more smoother if Latton took what the blonde said to heart and allowed the distance to grow between the two of them, but even the thought pained Draco. It was dangerous, but he knew he needed the muggle-born. She leveled him out, made him feel as if he wasn't as foul as everyone else made him out to be. "I thought I was protecting you." He sighed, his fingers running his hair as if to soothe back into it's original position, but failed miserably. "They're watching me, Latton." He explained, his eyebrows furrowing as a shiver ran down his spine. He wasn't being dramatic, it was true. The Dark Lord had eyes everywhere and they were focused on the son of Malfoy - everyone was holding their breath, awaiting for the teen to mess up his chance.

"I knew if somebody saw me with you... We would both be in trouble." Death, their only consequence. Awkwardly he rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes finally resting on the petite frame across from him. "I just wanted you safe." He admitted, his cheeks a light pink as the words left his mouth. He was a Malfoy, he wasn't supposed to care about anyone but himself - his bloodline was too good for feelings, especially ones that were centered around a filthy mudblood. Anxiously he took in their surroundings, making sure that there were no prying ears, "Can... I hug you?" He questioned, his teeth cautiously biting at the inside of his cheeks. It was a peculiar thing to ask, but he wasn't sure if the brunette would fancy an embrace - he wouldn't blame her if she still loathed his guts.

Ainsley Maddox

With curious eyes the girl nodded her head at every instruction that left the older woman's lips, desperate to not mess this up. She had never cooked in her life and the last thing she wanted to do was make a fool of herself in front of the twins, or their mother. She didn't want them to think she was daft, Quickly she followed Mrs. Weasley's steps and began to gather the ingredients they would need, having to ask a few times if she was grabbing the right things. She couldn't help but pity the house elves who were always forced to cook the family meals - cooking already seemed like a lot of work and the actual cooking had yet to begin. Ainsley almost handed the flour over to the twin the requested, before quickly coming to her senses. The brunette had a hard time believing that the twin wanted the bag of flour for innocent purposes, "I wouldn't dream of it," She responded to Mrs. Weasley, with the smallest of grins. She could just see the twin's throwing the powdery mix around at each other. She doubted their mother would be too pleased if she allowed them to make a mess in the kitchen.

Though, a food fight sounded intriguing - almost like a muggle activity. As a Maddox she wasn't allowed to have fun, especially as a woman. Her mother taught her from a young age that women were only good for a handful of things - none of those things included having fun. "I think the last thing your mum wants is a mess in her kitchen." But still, she was curious. Could throwing flour around really be considered fun? Measuring the amount of flour Mrs. Weasley told her she would need she wearily studied George before offering him the bag, "Can you put that up for me, please?" She hated to admit it, but honestly had forgotten where it was originally placed. "Did I get everything?" She questioned, turning her attention back Mrs. Weasley, her teeth attacking her lower lip as she shifted nervously. "I feel like I've forgotten something.."

[ This is absolutely terrible and I'm sorry. ]

(Oh, it's perfect as usual, don't worry!)

George could easily tell that Ainsley had almost given in to giving up the flour, before girl came to her senses and demolished his hopes of showing the girl how to have some good old fashioned Weasley fun. It had, of course, always started as his and Fred's fun, but they always found a way to get the others involved and it was always fun. "Aw, come now, don't be a party pooper, Ainsley," he teased the girl with a grin, though he didn't say anything more on the matter and neither did Fred. "Oh, hush, George," Mrs. Weasley said with a smile before she shook her head. Sometimes, the woman wondered just how she ended up with such a rowdy, playful bunch of kids, but she wouldn't dare change it, no matter how many times George and Fred came around with ashes on their face or how many times Ron and Ginny came home with silly things to tell the family. She was certain that Percy was her only serious child. "It's just some good old fashioned fun, Mum. Last I checked, even you had a bit of fun with it," Fred joked with a grin.

When Ainsley requested George's assistance and held out the flour, though, broad grins spread across both twins' features. "Ah, you have forgotten something," George hummed out, waving the flour back and forth as if it were a victory flag - and, in a way, it was his very own amusing victory. "You were supposed to keep this away from us," he teased before both he and Fred dipped their hands inside, each gathering a handful of flour. Grinning at each other, they turned their attention to the two females in front of them. "Fred, George, don't you da-" Before their Mum could finish her warning, the twins had already tossed the flour at the two and gathered more, prepared for a flour war if Ainsley decided to join. Their Mum was already beginning to gather flour of her own. "Oooh, you two! I'm going to get you!" Mrs. Weasley called out as she chased them, tossing the flour at the two - it was difficult to take her giving chase to them seriously with flour on her face, honestly, and the twins burst into laughter.

---

Maybe it was a nervous tick or just a habit she had, but when Lena saw Draco running his fingers through his hair, - the boy ultimately messing it up even more, - she moved to stand on her tiptoes to smooth his hair out herself. "They're not watching you right now," she reminded quietly, letting her hands move from his hair to cup his face when she finished. "It's admirable that you want to protect me and that you want me to be safe, but you still could have told me so that I didn't waste time wallowing in self-pity instead of waiting for this war to pass so that things might return to normal." Of course, she knew nothing would ever be normal between them again, but she at least hoped that things would be somewhat okay afterwards. As long as she survived and as long as he did, too, then at least there would be some sort of hope, right? "Besides, as long as Dumbledore's around, the muggle-borns at this school are safe," she reminded him quietly before she let her hands drop.

Of course, she knew Dumbledore wouldn't be around forever. He was likely a prime target for You-Know-Who at the moment, both he and Harry. But she could at least hope that things didn't get too terrible any time soon. Part of her wanted to ask what Draco was to do for You-Know-Who, but a huge part of her didn't want to know. She didn't want to know what terrible tasks the man had for Draco to fulfill and what would become of him if he failed. Her thoughts got cut short when he asked a question that she hadn't expected of him. Looking up at him with surprise, she tried not to look too shocked, but she knew it was hopeless. Instead of answering outright, though, she moved to wrap her arms around the Malfoy and buried her face against him. She was certain this would be the last time that they would have any physical contact for a long time and the thought pained her, but she wanted to cherish the contact while she could.

Ainsley Maddox
How could she have been so foolish? Ainsley felt like a complete imbecile - she was getting along so well with the family and now poor Mrs. Weasley probably loathed every bone in her body. Honestly she hadn't forgotten, she just simply thought the twins were being foolish. Her mother wouldn't allow such rash actions in her kitchen, so in the back of her mind she thought the same for the Weasley family - apparently such thoughts were wasted. She was mid turn to apologize the woman beside her when the flour was tossed at her - luckily most of the powder landed in her hair, unlike Mrs. Weasley, the sight of the mother made the petite girl giggle.

She was unsure of what action to take next. Did she clean up the mess or did she apologize repeatedly for the disturbance she caused? However, both actions seemed to be wrong as the older woman began to collect her own ammunition against the twins. Did she join in on the fun? She hesitated, her eyes eyeing the trio with a small smile. What could it hurt? She scooped some remaining flour in her small hands before following after the gingers. She wasn't sure how great her aim would be, but it was her mission to at least hit George once! He was the one who started the war, after all. It took her two tries to do so, but eventually she hit the taller male square in the chest with her fistful of flour. She did a brief victory dance at the small conquest, "Ha," She giggled, sticking her tongue out at her new-found friend, obviously quite proud of herself in that moment.

---

Draco Malfoy

Despite the circumstances the young Malfoy felt himself relax at the feel of her soft fingers in her hair, it was a feeling he desperately missed. How could he honestly believe he could easily let the girl slip from his fingers? It was a foolish feeling, but he knew he cared for the Mudblood - more than he cared to admit to himself. Was she right? Regardless of her soothing words, the Pureblood couldn't help but feel the stress of the situation. She didn't understand - she couldn't and Draco didn't blame her. How could he? She was lucky to not understand the constant worry he was under.

"I didn't mean to hurt you." He frowned, giving a slight shrug of his shoulders. He didn't think his plan through - honestly he just thought lying to her would make everything a bit more simple in the long run, but clearly he was wrong. He placed his hands atop of her smaller ones and couldn't help but give them a gentle squeeze, he wanted to tell her that the headmaster wouldn't be around much longer - but the words caught in the back of his throat. This probably be one of the last moments that had to just simply enjoy each other, he didn't want to ruin it.

His arms were quick to wrap around her small waist and pull her body close - how he missed her scent. He didn't know it was possible to be this attached to another person. He pressed a kiss to the top of the girl's head, one so delicate that he doubted she would even be able to feel it. "Trust me, that we'll be okay?" He frowned as he pulled back some. A lot of things were going to happen in the next few months and he needed the reassurance that Lena would be there for him.

@ momentai.

(Sorry that this took so long! My cousin’s in jail, so we’ve been trying to bond him out. x.x Also, sorry this is short, omg.)

A broad grin spread itself onto George’s features, despite the flour that was now all over him. Watching Ainsley, he couldn’t help but to find amusement in her little victory dance and he let out a quiet laugh. “You’re a mess,” he teased as he made his way over to her. He moved to ruffle her hair, causing flour to fall off of her and create a slight veil of flour that almost distorted his vision, but with his free hand, he grinned and plopped more flour onto her head before he let out a loud laugh.

Shaking his head, he let some of the flour that Fred had thrown at him fall onto the ground before he dusted the flour off that Ainsley had thrown at his chest. “That was fun,” he chimed with the same grin that was usually on his features. Eying her for a moment, he quirked a brow and tilted his head slightly – which ultimately only caused more flour to drift to the ground in the process – and asked, “So, are you and Mum still going to make that cake?”

He was teasing, of course. Honestly, he doubted that there was enough flour now that they had tossed it at each other so much, but that didn’t matter much.

---

It surprised Lena how much she had missed being in his arms and she could feel her previous tension and worries fade away a little. At least she knew the truth now, which made things a little easier – not entirely or even close, but easier nonetheless. She just had to wait and hope that things worked out in the end, but, for now, she could just relish in being in his arms again, even if it would only last for a couple of minutes. Closing her eyes, she let out a sigh.

Hearing his words brought her out of her thoughts and, blinking, she looked up at him with confusion. “Of course I trust you, Draco,” she assured quietly before she offered a small nod. At least, she felt like she could trust him anyways – he had gone through the trouble of breaking things off with her just to keep her safe, after all. She felt it was necessary to trust him, especially since he meant so much to her.

“If you say we’ll be okay, then we’ll be okay.” Because she wanted things between them to be okay in the end.