Little Memories

Charlotte let out a heavy sigh as she stared at herself in the mirror. She was ugly, truly, utterly ugly. Finally, she thought that the blackness and ugly she had within her was slowly seeping through her pores and making it’s way to the outside. Her haircut did make her look boyish, like the Dark Lord had said. Her hair was pushed to the side and out of her face in soft waves, that she had just recently washed the caked, dried blood of the ex-Muggle’s Studies professor of Hogwarts out of. She had managed to put on a bit of makeup: a swipe of black eyeliner across the top lids of her eyes and a bit of red lipstick to help add a bit of color to her pale face.

Narcissa had managed to find a black, mini dress that covered the majority of the bruises on her neck. She did her best to cover the rest with makeup, but the horrid hues of red and purple that splotched her neck would be nigh impossible to cover completely. She stood in front of the vanity in the bathroom of the guest room, looking over her full reflection. She didn’t quite fill out the dress, her curves now reduced to just the sharp edges of bones. The top of the dress was loose, too loose for Charlotte’s liking. The leopard print shoes weren’t something she would have chosen for herself, but she wouldn’t dare complain about them.

Her jewelry and other clothes had been brought over to the Manor, since she would be staying there for the remainder of the summer. She wore a simple necklace and the family snake ring on the middle finger of her left hand. Charlotte couldn’t bring herself to remove the charm bracelet Draco had given her, because that would signify that it was really over, and she didn’t know if she could bring about the disappointed look of Narcissa’s face when she realized their relationship was in shambles. Taking in a deep breath, Charlotte turned from the mirror and made her way from the guest room, heading toward the private dining room. She noticed that Draco’s door was closed and could hear him moving around, but she decided against waiting for him.

As she walked through the foyer, she heard Bellatrix hissing something to her husband as they disappeared into the parlor with Narcissa and Lucius. Charlotte merely ignored the woman, knowing that she didn’t have the strength to confront the woman about the mistreatment. Besides, she knew that it wouldn’t be the smartest thing to get into some sort of argument with Lord Voldemort in the Manor. She went through the door that lead to the dining hall and wasn’t surprised to see the house elves scampering away from the room when they heard her coming.

Charlotte made her way into the luxurious room, in disbelief that this was considered a “private” dining hall. There was a small table in the center of the room, which was about the size of the Great Hall at Hogwarts, and a roaring fire in the two fireplaces on either end of the hall. She noticed the food had already been put out on the table, as well as an ornate floral arrangement and a few candles. She walked further into the room and let out a heavy sigh before picking one of the chairs and sitting down, crossing her arms over her chest.

The logs crackled and burned in the fireplaces, filling the dining hall with the only noise. Charlotte sat silently in the comfortable, high-backed dining chair as she stared across the table at the unoccupied chair. She wondered if Draco would even come to dinner at all and if she should just eat and leave. Her weary eyes glanced over to the doors she had just walked through and she bit the inside of her cheek.

A few, slow minutes passed and she stared down at the plate before pushing the chair back, standing up, and beginning to walk briskly out of the room. Her shoes clacked against the floor and echoed throughout the large room; her footsteps were fast and angry. Just as she went to pull open the door, the door opened, causing her to take a startled step back. Draco stood in the open doorway, looking a bit started that Charlotte was standing before him in something other than a Azkaban gown or Death Eater robes. She had a wild, angry look in her eyes and her red-painted mouth was tense. His eyes wandered her outfit and the exposed, pale skin of her arms and legs; knowing that she was taller than him in her heels and feelings slightly intimidated and scared by the look she was giving him.

Charlotte stared at Draco for a moment, noticing that he was wearing his normal black suit. His hair was done neatly and he looked like he had gotten a bit of rest. His hands were clenched uneasily at his sides and his stance told her that he was uncomfortable. She took in a deep breath before turning and walking back to the table, silently letting Draco know that she intended on having dinner with him but that she wouldn’t be speaking with him if she could help it.

She sat back down at the table and took a sip of the drink that had been placed out for them. The liquid was only on her tongue for a moment before she recognized what it was: red wine. She thought, perhaps, that they had forgotten she was still sixteen, as well as Draco, but she wasn’t the kind of person that would deny alcohol when it was presented to her. In fact, she welcomed the euphoric numbness that came with drinking too much. Charlotte looked across the table at Draco as he stared at her, a mix of emotions on his face. She kept the glass of red wine in her fingers as she stared back at him, wondering what exactly he was thinking when he looked at her. He made no inclination that he was going to move, so Charlotte took another sip of wine before placing the glass back on the table. She then leaned forward and took a bit of the turkey that had been prepared and put it on her plate.

They ate in near silence. Charlotte’s eyes were glued constantly to him as if she were reading him. Draco felt a bit belittled by her gaze, as if she were trying to make him feel even more guilty than he already did. He avoided looking her directly in the eye as much as possible. By the time their dinner was being cleared away to make room for their dessert, Draco had reached his limit and he wanted to be clear of her bright, unnerving gaze. When the house elves placed their plates onto the table, Charlotte finally looked away from Draco.

She ate her lemon meringue pie in silence, knowing that she felt extremely weak and tired, but knew that she wouldn’t have time to sleep with the task she had been given. Draco took the time that her eyes were focused on something else to look at her. He noticed she looked fatigued and would have probably preferred to be sleeping at the moment. Despite how tired she appeared to be, Draco still thought she was the most beautiful person he had ever seen and he felt privileged to have her sitting across from him at dinner.

“I don’t want us to end, Charlotte,” he breathed, causing her eyes to lift from her dessert and lock on his. She drew in a breath of air, biting her bottom lip and shaking her head.

“You should have thought about that before you said the things you did, Draco,” she replied softly, placing her fork to the side and taking another sip of her glass of wine, which had been refilled a few times by a house elf waiting in the wings. She rested her elbow on the table, cradling her chin in her palm as she stared at him. His eyes caught the glimmering silver bracelet around her wrist.

“But…you’re still wearing that bracelet I gave you,” he said, desperate to find something that would make her realize that he loved her more than anything, “that’s got to count for something.” Charlotte let out a sigh and blinked a few times before a wicked smirk curled her lips.

“It just a bracelet, just jewelry,” she replied nonchalantly. “Besides…I was thinking of pawning it off for some money.” She looked down to the bracelet, running her fingers over it and thinking of the night when he had given her the bracelet. Of course, she had no intentions of doing such a thing, but merely wanted to see his reaction. “After all, I haven’t got any parents close to me to help pay for the high price of living these days.”

“You know that my family and I will take care of you without you even asking,” Draco said, staring hard at her. “You’ve helped keep us a family and without your help last year, I would have never fixed the cabinet, meaning that the Malfoy family would cease to exist.” Charlotte remained silent, the smirk gone from her features, as she stared at Draco.

“I’ll let your parents know that the dinner was splendid, but the company was not,” she said as she stood, taking one final sip of wine. She swallowed, letting her eyes close for a moment before she opened them and looked down at Draco. “Now…if you’ll excuse me, I’m tired and wish to retire for the evening.”

“No,” Draco said boldly, standing from the table and staring hard at Charlotte, “I won’t excuse you.” She merely let out a small laugh before shaking her head.

“I don’t think you’re in any sort of position to tell me what to do, Draco,” she replied before beginning to walk to the door. Draco quickly followed after her, taking her wrist in his hand and spinning her to face him. She looked down at him with that fiery, angry sort of look in her eyes that had Draco thinking twice of being so aggressive with her.

“I want you to tell me what it’ll take to get you back,” he said, not backing down despite how fearful he was of Charlotte. He knew that she could really hurt him if she wanted to and that she had powers that only one other being in the Malfoy Manor possessed. Her eyes stared hard into his as she easily twisted from his grip, her nostrils flaring slightly out of anger.

“It’s far too late for apologies,” she snarled before stepping around Draco and continuing on her path toward the door. Draco watched her walk away, clenching his jaw hard against the tears that had come to his eyes.

“I love you, Charlotte,” he said softly, almost so soft that he imagined Charlotte couldn’t hear him. Her strides faltered a bit and she glanced over her shoulder at Draco. Within that one, infinitesimal glance, he saw the scared young girl that Charlotte could have been. He saw the innocence that she longed to have again, but never would. She looked ahead, yet stopped just shy of the door, staring at it as she contemplated turning and giving in. Instead, she sneered to herself, clenching her fists at her side.

“You shouldn’t,” she growled before pulling open the door and stomping out of the room. Draco listened as her footsteps faded before following in her trail, knowing that he only had one, uncertain thing that could possibly change Charlotte’s mind about him.