This chapter contains mentions of death and emotional trauma. Please read with caution.

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''I love you. I love you. I love you.''

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Amelie gaped unheedingly. Not a string of emotion played on her startled features as she stared at him, noticing how he'd propped himself up on one elbow, the other arm rested across the toned muscles smeared into this torso.

Draco reached a hand towards her, but she pulled away vacantly. Her movements restrained.

''Amelie—'' Malfoy breathed, faintly shaking his head, ''Amelie, what—''

He couldn't think properly. It was all a faded mess to him — watching as her head cleared after weeks in sleep.

''No,'' The girl managed to choke out, tugging the covers over her body to conceal herself. Her nightdress wrapped around her along with the pearly sheets of the bed, ''You died...''

Her knuckles paled as she gripped the fabric of the bed linen. Her sight was mangled with his. She couldn't look away, even if the fusion of tears and exhaustion stung in her eyes. Amelie sought to shake her head, to flee back to reality.

Draco wasn't here. He couldn't be.

''You—'' Her eyelids fluttered. Her words left in stutters, ''I saw you die — you died.''

One of her hands moved up to grasp at her own throat, easing the slumping feeling she seemed to be stuck in. Her bones caved, ''You're not here. I held you, I saw you—''

Amelie's teeth clamped together tightly as she tried not to break down, not to take her eyes off him, ''You're not here.''

The parched palms of her hands pushed against her ears as her hues shut. She was banning the world, closing off every detail around her, to find her own voice in her head.

''You're not here.''

There was no natural way for this to be valid. This couldn't happen. Nature didn't work this way. Teddy had taught her that no matter which type of magic there is, coming back from the dead is as rare as anything. There wasn't a way —not a harmless one, at least.

''You're not here.''

All she saw was darkness against the thin flesh of her eyelids, but she didn't dare to open her eyes. What if he was gone again? What if she'd lost the person she sacrificed herself for?

Her heartbeat dwelled on, roughly within her chest as her breaths turned heavy.

''You're not here.''

Amelie craved to persuade herself that it wasn't real. That the truth didn't rest in him laying beside her. She had watched Draco exhale his last breath. She had felt his body as it cooled in her arms. She has seen the blood draining him of life.

He died.

''You can't be—''

Amelie flinched back, peeling her solidly squeezed eyes open at the touch he'd brought her. The warm, healing feeling of his hand as it closed around her wrist, and he lowered one of her arms from her ear.

Draco looked at her. Not through her, not away, nothing in between. He stared right at her.

Her head shook at a leisurely pace as she studied him. The crease in his cheek that she'd failed to notice before, the blond hair that had grown inches longer since she last paid attention to it, the grey eyes that consumed her whole being.

Amelie didn't dare to give in. To cave into what she thought she was watching — to see that boy, her boy, sitting in front of her, the muscles of his chest heaving as the veins in his neck popped out.

He died. This couldn't be real.

''Amelie...'' Draco's hand slipped down her arm, tracing goosebumps along her soft skin, moving tenderly to cup her gritted jaws, ''I am here.''

Malfoy's voice was so soft that she believed herself to be floating on feathers. It was a symphony to her ears, a line of heaven as she heard his tone.

''No—'' Amelie's head tilted to match the palm of his hand, leaning the whole weight of her head into it, ''You can't be here. I saw you die and then—''

Her eyes flickered as her lips parted.

It hit her.

Amelie died too.

She shoved herself back over the mattress as her fingers trailed over her dress, grasping at her own body, feeling her arms, her neck, her legs, her chest, her stomach. She could feel her whole self, yet it felt so foreign to her.

Unfamiliar in ways she couldn't rise to educate.

Her skin had healed, only dimmed shapes of bruises  and scars covered her frame, everything had faded, slowly, unnoticeably into her body.

''How am I—'' Her voice held superficially thin, inaudible almost as her tragic scan fell to watch her shaking hands. All Amelie could remember was how they once, not too long ago, were drenched in Draco's blood, mixed with her own.  

Her palms rammed over her figure, heaving for air as she tugged her shirt up, and there it was. The immense, lightly flushed scar from the blade she'd forced into her own chest. It was healed, unexplainably. Her fingers brushed past it, and it didn't hurt anymore.

''No—'' Amelie sighed, breathy as her pants left her throat in seeps. She tried to bring herself justice, but she couldn't comply. Nothing was sensible when it crossed this.

Amelie died.

She couldn't be here. There was no logical explanation for her to wake up in Draco's bed again. There was no reasonable clarification as to how this happened.

Amelie's eyes flickered to face him as he sat up against the headboard of their bed, his chest exposed between the sheets, and her doings faltered. All she could do was look at him.

Look at that breathtaking boy who once stole her heart and turned all the evil things in her life for the better. He saved her, every time — even from herself.

Malfoy would always save her.

''Is this—'' She swallowed the cry she felt in the back of her throat, along with the stinging sensation in her chest. It hurt so much to be held in all of that denial, ''Am I dead? Is it what this is? I'm dead?''

"Is this some wicked game? Did I die? Am I dead?"

Draco looked at her softly as he gently shook his head. He didn't know how to do this, how to not tell her everything at once, but he couldn't push her — he was terrified to do so, in case he lost her all over again,

''You did, but you're not anymore.''

It took all of him not to throw himself at her right there and then. Not to lock his arms around her and never let her go again. It robbed him of the last piece of patience he held when it came to her.

He had fought, more than he'd ever done before, and here she was — sitting in front of him, lucid. Her eyes sparkled in the early morning sun, and her hair held messier than it had ever been, but he didn't care.

Hell, nothing could ever compare to that messy morning hair of hers.

"I'm here," He inhaled. A silent moment slipped him as he stared at her, savoring every last piece of her beautiful self, "I want to show you something."

His hand reached out towards her across the mattress, landing right where she was seated. The mark inked in his arm showed clearly, and she caught onto it, even if she'd seen it so many times before.

The veins embedded into his ashen skin were put on full display for her as she remembered how she used to stroke along with them in his sleep.

Amelie hesitated for several long moments. She paused her breathing just to gaze over his arms. She adored them. They always folded so protectively around her body when she needed it the most, and that frightened her to the fullest.

That this wasn't real. That her head was taunting her and that he wasn't truly here. She wanted to believe it. She tried so hard to do so, but it still ached a pushing storm of pain throughout her.

Her palm, slowly, touched his as he let his fingers grip around her hand, gently dragging her closer.

Amelie crawled on her knees towards him, not letting the stare of his hand around hers go. She was terrified that if she did — he would fade away from her, all over again.

Draco stopped, loosening the grip he had of her as he angled her hand in his, and he placed it right where his heart was beating. Giving her a minute to adjust, allowing her fingertips to stroke along his skin before her eyes finally flickered to his.

"I'm right here," It was a plea, a begging for her to understand that he was alive, next to her. He wasn't going anywhere, "I promise you that I'm right here."

Her eyes squinted slightly as her sight dropped to his chest, watching it heave. Falling and rising in path with hers.

Her knees smoothly inched closer, and a shaking breath filled her restricted lungs. Her lower lip quivering as she met his grey hues again.

"You're really here?" Her tone was so low, breathy as she felt her heartbeat soften and the swelling of it in her ears faded, "Are you really here, Draco?"

His veins soared in warmth by her, yet again, speaking his name. It was something about the way she said it, so effortlessly — soothing all of the hurt he felt.

Malfoy studied that look in her eyes, that small glimmering of her in them. He'd seen it all along, every day since she woke up from her weeks in a heavy sleep, but this was different.

This was really her.

The girl who learned to master her worth, the girl who knew how loved and cared for she was. The girl who lost everything, including herself and the girl who fought, with every last piece of bravery left inside that fragile cage of her chest, to get it back.

He was amazed by her, even when she sat in front of him, with the bright beams of dawn in her nightdress. She'd never stop astonishing him.

Draco was so proud of her as he let his gaze drag across her. She battled. Her whole life was a never-ending fight with all the demons that claimed to love her — yet she did it so gracefully.

The most considerable thing in all of it wasn't that he got her back but that she owned herself again.

His Amelie.

"I am," He breathed, stroking his thumb along the spine of her shaking hand, "I'm right here, and I'm never letting you go ever again."

Amelie smiled a heartbreaking, courageous smile and how he'd missed it. That beautiful smile of hers, how her eyes lit up as her lips arched.

She could feel how her throat caved in on her. The skin coating her body vibrated as her bones crumbled, ''It's real?'' Her note was airy.

Her eyes hooded as they pleaded his, ''Tell me it's real. Please...'' She begged, ''Just tell me it's real and I'll—''

Draco's head tilted slightly. His unveiled chest flexed as he gifted her with a warm look. A mantle that was so unfamiliar to her, she hadn't seen it in months.

''This is real,'' He promised. The honesty dripping off his tongue caused a jolt of electricity to push through her vessels. It was as if it became clear to her as if she'd finally woken up.

Amelie didn't spare another second before she drew her hand out of his hold. She tossed herself over him. Her knees on each side of his hips as her hands sheeted around his neck, straddling him.

She always did that. It was her way of having him as close as she possibly could.

The tips of her fingers tangled into the blond strands, and he groaned at the feeling. Draco loved when she did that.

Malfoy wrapped his arms around her body entirely as he buried his head into that tiny space in-between her collarbone and the brim of her neck. His favorite place to be. It felt peaceful, sensing the little flares of her pulse-pounding.

Amelie's chest arched closely to his, granting him all access to her body as she, without doubt, pushed her lips into his head. Tears rolled down her skin as she whimpered, ''You're alive,'' Her fingers clawed at his shoulders, holding onto him with every last piece of herself.

Her hands explored his skin, feeling it thoughtfully, every last inch of it, ''You're alive,'' She whispered to herself, ''You're here—''

It was a cracking in her voice as she leaned back, and she could feel his breaths mixed with hers again, ''You're here, Draco.''

Malfoy huffed out. His jaws gritted as his large hands traveled over her spine, feeling the silky material of her dress. He couldn't possibly have enough of her.

Amelie felt herself as she calmed down. Her nerves eased out of the panic that had befallen her earlier. Her breathing slowed in bearing with his.

She mildly let her hands sweep across his chest, feeling every outlined thew in his skin, over his shaped collarbones until she reached his jaw. Now it was her, taking his face in her hands like he always did to her.

The coldness of the silver hugging her wrist stained his cheek as she stroked his skin.

Her head shook. She smiled a genuine, honest, frail smile. He could tell by that glint in her eyes, the one that gone missing but still remained all along.

Draco wrapped his arms around her, dragging her as close as he could. Her knees soothed against the sheets as he sealed the longing space between them entirely. His forehead tipped to Amelie's, and he let his nose brush along the spine of hers.

God, how he'd missed her.

He felt her thumbs trembling as they skimmed over his lips, past his cheeks, and down to his jaws. In no reality could she possibly stop looking at him. Even if she tried, she could never be able to peer away.

Amelie's breath slightly ragged as she, without warning, leaned even closer, ''I love you,'' She blurted out, quietly, unconsciously almost, but she didn't mind.

She meant it.

Draco's chin rose, his eyes hooked with hers. His whole body heated. All that coldness of her missing — went away the very instant he'd caught her saying his name.

He felt a smile as it curved onto his lips, and without another second wasted, Amelie pushed her lips against his, ''I love you.''

She kissed him again.

''I love you.''

Again.

''I love you.''

Again.

Draco held her so close, tasting the flavor of her every time their lips collided, and he smiled into the constant path of kisses. He couldn't suppress that arch on his mouth any longer.

''My Amelie,'' Draco mumbled, ripping their lips apart as he gripped her cheeks, slightly bending her head back to caress her throat, ''I love you.''

He kissed her skin, her bruises, and her scars softly as he moved down to her collarbones, stroking his nose past the brim of her shoulder, ''I love you.''

Draco repeated it, letting one of his hands sneak its way down her side before safety landing on her hip, and his fingers tensed as he felt her bare skin beneath the hunched-up nightdress.

The straps of it had fallen off her arms, and he breathed the scent of her in, burying his features into her soft skin. He couldn't get enough.

''Draco...'' Amelie whimpered, her hands slipped through his hair, pulling him as close as she could, whispering into his head, ''I missed you. I missed you. I missed you so—''

''Say it again,'' Malfoy groaned against her, leaning back against the headboard again, creating a modest space between them, ''Say it—''

''Draco,'' She smiled, ''Draco, Draco, Draco.'' Her head tilted as the strands of her hair followed the movement. She gave in to his arms ultimately and brushed her nose against his, ''My Draco.''

His hand flicked across the shell of her ear as he tucked a wavy strand behind it, without once taking his eyes off her.

They rested there for several moments — simply holding, touching each other with everything they had, and once again, not a word could be shared between them that spoke louder than their acts did.

Silence hovered as she took him in, memorized every single element upon him so that she would never misremember him again. So that he was glued to her mind and burned to her soul. So that he could never lose her.

''So...'' Amelie rose a brow, ''Draco is it—''

She squealed, being hewed off by his loud huff and his arms as they flipped them around, nailing her body into the mattress, ''What was that?'' He gritted, his eyes snapping, ''Was that you... taunting me?''

Amelie's cheeks blushed, a rosy color spread across her skin as he smirked, ''Perhaps...'' Her lower lip sucked in between her teeth before her neck arched, and she connected their lips all over again.

He groaned into her mouth, kissing her back in a heartbeat.

''I think—'' He muttered, melting into her from above, his body so tightly pressed against hers that he could feel her heart as it beat, ''I think we should stay here the whole—''

''I want to see Teddy,'' Amelie heaved back, her fingers trailing over his exposed spine, ''I want to see Teddy, and then I'll lay here all day with you.''

Draco pushed his palms into the bed, looking down at her, ''If you think for a second that I'll let you leave this bed today, you're wrong.''

Amelie's eyes rolled, lifting a brow as well as the tension, ''If you think you can keep me from seeing Teddy, you're—''

''He's not here.''

Her brows knitted, the smile spread on her lips fell, ''What? Where is he?'' She questioned, propping herself up on her elbows underneath him, ''What do you mean not here? Where would he go—''

''He didn't tell me,'' Draco sighed, feeling more than discouraged with himself for letting both Teddy and Amelie down, ''He refused to tell me and now—''

Malfoy ignored the burning sensation of regret in his chest, ''He left, late last night.''

It was a stinging pain, blasting through her nerves at what he'd told. That Teddy had left her in the middle of the night without telling her where he was going.

He never did that — not once had he done so, until now.

''Can we find out—''

''Amelie, dear?''

Both Amelie and Draco's eyes grew broad by the knock on their door, and before he had the chance to roll off her, not to be lying on top of Amelie in between the sheets — Narcissa strode through the door.

''Oh my—'' Narcissa turned around quickly, shaking her head at them, ''My apologies—''

Draco was quick to free Amelie from the hold he had of her, shifting to his back instead, ''Mother...'' He awkwardly greeted her, peering over his shoulder to see Amelie pushing herself off the bed.

''Narcissa—'' Amelie breathed out, taking slow, hesitant steps over the floor as she watched how the lady's spine straightened, chills traced down her skin by that little shift in Amelie's voice.

Narcissa turned around. Her dark eyes scanning the girl in front of her for a mere minute before she cracked and took long strides up to her. Her arms folded over Amelie's shoulders, pulling her into a warm hug.

''How is it possible...'' Narcissa whispered into her head, her hand wiping over Amelie's clothed back before she gripped her arm and stepped away to look at her properly, ''Are you—''

Her eyes flickered to Draco's. The haunted eyes that known nothing else but misery during the past years pleaded her son's, ''Is she—''

''I am,'' Amelie said, silently, and Narcissa's head snapped back to hers, colorful curls spilled over the lady's shoulders, ''This morning, only an hour ago. I woke up, and it was all there again.''

Narcissa's eyes prickled. She pulled her in again, closely, ''Nothing ever made me happier,'' She kissed the top of Amelie's head.

Draco looked at them, smiling to himself, and for the first time — in what felt like a long time, he believed it all to be alright.

''I love you,'' Amelie whispered into the soft fabric of Narcissa's dress, ''Thank you for keeping them together when I couldn't.''

She felt Narcissa's arms as they tensed around her, ''Thank you for coming back to us, dear. That's the thing that kept us all going.''

Draco shoved himself up on his feet, slowly striding up to the two women his heart rested with, and his hand settled on Amelie's back as Narcissa backed away.

Amelie's hands snaked around his torso, hugging his bare skin as he pushed his lips into her head.

''Well, perhaps some breakfast when you're dressed and ready?'' His mother smiled, clapping her hands together before intertwining her fingers, ''Theodore is going to be back any minute—''

''Is he?'' Draco questioned, his chin resting against Amelie's head, ''What did he tell you?''

A cloak of doubt scored Narcissa's dolled features. She shook her head, ''Nothing, dear,'' She lied, ''He simply said he'd be back in the morning.''

Malfoy frowned, suspicious with his mother for being so unlettered with the asked matter, but he didn't say more. He did not wish to ruin this moment for the girl holding him — he nodded, clearly towards Narcissa.

''I'll get the breakfast ready, and you can come down as soon as you're done,'' She bowed her head, marching out of the room.

Amelie turned to him fully, feeling how his limbs wrapped around her entirely. Her nose buried into his chest as she huffed, ''I missed this,'' She whispered, her heated breaths fanned his skin, ''I missed you.''

Draco smiled, placing his chin on the top of her head, ''I missed you more.''

She leaned back, still clinging onto him as she met the grey eyes, ''But I really want to see Teddy, so perhaps we could—''

Draco's head threw back, groaning loudly as his eyes rolled, ''Fine, but for a while,'' He couldn't resist that adorable smile, filled with the hope, ''Then I want you all to myself again.''

He bent over her, sneaking his nose close to her ear as she chuckled, trying to pry him off at the tickling feeling it brought, but he kept her steady, ''I haven't had you for months, and I just—''

It was a slight pause, nearly as if he had to collect himself to believe that she truly was here, with him again, ''I want you to myself.''

Amelie caved into his arms once more, letting him hold her as she grazed her fingers over his shoulders, ''I'm yours... but I want to—''

''I know,'' He settled, nodding, ''I think he should take a look at your body to make sure everything is alright with your memories.''

''Smart and handsome...'' She smirked at him, and that slight shift in color across his cheeks caused her heart to feel more than full.

''Perfect, aren't I?'' He taunted, making her step back from him. She strode up to the closet, flinging the doors open to study the clothes hanging inside.

Her eyes dragged over the pieces of dresses she'd yet failed to notice as she felt Draco's arms slipping around her waist from behind. He couldn't keep his hands off her.

''Is this—''

''Mother bought them for you...'' He mumbled, hiding his face into her messy strands, ''She didn't think you had enough dresses, so she went out and bought some more. It was something she did when you were...''

He held her tighter.

She was here.

She was here.

She was here, and she wasn't going anywhere.

''Gone—'' He cleared his throat, ''I think she did it for herself, mostly. She found comfort in buying you things when you were away... and Amelie—''

She turned in his arms, looking up at him from her lashes, ''I think we need to talk about that too. You being—'' His lips firmly pushed together, ''Away from me.''

Amelie's head shook, tearing her sight from his as she shifted back around, ''We will. I just—'' She swallowed a feeling of hesitancy, ''I just want to be here, with you and not think about that for a moment... can we do that? Just be us, without all of that?''

She didn't want to shut him out, but she was at the very same time — terrified to talk about what she'd done and what she'd been through the months they spent apart. She just wished to get back up on her feet and be with them before she dived back into that hole of misery.

''Of course, anything you need,'' Draco reassured her, calmly and he backed away, watching as she picked out a dress for the day — got dressed and even took the bravery to choose a shirt for him.

He'd missed her. The Amelie that was taken from him — the Amelie that had a torch and spark of fire and strength within.

She was funny, courageous, caring, loving, kind. Everything he'd ever believed was too much to be filled within the frame of one human she was.

He even enjoyed listening to her as she spoke about how excited she was to see Teddy, to tell him about everything and that she was back — that she remembers them all in the precise way she'd left them.

Malfoy's arm shielded her shoulders as they walked down the stairs, and she recollected how the other day — failed to even hug her back.

Amelie peered up at him with a slight grin on her mouth, ''So now you can hold me back?'' Her voice playful, mocking him as he rolled his eyes, gritting his teeth, ''What? I'm just saying—''

''So you remember that, yeah?'' He muttered, frustratingly as his heart dropped. He regretted how he'd treated her that day, but he didn't know what else to do at the time.

He was more than puzzled within his own mind.

''I do,'' Her smirk shifted into a smile, ''It felt strange at first, like a dream? Maybe? But then I kept thinking about that dream I had about my mother and how she was carrying a child, and I just—''

Draco let go of her shoulders, letting his arm fall to his side as she kept talking, ''I don't know. I could tell the difference, I suppose? But the morning yesterday was quite eventful... wasn't it?''

Amelie's hand snatched his wrist while he was about to take the last step off the stairs, turning him around to level her. Even if he was standing flat on the ground and she stood two steps up — it was still a height difference between them.

''Are you alright?'' Amelie asked, worryingly, ''Was it something I said—''

She flinched, nearly jumping into Draco's arms by the sound of the front door being ripped open, and Theodore stumbled inside.

His clothes were stained in blood, and his skin had paled.

''Teddy—'' Amelie gasped, pushing her way past Draco in a heartbeat and just as she meant to grab him, to keep his weak knees balanced,

He fell to the ground.

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