Casualty of Love: Turning Tables

Let's Be Normal

I woke up without opening my eyes. I could feel a presence in the room but I couldn't tell exactly who it was. I felt groggy as I took a moment to survey what hurt and what didn't--but in the end, nothing hurt. My eyes opened abruptly. I wasn't hurt. I was better.

The presence turned out to be Elijah, sitting by my bedside with his head in his hands. "Elijah?"

His head popped back up immediately. "Allie? Oh, thank God. You seemed to be getting better but--but none of us could tell. You've been out cold for ten days and we couldn't do anything! You only woke up for food and water that we had to force down you and even then you were all delusional."

My mouth fell open. "Ten days? Are you serious?" Thinking back on the pain I was feeling after arriving at Shell Cottage, I realized that my body probably needed all the down time to recover. No wonder I felt so groggy. 

He nodded. "Yeah, everyone thought you were goner... Except me, of course. I knew you'd make it. You're so stubborn that way." He smiled at me and the fact that I was able to smile back was a sure sign that I had healed.

"Where's Draco?"

"Taking a shower for the first time since he's been here! We practically had to force him! I really should go get him but...I think I'll wait. Unless you want me to."

"No...no, let him take a shower. Is everything okay with...with the babies?" I asked, placing my hands on my stomach.

"Sure looks like it. They've been kicking the shit out of you. I honestly don't know how it didn't wake you up," he said, shaking his head.

I shook my head as well. "I can't believe I almost died. And for breaking an Unbreakable Vow... What if I had died?" I was more asking myself but Elijah answered.

"I don't know how any of us could live in a world where you didn't exist. Draco would have probably gone to drown himself in the ocean. You probably saved us all by hanging on, to be honest."

I couldn't stop thinking about the things that would have been left unsaid if I had died. All the things that would have gone to the grave with me if Draco hadn't gotten here in time. "You know... There are things that I haven't told you because I thought I'd have more time but what if I don't have much left? What if none of us do? The truth is Elijah, when you told me that you loved me in the hospital wing last year, I realized something. I realized that I loved you too. It wasn't that I didn't trust you with my heart, Elijah. It wasn't because I didn't love you...it was because I loved him. And I just want you to know that...and that I'm happy for you and Lucille and I really hope you guys make it because you deserve it," I said in one breath. I expected him to look shocked but he only smiled at me.

"You know, I think I knew it all along. I also knew it was a hopeless cause because it's obvious that you love Draco... And then you got knocked up by him and I knew it was over."

"Really? Not when we made the Unbreakable Vow?"

"No, not even then. It took two babies to open my eyes, pathetic right? And you know what? I am happy now... I think I love her, Allie... I really do."

He looked down at his hands and blushed. "That is so great, Elijah. She's lucky to have you."

He smiled at me again, no ounce of humor on his face, which was definitely abnormal. "There's something else...," I began.

"What?"

"I think it's about time that I told you that I'm actually muggleborn."

Now this shocked him. "What? But your parents--"

"I'm adopted, Elijah. I lived in an orphanage until I was eleven because Ben killed my parents."

"Do you know how dangerous it is to get mixed up with Death Eaters while being a Muggleborn? You could have come out a lot worse. Does Draco know?"