The Sunrise of My Heart
Chapter Eighty-six: Devastated
I continued to sit on the floor, staring at that note like I could change what it meant. He had tricked me into thinking I would have forty days before some disaster occurred, but in the end he killed my mom before the forty days were up. He broke his own rules because he was a Death Eater, and rules meant nothing to him.
I was dimly aware of Snape walking away from me, although I didn't bother to look up and see where he had gone. It didn't matter, really. A few moments later, he returned with someone else by his side.
"Take her to the hospital wing. Tell Madame Pomfrey to give her something to help her sleep." Whoever was with Snape didn't say anything, but I suddenly felt a pair of strong arms pick me up and carry me away. I simply stared at my hands, the note clutched tightly within them. After what could have been centuries or only minutes, we made it to the hospital wing.
"Mr Malfoy? What's happened?"
Not until I heard that name did I finally look up at who was carrying me. Draco was looking straight ahead, avoiding seeing my broken face, but his arms around me were firm and slightly comforting.
"She needs a tonic to help her sleep. She has just received some very bad news."
Those were all the words Madame Pomfrey needed to understand what was going on. With a sympathetic noise, she nodded and pointed Draco in the direction of the bed he should put me in, then went to gather the tonic. He set me down gently and started to walk away, but I reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his shirt.
"Please don't leave me alone with my demons," I whispered. "Just stay until I fall asleep."
He stared at me for a minute before nodding and sitting down by my bed. "Just until you fall asleep. I can't miss all my classes for you."
I nodded silently, still holding on to the edge of his sleeve. Madame Pomfrey returned with a sleeping tonic, effectively causing me to let go of Draco so I could drink it. Within moments, I began to feel drowsy, so I curled up into a more comfortable position.
"I'll leave more on the bedside table here so you can take it if you need it," she said before going back into her office.
"You can go now if you want," I mumbled to Draco. "I'm half asleep already."
He said something in response, but I couldn't hear him. My brain had gone foggy with sleep. As I started to fully go to sleep, I thought I felt him grab my hand and hold it between both of his. But that was probably just a half-dream.
Thanks to the tonic, I spent the next twelve hours passing in and out of consciousness. Every time I would open my eyes, the setting around me would be a bit different. The first time I woke up, Draco was gone, replaced by Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. They all looked grim-faced and sad.
"You four look cheerful," I said sleepily.
"Oh, Riley..." Hermione said, her eyes full of tears. "We're so sorry."
"Me too," I said before falling asleep again. That tonic was intense.
Some time later, I opened my eyes a crack. I saw Adrian standing beside my bed, staring down at me silently.
"Five more minutes, Adri," I mumbled. "Then I'll get ready for Hogwarts." I rolled over, going back to sleep.
Finally, when it was very dark out, the tonic wore off. I blinked my eyes open, wondering what time it was. Judging by the sky I could see through the windows, it was... dark. Most likely after 10:00, although I wouldn't have bet money on it.
It took me a few minutes to realize that one, I was not Roxanne, and two, Adrian couldn't have been here. I decided it must have been a dream. It was at this point that I noticed the person sleeping in the chair beside my bed. I started to freak out, but then I recognized the pail hare, visible even in the darkness.
"Draco?" I whispered in disbelief.
Apparently being a very light sleeper, he stirred at the sound of my voice, sitting up with a groan. He glanced from the dark sky outside the windows to me, frowning. "Why are you awake right now? And, more importantly, why are you waking me up?"
"Why are you sleeping in the hospital wing?"
"That Dove kid kept hanging around here."
"Brendan? Oh, that makes sense. I had this hallucination, dream thing that I saw Adrian standing by my bed. It was probably me seeing Brendan."
"I don't trust him."
"Yeah, well, if he's anything like his father, he's probably evil. Thanks for sleeping here. I'm glad I didn't have to wake up alone."
"So... How are you?"
"My mom was just murdered because of something that happened a thousand years ago. So, not so great. It's taking all of my will power not to be a sobbing mess right now."
"Considering the circumstances, not even I would judge you for crying right now."
I smiled weakly. "Thanks, but I'm afraid if I let myself start, I won't ever stop. I'm an orphan now. I don't even know where I'm gonna be living now. Will I have to leave Hogwarts? Will I go to an orphanage? What's gonna happen to me?" Now that I had started, I was suddenly panicking. I couldn't tell if I wanted to sob, hyperventilate, or scream, but I was desperately on the verge of some sort of meltdown.
"Whoa, hang on! Don't freak out now. I don't know how to help you if you freak out. Just... Deep breaths."
I nodded, breathing slowly and deeply, trying to calm myself down. "Okay. Okay, I'm better. What am I gonna do, though?"
"Wait and see what happens. Maybe you can move in with a friend?"
"I couldn't do that. Asking a family to take me in, especially in such troubling times, is asking a lot. I mean, would your parents be willing to take in, say, Crabbe or Blaise if they needed to?"
He scoffed. "Doubtful."
I gave him a pointed look. "See what I mean?"
"That's different, though. Your friends actually care about you."
"And you don't care about your friends?"
"Not as strongly as your friends care about you."
"Yeah, I guess you need a heart for that."
He gave me a cold look.
"Sorry, uncalled for."
He shrugged. "I'd be lying if I said I actually cared."
"I figured you didn't really."
We lapsed into silence, not uncomfortable, just heavy because we both had things on our minds. Whatever was on his mind, I wasn't sure, but I had enough to think about without worrying about his thoughts too.
"I'm scared," I said softly after awhile.
"I know," he said. He didn't offer me any words of advice or try to cheer me up. Instead, he reached over and grabbed my hand, holding it gently in his. "Go back to sleep, Riley. You can think about all of this in the morning."
I smiled at him for a moment before getting back into a comfortable position and closing my eyes. When I fell asleep, he was still holding my hand in his.
I was dimly aware of Snape walking away from me, although I didn't bother to look up and see where he had gone. It didn't matter, really. A few moments later, he returned with someone else by his side.
"Take her to the hospital wing. Tell Madame Pomfrey to give her something to help her sleep." Whoever was with Snape didn't say anything, but I suddenly felt a pair of strong arms pick me up and carry me away. I simply stared at my hands, the note clutched tightly within them. After what could have been centuries or only minutes, we made it to the hospital wing.
"Mr Malfoy? What's happened?"
Not until I heard that name did I finally look up at who was carrying me. Draco was looking straight ahead, avoiding seeing my broken face, but his arms around me were firm and slightly comforting.
"She needs a tonic to help her sleep. She has just received some very bad news."
Those were all the words Madame Pomfrey needed to understand what was going on. With a sympathetic noise, she nodded and pointed Draco in the direction of the bed he should put me in, then went to gather the tonic. He set me down gently and started to walk away, but I reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his shirt.
"Please don't leave me alone with my demons," I whispered. "Just stay until I fall asleep."
He stared at me for a minute before nodding and sitting down by my bed. "Just until you fall asleep. I can't miss all my classes for you."
I nodded silently, still holding on to the edge of his sleeve. Madame Pomfrey returned with a sleeping tonic, effectively causing me to let go of Draco so I could drink it. Within moments, I began to feel drowsy, so I curled up into a more comfortable position.
"I'll leave more on the bedside table here so you can take it if you need it," she said before going back into her office.
"You can go now if you want," I mumbled to Draco. "I'm half asleep already."
He said something in response, but I couldn't hear him. My brain had gone foggy with sleep. As I started to fully go to sleep, I thought I felt him grab my hand and hold it between both of his. But that was probably just a half-dream.
Thanks to the tonic, I spent the next twelve hours passing in and out of consciousness. Every time I would open my eyes, the setting around me would be a bit different. The first time I woke up, Draco was gone, replaced by Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. They all looked grim-faced and sad.
"You four look cheerful," I said sleepily.
"Oh, Riley..." Hermione said, her eyes full of tears. "We're so sorry."
"Me too," I said before falling asleep again. That tonic was intense.
Some time later, I opened my eyes a crack. I saw Adrian standing beside my bed, staring down at me silently.
"Five more minutes, Adri," I mumbled. "Then I'll get ready for Hogwarts." I rolled over, going back to sleep.
Finally, when it was very dark out, the tonic wore off. I blinked my eyes open, wondering what time it was. Judging by the sky I could see through the windows, it was... dark. Most likely after 10:00, although I wouldn't have bet money on it.
It took me a few minutes to realize that one, I was not Roxanne, and two, Adrian couldn't have been here. I decided it must have been a dream. It was at this point that I noticed the person sleeping in the chair beside my bed. I started to freak out, but then I recognized the pail hare, visible even in the darkness.
"Draco?" I whispered in disbelief.
Apparently being a very light sleeper, he stirred at the sound of my voice, sitting up with a groan. He glanced from the dark sky outside the windows to me, frowning. "Why are you awake right now? And, more importantly, why are you waking me up?"
"Why are you sleeping in the hospital wing?"
"That Dove kid kept hanging around here."
"Brendan? Oh, that makes sense. I had this hallucination, dream thing that I saw Adrian standing by my bed. It was probably me seeing Brendan."
"I don't trust him."
"Yeah, well, if he's anything like his father, he's probably evil. Thanks for sleeping here. I'm glad I didn't have to wake up alone."
"So... How are you?"
"My mom was just murdered because of something that happened a thousand years ago. So, not so great. It's taking all of my will power not to be a sobbing mess right now."
"Considering the circumstances, not even I would judge you for crying right now."
I smiled weakly. "Thanks, but I'm afraid if I let myself start, I won't ever stop. I'm an orphan now. I don't even know where I'm gonna be living now. Will I have to leave Hogwarts? Will I go to an orphanage? What's gonna happen to me?" Now that I had started, I was suddenly panicking. I couldn't tell if I wanted to sob, hyperventilate, or scream, but I was desperately on the verge of some sort of meltdown.
"Whoa, hang on! Don't freak out now. I don't know how to help you if you freak out. Just... Deep breaths."
I nodded, breathing slowly and deeply, trying to calm myself down. "Okay. Okay, I'm better. What am I gonna do, though?"
"Wait and see what happens. Maybe you can move in with a friend?"
"I couldn't do that. Asking a family to take me in, especially in such troubling times, is asking a lot. I mean, would your parents be willing to take in, say, Crabbe or Blaise if they needed to?"
He scoffed. "Doubtful."
I gave him a pointed look. "See what I mean?"
"That's different, though. Your friends actually care about you."
"And you don't care about your friends?"
"Not as strongly as your friends care about you."
"Yeah, I guess you need a heart for that."
He gave me a cold look.
"Sorry, uncalled for."
He shrugged. "I'd be lying if I said I actually cared."
"I figured you didn't really."
We lapsed into silence, not uncomfortable, just heavy because we both had things on our minds. Whatever was on his mind, I wasn't sure, but I had enough to think about without worrying about his thoughts too.
"I'm scared," I said softly after awhile.
"I know," he said. He didn't offer me any words of advice or try to cheer me up. Instead, he reached over and grabbed my hand, holding it gently in his. "Go back to sleep, Riley. You can think about all of this in the morning."
I smiled at him for a moment before getting back into a comfortable position and closing my eyes. When I fell asleep, he was still holding my hand in his.