One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

The only thing Draco did since they returned from his mansion was pace. It didn‘t matter where they were or who was around he‘d get up and pace.

He did get up once in DADA and Professor Snape made him leave. Fallon giggled when Draco didn‘t even notice he was being talked to and carried on for a good two minutes. Once Draco actually left, Snape handed back assignments with a small note on Fallon‘s.

’Go after him.’

Fallon shrugged, easy enough. She found him quickly with his new habit he developed; he didn’t even make it a foot away from the room.

“Draco, let’s go outside,” Fallon said softly hooking her arm with his.

“What? No, no I have to go and check the-that thing and yeah.” Draco was tripping over his words. It seemed he was awfully confused, nevertheless she dragged him outside.

“I checked it for you,” she lied. Draco settled after that and followed somewhat obediently to the big oak tree in front of the Black Lake.

“Sit,” she commanded and pushed him down, “and relax.”

Draco sat down uneasily with stiff muscles, as if he was unsure of how to deal with himself as he tried to sink into a comfortable position. Fallon reached over to him and brought his head to his chest.

“Don’t lose yourself, please,” she begged while she stroked his head. “I feel like we haven’t been able to talk like we did before I knew this and it started to happen.”

Draco pulled her into his lap and kissed every inch of her face. “Is this better for you?” he asked against her cheek.

Fallon wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed him into a hug. “It’s a start,” she giggled as his long eyelashes tickled just below her ear.

Occasionally Draco would rub his head further into the nape of Fallon’s neck, that is until he pulled back and rubbed his arm.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, gently touching his arm where his hand seemed to be nursing it.

“It’s burning,” he grunted pulling it to his body and hunching over it, in hopes to make it stop.

“What is?” Fallon was confused. Her mind knew what it was but she didn’t want to believe it.

“It,” Draco emphasized.

“As in,” Fallon egged him on.

“The bloody mark, Fallon. Are you slow?” he growled leaning away from her. Fallon pouted, that’s not what she was trying to do.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized when she was finally able to get him back in her arms. “I just wanted to make sure I knew what you were talking about. What do you think it means?”

Draco looked at her and then down at his lap. His fingers were itching at his wrist, desperately wanting to pull up the sleeve the covered the permanent mark.

“Don’t,” Fallon whispered covering his hand as it decided just one peak would suffice. “Someone might see,” she continued while she stood up. She motioned him to follow her.

Draco stood up, intertwined his fingers with hers, and let her pull him wherever she was taking him.

Fallon just pulled Draco into one of the crannies in the wall and brought him close to her as she leaned against the wall behind her. She grabbed his arm and gradually rolled his sleeve up to reveal the wriggling mark.

“He wants to talk to me,” Draco stated ripping his sleeve down. “I have to go I’ll see you later.” Draco kissed Fallon thoughtfully and gave her a quick tight hug before he ran off, leaving Fallon speechless.

If he wanted to talk to Draco, does that mean it’s almost time? Does he want to set up a day? What will happen after Draco completes his task? Where is he going to go? What is he going to do?

Fallon knew why Draco paced all the time. All the questions running through her mind drove her crazy enough to make her start to pace in attempt to suppress the overwhelming feeling of panic and anxiety.

Fallon sped into the castle and headed straight to the dungeons. She paid no mind to the darkness or even Revel who she happened to pass. Shouldn’t he be with his father? Fallon pushed everything away and slipped into Snape’s office closing the door behind her.

She wasn’t all too surprised to see Snape sitting in a big chair, as if he were waiting for her. “What do I do?” she asked breathlessly falling to the ground and trying to catch her breath. She brought her hand up to her throat and massaged the tensing muscles in there.

“You’ll just have to sit in wait. Draco will be back,” Snape stated, staying as monotone as he usually was.

Fallon put a hand on the back of her head and shook her hair, cooling the sweating area. She fidgeted and twitched as she sat countless hours in painful silence with her Professor to await the return of her boyfriend.

It was almost eleven; nevertheless, Fallon could feel the exhaustion begin to sink in as her body slid to the ground and curled around itself, trying to preserve heat. By that point, Fallon was slipping in and out of consciousness as she attempted to fight sleep.

Somewhere in between her falling asleep for a second before her leg kicked to wake her up, Snape covered her with a blanket and laid her on the couch. Fallon thought it was a dream because she never would’ve thought Snape was one to do those kinds of things. It shocked her immensely, and if she was fully conscious, she probably wouldn’t know what to do with herself.

In a hazy dream sometime that night, or early morning, Fallon saw Draco. She remembered smiling up at him from her Professor’s couch and he smiled back. He picked her up in his arms and carried her off somewhere. Where exactly? She didn’t quite know because she was too caught up in his presence to care.

The next day Fallon woke up in a bed. She awoke with that dry-eyed feeling that made her want to drift back off into sleep, but she knew she shouldn’t.

Nevertheless, Fallon rolled onto her stomach and crammed her arms under the comfortably warm pillow. She sunk into the bed, wiggled into the warmth, and wiggled further into searing hot skin. Fallon looked over and saw Draco; he was in the most peaceful state she hadn’t seen since last summer.

She moved closer to him and wrapped her body around his and she pressed her cheek against his bare chest. Draco didn’t stir once the whole time Fallon embraced him, he must be dog-tired.

Fallon generously dosed him with many kisses, which caused him to stretch from an awakening slumber. The minute Draco’s ice blue eyes popped open it was as if her stomach dropped out of her butt.

“It’s time,” he whispered in a husky voice. Something in Fallon snapped and she ran out of the room.