Mature content ahead. This chapter contains mentions of abuse and emotional trauma. Please read with caution.

_____

''Marry me.''

_____

Draco was panicking. Never had he panicked as he did now. She walked out. Amelie never walked out on him, except she did now.

He hurt her this time. This wasn't about what he'd done a month ago or what he'd done leading up to this day — this was what he said to his mother. Malfoy wanted to leave when he was done protecting them. He wished to rest, and Amelie heard him.

Clearing that this was simply her believing that he rather fade than spend his days with her, Draco didn't understand how she got his words so wrong. He never meant that. He never said that he would leave her in ways she believed he would.

Draco loved Amelie. Draco loved Amelie more than he loved anyone, more than it was humanly possible to care for another. He cared for her.

Amelie was everything to him, if not more, and it crackled and burnt in his chest as he was left with the heartbreak of her walking out. She'd leave him. He knew she would. She said she loved him. She said he loved him, and Draco knew what it meant.

She was leaving them. He knew her deeper and more intense than anyone. She could simply look at him, and he'd know what she was up to. Hearing that tiny flicker of hesitation in her voice and he understood she'd place herself in harm's way.

Malfoy knew her better than she knew herself.

He wished to rest, indeed, but he didn't comprehend why — why he said it in the ways he did — why he said it like it was a choice, like it was a thing he craved to do more than to be with her. Foolish, he cursed to himself, regretting every little thing leading up to this moment. The door slammed shut, and the thud of it echoed along with the emptiness her absence brought.

Ache. It ached.

Everything ached without her.

He counted the minutes again. There wasn't a thing he could do in his chained position. Adrian had secured the bonds around his wrist tighter now, ever since he attacked him weeks ago. He couldn't get out.

So Draco counted. He calculated every hour that passed until steps began to sound through the basement roof and morning rose around them. She hadn't left yet. He could tell from the way she was walking upstairs.

He knew because it was always four feet. Amelie and Atlas. Her unsteady tracks, followed by the tiny tripping ones. Atlas still pathed her everywhere.

She must be waiting until dawn, Malfoy thought. She'd spend one last day with them before surrendering, and hell, how Draco would make that day count.

Knowing that Pucey would reach him any minute, he began to turn impatient. Adrian ever so paid him a visit in the morning before he did anything else. At the beginning of it — it shocked Draco. Horrified him almost. That Adrian so willingly helped him back into sanity, that he did everything he could to help Amelie get him back.

Nothing made sense to the blond. He despised Adrian, and he promised himself that he'd get his vengeance for how he treated Amelie all those years, but that wasn't what he prioritized because she was leaving.

''Morning,'' Adrian mumbled. His voice drowsy, ''Did you sleep—''

Draco rolled his eyes, not out to make conversation with the boy who stood with a shoulder brushing against the doorway, his arms tightly crossed, ''You need to push me today.'' Draco's words pressured, his eyes narrowed, ''You need to push me further than usual today. She needs me.''

''I know she does,'' Adrian dragged his hands through his hair, scratching his neck with a yawn, ''She came to see me last night.''

Lifting his brows, Draco scowled, ''She did what?''

''She came to see me—''

''I heard what you said,'' Malfoy snapped impatiently, ''What did she want?''

Jealousy started to boil within. Draco didn't quite know why it did. He trusted her. She'd never hurt him in that way. He knew that, but the thought of her seeking comfort in someone that wasn't him, himself, chewed within.

Adrian stared at him from the doorway, wide-eyed now, ''I don't think she'd appreciate if I told you that,'' He informed, hesitant to overstep since he finally earned parts of Amelie's trust, ''But she's not doing good, Malfoy. She's giving up on herself.''

''I know she is,'' Looking away, Malfoy gritted his jaws, ''That's why I need you to push me. I need you to break me today. She can't do this without me.''

Humming quietly, Adrian nodded. He truly knew she couldn't. Amelie needed Draco more than ever, ''I'll be back in an hour, and I'll think of something.''

''An hour—''

''Yes, an hour,'' Adrian fired back, pointing towards the hallway behind him, ''She's making us breakfast.''

She's making them breakfast. Draco panicked a bit more now. She indeed was leaving.

''We don't have an hour to spare, Pucey.'' He spat angrily now. He didn't have an hour to spare. He couldn't risk losing her, ''We don't have a fucking hour. We need to start now.''

''I can't—''

''I don't care!'' He shouted, shaking his head, ''I don't fucking care about what you can or can not do. She's leaving, and she needs me, so whatever small precious plans you have going on with Nott — you cancel them, and you break me. Break me into loving her.''

Adrian dithered for a second. Weighting the things Draco had splayed out for him and with a deep, doubtful sigh, he nodded. Agreeing that Amelie would be more important than any set of plans could be.

''What do you mean she's leaving?'' He questioned, clocked within his mind by the spoken terms, ''She's upstairs—''

Troubled and hesitant, Draco grumbled, ''She was down here, late last night, and she said things. Things she wouldn't have said if she'd still be here.''

Lowering his sight, the brunet took a step into the room, letting the door slam shut behind him. Grasping at his jaw, Adrian muttered, ''So that's what she hid from me yesterday....'' Whispering, almost, ''Damn it. I should've known.''

Draco stretched his spine, knitting his brows in theory, ''What?'' He was spitting the word, ''What the hell are you—''

''She...'' Rolling his neck, Pucey grew mad at himself, ''She woke me up late, and we talked for half an hour. She said things that didn't quite add up. She was hiding something... Something she didn't want to tell me, and now... now I know what.''

''That she's leaving?'' Malfoy gripped the armrests, raising a bit in his seat. He ever so tensed when it came to Amelie, especially since he wasn't there himself to keep track of her, ''What did she say?''

''It wasn't what she said. It was more what she did... she was saying goodbye without saying it,'' Locking eyes with the blond, he inhaled, sharply, ''She was saying goodbye, and I didn't notice. She kissed me on—''

''She what?'' It was more of a threat than an asking. Draco jolted forward on the spot as Adrian flinched back, ''What the fuck did you just—''

''Can you give it a damn rest?'' Adrian defended, trying to sound solid yet so aware of the mistake he'd just committed, ''She kissed me on the bloody cheek and thanked me for being there for Theodore. Stop trying to make something out of nothing.''

''She kissed you?''

''On the cheek.''

''Still, she kissed you?''

Adrian rolled his eyes.

''Did you kiss her back?''

''Malfoy—''

''Did you place those filthy lips on her?'' He shouted now.

''What the hell does that matter—''

''Because—'' Draco was losing it, completely missing himself in the rage of Adrian even touching her, to begin with, ''Because you can tell yourself all you want that you're here for Theodore. That you're not in love with her anymore — that you're a changed man and that you don't want her. When the truth is simple, I know you still love her. Hell, I'm so fucking lost in her. I know how it feels.''

Heaving, Draco was intimidating now, ''She's fucking addicting. She's a fucking goddess. A temple, and believe me when I say that I don't blame you for loving her. I'd blame you more if you didn't, but let me make one thing — one single thing clear to you.''

Adrian blinked, surprisingly. Holding quiet in front of the blond.

''She's mine. She's been mine. She is mine, and she'll stay mine. She's mine even when I'm not here anymore. She's mine for the rest of her god damn life. Amelie is mine, and if you ever think for so a bloody second that you're leaving Nott for her — I'll rip that rotten heart right out of that pathetic chest of yours.'' Malfoy growled, ''Break Theodore's heart, and I'll come for you. I'll make you regret even looking at him in the first place. And approach her, one more time, Pucey, and I swear to god you'll wish you weren't born. I'll make you regret your foul place on this earth, and I'll do so still tied up in this chair without magic.''

Adrian gulped. His eyes broadening for each word that slipped the blond's tongue.

''She's my fucking witch. In my right mind or not — Amelie Avery belongs to me. Always. So keep your filthy thoughts to yourself and get to work. Fix me, and I might consider sparing your life once this is over.''

Startled was an understatement, and Adrian tried so hard to keep his tough front, ''Threats won't—''

''Then fucking fix me,'' Malfoy was hysterical within. He'd lost her over and over. He couldn't be the sole reason he lost her again. He couldn't be the thing the forced her across the edge of her own reason.

Amelie wasn't leaving because she didn't love him. She wasn't going because she wasn't in love with him. She was surrendering because she was all of the above. She'd constantly give her life up if it meant she'd save him, and Draco loathed himself for that.

He questioned her love for him when he knew he never needed to. Amelie would love Draco regardless. Relentlessly and unconditionally, no matter the cause.

''Fix me and bring me back to her.''

Adrian did. Adrian locked the door behind him, raising his wand, and then they got to work.

_____

Adrian spent numerous hours of that day torturing Draco, letting him loose before he poured dark magic across him. Over and over. Again and again. Adrian was ripping his soul to pieces, lapping it back together only to shred it apart again. And that's what they did—hour in and hour out.

Steady. Repetitive. Relentlessly.

Adrian pained him. Adrian hurt him. He brought the dark skies crowded with hidden angles of death down upon Malfoy. He showed him everything, but this time — as the darkness trickled around them and he saw how close Draco was to breaking, he showed him something he'd never thought of before.

Adrian showed him them. He showed Draco and Amelie.

He put whatever piece he caught of them in Malfoy's head on display.

The first time he saw her years ago. She was standing on the stairs leading down to the Great Hall with her hands stretched above her head, and she waved at her best friend. She was happy, beautiful.

The time in class when he sat behind her a few years later. He didn't bother much for her. With his head buried in denial of what he was becoming privately, he looked around. Yet his gaze always trapped her. Watching her hair as it spilled around her shoulders, her shoulders straight and tense.

It was the first time he noticed that she'd changed. Her hands continuously dragged her shirt down her arms. Hiding. She wasn't smiling. She wasn't happy, but she was still beautiful.

The first time he laid eyes on her bruises. The time he knew something was wrong. It was in class. She was standing on the side of her table, mumbling something to her best friend as she reached across the wood, and that's when he saw it. When her shirt parted from her skirt, he saw the purple, yellow shade marked into her skin. He looked away. It ached. She was still beautiful.

The day he approached her in the hallway, she was crying into her best friend's arms. She was hurt. Her fingers were broken. He hurt her again. Still beautiful.

The shattered mirror in the bathroom.

The night in the library.

The moment in the lake.

The morning she woke up in his bed after he saved her.

The look in her eyes as she looked at him. Only Amelie saw him. All of him. Always.

The disguised night's in the Manor.

The night he kissed her. The night she ran away. The night she found him again. The night she kissed him.

The night he lost her. The night he forced her to leave. The night he said he didn't want her, that he was done with her.

The weeks he spent looking for her. The weeks he had Adrian locked up in his basement. The weeks he hurt.

The night he found her. Rain. It was raining.

The morning on the couch in the cabin.

The first time she took him to the beach.

Their nights in the Manor.

The night she agreed to sleep in his room.

The night she found out that he killed her father.

The night he left her.

The day she took him back.

The time he was put together. His time with her.

The day she cut his hair.

The night she became his in all ways possible. The night he kissed her scars. The night she kissed his.

So beautiful.

The night he lost her. The night he wasn't there to protect her.

The months he searched through the entirety of England to find her.

The night he found her. The night she died. The night she lived.

The night he lost her again.

The week she slept.

The weeks he spent in the missing of her mind.

Her. He had her again.

The time he was happy.

When they visited her old house.

When she put herself in harm's way.

When he almost lost her again.

When he got her back.

Their night in the garden.

When she found her brother.

When they bought a new home.

When she gave all of her to him again.

Everything.

When he lost her again. When she came back.

When she lost him.

When she found him.

When she saved him.

When he failed her.

''Malfoy. Right now!''

Hell, how he'd failed her. He'd failed her since the first time he saw her. He could've saved her years ago — but he was too weak. He didn't have the strength to stand against the Dark Lord. He became a Death Eater, and he failed her before he even knew her.

It had always been her to him.

''Malfoy. I'm not telling you again. Kneel—''

Always Amelie.

Every arch on her lips she tried to hide because she didn't wish to reveal that he was the reason she was smiling. Every blush of her cheeks as he came close. Every touch. Every damn touch. She hated touch, but she worshipped his. Every tiny word, meaningful or not. Every urge to be close to the other. Every moment of longing. Every piece of lingering. Everything.

''Malfoy, get down on your knees, or I'll take her from you!'' Adrian was screaming, growling, and roaring. He was so intimidating he possibly could be, ''Now!''

So close.

Draco was so close to breaking free. To be back with her. To love her. To save her.

Oh, how he'd love her if he got another chance to do so.

''One!''

Her. Her. Her.

Her smile. Her laugh. Her eyes squinted in the morning sun when she rolled on her back, and he followed. His body glued to hers. Her fingers in his hair. Her lips on his neck. His hands on her body.

Amelie.

''Two!''

Malfoy fought it.

Oh, how he fought it. He battled his head. His heart slaughtered his mind. The darkness leveled. More gloom. More torture. More hurt.

Hurt.

He was hurting without her.

She was leaving.

Amelie.

His beautiful Amelie.

His. His. His. His Amelie.

Her. All of her. Always.

He loved her.

Draco loved Amelie.

But Amelie was leaving.

He couldn't love her when she was leaving. He couldn't have her when she wasn't there, when she wasn't his. He couldn't kiss her. He couldn't hold her. He couldn't hear her laugh. He couldn't see her smile. He couldn't watch her. He couldn't admire her.

He couldn't lose her.

He'd lost her enough this lifetime. He'd lost her enough for every lifetime he knew he would spend with her.

Her. Her. Her.

Always her.

Snapping his head. Draco peeled his lashes wide. He clenched his jaw, and he swallowed. Sweat rolled down his skin. His forehead was coated in it. His frame flushed yet ice cold. He laced his fingers tightly behind his head.

And then — then Draco Malfoy fell to his knees.

He dropped. He fell. He surrendered.

He won.

Draco won.

It left Adrian gawking, gasping for air as he watched how Malfoy's head fell forward. His chest violently heaving. Malfoy did it.

This was never about him making Draco jealous. Never about him seeing how much she hurt. This was about him and her. This was about them. Draco and Amelie. This was about Adrian, reminding Draco of how lucky he truly is. How much he had to fight for. What he had to lose if he didn't.

''It worked...'' Adrian whispered, shocked, ''It worked, Malfoy. It worked. You... you came back for her.''

''Where—'' Draco coughed out. His body frail and worn, letting his hands fall to his sides, ''Where is she?'' His head still hung, his shoulders sunken, ''Where is she?''

No time. He had no time.

Panic. Sky-rocketing pulse. Heartbeat pounding in his ears.

She was leaving.

It hit Adrian. The asked question. It's late. It's late, and Atlas has gone to bed. His eyes were broad in realization. His movements restrained as he backed away, ''I just—''

''No...'' Draco forced a shoe into the ground, only standing on one knee now, ''Is it raining?'' He asked, silently between the panting breaths, gripping his kneecaps. He remembered what she told him when she was down there, ''Was it raining today—''

''I don't—''

Malfoy stood tall. Rolling his neck and shoulders, before spat out the lump of blood in his mouth, wiping it away with his thumb and looking at the door that had kept them apart for over six weeks, ''I know where she is....''

______

The first step out on the yard hurt her more than she thought it would. It was raining. It was raining, and he wasn't there. It wasn't raining with him. It didn't feel like rain without him.

It felt like something heavy. Something that used to be there but wasn't anymore. Something missing. Something ghastly that visited her. Something she hoped would find its way back to her.

Her bag draped over her shoulder as she walked towards the roses Narcissa had planted in the tiny house made of glass in the far end of the property. She stopped. Amelie halted right outside it. Looking up at the skies and damning herself for doing this.

They wouldn't forgive her if she didn't make it back.

She couldn't go in. She couldn't go into where his mother had planted every single color of roses as she'd done in her own garden. One for each year he aged. One for a new year with him. Nineteen different shades of roses representing him. Draco. Her Draco.

Bringing her wand out from the waistband of her dress, she closed her eyes. She couldn't go in there. She couldn't take one step across the threshold of that glass house. She wouldn't be able to leave if she did.

And Amelie needed to leave.

She needed to save them. Raising her wand to the skies as it poured across her, soaking her in every memory she held of him, she inhaled. Pinching her lashes shut, clenching her fingers. She was leaving. She was saving them.

''App—''

''Amelie!''

Her heart stopped. It absolutely stopped beating. Not a pound. Not a beat. Nothing.

It was her hallucinating, she believed. It had to be. All she thought about was him. Draco. It wasn't strange she'd be hearing his voice before she left her life behind her.

Taking another breath, she closed her eyes again, whispering the magic.

''Amelie, for fucks—''

She turned around rapidly. Her hair smeared to her face, across her shoulders. She looked at him. It was him. She wasn't hallucinating. She wasn't imagining. She wasn't dreaming. It was Draco, standing feet away from her, shouting in the heavy downfall.

''Draco...'' She whispered, below her breath, her bag slipped down her arm, the strap rested in her grip while the rest slammed to the wet ground, ''No....''

She dropped it altogether, shaking her head as drops of water leaked around her, ''You can't do this....'' She breathed, feeling defeated, ''You can't—''

His shirt unbuttoned, his chest flexing, and his muscles angling. His hair drenched, his fingers dragged through it, ''Amelie....''

''No.'' She said again, harsher now, her bones crumbling. He wasn't here. He couldn't do this, ''No, Draco. Not now. Not when I decided. Not when I waited and—''

Taking a step closer, Amelie took one back. The rain struck the ground with force, nearly bouncing back up as they looked at each other.

Pain. Hurt. Heartbreak.

Never had she portrayed as shattered as she did now. It looked like Draco to her. It looked like the boy she loved more than words could be spoken or drawn on paper. The boy that carried her heart in the pads of his palms.

It surely seemed to be him. He had that glint, that tiny flicker in his icing eyes as they so roughly collided with bronze. He didn't stare through her anymore. He looked at her. Right at her.

''When?'' She asked, silently, keeping her distance.

''Just now,'' Draco took another step closer. His heart was racing. His pulse towering. She was so near him now. She was so close, and there wasn't a single urge to harm her. There wasn't an inside voice. There wasn't someone telling him to finish her, "Just now and I ran here—"

This was him. All him. All him, and all her.

''Draco—'' She whined, confused out of her own mind. She didn't understand a thing anymore. She'd said her goodbyes. She'd left him with the beliefs that she gave up. She had a plan. She had it all figured out. Never did she think he'd fight harder for her.

''No,'' Amelie took several steps back now. She couldn't fall for this. She was saving them, ''No. You can't do this. You can't do this to me. I said goodbye. I am leaving—''

Draco was so close to her. So close that her knees weakened by the scent of him. So close that if he came just an inch nearer, she'd kiss him. Looking up from below her lashes and the pearls of rain lined up across them, she tried to stand against it. Him.

''You're not leaving,'' Malfoy said. His voice was low, demanding, ''You're mine, and you're never leaving me again.''

''You hurt me,'' She managed to let out painfully. He did. He hurt her. Even if he didn't mean to, even if it wasn't him, in her mind — with her history, she still feared it, ''You hurt me so much.''

''I know I did,'' The rain muffled his hoarse note, ''I know I hurt you, and I'll pay for it. I'll spend the rest of my life regretting what I did to you, but that wasn't me, Amelie. That was a part of me that you fixed.''

Carefully, he traced his hand upwards, closer to her. She wanted to yank away. She wanted to haul back and leave. She wanted to save him, but she could never do that, ''Look,'' He said, gently pathing his thumb across her damp cheek, wiping a few drops of tears and nature off, ''I don't hurt you anymore.''

His touch was kind, humane, and bearable. It felt safe. It ached in her chest. Cracking and bursting, but it didn't hurt. Slowly, she allowed the weight of her head to tip against his palm, ''You feel safe....''

Draco could rupture on sight. Feeling as her body in small pieces, one at the time, caved into him. She was still his. She'd always be his Amelie, and this proved it.

Amelie had come such a long way that Draco himself had trouble understanding it. If this had been years ago — she'd fear him. She'd blame him, and she'd been manipulated into forgiving him, but this.

This wasn't even about forgiveness because she'd not once put the blame upon him. Amelie was so clear that this wasn't Draco. That this was darkness and that darkness she'd seen before. She had grown so much. More than anyone could ever think she would.

She was as free of her darkness as he was of his.

''Don't hate me,'' Draco's eyes begged for her mercy, even if he knew he didn't have to, ''Don't hate me for what I said to my mother. You know that I could never leave you.''

Rain soaked her clothes, dripping down her skin, ''I don't hate you,'' She admitted, quietly and she looked away, flooring her stare, ''I could never hate you for wanting peace.''

''You are my peace,'' Draco cupped her other cheek, pushing his thumbs underneath her jaw, and he forced her to look at him, ''You are my rest, my peace, my freedom, Amelie. You're it. You're it all. Everything I want. Everything I need. Everything I never thought I would need.''

Tears rolled uncontrollably from her eyes, flooding down.

Malfoy leaned in, lightly brushing his nose over the spine of hers, ''You're it, Amelie. You're the reason I was brought back to life. You're the reason I want to stay alive and the reason for when I decide to go, after you.''

She cried. She sobbed. She whimpered.

''Everything. A life without you wouldn't be worth it, but a life with you in it... Fuck — I can't imagine anything that could top that.''

Amelie finally found the strength to hold him back, slowly wrapping her arms around his waist. She shook her head, ''You're back?'' She gasped, ''You're back for good?''

''For you,'' He corrected, a shy curl on his lips, ''I'm back for you.''

She smiled, still crying. Her soul pinned his to the brim, and she kept him steady, ''You came back for me....''

''Always.''

Amelie didn't spare a second following that. Stretching up on her toes, she let her lips melt with his as nature wildly gushed around them.

''I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.'' He said. His lips desperately crashing against hers. Breaking. That's what he did. Draco broke, ''I love you. I love you, and I'll always come back for you.''

And she let him. Amelie let Draco love her. Nothing could ever compare to the love he poured across her torn soul as they stood bare and exposed in the thunderstorm, rising above them and ripping the skies apart — only to put them back together.

''I missed you,'' She whispered, her arms clinging around his neck, bringing him down to her level. He was so tall compared to her, ''Never leave me again,'' She pleaded. It was always him asking her that, but now it was her, ''Don't do this to me again. No more games. No more hiding plans from me.''

''No more,'' He pushed her spine against the glass behind her, savoring every piece of her he could. He touched her like she was godly. So gentle, so respectful, yet so longing, starving, thirsty, ''No more anything. Nothing else but you.''

''I love you,'' She finally said, and he cracked. He broke and melted. She loved him, ''I love you. I thought I'd die without you.''

''A part of me did,'' Slowing down, he bent back. Looking her straight in the eyes. Still, tears crowed. Filled with both relief and regret, ''A part of me died with those weeks without you. Everything I said, all the things I did... I hate myself for putting you through that.''

''Something kept me here,'' Amelie didn't know what, but something, similar to a force, begging her to stay beside him. Something urged for her not to give up, and she'd never felt it before. Usually, it was her, but this was more. This was as if something else, besides herself pleaded for it too, ''Something made me stay... It was a feeling.''

Humming, he pushed his lips to hers again, ''You stayed. You stayed after I hurt you. You stayed every damn day of those fucking weeks.''

''I said I would,'' She mumbled, quieted by his kisses, ''I will always stay. No matter what.''

Draco smiled into her mouth, letting his tongue battle hers, ''Really?''

She froze. She hadn't heard those words in what felt like years. He felt it, curving back from her, he met her glimmering eyes, moonlight from above alighted them, ''Say it back.''

Still, she hesitated, ''Draco....''

''Say it.''

Tilting her head to the side, she dusted. She shattered at the tips of his fingers as they traced gentle circles upon her. Giving her all the courage she could ever need, ''Really.''

Draco kissed her again. Harder this time. More demanding, more powerful. Fiercely yet so emotionally. He kissed her again. And again. And again.

Her back colliding with the glass-covered greenhouse behind her, and he lifted her. Wrapping her legs around his waist. She followed the movements willingly.

''Amelie,'' He doubted, ''Perhaps we shouldn't—''

''I want you,'' She whispered, starved of his touch. Deprived of everything they had missed out on over those weeks, ''I haven't had you. I never get to have you, Draco. The second I do, you're gone again. I just want to have you.''

He softened at that. His hands grazing across her frame, feeling every last inch of his girl, and he didn't spare a minute. Tugging her with him off the wall, he pushed his hand into the door of the greenhouse. The sound of pouring rain mirrored throughout the glass square, and the smell of fresh roses overwhelmed them both.

Draco kneeled down, and he placed her upon the dry grass in the tiny house, her hair brimmed in chaos over the greenery. Her skin was soft and soothing. He couldn't get enough, just looking at her — he could never get enough.

She smiled. She smiled like only she does. Her lashes battled, her clothing soaked from the thundering weather.

Pushing his dressed body in between her bare thighs, he settled an elbow against the grass, propping himself up, ''How I love you,'' He whispered, his body heavy on top of hers, ''How I fucking love you.''

''Really?'' She smirked playfully. Her fingers moving through his hair, spreading her thighs wider for him to sink closer. She needed him so close. Her Draco was back, and at last, she felt like it was worth it again. Life lighted in meaning. In hope. In that long-lost hope, she failed to feel for months. It was back. It was back because he was.

He came back for her.

''Really.'' He muttered, ramming his lips to hers. He kissed her again. Over and over. Everywhere. On her lips, on her chin, her cheek, her neck, her throat.

His forehead against hers, he felt her fingers slipping beneath his shirt, ''Amelie,'' He stopped her, kneeling back up, ''Are you sure? You're overwhelmed. A lot happened. I don't think—''

''I have never been more sure of anything....'' She let out, arching her spine off the grass, sitting up next to him, ''I know you think you broke me, Draco, but you being here again. You coming back to me, fixed everything.''

''I just—'' He rushed a ring-clad finger through his light strands, staring blankly at her through the darkness, ''I don't want you to do anything you'll regret. I don't want you to think that this is all I want from you. I didn't come back for your body, Amelie. I came back for you and that addicting head of yours.''

She smiled.

''I don't care about this,'' Malfoy kept going, reassuring her that she was enough, more than enough. He had said things he didn't mean. He lied while being chained and out of his mind. He said he cheated on her. He said he didn't want her like this. He lied, and he craved for her to know that ''I care about you and I—''

''Shhh...'' She hushed him, still with that gracious curl on her swollen lips, her cheeks stained in a feverish color, ''If you don't want me, it's okay. You must be tired. We can go inside—''

''Want you?'' He scowled, his brows dragged together, ''You don't think I want you?''

''I know you do,'' She fired back, frowning, ''I know you want me, but you've been through a lot. I don't even know what Adrian had to do to get you back. I don't know what you've done—''

''You,'' Draco let his shoulders rest, his hands lingered on her bare thighs, ''He showed me us. He showed me every last memory I had of you. Good and bad. He made me relive them, over and over until I couldn't be without you.''

Her breaths hitched. Only the sound of rain hammering against the glass rang in her ears.

''You saved me,'' He whispered, inaudibly almost, ''Again, Amelie. You save me every damn time.''

Shoving her palms into the soil underneath her, Amelie clung to him. Her arms found his neck, her lips forced to his. She was the one kissing him now, ''Tell me,'' She whined, feeling his hands as they traveled underneath her shirt, ''Tell me what you saw.''

''I saw you,'' He growled into her mouth, teeth clasping, ''Sixth year when you stood leaning against that wall outside of potions... You looked—'' He didn't find the patience to unbutton her blouse. Draco ripped it apart.

She gasped at the chilly air, smoothly spotting her heated skin. The buttons clinkered along with the glass.

''Like a fucking angel,'' He murmured, tipping her head to the side with his nose as he kissed his way down her throat, over her chest, ''You looked like a fucking angel, and if I didn't know better, I'd think I fell in love with you right there and then.''

Shivers. Shivers raced down her spine as he flipped them over. Her back once again struck the grass.

''I saw you in that school uniform, and fuck me—'' He grunted, kissing down her stomach. Staying and pausing across the scars she carried. He kissed them again. Honoring them. Praising her. Over and over, ''Fucking hell, Amelie. I wished you were mine.''

''I am—''

''Back then,'' He cut her short, kissing the scar across her belly, ''I wished you were mine back then. I would've done anything for you. I would've taken you away from there, from all of them.''

Her spine arched off the grass, her fingers tangled into his hair, ''Draco, you already do everything for me.''

''I saw you in between my sheets,'' He huffed out, half-chucking at the remembrance of how far they'd come, ''In the manor, before Christmas. You looked like an angel between my sheets.''

''Please—'' She breathed. His hands traced goosebumps all over her, ''Draco—''

Looking up at her, he rolled his tongue along the inside of his cheek as he reached the hem of her skirt and underwear, ''Goddess....''

Squirming. Amelie squirmed underneath him.

He did the same thing to her skirt as he'd done with her blouse. He ripped it to pieces. He had been gentle with her in the past. He was as gentle with her now, but at the same time — he was so close to losing her.

Amelie was Draco's. Every single thing. Every breathtaking inch of her body was his.

He lowered himself, still fully dressed above her, and he placed one of her knees over his shoulder, ''My Amelie....'' He hummed in sync with her ragged breathing, ''My beautiful Amelie.''

Her lashes fluttered shut. Her mind flooded as his mouth melted with her core. He used slow, emotional strokes across her. Flicking his tongue from time to time as he caught her moans. Silent strings of symphony to his ears. He could never grow tired of that. Hearing her moan for him.

Her fingers tousled his hair, grasping at the roots of his blond strands when he put more pressure upon her. He was quiet. He usually spoke so much during this, but he didn't now. Neither of them did. They took it in now.

They let their bodies speak for them. Moving in concur. Harmony balanced between them as he pleased her. He honored her again. He always did that. He praised her body, every perfect inch of it, he worshipped.

Amelie was falling apart. She was falling and collapsing and crashing. She was melting underneath him. He had his ways with her. He knew when to swirl his tongue, when to go slow, when to increase. He knew her.

''Draco,'' Amelie cried out, squared with the rain as it poured. Their rain. He caught it. He caught her with his lips. He caught her on his tongue. He caught her. She was everywhere now.

The hand she had nestled into his hair, he grasped at it, and he tangled their fingers together as he leaned back up, hovering over her as she dragged his shirt off his arms softly. He kissed her.

Over and over.

Pinning one of her arms above her head, she used the other one to unbuckle his pants, still kissing. Never stopping. Peck following peck. On his mouth, on hers. On his jaw. On her neck. On his shoulder. On her chest. On his cheek. On her nose. They kissed and kissed.

Oh, how they'd missed each other.

''Amelie—'' He whispered, brushing his nose against hers, kissing the tip of it, ''We don't have to.''

''I want to,'' She pushed his boxers down, using her legs to thread them down his ankles until he was as bare as she was, ''I will never stop wanting you.''

''Even after everything I've done?'' He asked, scared for her answer, yet he wished to know, ''I couldn't blame you if you stopped wanting me. You deserve more.''

''I don't care,'' She gasped, ''I don't care what you think I deserve or not. I want you. I need you. I am in love with you. I love you.''

It soothed every sin within the coat of his damned skin. It calmed the mighty ocean inside him. It slaughtered every devil. She loved him. She was still in love with him. She always would be.

She couldn't imagine a life where she wasn't. This life, the next, a completely different than this one, in another universe — she'd love him all the same.

It would always, no matter where they were, no matter what pain she was living under, what regime ruled, which weather stormed outside, it would always be him to her.

Nailing his sight in hers from above, he lowered his whole self. Her legs splayed, her thighs spreading. He took himself in his palm, and he led his erection to where they both needed him to be. Amelie whimpered at the feeling of him sliding inside her. He was careful. Slow and steady.

He was measured and calculated. Draco pushed forward. Her body adjusting and following.

''I love you,'' He kissed her again before leaning his forehead to hers, still looking at her. Never did he stop looking at her. Every twitch of her eyebrows he wanted to see, every curl her mouth made, every breath leaving her lips, ''I am so unbearably in love with you. That never stopped. It will never stop.''

Amelie held onto him as he dove into her. Filling her up and working inside her. They didn't do this often. They barely earned a chance to do so. The world was crumbling, falling apart around them. Yet, they strived to find the small, tiny pieces of heaven in between their very own hell.

He groaned into her mouth. She was driving him crazy. Her nails scratching his back. Her neck as it arched and her lips as they found his shoulders. She bit, she kissed, she praised.

Amelie traded his torture with love. She marked him with her. She left bruises, little ones. She made sure that if he ever looked in a mirror following this — he'd see his hell. He'd see his sins, but he'd see her too.

She'd be there. She'd always be there.

Her hair leaked wildly around her. Her spine brushing against the grass she was placed on with every thrust he granted. He drove deeper into her. Harder. Faster. Her moans urged him on. Her nails clawing at his skin for release. Her lashes as they battled.

Draco made her feel good. More than good. So good.

He loved her. Looking down at her, his eyes falling upon the parted lips she possessed, her skin as it blushingly shifted in color — how exposed she was. How bare she was for him.

His life was hell. His life was a nightmare. Abyss. Suffering. Anguish. Torture. He'd killed. He'd murdered. He'd sinned. He'd ripped souls to pieces. He'd seen the light as it drained from the human eye. He'd enjoyed watching mortals fade. He'd been broken. Shattered. Torn. He'd been everything but whole.

But looking. Watching. Scanning as she laid there, underneath him as he reached further, marking her his, over and over — he doubted he was ever as ripped apart as he believed himself to be. Perhaps he was whole.

He wasn't unbroken. Unharmed. Uninjured. Undamaged. Untouched. But perhaps he wasn't broken. Perhaps it was a bump in the road. Something on its way to greatness. Something more. Something that wasn't ripped to pieces. Peace. Her. Peace with her. Peace because of her. Amelie. She saved him. He saved her.

She moaned again. Let out that heavenly sound he could hear forever. It sounded from the back of her throat, silently yet so filled with power. Draco made her powerful.

''Beautiful.'' He groaned, his body tingling. His skin lathered in sweat—pearls of it. Drops of liquid as their bodies moved in sync. Together. Always together. Pulling away and wetting his lips, he slammed them against hers again. So forcefully yet so devotedly, ''My beautiful girl.''

Amelie hummed, her vocals not coming to the words she sought to speak. It leveled in a gasp. A hum. A noise that made him shiver. A sound that would stay with him forever.

He pulled back, his body easing the friction from hers for so a second before he was back at the same place. Rolling his hips into hers. Crashing and falling. Colliding and hitting. He bucked and rocked and rolled, and moved. She followed and altered. Her hands roaming his body, his fingers tensing into her.

He was kissing her jaw again, down her neck as she cried out. Rain mirrored. The world was hushed. Them. It was just them for a second. The sphere, the verity of what they lived in, let them have each other like that. Tangled. Raveled. Tied. Never had she been as happy as she was now. Bounded. Chained to someone as she was to him.

Amelie was reaching her peak. Gathering her high as he filled her. He kept rolling into her. She was wrapped around him. Knotted and snarled around the boy she loved. Gasping and musing. She didn't have much more to give. Draco noticed. Neither did he.

''With me,'' Malfoy breathed, his lips traveled across her shoulder. The hand that wasn't holding him up above her moved up her thigh as he gripped it, and he pulled her even closer. Needing to be nearer, ''Come with me.''

Nodding, her face was so relaxed. She was weak for him but not as weak as he was for her. If weakness were considered strength and not the thing causing you to kneel ahead of your sinner — he'd be the most powerful wizard to walk their earth. He was so weak for her. And it made him so dynamic.

''With you,'' Amelie let out, hushed and out of breath, ''I'm always with you.''

Draco kissed her. His forehead tipped to hers, ''Now,'' He said, driving in and out of her steadily.

She did. Amelie fell. She shook. She trembled. She came. She let go for him, with him, near him.

Euphoria rose within her. Her veins lighted with it. Her limbs shaking. Her nerves alighted, ''I love you, Draco.'' She let go with it, and that was what it took for him.

Thunder. Lightning. Tempest. Blast. Gust. Sun. Wind. Cloudburst. Rain. Everything. That's how it felt to him, coming as undone as she'd done. Letting go of himself and be with her. Inside her. Her. She was everywhere.

His head fell to the soft place between her shoulder and neck. He loved it there. Safety. It felt safe to him, and he said something. He murmured something against her skin. Her chest was heaving with his. Rising and falling. Just like they'd done.

''What?'' Amelie swallowed the lump of relief as it massed in the back of her throat. Her fingers touched his flexing spine, ''You said something—''

He repeated it. This time she caught it. She heard it. She heard him and the damned words he was speaking.

''Draco—''

And again. He said it again.

She couldn't quite understand it. Grasp what he was doing as he laid on top of her, now looking at her again. Pinning her soul with his cold eyes.

It turned silent for her. She could see his lips parting. He said it again. She simply couldn't get it through her head. She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve him.

His love was raw. Honest. Heartbreaking. He loved her so much. She could never deserve that.

''Please,'' Draco kissed her upper lip, brushing his nose against hers.

Amelie blinked. She blinked so slowly. Savoring him. Remembering him. Memorizing him. Him. Her Draco.

His heart missed its beat when he watched that tiny curl in the corner of her mouth. She was smiling. He made her smile. He was panting, his sight flickering all across her angelic self. Perfect. She was perfect like this. He couldn't have this question being asked at any other time than this one.

Underneath the pouring rain and still above her. Amelie's bare body glued to his. Perfect. It was perfect.

''Don't...'' She whispered. Amelie was so scared. So incredibly frightened to lose him again, ''Don't promise me anything. Not yet. Not until we know that we'll make it out of this.''

She couldn't imagine a life with him after this until she was sure they'd have it. Amelie didn't want to get her hopes up again. Not until she knew.

Malfoy studied her. His pupils were blown and his sight intense, ''I won't.'' He said. He understood. He was scared too, ''I won't, but you know what I want now. You know what I want and what I need, and that's you, for the rest of my god damn life.''

She smiled. She smiled as she sheeted him with her arms. Guarding him with the strength, she still carried. The tiny ounce of it she still had, she gave to him until there wasn't anything left of her.

_____

''You're a fucking bastard,'' Draco growled from across the room, holding himself from throwing a spell and paralyzing the boy he argued with, ''You're a vile excuse of a human—''

''That's enough, Draco,'' Narcissa tried to meddle, but without luck. Malfoy was furious, ''Think about Atlas. He's in the house, and I don't want him to hear—''

''I don't care right now,'' He tried to tame himself, not lashing out, ''I can't have him here. I don't want him here. I want him out. Gone, mother.''

''Well,'' Narcissa fired back, settling her hands on her hips and glaring at her son, ''That's not up to you, is it? I want Adrian here. Amelie, Atlas — Theo wants him here too—''

''Of course, he does,'' Draco quirked a brow, dryly staring at the two brunets, ''I don't care what you want. I want him out. I don't want him anywhere near her.''

Malfoy had tried working along with Adrian. He sought to function and to strive next to him, but he couldn't. He couldn't do that when he saw how Adrian touched her from time to time. An arm over her shoulders, a hand glued to her lower back. He even caught him kiss her head.

That's when he lost it. He hated Adrian for touching her. She wasn't his to touch, to feel, nor to kiss.

They had, despite the fact that they lived to be obvious rivals, gotten along well—all of them. Even Narcissa agreed to keep Adrian's well-being a secret. It had to be a secret. It was their secret. They could use him.

They needed him as some sort of secret weapon. If the war closed in faster and harsher than they were prepared for, they'd have Adrian. They'd have Adrian to help and save them. He knew more. Not as much as Draco did, but he possessed a great deal of knowledge. So that was what they did.

All of them hid Adrian from the world, and they wished to everything that he could assist them in finding Atlas and Amelie's mother.

That's what they did for six weeks. Every day following Draco's release from underneath the darkness, they looked, they searched, they located, but they never found. They never found her mother. Not as much of a clue. No sign. Nothing.

Athena and the Dark Lord were nowhere to be found.

It angered the blond. It piled up along with everything else he felt so responsible for until there barely was anything left of him. Malfoy felt like he failed her, over and over. Again and Again.

Amelie was distant. He'd noticed. She was there, but she wasn't. It was as if she held missing in her own head. Especially the three later weeks she struggled, she stayed clear of everyone, and he didn't know why.

Draco couldn't grasp why she would act the way she did. She locked herself into the bathroom for hours, and he could hear her cry. When she wasn't playing with Atlas or reading to him — she hid. She made herself small, tiny. She didn't want to be there. She didn't want to be close to anyone.

On certain days she even avoided Atlas. So Draco took over instead. Usually, he played the piano with the little boy. Her brother loved it at night. Listening and falling asleep to the sound of Draco playing for him.

There were days the world turned too heavy for the boy too. Nights where he came running into their room, crying and shaking from nightmares of his mother not being there anymore. Amelie ever so allowed him to crawl beneath the sheets and sleep close to her even if she wasn't herself.

''That's not up to you, Draco,'' Her tone came unexpectedly from behind, hewing them all off as they stared blankly at her. Not used to her voicing anything anymore, ''That's up to Teddy. If he wants him here—''

''Like hell it is,'' Draco scowled, disappointed in her for not taking his side, ''I don't care—''

''Well, I do,'' Amelie cut him short, shaking her head at him as she slammed her fists into the table. She stood up, sighing, ''He let you stay at the cabin when he wasn't sure of you — after you kicked me out of the Manor. Adrian saved both of our lives, and then he saved you, so a bit of gratitude wouldn't hurt Draco.''

''What the hell is up with you?'' He said, not thinking straight. Not clear that the room was filled with their family, ''You can not expect me to be okay with him being here, touching you like he's been—''

''I forgave you, didn't I?'' Amelie spoke. He didn't recognize her. This wasn't her. She was hiding something, ''I forgave you for trying to drown me in our own bathtub, Draco. The least you can do is give Teddy the courtesy of a chance of happiness.''

Even Teddy gasped now. Adrian stared at her wide-eyed. Neither of the three boys had a clue to what was happening with her. Meanwhile, Narcissa tipped her head. She studied the insecure girl, and it didn't take her more than ten seconds to figure out what Amelie was going through.

''Amelie—'' Draco tried to reach out to her, but she'd already marched her way through the doors, leaving all of them behind.

Adrian and Theodore turned to each other as Draco spun around, confused. Scratching the back of his head, ''What the hell....'' He mumbled before he ran after her.

''Amelie,'' Draco meant to soothe her, but it only caused her to tense more as he stormed into their room, slamming the door shut behind him, ''What the hell was that?''

She didn't look at him. She stood with her back facing him. Amelie couldn't look at him even if she wanted to.

Feeling as if she'd failed him. Failed herself. She was so lost. She was so so lost in what she was meant to do.

''Amelie,'' His note was soft, quiet, ''Talk to me please.''

She didn't. Amelie heard how he stepped closer from behind her. She couldn't move. She tried to step away, but her body wasn't moving.

''What happened?'' Draco was desperate now. He gave her space. For weeks as the world shifted darker, uncertain — he gave her all the space he believed she needed, but he couldn't do that anymore. He didn't want her to work through this alone. Amelie always helped him. He wanted to help her too, ''Please, talk to me.''

Pinching her eyes shut, she stood by the window. The air in her lungs ceased the minute she felt his arms wrapping around her. He coated the whole of her with himself.

She needed him. She needed him more than she'd ever done, but she couldn't speak. Unable to shape the words she meant to form, she stayed hushed.

Draco held her closely. His heart was breaking for her.

''You know I'm here, Amelie. I'll always be here.'' Trying to make her sure, he kissed the back of her head, ''You can talk to me. You don't have to hide from me.''

''I'm—'' She breathed her words, ''I'm sorry.''

Draco kissed her head again. Meaning to turn her around in his arms, but she didn't follow. She stayed like that. His arms across her body, ''You have nothing to apologize about.''

She didn't. Yet, it felt like she did. She felt like she had the whole world to apologize for.

''Is it about me?'' Malfoy asked, his voice harder, displeased with himself, ''Is it about us? Do you want me to leave?''

Shaking her head, she finally tucked her arms around his, holding him back. She at last held him back, ''It's about us....''

Draco's heart stopped.

She didn't think she could do this. She didn't believe she was meant for this. She was scared. She was so scared. So terrified. So in pain. But she was also happy. Happier than she'd ever been because one night, three weeks ago, she found something out.

Sitting on the edge of the bathtub, Amelie was shaking. Her whole self shook out of control. She didn't have any command over herself. Her bones crumbled. Her skin shivered.

''Please don't be true....'' She whispered to herself in the steam of the heated water. Not wishing to go through this alone, but she didn't want to bring him into it yet. Not until she was certain.

Lifting her wand, she whispered the trails of spells to reveal if it indeed was true. What she feared since the night they spent in the greenhouse. Since he won. Since he came back to her.

Light shone brightly around her. She didn't dare to look yet. Not yet. One more second in doubt. One more minute of not knowing. Just one more.

Inhaling so sharply that it caused her to cough out, she looked at the colors, and she read them.

She cried. Amelie burst out in tears, slipping down into the water.

Even if this was the end of her, the final destination of her sanity — she smiled. She smiled through her tears.

Bittersweet, she thought to herself as she heard the sound. The sound she hoped she'd hear one day. She heard it now, and it tore her heart to pieces. But at the same time, it put her back together.

Malfoy hated himself at this moment. Absolutely loathed everything about the situation. He couldn't help her. All he wished was to help her. Helpless. He felt like he was helpless.

''I'm sorry,'' She untangled herself from his arms, and she turned around in her shoes, looking at him with space between them now. Her skin was pale. Sickly ashen, almost, ''I'm so sorry for this.''

''Is it about me?'' Draco questioned her again, sticking his hands in his pockets. He stared at her, but she simply gazed at the ground, ''Is it about that night? In the rain? What I didn't ask you?''

''Draco—''

''Is it?'' Sounding severe, he gritted his jaws, ''Because I wanted to, Amelie. I have wanted to ask you every day since then. Every day before.''

''Not like this, Draco. You—''

He walked away. He strode into the closet, cursing underneath his breath before he came back out with a black velvet box in his hand. Oh, how she'd thought about that tiny box ever since he told her about it months ago.

''Draco, don't—''

She had tears that rimmed in the lids of her eyes. Pearls of both confusion and happiness as she scanned him. His hair was sleekly done over his head. His suit fitted him far too well. His chest flexing. His shoulders were straight and tense. He was so ready for this.

He had waited almost a year for this. He wanted to do this, to ask her that very special question ever since he fell in love with her. Ever since he crashed and stumbled into loving her.

This was what Draco was meant to do. This was what he'd worked so hard for.

Dropping to one knee, he stared up at her. Hope and future looped in his eyes, ''I had a whole speech prepared for this....'' He huffed, a curl twitched in the corner of his mouth, ''I had this whole thing planned. I wanted to tell you all about my feelings for you but looking at you now... I don't know what to say.''

Amelie cried. Tears fell from her eyes, rolling down her chin as he leaned forward. His forehead rested against her stomach.

Her stomach.

''That's how it's like,'' He said, ''Loving you is like that, Amelie. Speechless. I'm speechless around you all the time. Your love leaves me breathless.''

She cried even more now. She wanted to tell him. She just wished to tell him her secret.

Draco closed his eyes, feeling her fingers as they brushed across his hair, ''And I wouldn't have it any other way, Amelie. I am so in love with you. I am so damn and bloody in love with you that it hurts. It hurts loving you.''

Amelie sobbed out. One of her hands stayed stroking his hair while the other muffled the sound of her cries. She wasn't sad. These weren't sad tears. These were heartbreaking tears—unresolved ones.

Draco arched his neck. Something broken within him was put together when he saw her again, ''I love you, Amelie. I have always been yours, and you will forever be mine.''

Shaking her head, her hair leaked so messily around them. He moved just an inch as he lifted that box in between them. Feeling small drops of her tears landing on his hands.

Draco was nervous. He was so so nervous.

Lifting the lid, the exposed diamond ring he'd so carefully picked out for her was on display, and it caused her vision to turn dizzy. She couldn't see anymore. She was crying too much.

Malfoy felt tears in his own eyes as he let the tips of his fingers coat the ring, and he raised it to her, ''Amelie....''

''Draco, please—''

Standing up, one arm placed around her. He held her again. He kept her steady. He always did that, but he did so for his own sake as well because no matter how steady he kept her — she balanced him more.

His eyes. Those icing, freezing eyes pierced through hers. Silver daring bronze, almost. He stared into her soul. Finding places within her and saving her from drowning without her even realizing it.

She could feel his breaths on her lips. His eyes were watery from his own tears. He was so close now. She wanted to cave. She needed to cave. He needed her to cave. She caved.

A slight tip of her head gave him all the permission in the world to do what he so longingly wanted to do. He was meant to do this. Loving her. It was all his reasons. She was all his reasons. All the good, all the bad. All of it. Always.

She looked at that ring he held, then she looked at him, she was shaking.

It was time.

She had to tell him. It was his too. Hers and his. Them. Fused and mixed together. A beautiful piece of them both. Agony and suffering crossed into joy and bliss. Rain and storm merged with sun and warmth.

Amelie and Draco. Only them. Finally. This was theirs. He loved her. She loved him. They would love what they'd created too. They had to.

''Marry me.''

''I'm pregnant.''

_____