thanks to tiggs and ck for betaing!
461 words, by google docs
Draco's heart is beating as loud as a drum. It feels like it's about to jump out of his chest and run away and he's never going to see it again.
Maybe it's anxiety.
Maybe it's the guilt.
It's probably midnight, but Draco still sneaks into the cellar anyway. His heart almost stops.
She looks worse than he imagined. She's tied up by ropes and she's lying on the ground, not moving one bit. When Draco wasn't in the same room as her, he could pretend that she was happy and that her life is okay. To be honest, Draco knows the real truth: her life is almost over.
"Professor?" he whispers, leaning next to her.
She looks awful. He needs her to respond. He can't have her death on his hands.
There's no answer. The body doesn't move.
"Professor Bur—Burbage?" He's not totally sure of her name. She was never his professor; his parents would disown him if he ever took Muggle Studies. Draco almost jumps when the body moves.
"I'm not much of a professor anymore, am I?" She says it so quietly that Draco almost misses it. He freezes. He didn't actually expect an answer.
"I—"
Draco doesn't know what to say, because what can he say?
"I'm sorry that you're kidnapped in my house and I virtually took away your entire life and you're probably going to die right in front of my eyes and there's nothing I can do about it because I don't want to die and maybe that makes me selfish but—"
No, Draco says nothing.
"I'm sorry," Draco whispers once the silence gets too deafening.
"For what?" the professor whispers from the floor below him.
For what? This professor—Burbage—is tied up in his basement and she wants to know why he's sorry?
"For this," he hisses. He can't stand this. A small part of his brain tells him to free her, but he knows that an act like that would get him killed.
"You don't need to apologise," she says. "'Sometimes, the thing that ties you down sets you free.' That's from Kurt Douglas."
Draco has never heard of Kurt Douglas. He's probably some famous Muggle she likes. Maybe she once talked about him in a class; Draco wouldn't know.
"What do you mean?" he asks. There's a quiver in his tone and he hates it.
"I mean that maybe I can teach you something. Maybe I can reach you, even tied up. Let me say this: you should be apologising to the people you've done wrong."
He doesn't know what she means. She's probably gone senile. Who is he supposed to be apologising to? She's the one in his basement. Still, Draco thinks about what she says.
And then he runs away.
for:
the houses competition [gryffindor, hoh, drabble - professor charity burbage]
auction challenge [time - midnight]
couple appreciation [only two characters]
pinata challenge [death eaters]
film festival [home pressure]
scavenger hunt [about a non-defence professor]
writing club [disney - owl; amber's attic - i suppose i love this life, in spite of my clenched fist; showtime - light romance/madman; lyric alley - only made it words but i just can't help; sophie's shelf - kirk douglas; lo's lowdown - tony stark]