He who does not understand your silence will probably not understand your words.
Date: Friday, March 28, 2002
Time: After moonrise
Location: Spinner's End
Characters Involved: Draco Malfoy & June Connors
Rating: PG
( Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. )
Time: After moonrise
Location: Spinner's End
Characters Involved: Draco Malfoy & June Connors
Rating: PG
( Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. )
The hours drifted past. Keeping still wasn't as difficult as June had anticipated; her inner demon felt quiet and oddly content, and though it was still too alert to sleep through the night, she even managed to doze off now and again.
All too soon, though, she felt the tug of approaching moonset. Her charge was still soundly asleep, and she was reluctant to wake him, but obviously she had no choice. If she dallied and ended up transforming here, her uncontrolled thrashing about would certainly wake him, would undoubtedly hurt him, and could potentially even do what Greyback had failed to accomplish - so close to him, if she moved in the wrong way, she could accidentally infect him for real.
Aside from all that, she had no intention of ever transforming in front of any but the others of her pack. It was something she never ever wanted anyone to witness. Especially a friend.
As carefully as she could, she began to ease herself out of his arms, knowing there was little chance she could avoid waking him but doing her best nonetheless. Freeing herself from his arms, she made her way to the opposite side of the bed and leapt soundlessly to the floor. Pausing there, she tilted her head, trying to tell how badly he was disturbed.
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He shifted and moaned, then felt towards where the warm sheets were empty next to him. Wait. Empty sheets? Why would this be different?
Consciousness slowly returned and he remembered June there. He'd fallen asleep. He'd fallen asleep with June there.
"Stay?"
He wanted to thank her. He wanted to not go back to being Draco Malfoy. He just wanted to be some other Draco with a trusted friend, with someone who he knew wouldn't judge him.
He heard a whine, which he knew meant no, despite not speaking 'wolf'. Slumping back on the bed he nodded, completely forgetting for the moment that she couldn't see it.
"I'll come to you after," he commented, staring at the ceiling.
He'd fallen asleep next to a girl. Well, next to June.
June is a girl, stupid.
Well, yes she was, but in this form she was a wolf. It wasn't the same. It couldn't be.
He stared at the ceiling harder, trying to force all other thoughts from his mind.
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She couldn't stay, of course. There was no question of staying. But somehow that didn't stop her feeling bad. She gave her head a shake, with a whined apology she hoped he could interpret. Well, she could apologize later, when she could speak. Even if he seemed like a 'pup', he was an adult, and he'd have to understand.
Turning silently, she started toward the door, then paused. He'd said something. Come..? After? No, wait. There was no way he was planning to try and make it down to her room later. He could barely make it down the hall to the loo! To try to get down the stairs - no, she'd misunderstood him. Because if she was correctly interpreting what she'd heard, she would have had to find a way, even as a wolf, to lecture him senseless. So of course that wasn't what he'd meant.
Perhaps he was asking her to come and see him after she'd recovered. She could do that. Of course she could.
A sudden tremor shuddered through her, threatening to buckle her knees. Too close - it was too close. Without further hesitation, she slipped out of the room and back downstairs to her bedroom.
Nudging the door closed behind her, she huddled in on herself in the center of the floor and waited, safe behind walls and silencing charms, until the change came.
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