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[attr="class","ctopline"]Let me sing you a lullaby

[attr="class","cscriptmud"]promise i won't stay the night

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[attr="class","clyrics"]I just wanna make you feel something[break]
Let me sing you a lullaby

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[attr="class","cbody"]The past couple of weeks had been much easier for her. As difficult as it had been to continue to wake up in the morning and go serve the Parkinsons all day, it had helped to know that she had something real to do afterwards. That she was more than just a maid, because she had felt that way for far too long. For far too long, there had been nothing in her life apart from what the registration had turned her into. Yes, she still had her mind. But with no wand, no work, and while living at the Parkinson estate, there had been nothing but mindless work. There had been no break, no reprieve… nothing. She’d been sure that she would waste away like that. It was only a matter of time.
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Being able to go home had helped some. It had opened her nights and made them her own. She was able to go home and read, or research, or go out for a few drinks. It made her feel the slightest bit more normal. But that was only for a handful of hours, before the day would end and she would end right back at the Parkinsons come morning. Nothing that she could fill her time with had been enough to truly make her feel like herself again. Not fully, anyway. It was the reason that she had wanted to finally get her hands on a wand. It was time to finally take that risk. She hadn’t been sure that it was worth what would happen if she got caught, but it was. And if she was careful, there was no reason for her to get caught.
[break][break]
Getting a wand had come nearly hand in hand with Draco offering her a job at Desiderium. That had been an unexpected surprise. Nora hadn’t been sure that getting back in contact with him was a good idea, especially after what had happened in November. As she had expected, the decisions she’d made that night had ended up hurting horribly the next day, when everything went back to normal. She didn’t regret that it had happened. She couldn’t. But she had fancied herself over him, past it, and it was harder to think that now. It had definitely muddled her feelings and had made everything complicated.
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But that wasn’t enough for her to turn down an opportunity for real work. They had always worked well together and she had never expected that he’d wanted her to help him put an entire division together for technology research. That was a huge responsibility—so, of course, she had been at Desiderium every night since he’d given her the job. She’d finish work at the Parkinsons, stop home to change, and then head right over there. Most nights, Draco was there too. Since he had classes at Hogwarts and University of Bangor turning the day, it only made sense.
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And he’d be there tonight. She knew that. That, unfortunately, was the problem. She’d had every intention of heading there tonight, but an impulsive trip to Flourish and Blotts had changed those plans. Running into his father had changed those plans.
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Nora knew that she was lucky he hadn’t done worse. In all honesty, it had been on her mind plenty of occasions—that he was probably the one purist in the world that would take advantage of the current state of things to inflict as much pain on her as possible. If he had a list of Muggleborns to torture, she thought she just might be lucky enough to top that list. His son’s mudblood ex-fiancée. She had known from the start that running into Lucius Malfoy would be bad for her. But it hadn’t happened, and she’d had no reason to think it was going to happen today.
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But it had. And while she had come out of that situation relatively in one piece, her arm would bruise… if it hadn’t already, she hadn’t looked, and he’d busted her lip. Relatively minor injuries, yes, but enough to draw Draco’s attention if she went into Desiderium. And even if he didn’t, she knew no good would come from telling him what had happened. If she didn’t see him, she wouldn’t be tempted to tell him. If she did, then she knew he’d realize that something was wrong. He’d get the truth out of her eventually, so it was better to just stay home for the night.
[break][break]
It was strange to be home and not at Desiderium until all hours of the night, but that was probably just further proof that she needed to take a breather. For her, there was no better way to relax than ordering pizza and drinking a few beers—or wine, depending on her mood. But with pizza, the answer was definitely beer. She’d just been heading to the kitchen to grab a new bottle when she heard a knock on the door and changed directions. Might just prove to be the fastest delivery time yet, she’d thought, before pulling open the door. “Draco,” her tone conveyed her surprise, and immediately she wished she’d thought to look through the peephole first. “What are you doing here?”
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[attr="class","cnotes"]868 ● Draco Malfoy ● outfit

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

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L U L L A B Y

Lips so pretty when I lay low

Pull up in your city with my bass low

Time had slipped away from him. It did that--often--when Draco was focused on his work. He had meant to leave Desiderium at a 'reasonable' hour, especially since he had to be at Hogwarts the next day, fairly early too--since he did office hours prior to breakfast on Tuesday and Thursdays. It wasn't his preference to work so early, but it was best to just get his time there all out of the way at once. It made the most sense. He had to be efficient with his schedule with all he had taken on. Hogwarts, Bangor, the research institute--it was all very demanding, but he enjoyed it. It felt like he was making up for the time he had wasted in the work camp.

He hadn't realized that Honora had not shown up for work until he went by her office with every intention of making her leave. She was as much of a workaholic as he was. If he didn't watch her, she would run herself ragged--never sleeping and just working all the time. But her office was dark--and several notes he had left for her to look over were untouched, still in her chair. He had put them there specifically to make sure they were the first things that she saw when she got in. 

She had definitely told him she would be in this evening. Nora had been at Desiderium every night since she started to working with him. Worry turned his stomach. Something felt wrong. This was wrong. She would not just not show up. There had been no owl--and his mind immediately went to the worst: she had gotten caught with the wand and had gotten arrested. 

If that had happened, what could he even do? Fuck... Fuck. This was bad. Pessimism multiplied his worry and he wondered if he could get his aunt to pardon them for that crime. He really did not want to go to Lestrange Castle. He had never been there. Not once. He really wanted to keep it that way. But it was a hell of a lot better than Azkaban. 

Maybe he was jumping to the worst case scenario. Maybe she was just feeling under the weather--or had gotten held up at the Parkinsons...Maybe she had just gone home. Maybe... Or maybe he was right all along and the aurors were going to show up at Desiderium any minute. Because they would figure out he had been involved. He would be the first to be implicated. Honora would not intentionally betray him to the law, but they would use legilimency or Veritaserum to get the truth from her. The Gregorovitch girl would be imprisoned, as well... and he couldn't allow that. Not for any of them. Not if it could be helped. 

He had to know if Honora had been arrested. He had to know what he needed to be planning for. So, he rushed out of the building and out to the nearest street corner. Hailing a taxi, he gave the address to Honora's flat. The street rolled off his tongue without any hesitation. It had been an age since he had been to the building, but he hadn't forgotten. He promised a huge tip if the man got him there quickly--but regretted that pretty quickly as the cab zipped in and out of traffic. The driver was crazy--and Draco was thrilled to have just made it to Honora's building alive. The terror of riding in the back of the reckless automobile had at least occupied his mind, though--keeping his thoughts from spinning out with worry.

He took the stairs three at a time and was knocking on Honora's door moments after he had arrived. She opened up and seemed very surprised to see him there. His eyes widened immediately at the sight of her face. Her normally full lip was fat and split--and around her left eye was swollen. The ivory skin was already beginning to show signs of bruising. The Malfoy frowned. "You didn't come to work."

He didn't say he was worried. He didn't have to. It was evident in his tone and expression. "What happened?" He asked, reaching out to gingerly touch her face. Surely to Circe, Michael Parkinson had not done this to her--none of the Parkinsons were the type to do something like this. 

@ you didn't come to work--are you dead? • 761 • outfit

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

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[attr="class","ctopline"]LET ME SING YOU A LULLABY

[attr="class","cscriptmud"]promise i won't stay the night

[attr="class","cline"]

[attr="class","clyrics"]I JUST WANNA MAKE YOU FEEL SOMETHING[break]
LET ME SING YOU A LULLABY

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[attr="class","cbody"]Having self-preservation was the best way of surviving a situation like this one. A part of her had known that from the beginning, and a bigger part of her knew that she should have kept her mouth shut today. It likely would have ended up making the conversation with Lucius Malfoy go a little bit smoother than it had. Not that she thought that a conversation with her ex-fiancé’s father would ever go well. She knew that. There had never been a chance of Lucius Malfoy liking her or wanting anything to do with her. Even when she had still been with Draco, she had known that. Now that she wasn’t, and now that the current state of affairs gave purists mostly free reign to do as they pleased, there had never been a chance that a conversation with the elder Malfoy would go well.
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But it probably could have gone better, if she had given him what he wanted. She had to figure that she knew just what he wanted. He had wanted her to call him Lord Malfoy, had wanted adverted eyes and submission and the respect that he thought that he was owed from mudbloods like herself. And as much as she had known that it wasn’t worth it, that she should just grit her teeth and take that blow to her self-worth, to take that humiliation to avoid something worse happening, she hadn’t been able to. Instead of submissiveness, he had gotten barely veiled sass. Really, it had been a wonder he hadn’t done worse.
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She knew that it would have been easier if she’d reacted differently. She knew the way of the world right now. When she was at work, respect and submission was given to the Parkinsons because she knew that was what was expected of her, and because she very much wanted to live. Nora didn’t actually think that the Parkinsons would hurt her… but she also knew that she was thought of as property. If she was more trouble than she was worth, she was very aware that every Parkinson in that house would be allowed to kill her and the Ministry would likely not blink an eye. So she did her job like she was supposed to, and she should have just put on a good face in Flourish and Blotts. Despite her thoughts on Lucius Malfoy, despite her not wanting to see that smug look on his face if she’d simpered and called him Lord, she should have just done it anyway.
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Now here she was, having to hide in her apartment instead of going into Desiderium, because she knew that she couldn’t see Draco. There were so many reasons why he didn’t need to know about this. His relationship with his father was not the best already. She did not need to add to that or make it any worse by telling him that he’d beat her in the back corners of the bookshop. He’d also had plenty of horrible things to say to her, some that hurt a bit more than the physical wounds. But Draco just didn’t need to know that. There was absolutely no reason for her to worry him, or for her to feel the dozens of feelings that would fill her at the sight of his concern. It was best all around for her to just skip Desiderium for the night. Tomorrow, when the memory was less fresh, she could glamour her face before seeing him and hope that he didn’t think she was acting strangely.
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She would have to figure out if she was going to glamour it before going to the Parkinsons as well. There were numerous ways that they could take her coming in with a black eye and a split lip. She was their property, they could be offended. They could not care. They could be amused—they were purists, after all. Regardless of their reactions, she knew she couldn’t risk a glamour around them. Not when Lady Kallisto was quite gifted with them herself, and that was not a good enough reason for her to get caught with a wand. Glamours were not worth getting caught over. So that was decided.
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But for the rest of the night, she thought her mind would be only on pizza. Or she had thought that, anyway. At least until she had pulled the door to her apartment open and realized that it was not a delivery guy standing there. “Oh—right, no. Had a… long day.” An understatement, really, but also not a lie. Her breath caught when his hand brushed against her face, a swirl of emotions visible in her eyes, but she recovered quickly. And immediately ducked his question. “Do you want to come in?” She said instead. It was a bad idea, but he’d come all this way. As much as she didn’t want him to know what happened, she wasn’t going to close the door in his face.
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[attr="class","cnotes"]830 ● @ not dead, just hiding from you ● outfit

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

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L U L L A B Y

Lips so pretty when I lay low

Pull up in your city with my bass low

Draco was probably overreacting. But it was not just emotions that drove him to come to this residential building. It was his logic. The man knew Honora Carmody. He had almost married her for Merlin's sake. She did not just not come to work. That was not her. Something had to be wrong. Something serious. 

And he cared. 

Of course, he cared.

She was Honora. He was with someone else now, and she was probably seeing that Dumbledore bloke. But he still cared about her and was invested in her well-being and her life. 

He could have texted. He thought about that even as his knuckles were knocking against door. The wizard was still adjusting to everyone having a cellphone. And really, he felt something in his gut telling him that he needed to be here. Texting was not enough. It did not get him face to face with her to be able to look in her eyes and see if she was lying or being truthful. Texts could be ignored. Draco Malfoy beating on your door in the middle of the night was much more difficult to pretend not to notice. 

When he saw her, Draco was immediately taken aback. A swirl of emotion twisted up his gut. What in the world?! The need to protect her overwhelmed him and it was not the sort of thing an ex was supposed to be feeling for an ex. Someone had hurt her and his instinct was to hurt them, to defend her. That wasn't his place. He had made sure of that, he reminded himself. 

The witch invited him in, but she didn't answer his question. The avoidance made his frown grow. "Nora," he pleaded, stepping into the all-too-familiar flat and pushing the door closed behind him. This place had been home to him for a long time. He honestly did not know how she still lived her. He could not have done it. He could have imagined living with the memory of them everywhere...or with the memory of him with another in their bed. Maybe that last bit made the rest easier to block out. 

He sighed and looked her body up and down, searching for signs of whatever else might have happened to the woman. The loose, long nightgown she had on swallowed her up. He could not even begin to tell how bad it all was. "You have to talk to me," Draco insisted. His hand had found hers and he was leading them into the living room. His feet still knew the way, even as he was glancing back at her. This place was still so familiar. It had been years since he had stepped foot in here, but he still just remembered. He sat down and gestured to the space next to him. Worry was shining in the man's pale eyes. Concern knotted up his stomach. He was thinking all sorts of horrible and terrible things--images of the nightmares his mother had been subjected to in Malfoy Manor replayed in his mind, but instead of Narcissa, he saw Honora's face there. He felt sick-- By Merlin and Morgana, he hoped it wasn't that bad. 

@ you didn't come to work--are you dead? • 529 • outfit

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

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[attr="class","cbgtop"]

[attr="class","cimg"]

[attr="class","clbox"]

[attr="class","ctopline"]LET ME SING YOU A LULLABY

[attr="class","cscriptmud"]promise i won't stay the night

[attr="class","cline"]

[attr="class","clyrics"]I JUST WANNA MAKE YOU FEEL SOMETHING[break]
LET ME SING YOU A LULLABY

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[attr="class","cbody"]Maybe she should have thought more into going to the bookshop today. It was easy to get so focused on her work that it gave her tunnel-vision. She had finished up at the Parkinsons, and then she had headed home to change. Her mind had already been on work, even as she got ready at home. It had been on work when she’d headed into the shop on a mission for the book that she was looking for. She hadn’t been thinking about the reality of things, she hadn’t been thinking about the fact that she was still a registered Muggleborn in a city that could have her crossing paths with a Death Eater at any given moment.
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Even if she had been thinking about it, she would not have been all that worried. It wasn’t not as if she was focused to wear some identification of her blood status for all to see. It wasn’t like every person on the street would recognize her as a Muggleborn. She should have been able to go into a shop to buy a book without a problem. Yes, there were people that knew who she was. She was well aware of that. Her engagement with Draco had not been a quiet one, there were surely purists that had seen the announcement, had seen them together back then, who might have recognized her, but she was hardly the most recognizable Muggleborn in the world. It was not something that she had even thought to worry about.
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She had not thought there would be any reason for the one Death Eater in the United Kingdom that hated her more than just your average Muggleborn would be in the bookshop too. There had been no reason for her to think that she would have that kind of poor luck. Lucius Malfoy had been far from her mind. Admittedly, she had enough self-preservation to worry about people like him when she needed to. She was wary of when the Parkinsons had guests over, was wary at the Christmas party that she had risked going to. But most of the time, she did not think that it was something that she needed to worry about. So, her guard had been done. She could admit that. She could have also been smarter in the situation. She could have let him have his power trip—could have called him Lord Malfoy and could have turned the other cheek when he surely looked pleased at her use of the title.
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There were likely ways that she could have avoided the situation escalating, and that was on her, but there was no undoing what had happened. She was honestly a little relieved that it hadn’t been worse. It certainly could have been. Violence out in public was not… as condoned as it had been under the former Minister, but Lucius still could have done whatever he’d liked, and she didn’t think that anyone would have stopped him or reported him. They likely would have just looked the other way. The fact that she had gotten out of there in one piece was definitely a good thing.
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But she had known that she couldn’t go to work with a split lip and a black eye forming. She knew for a fact that Draco would be there, because he’d said as much, and she couldn’t risk getting caught with a wand with something as shallow as putting on a glamour. It was better to just stay home. Nora just never would have thought that Draco would show up at her door. She supposed she had realized that he’d eventually notice that she hadn’t come in, but she had not thought it would merit a surprise visit.
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She let him into the house, starkly aware of the fact that he had not been here in years. She had not been in this apartment with him since she had found him with Astoria in their bed. After that, she had left, and she had not returned until he had moved out. She gave no reaction as he visibly looked her over for other injuries, figuring there was no harm in it. It wasn’t as if there was much visible skin for her to look at anyway. It was just her face—her nightgown even covered the bruises forming on her arm in the shape of fingers.
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A sigh escaped her as he grabbed her hand, but she let him lead them into the living room anyway. “Draco, honestly—” she sighed, her eyes following him as he sat down on the couch. The sight was physically painful. It had been a long time since he’d been in this space. It was too familiar. Though she was tempted to remain standing, she found it impossible to ignore his gaze and after only another moment, she sat down next to him. But that did not mean that she was going to tell him what had happened. That was just not going to do him any good at all.
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[attr="class","cnotes"]851 ● @ stop looking at me like that ● outfit

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

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