Chapter Four

The summer house was quiet, the lake around it tranquil and beautiful. Emelé tip-toed out of the shared room, careful not to wake Malfoy from his slumber – he was much more easy to manage when he was sleeping; he didn't ask as many questions and his brash attitude was finally calmed. They'd been there for nearly a month already but she wasn't sure she would ever get over the beauty of the lake at dusk, just as the sun was teetering at the border deliberating whether to show herself or not and a hazy glow rolled over the surface of the water.

Her new husband had taken it upon himself to keep the two of them as busy as possible on the small secluded island, she supposed he was trying to make it seem as much like a regular honeymoon as he could. She appreciated his efforts, whatever the motives. The exuberance that he put into their regular daily tasks took her mind off the fact that she would be returning to Hogwarts as a Malfoy, and not a Redthorne. Neither was of more value, she supposed, but at least the latter held a sign of Identity. Nobody knew of course that her parents had been Cilla and Hunter Redthorne, notorious Death Eaters responsible for the deaths of over 70 muggles, but they knew that Draco's family had been involved with the Dark Arts since birth, and now she was part of that too.

Emelé sensed him before she'd even seen him; his strong aura had become so easy to recognize now, it reeked with power but held the strangest coloring of vulnerability. It was warm – a pleasant surprise, she'd been so certain it had felt like ice the first time they'd met – and when he sat down on the opposite end of the large deckchair there was no sign of harshness in his features, for once, the man she had met on her wedding day was settled in a bliss, rare, moment of serenity. He caught her staring, and smiled warmly when her cheeks flushed crimson.

"Good morning," Draco murmured, entwining their legs absentmindedly. "You're up early today. I thought maybe we'd spend today inside, the winds colder this morning so it's likely to rain."

She hummed in response, picking up one of the mugs he'd brought outside with him. He was right; it was colder today, the warmth of the tea almost scolding on her frozen fingers. Emelé watched as Draco chugged down his scalding black coffee, wincing as he did every morning. She failed to understand why he did it when it caused him discomfort, but never felt it important enough to pester him about.

Today would be the first day that they spent together without being occupied, the others had been spent rock-climbing, hiking, surfing and visiting all the wonders of this secluded island – they'd done so much it was a wonder they hadn't covered the whole place yet. It was a daunting thought, neither knew much about one another, or about socialising in regular social situations. It occurred to both that today would not be like those spent with fellow Death Eaters or their parents, but not quite the same as time with their Hogwarts friends either. How did one socialise with a spouse they knew nothing about?

The two hastily stood when the winds began to churn around them, the clouds that had stolen the morning's sunrise black and abysmal overhead lighting with a storm, and retreated into the comfort of the home – that was far bigger than a summer home ought to be.

"Shall we play a game?" Emelé asked once the two of them had washed and changed, looking over to Draco, who had his hands held together so tight she thought they might break if his grip became any stronger.

With surprised eyes he nodded, moving to sit on the couch. "I'm not sure what sort of games there are here, I searched all the cupboards and there doesn't seem to be any board games, that's for sure."

Emelé just smiled, "How about 20 Questions? We'll put our own twist on it and just ask one another regular questions. It'll give us a chance to 'form a bond'." The sarcasm in her voice was just heavy enough to make Draco's mouth tip up at the corner.

"Sure. You go first."

She smiled again before cocking her head to the side. "When is your birthday?"

Draco seemed to hesitate with his answer before finally admitting. "It's June 8th." Emelé's eyes widen as she recounts the days before falling back to her first conclusion.

"We got married on your birthday? Was that supposed to be symbolic?" He'd never seen her so angry, or heard her speak so out of turn, and was shocked that she had such fury inside her. Draco just shrugged, he supposed it had probably been symbolic somehow – or even if it had or it hadn't, he didn't think the Dark Lord cared much for his birthday either way.

Emelé stayed silent, assessing her husband quietly before taking a breath. "It's your turn."

"Oh, um. When is your birthday?" Draco stuttered out, embarrassed that he hadn't picked a different question from her.

Emelé only rolled her eyes. "Cheater." She whispered, smirking. "It's August 12th."

Without waiting for a response her face went serious and her next question was asked, stumping Draco. "Why did you agree to marry someone you'd never met?"

He looked like he'd swallowed a hive full of bees, and the lump in his throat sure felt like it too. He had to cough a few times before he could answer her. As she waited, she assessed him; the ways his eyes fell to the couch instead of her, fingers grasped tightly onto one another and she was sure his breathing had picked up ever so slightly.

"You don't have to answer that, if you don't want to." She whispered, sensing his discomfort.

When his eyes met hers, holding the same energy as the storm lashing outside the house had, it startled her. "No, it's fine. I'll answer it. That's the rules, right?" He said, lips tilting up slightly. Emelé stayed quiet, patient as he tried to calm his nerves.

"I didn't have much of a choice, to tell the truth. I woke up a few days after Dumbledore's death and they told me that he wanted to see me, in all my life I've never been so scared as I was when I walked into that room. He said my mother's life depended on the outcome of this and, since she's the only person I really care for, it seemed like a bit of a no-brainer."

When Draco finished, he looked up to see tears in Emelé's eyes and with a cocked eyebrow, reached out to comfort her, pulling her into his side.

"I wish I had someone that meant that much to me. You're lucky, you know, that you have her." She whispered, gripping the cotton of his t-shirt.

Draco smiled, looking down at her. "You should've heard the scolding I got from her for agreeing to it." He said with a nudge, making her giggle.

"Was it bad?" Trying to contain her laughter at the thought of him being told off by the small woman.

"Yes!" Draco laughed. "And god, it lasted for weeks!"

As the two of them continued to laugh and joke over Draco's horror, Emelé felt more at ease than she had since the decision for her to marry the boy had been made. It was comforting sitting there together and, for once, neither were worrying about what was to come.

A/N: I've come to realise I am seriously unreliable when it comes to updates on this site (It's been over ten months, yikes!). I promise to try and get better, if only because I have so many ideas and so much hope for this fic! College is just such a nightmare right now :( I never seem to have any free time anymore, and any I do have is spent sleeping. Have hope in me though guys!

This also hasn't been double checked for any spelling/grammar errors so apologies if there were any mistakes!