Suffocation
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Cause if I did, everyone would be a lot more like this.
The first chance he got, he ran. Ran until his lungs hurt, his breath came in dry reedy gasps, his pale complexion possibly now redder than the Weasley's. He had ended up in the middle of nowhere, but it was far better than the dreary moor surrounding the Manor. And in the first time in a long time, Draco Malfoy felt like he could breathe again.
Breathing was something he could no longer do at home. Once, it had been bearable but now it was nearly impossible. There were just too many memories in the air and they all seemed to want to jump down his senses all at once.
(The repulsive scent of snake droppings, the scorch marks from spells, a chill in the air, turning a wrong corner and coming face to face with Greyback, the constant burning feeling of being watched always, forever.)
So he kept running. When the shadows of the Manor seemed to close around him, or the air seemed a little too thick, he was out of the gate and down the road like a shot. The wind flying past his face soothed his mind, the ache of his arms, legs and lungs drowning out the tinny, metallic taste of fear on his tongue.
(So that when he was done, he could turn around and have the peace of mind to spend another minute, hour, month in his very own personal hell.)
If his parents noticed, they said nothing. He wasn't sure if they suffocated under the pressure of the Manor like he did. If their throats always felt like a cork was stuck, if they felt the never-ending unease, whether alone or with others. He supposed they simply felt grateful that they were still where they expected to be, if not with a little less of everything they once had. Perhaps they were content.
(But to him, this was the farthest from contentment he would ever be.)
So he ran for good this time, as far away as he could manage. It was only a flat in Diagon Alley, but the distance was enough of a change from the Manor that he was satisfied. Here, there was enough light to see the world clearly, and the air crisp and clean and new.
(And for the first time in a long time, Draco Malfoy felt like he could breathe again.)
