Hey there :) I just want to tell you, first, I am really new to and I have no clue how to operate these things. So please be patient with me. Second, this is my first "story" on here.
I don't know what one shots, drabbles, and whatnots are so I'll just call this a short... scene...
Okay, I should shut my awkward mouth up now. Toodles :) Hope you enjoy... Or something. Please review? :)
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or Harry Potter, etc.
Draco watched her from the couch he was sitting on wearily. Twice he had stood to walk to her. And do what? Twice, he had sat back down to continue staring. Her uneven, shuddering, breaths secretly killed him, as well as the way her face contorted in emotional pain. What the fuck to do? He contemplated, thinking of ways he could help her. He was not Potter or Weasley; he refused to hold her tight and whisper sweet nothings and promises. Promises that would end up being broken.
Her parents died, for fuck's sake. As if promising her everything will be alright would make things any better. He scowled. Not at her, but at himself, for not knowing what to do. If his parents were to die, he might have reacted the same way. Well, much more manly and violently of course. He would lock himself up in his room, not allowing any one but his personal house elf to come in and leave whenever needed. He could not blame her for being this way.
He had watched her as she puked her lunch in the bathroom and as she attempted to break all her belongings, throwing them against the walls, screaming in anguish. He did try to stop her, of course, but she pushed him away later. She was practically suicidal and it was eating him inside out.
Draco rested his head in his hands, trembling out of anger and frustration. He cannot bear to see her like this anymore. But what can he possibly do?
Thirty minutes had passed and he ought to make her crying stop anytime soon. He was tired of being useless.
He sighed and stood up. This time he swore to himself if he dared sat back down he would lock himself in tiny room with Weasel boy for a full day. He took a few hesitant steps towards the weeping girl, his chest constricting at how broken she was. She was lying in a foetal position on her bed, back facing away from him and he could see she was shaking. Her pillow and bed sheets were soaked from her tears and sweat from the hours of tossing and turning.
Draco could feel his heart hammering in his chest, nervous at the way she would react if he bothered her. I'm only trying to help for crying out loud. Only a mental, heartless bastard would not acknowledge her devastation. Draco stopped when he realized that he had been that heartless bastard just a few months ago. He shook that thought away and extended his arm ever so slowly to nudge the Gryffindor girl.
She had not made a sound the first time. But he could hear her breathing hitch a little. He nudged her again harder the second time. She grunted, as if to say, "Leave me alone," Draco refused to give up. He grabbed her tear-stained pillow from under her head. She groaned. Loudly. She sobbed into her bed, and gathered up her blankets, that were long forgotten, to cover up her face and body. She was mumbling words she herself can only understand, but Draco did not fail to catch the words "rot", "leave" and her desperate beg of "please".
"You can't cry forever, Granger. Crying won't bring them back to life." Draco flinched when he realized he had said that too harshly. Hermione stopped her loud groans and lapsed back to silence.
Draco silently got under the blankets beside the bushy-haired girl. She winced as she turned to face him, their noses just barely touching. He could feel her hot, chocolate breaths tickling his nose. He noticed her glassy golden eyes that were still full of unshed tears and her wet, flushed cheeks. There were dark circles beneath her eyes and her eyes were still red and puffy
"I don't know what to do, Draco," Her voice had cracked and Draco closed his eyes, not wanting to see the raw pain evident in her innocent eyes. He opened his eyes again when her sobbing started.
"Shh..." he shushed her soothingly. He then kissed her lips softly with such delicate care that made her want to cry again, out of love for him.
They stared into each other's eyes in silence for a few more minutes, Hermione's eyes never failing to tear every once in a while.
"Come on," he reached to grab her hand which he noticed was covered in her own fingernail marks. She had been digging her nails in her own palms in attempt to stop herself from crying. He said nothing but pulled her out of bed she was lying in for hours. She refused to budge. It was her way of saying, "It's either I stay here and wallow in my misery or you carry my dead weight around."
Draco sighed and he gracefully picked up the brunette without any effort. Hermione whined, not comfortable with his actions but she was too tired to struggle and resist. She rested her head against his shoulder and with a weak finger she traced letters on his chest. She let out a shaky breath.
She heard Draco open the door of their tiny bathroom and turned the tap of the bath tub on. Draco helped strip Hermione of her clothing that had clung to her tiny body loosely. She had lost a lot of weight since the terrible news, finding excuses not to eat. Draco ignored this and helped remove her oversized, white baggy T-shirt over her head and pull down her knickers. He guided her to the tub, now filled with warm water, with hopes that it would calm her nerves.
She sat quietly in the tub, too numb to move still. Draco reached under the sink to grab a little red bucket and filled it up with water from the tub. He gently poured the water over her frizzy hair, combing and soothing the tangles with his long fingers. He watched the frizz disappear instantly when the water hit their surfaces, the way he watched her happiness disappear instantly upon the news.
He lathered her with her favourite strawberry scented soap. She had closed her eyes in delight, but her mouth still set to a stubborn unhappy line. It would kill him if it turned out to be permanent. He used his thumb free of soap to caress her soft, rosy, swollen lips. He ached to see the corners of her mouth turned up. He ached to see her smile. What if she never smiles again? He thought bitterly and he bent down to kiss her mouth again.
He washed the soap off her and got her out of the water that had turned cold. He wrapped her in the softest towel he could find and left her to find decent, warmer clothes for her. He came back to the bathroom and to the painful sight of her still standing in the exact same position as he had left her a minute ago.
Draco helped to dress her up, both of them still silent, but he swore the silence was screaming at them and it bothered him to a great extent. He carried her back to her bed, tucking her in under the blankets. He got in beside her again, pushing the hair out of her now closed eyes. He gave her a kiss on her forehead and hugged her tightly.
He waited till she was fast asleep until he took out a ring from his back pocket and absent-mindedly toyed with it. He opened his mouth to speak to the girl who will never hear it.
"Hermione. If only you knew my parents died as well attempting to save your parents from Voldemort, for our love's sake. Yes., they knew. I had asked them for permission for my mother's old wedding ring that was passed on from generations to generations." A lump formed in his throat. "I want to marry you, Hermione. Despite how much I love my parents, I don't behave the way you do now like I'd want to, because I have to be strong for you, Hermione. You need me. Like I need you."
Draco leaned in to kiss her closed eyelids and a tear fell to his cheeks and slipped onto her lips.
What do I do?