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[attr="class","ctopline"]Time rolls by the clock don't stop

[attr="class","cscriptmisc"]i wish i had a few more drops

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[attr="class","clyrics"]Of the good stuff, the good times[break]
Oh but they just keep on flying

[break][break]

[attr="class","cbody"]Date: July 2014[break]
Location: Draco's flat, Knockturn Alley
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She had nothing to do with the ring.
[break][break]
In the last couple of weeks, she had considered doing plenty with the piece of jewelry that now meant nothing—that now promised nothing. She had thought about throwing it away but hadn’t managed it. She had gotten as far as holding it in her hand, the trash bin opened. She had started at the trash for far too long, before she’d closed the bin again and put the ring back in the drawer that she’d been keeping it in.
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She had thought that maybe she could burn it. That would be dramatic, wouldn’t it? The weather was hot, but she thought she could still make a bonfire and toss in everything that reminded her of him. That was a hell of a lot. She wasn’t sure what would be left in her apartment after that, and she had never considered herself sentimental enough to be done in by possession. Sentimental, sure, but not that sentimental. But she had been wrong. It had taken her putting on a dress for work and remembering that Draco had complimented her on it once for her to realize that.
[break][break]
But she couldn’t burn everything that reminded her of him. She just couldn’t. She just had to get past it—that would happen eventually. Wouldn’t it? A part of her wondered just how long that was going to take. It had been only a few weeks and it wasn’t getting any easier. She had gone to work, had tried to focus on that. At first, she’d worried. Seeing him there wasn’t going to be easy. She couldn’t imagine going about her day worrying that she’d run into him in a hallway, in one of the labs… anywhere. Work had always been a place that she’d loved and the feeling she got when thinking about running into Draco had made her understand all of the companies that had those fraternization policies in place. The problem wasn’t necessarily when people were together. It was when they were broken up.
[break][break]
Her worries had been for naught, though, because Draco hadn’t been to work. For the first couple of days, she had just assumed that he’d been avoiding her or that he didn’t want to see her. Either out of guilt or because he had simply tired of being around her and didn’t want to deal with her hysterics. Not that she would ever act that way at work, but still. She had figured that he was just taking some vacation days to avoid being around her.
[break][break]
As days had gone on, she’d realized that wasn’t true. Even their breakup wouldn’t have him missing a week of work, and it had been more than that now.
[break][break]
It had been her aunt that had finally told her. Word from the Ministry that his employment had been terminated and she had known what that meant the moment that she’d heard it. It meant that he was in that work camp. That place in Knockturn Alley that the Minister had been sending people to for years. She had left work early that day and had spent all night thinking about it. How had the Ministry possibly have evidence that could send him there? He had been engaged to a Muggleborn, for Merlin’s sake. It didn’t make any sense. It didn’t matter what he had done to her, it didn’t matter that he had broken her heart and she wasn’t sure that it would ever be whole again. He had never been a Death Eater—not really. He had been young, his family in danger. He hadn’t done anything to deserve this. She didn’t think that she could just sit around and ignore it.
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And so she hadn’t. The next day, she had taken off work again. She had gone to the Ministry to try to get an appointment with anyone she could. Surely, the fact that he was engaged to a Muggleborn was proof enough that he was not like the rest of the Death Eaters. What more could they possibly want? She thought she’d just go there for as long as it took for them to see reason, but everything that she said seemed to go in one ear and out another. It didn’t matter to them that he’d been engaged to a Muggleborn. The mark on his arm was enough for them.
[break][break]
Fionn had told her to drop it. That he had cheated on her, and that everything that was happening was just karma—albeit, karma working a bit faster than it normally did. She wasn’t sure if she could though. It wasn’t something that she could just drop and forget about. Well… she could. It was none of her business now, after all. He had decided to shag his ex-girlfriend in their bed, and now what he did and what happened to him wasn’t her concern. Right?
[break][break]
Yet, here she was anyway. She had decided that it was past time that she returned the ring. It was the only option since she’d failed to do anything else with it. She could return it, and he could sell it. If the Ministry had really taken all of their money, he could probably use whatever money he could get for that ring. It wasn’t like he’d want to keep it, after all. The day was a particularly hot one, and she was wary about going into Knockturn Alley, especially now that the sun was down and the camp was out for the night. She’d read the Prophet enough to know that the crime rate had grown exponentially in passing years down here. But she kept her wits about her as she headed to the apartment building in question. When she managed it with only a few leers and suggestive comments, she was relieved.
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She thought she’d be even more relieved when Draco opened the door and she could—what? Even as the thought crossed her mind, she wasn’t sure what she was hoping for. Did she want him to let her in? It would make her feel marginally safer than standing in the doorway. But what if he wasn’t alone? What if Astoria was there? Nora didn’t know what to expect, or even what to hope for. But still, she took a breath and knocked at the door.
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[attr="class","cnotes"]1056 ● Draco Malfoy ● outfit

[attr="class","cred"]MADE BY VEL OF WW + ADOX 2.0

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time rolls by

I wish I had a few more drops

Of the good stuff, the good times

The Malfoys had been ruined. Durant had fined them penniless, even seizing Malfoy Manor. King William I had gifted the thousand acres that the mansion had been seated upon to Armand Malfoy in 1066. But the land and every trace of luxury was lost to the blond pureblood family now. Durant had ruined them.

And now, Draco had even lost his career. The judgement had come down not a week ago. He was sentenced to forty years manual labor. FORTY YEARS. It was mind-boggling. The crime he had even been convicted of was nonsensical. There was nothing specific about it. Conspiracy to commit crimes against humanity was the official justification. The only requirement for being guilty of that charge was the curse emblazoned on his forearm.  

The work camp with its manual labor was his new reality now. He missed Lucent and Honora. The wound of their separation was still fresh. He had planned it for some time, tried to persuade her to distance herself from him with less drastic means, but she wouldn't listen to reason. He had been left with no choice. He was not going to be the reason that Durant ruined her. No more than he was going to be a burden onto her financially now that he was destitute. 

It had been a long day. Draco was exhausted and dirty. The labor the Death Eaters were subjected to was meaningless and demeaning. It infuriated him. He did not deserve this. He had never wanted the Mark. He did not hold any prejudice towards those of lower blood statuses. They held plenty against him, though--and against all the purebloods regardless of what role they had played in Voldemort's schemes for power.  

He had been a kid when his father set him up to be Marked. Then, Lucius' failures spiraled out of control such that Draco had been tasked with the impossible--sent on a suicide mission that had nearly destroyed him and had put him in a depression that had not just magically lifted after the Battle of Hogwarts. He still struggled with the shadows creeping in on his vision. It was surely going to get worse now that he was in this work camp. 

After fourteen hours of labor, he just wanted to shower and sleep, but before he could even peel off the absurd suit he was mandated to wear, there was a knock at his door. Thinking it might have been his mother bringing him dinner, because that was the sort of kind thing Narcissa would do, and not imagining there could be anyone else visiting, Draco opened it up. He wasn't greeted with a maternal face, though. Instead, one of the last people he could have ever imagined coming to this shithole in Knockturn Alley was standing there...with legs that went on for days and lips that begged to be kissed. It was the woman he had planned to make his wife before Durant had insisted on ruining his life.

She wasn't supposed to be here. Their separation was supposed to protect her from this. She deserved better than to be in the muck and the grim. She shouldn't have been seeing him like this---exhausted and filthy. His heart ached at the sight of the woman he loved so deeply. The despair of his new life compounded the pain and he really wasn't sure he would be able to speak.

His voice found a way past his lips, though--and the man managed to ask: "What can I do for you, Honora?" Not Nora. He didn't deserve that casualness anymore. He had intentionally set out to break her heart, to destroy them. He had done it, too. They weren't getting married. She was safe. Lucent was safe. It was better this way. He had acted to protect her. He just hadn't expected to have to see her again. Seeing her again wasn't part of the plan...and he really wasn't prepared for it today. The work camp was exhausting and the Dementors....well, they weren't great for his mental health.

@ nora • 675 • filthy coveralls and dirt on his face

AU Draco's Knockturn Flat July 2014

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

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[attr="class","ctopline"]Time rolls by the clock don't stop

[attr="class","cscriptmisc"]i wish i had a few more drops

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[attr="class","clyrics"]Of the good stuff, the good times[break]
Oh but they just keep on flying

[break][break]

[attr="class","cbody"]There was a very good chance that this was a bad idea. She knew that Fionn thought that it was. Her aunt and her uncle… well, she wasn’t sure what their opinion would be on the matter. Same with her parents. They had all liked Draco. They had been excited for him to join their family. Her mum had been more excited for her wedding than anyone else had been. Telling them all that it was over had been one of the hardest things that she’d had to do. Saying it out loud meant admitting it was real, and that was hard enough. But she also just hadn’t wanted to see the looks on their faces. She didn’t want the pity that would come after, she didn’t want to talk about it, and she knew that was all that they would want. Her explanations wouldn’t be good enough, they would want to hear everything that had happened, and she hadn’t wanted to deal with that.
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But she’d had to, unfortunately. She’d had to tell them the engagement was off, she’d had to at least tell them why. Telling them that Draco had cheated on her… she wasn’t sure that she’d had a harder conversation in her life, but she had gotten through with it. And at no point in that conversation had she said anything about returning the ring. She hadn’t said anything about going to check on him, even when her aunt had told her where he had ended up. That was something that she had kept entirely to herself. There was no reason to tell them. Not when she knew what they were going to say.
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It would be hard. She had known that from the beginning. There were plenty of ways that she thought this conversation could go and most of them were not good. It wasn’t as if she was expecting him to beg for her forgiveness, for her to give him another chance. To tell her that she’d walked in on just the wrong moment, that Astoria had pounced on him and gotten him into bed and that he’d pushed her away moments after. He wasn’t going to say any of those things. If he wanted her forgiveness, if he wanted another chance, if he wanted to stay together… if he had wanted her at all, he would have come to her. The fact that he hadn’t had said it all to her. He was done with her too. It was over.
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So maybe she should just let this go. Look the other way on what would happen. She knew that it would be easy to do. He had ruined everything. Had ruined them, had ruined her, because what was she meant to do now? He was the love of her life. Nora couldn’t imagine being with anyone else. She thought she’d likely just end up alone forever now. Married to her work, coming home to an empty house every night. What was the point in trying to find a more perfect fit for her than him? Nobody would be. As pessimistic as it sounded, that was something that she was quite certain of.
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Nora knew that feeling might go away eventually. That the wound was fresh now, and she had just barely stopped wallowing long enough to function like a normal person again. In time, maybe it would get easier. In time, maybe she’d find someone else that would put Draco to shame and she’d laugh about the fact that she’d thought she was supposed to be with him forever. Sure. That could happen.
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But for now, she didn’t even want to think about that. She couldn’t even consider it. He just wanted to check on him, give him back his ring and… then she didn’t know. There was no way to even know if he’d let her inside, she didn’t know if she wanted to go inside. She just had to know that he was okay. She had no plans to tell him that she’d been to the Ministry to speak on his behalf. There was no reason to when it wasn’t doing any good anyway. She would keep trying, of course, but it didn’t exactly seem like they cared about what she had to say.
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She didn’t know what she was expecting when he opened the door, but him in coveralls and covered in dirt was not it. For a moment, she couldn’t even work past her shock enough to form words. He was not supposed to be here. He should not have to be doing this. After a longer silence than she’d intended, she opened her mouth to reply. “I—” Merlin, she should have rehearsed something. Why hadn’t she thought about what she was going to say? “I wanted to see you.” She said finally, though she knew that explanation was hardly sufficient. “Thought you might want this back.” Nora pulled her—his—the now meaningless ring from her pocket and offered it to him.
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[attr="class","cnotes"]835 ● @ draco ● outfit

[attr="class","cred"]MADE BY VEL OF WW + ADOX 2.0

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time rolls by

I wish I had a few more drops

Of the good stuff, the good times

Draco was tired--no, he was beyond tired. He was exhausted. Manual labor was hard work...and while he was used to long hours. This was very different. He was accustomed to exhausting his mind, to turning its brilliance to mush after draining all he had to give to solving a problem. Now, he was breaking rocks all day. His shoulders and back ached. His neck was more tense than it had ever been---not to mention sunburnt. He wasn't permitted a wand in the work camp...and one day. One bloody day, he had forgotten to cast a sunblock charm before work. His neck, nose and cheeks were cherry red and he didn't know any magical way to heal the damage. It shouldn't have ever happened. 

It was a rubbish life--and he hated it. He was miserable. His heart was broken, but he knew it was for the best. He knew he had done the right thing to put distance between himself and Honora. That was best for her. His love of her made him willing to make those sort of sacrifices. But it didn't make it hurt any less. The dementors that patrolled the alley loved to make him relive the pain of seeing her look at him so confused and hurt, to watch her walk away. 

Staying silent as she left that day was as difficult as finding words with her standing in his doorway now. It felt so wrong for her to be in this shithole. She was too good for this place. She didn't need to be touched by Knockturn. She didn't need to see him like this. It was embarrassing. He was ashamed. His mouth fell open a little bit when she said she had wanted to see him. 

He shouldn't have been surprised. But he was. He was shocked that she would ever want to lay eyes on him again. He had tried to make sure that was never the case. He had done his very best to make her hate him. "You can come in if you want. Has to be better than you being out there dressed like that." He said, glancing up and down the hallway. This really wasn't a safe place for her to be at all--and no matter how he had done his best to run her off, she was here now and he was feeling very protective of the woman he loved. 

She produced the ring and he went wide eyed. "Why'd you bring that here?" He hissed, disapproval thick in his voice. He had a hard look on his face with his brow furrowed at her. Draco tugged Honora unceremoniously into the decrepit flat and shut the door. His hand was free of her quickly and he produced his wand. The Malfoy swiftly locked the door manually and magically, performing several advanced charms to secure it. Hopefully no one had seen the giant sparkly diamond. The magic was strong, but only so much could be done to reinforce such flimsy walls and doors. He rubbed a hand over his dirty, sunburnt face, wincing a little at the contact against the hot skin. A huffed sigh prefaced his words. "You can't be showing something like that around here," Draco scolded. "It's really not safe." The wizard emphasized, shaking his head. It wasn't her fault. She didn't know how bad it was here. He had never wanted her to know.

The air chilled sharply around them. A dementor patrol was passing. Draco cast his eyes down as the shiver went through him. He begged some spirit or god or demon to just have the creature pass by quickly. And thank Merlin, it didn't linger. Only about a half dozen breaths had been visible before the sweltering heat of July was pushing down on them again. Cooling charms could only do so much when the walls had no insulation in them and the windows leaked. And he was so drained, he didn't even have it in him to try to transfigure the dwelling into something livable. He had to conserve his energy since someone could attack him at any time. Durant and his lackeys might have thought of Draco as a Death Eater--but the Death Eaters certainly weren't welcoming him back into their number. They hated him--for the lie his mother told, for the life he had chosen to live, for being a blood traitor. He'd become familiar with their brutality quickly enough since relocating to Knockturn. This was a miserable place. 

@ those legs • 792  • filthy coveralls and dirt on his face

AU Draco's Knockturn Flat July 2014

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

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[attr="class","ctopline"]TIME ROLLS BY THE CLOCK DON'T STOP

[attr="class","cscriptmisc"]i wish i had a few more drops

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[attr="class","clyrics"]OF THE GOOD STUFF, THE GOOD TIMES[break]
OH BUT THEY JUST KEEP ON FLYING

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[attr="class","cbody"]She didn’t know if she was going to regret coming here. She knew that there was a good chance she would. Seeing him again would likely make all of it even worse. Talking to him would too. She hadn’t given him much time for words when she had walked into their bedroom and had seen him with Astoria. She hadn’t even said anything at all—and neither had he. First, she had been shocked, which she was sure had been entirely apparent. Shock had turned to hurt and about a dozen more emotions, but she hadn’t cried. That was something, at least. That was the last thing that she’d wanted to let him see.
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Had she cried since then? Of course, she had. She had spent several nights out on the town at Fionn’s insistence. After a long night of drinking and trying to forget her problems, she ended up back at home and that inevitably ending with her crying. She just couldn’t wrap her head around everything that had happened. For the life of her, she could not figure out why this had all happened. She had never been cheated on before—and she didn’t mean that in an arrogant kind of way, she just hadn’t been. Maybe that was why she didn’t recognize the signs. Maybe there had been signs that she had missed. Maybe he had been with Astoria for months… years. Maybe she had always been there and Nora had just been too blind to see it. She hadn’t known. She just knew that none of this made sense. He loved her. He had said that to her so many times throughout their relationship and she had never doubted those words once.
[break][break]
How could he love her, and her not be enough? Why had he even proposed? Why had they gotten this far in the planning, why had she gotten portkeys for their honeymoon? If he didn’t want to be with her, he could have broken up with her. He could have just ended things. He hadn’t had to do this.
[break][break]
She tried to think up any reason that she could that made this make sense. Maybe he hadn’t ended things with her because he wanted to be with her, he just wanted something on the side too. Maybe he needed more than just her. Wanted more than just her. Whatever. She didn’t know. She just knew that she never would have thought that Draco would be like that. They’d had their fair share of fun in the bedroom. On occasion, that had even meant involving other people for a night. That gave him a little something different without cheating. Why had he needed more than that?
[break][break]
Nora knew that she might never understand it. She didn’t even know if she planned on asking those questions now that she was here. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answers. She had just known that she had to see him. Despite everything, she had to make sure that he was okay. She didn’t plan on telling him how many times she’d been to the Ministry to try to get them to see reason. There was no reason to when it hadn’t worked. She just needed to see him for herself. And give him his ring back. He could use it to get out of this place, maybe. To afford to live somewhere else. She didn’t know. He certainly needed it more than she did.
[break][break]
Her brow furrowed at his words and despite herself, she glanced down at her outfit and then back up at him. “Dressed like that? Dressed like what? It’s hot out.” Her words came out a little bit defensive. But it was July. She wasn’t dressed any certain kind of way. She was just dressed for summer. Yes, she’d gotten a few sideways looks and comments on the way here, but that was just… beside the point.
[break][break]
Nora didn’t know what reaction she’d get for bringing the ring back to him, but she definitely did not expect him to pull her into his apartment without warning. His hand on her skin seared through her, maybe more strongly than normal with weeks having passed without his touch. The moment he released her, she moved away from him. He really couldn’t touch her again or she would just lose her nerve entirely. Despite being momentarily annoyed by his tone and the manhandling, she bit her lip as he spoke again. She hadn’t thought about it like that, but showing off a big, sparkly diamond in Knockturn Alley was probably not a good idea. Even in a hallway that at first glance was empty. At least she hadn’t worn it though. That would have likely gotten her a lot more attention.
[break][break]
“Sorry. I didn’t…” Her words trailed off as a sudden chill took hold, her breath catching in her throat. It wasn’t anything that she’d ever felt before and for a moment, she felt so much worse about everything that had happened. Even just being here, even looking at him… it was all just too much to deal with. It was only when the cold just as quickly went away that she realized that it must have been dementors. She’d read in the paper that they patrolled the alley. Taking a breath, she tried to focus back on what she was doing here. “Please just take it. I don’t want to look at it anymore,” she said, finally, her voice quiet as she offered him the ring again.
[break][break]

[attr="class","cnotes"]922 ● @ you need aloe ● outfit

[attr="class","cred"]MADE BY VEL OF WW + ADOX 2.0

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time rolls by

I wish I had a few more drops

Of the good stuff, the good times


AU Draco's Knockturn Flat July 2014

Draco had imagined his life so differently. There had been a plan. It had been working. He was someone more than his name. He was not living the life of the Malfoy heir. He had been living his own life, being his own man. Lucent had been amazing. The work there was revolutionary-- and he had been part of it, part of changing the world for the better. And he had been so happy with Honora. They were in love. Blood status did not matter. Old politics did not touch them. The mark on his arm was easily covered or ignored.

Even as the Ministry persecuted purebloods, he had felt relatively safe from it. Durant could take what belonged to the Malfoys. He didn't even care that all that was siphoned away. He did not need it. He had never really wanted it. Malfoy Manor being taken by the Ministry did not matter to him. He could never live in that place. He hated it. Part of him had enjoyed seeing the Malfoy empire disassembled. It felt right for the man who had cost him so much to be losing everything. Of course, his mother did not deserve it. Draco thought the vast majority of what had befallen Narcissa Malfoy was unjust and the fault of his father.

All stars that had once been in his eyes for Lucius Malfoy were darkened and dead. Black holes of hatred and resentment were all that remained for his familial patriarch. Gravity drawing all the pain and suffering of all that the allegiance to Voldemort had cost them. Draco had been deeply scarred by the impossible tasks set upon him as a teen. Depression had overtaken him, darkening his thoughts and mind in that time-- and now, with Dementors as regular company in the Alley, the worst of those dark memories and inclinations were pressing in on him again.

This place was horrible. It was destroying him. The work was mind numbing. The guards set on breaking the spirits of those forced into the camp from dawn to dusk. Some seemed unfazed. But Draco was not like them. He suffered and he lived in fear. It was terrifying now to see Honora standing in the hallway of this shit hole building. The terrible things that could have happened to her journeying here were running wild in his mind. Draco had been forced to relive memories of his mother being abused by the Death Eaters so frequently now that it was too easy to jump to the notion that the lawless bastards who lived and worked with him would do those unspeakable, unthinkable things to his former fiancee. Especially considering her blood status.

Honora did not understand what he was going on about in respect to her outfit. He shook his head. "It doesn't fucking matter that it is bloody hot." He was so exasperated. His brow furrowed at her. It took all his self control not to reach out and take hold of her shoulders and just shake her. But at least she was inside and the door was closed. No one could see her now, even if anyone in a nearby flat could hear them. There was no privacy here. Walls were paper thin. "You have to use your fucking head, Honora. This is Knockturn Alley." He placed heavy emphasis on the name. A blistered hand was drug up over his face and throw his buzzed hair. "Do you have any idea the sort of men that live in this building?" He threw his hands up in the air. His head was shaking as he looked at her. "Criminal is a really nice word for what they are. Your legs like that, your cleavage out--- Fuck, Nora, your body is," he growled and gestured up and down her, nearly animalistic in the way he was looking at her. Talking about other men putting their hands on her caused a swell of possessiveness in him. She was his. Even if she wasn't. He still thought of her that way. He still wanted to be the only man who touched her. Draco wasn't a killer, but it felt like murder was within his means if it was to keep her safe.

The whole reason he wasn't with her anymore was to keep her safe-- to keep her far away from this. He needed her to understand how dangerous this place was for her. His face twisted up in frustration and worry. His eyes were pleading with her as he explained: "There are more people that not around here would not think twice about just taking you, because they wanted to. No matter what you had to say about it. Bastards would like it if you fought. They'd really fucking like it. You can't be coming around here. It's too dangerous. Way too bloody dangerous." He was yelling at her. The lecture just pouring out of him with all this very genuine concern and fear. There was a zero percent chance he was going to allow the witch to walk back out of the building--like absolutely, she was apparating. Period. Nothing had happened to her on the way here, thank Merlin, but Draco was not going to let her tempt fate by walking back out into the hell that was Knockturn Alley these days.

The Dementor flew by and it sucked all the heat out of the room. It might have been July, but it was freezing. His breath was visible and the experience that had grown familiar since moving to this place swept over him. Despair--all consuming. He hated that Honora had to experience that. Seeing her offering him back the engagement ring on the coat tails of that dark moment was heartbreaking. "That's yours," he insisted. He did not want it back. He had given it to her. He had picked it for her. It was not a family heirloom. Draco would never have given someone he loved anything out of the Malfoy vault, even when it had been full and accessible to him. No, he had shopped for that ring--visited jewelers all over Europe before selecting it. It was hers.

The wizard took a staggered step back, putting space between them. "I can't take it back," he argued, his voice softer than it had been earlier. Pain was slipping into the bass timber. It was hard to be cold or indifferent--to pretend like it did not break his heart for her to give that ring back. He had forced the break up. He had made sure she would end it. He couldn't mess that up now. It had been for her-- he had hurt her to keep her away from all this darkness, to keep her from getting dragged down into the destruction that was swallowing up all the old pure families.

@ shouldn't be here • 1140 • filthy coveralls & dirt on his face

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

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[attr="class","ctopline"]TIME ROLLS BY THE CLOCK DON'T STOP

[attr="class","cscriptmisc"]i wish i had a few more drops

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[attr="class","clyrics"]OF THE GOOD STUFF, THE GOOD TIMES[break]
OH BUT THEY JUST KEEP ON FLYING

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[attr="class","cbody"]Maybe she should have just owled the ring back to him. That was an option. Of course, something that valuable really shouldn’t be strapped onto an owl’s leg. Despite its now lack of sentimental value or emotional meaning, it still had a hefty price tag on it, she was sure. She had no idea how much it had cost—she was not the type of person to pry or ask, and Draco really could have bought her a ring out of one of those silly machines, that cost a sickle, and she wouldn’t have cared. She would have loved it just because he was the one who gave it to her. But she knew that he did not get it out of a machine, and that it was not something that she could just entrust an owl to return to him.
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She could have gotten Fionn to do it, or maybe even her aunt or uncle. Fionn would have been a jackass. That was just in his nature, but after everything, maybe Draco deserved a dose of Fionn jackassery. It might have been a little amusing for her to think about it in any other circumstance. If he was not in the work camp, if he was not living in Knockturn Alley then she might have gotten Fionn to take it back. He would deserve whatever colorful language that her cousin decided to throw his way, but that just wasn’t an option now. Not with him in Knockturn Alley, not with what she knew about the work camp. Nora knew that the worst of it was kept from the public, but she had never been one to just trust what she read. The Ministry was telling them what they wanted them to know, and no more than that. She knew the reality would be far uglier, and she couldn’t let Fionn rub salt in the wound. Even after what Draco had done. She just couldn’t stoop that low.
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Her aunt or uncle could have done it. They would not have been awful to him. Not friendly, of course, but they wouldn’t laugh at him or consider it karma. They would have returned the ring without so much as a mean-spirited remark. They wouldn’t be as nice to him as he was used to, but she knew that they would have been respectful of the situation. They wouldn’t have been horrible to him. But she also was pretty certain that the last people Draco would want to return the ring to him would be his former bosses. He probably didn’t need the reminder of their now failed relationship and the job that he’d also lost.
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Fionn would ask her why she was putting so much thought into what made Draco comfortable when returning her engagement ring, after he had cheated on her. He’d say that it was ridiculous that she’d care if something made him uncomfortable, because he deserved every bit of that discomfort. Maybe that was true. Maybe she should have just given the ring to Fionn and then do her best not to think about him again, but she couldn’t. She wanted to see him. She wanted to see if he was okay. Going to the Ministry on his behalf hadn’t done anything yet, but she wasn’t going to give up yet. Despite everything, she needed them to see that it was ridiculous to have given him this sentence, when he had never really been a Death Eater. They hadn’t seen reason yet, but she’d at least needed to see him, no matter how hard it was.
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Nora had not thought that he would immediately go in on her about what she was wearing. It was summer and it was boiling hot out. Had he expected her to come in a parka? She could tell just by the tone of his voice that he was frustrated, and she felt her own anger bubbling up the longer he ranted and raved. But the longer he went on, the more his obvious possessiveness took hold, and it knotted up her stomach in a familiar way. “My body is what?” She snapped, her eyes narrowing at him. Judging by his renewed interest in his ex, she would have thought he’d tired of her body—but here he was, talking about it with that familiar possessiveness, and that was just not fair.
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As he went on, Nora continued to seethe. A part of her understood. It was dangerous here, and that was not something that she’d thought all that much about before coming down here. She’d thought of Knockturn Alley as it had been before Durant—when it had been a sketchy place, but not somewhere that she was going to get pulled down into an alleyway and raped just because she’d worn short shorts. That was definitely what he was making it sound like, though she had no idea if that was a common occurrence or him overexaggerating just to get his point across. “I can take care of myself!” She yelled back, suddenly more pissed off than before. She didn’t care why he was worried or if it was warranted or not. He didn’t get to be worried about her anymore. That was his decision. Not hers. “And it’s not your fucking job to lecture me! Go find Astoria if you want to warn someone about the dangers of Knockturn Alley! She is your concern. I am not!” She thought that she could hold her own against anything this alley had to offer anyhow—as naïve as that thought might be, she found herself annoyed that he would think she wouldn’t be able to get herself out of a bad situation.
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Nora didn’t know how long they would have fought if the sudden chill in the air hadn’t drained every bit of fire from her. She had never felt the effects of a dementor before, not once in her life, but the moment that the heat of July returned to the flat, she couldn’t bring herself to start yelling again. She just didn’t have it in her. Nora had come all the way here to give this ring back, not to argue about her attire in Knockturn Alley. She didn’t know why he wouldn’t just take it back. He could sell it and likely afford something other than this flat. That ring could probably pay for a better flat for quite some time, down here anyway. “Why not? I’m sure Astoria will like it,” her words did not come out with the bite that she’d intended, hurt seeming through far more than she’d wanted. Honora honestly had no idea if he was with her, if they were back together, or if it had been a one-off. It wasn’t like she had thought to ask, and despite whatever his relationship was with Astoria now, it was a retort she couldn’t help but say.
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[attr="class","cnotes"]1151 ● @ you need aloe ● outfit

[attr="class","cred"]MADE BY VEL OF WW + ADOX 2.0

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