Draco nearly let loose a string of curse words as he heard the words that had haunted him every night for months. Why now, of all times, did Granger have to slip out of her habit of battle flashbacks and go to the night from the entire war that Draco felt the most guilt over? Why did she have to look so bloody scared all of the sudden and why did he have the strong desire to grip her shoulders and shake her until she saw sense again? More than that, why did he want to make sure she would stop with her bloody pathetic whimpers and fearful gaze? They were annoying, that was it. He hated seeing anyone who he knew was strong falling apart, that was half of why he avoided his mother in the weeks before he returned to Hogwarts. He hadn't wanted to spend much time around the woman who had been fighting for so long to keep her family together and now that she'd started failing, she was absolutely miserable to be around.
It took him a few seconds to realize that Granger was trying to get around him and her eyes kept flickering toward the space to his left. "Someone!" he shouted, just for a second looking at some of the stunned house elves behind them. He moved to block Granger's path, feeling guilt wash over him as she fought against him. "Get someone, now,"
He swore loudly now, hearing cracks as a few house elves disappeared to unknown parts of the castle. "Get off, get off please-Please don't-"
"Granger, shut up," Draco instructed angrily. She looked desperate, like she was going to crack in a matter of seconds and it was freaking him out. Granger didn't crack; Granger was the strongest out of her friends and they always depended on her to stay strong. There was no way she could be so tormented by what had happened that-Well, Draco was tormented and nothing had happened to him like what had happened to her. So he could understand it, ever so slightly, but still Granger was stronger than he was. Wasn't she?
"Granger shut up!" Draco yelled as the door to the kitchens was thrown open. Draco had never been more thankful for house elves and how quickly they did as told. And even though he didn't like it, he was sure he was about to see Potter and Weasley run into view. Maybe they didn't act like it but they cared about Granger more than they cared about themselves; he'd seen that in action before. They would come, force Draco out of the kitchens and he would be able to go back to his room in peace. A small hand tugged on his robes though and Draco looked down, momentarily, to see a house elf tugging on his robes.
"We tried to get Mr. Potter or Mr. Weasley to come down for Miss Granger, but they didn't, Sir, they said no-"
"They said what?" Draco asked furiously, knowing that if he had his way to two idiots would be dead by morning. It was obvious that something bad was happening to Granger if they'd been sent for but they were too angry about some stupid comments to come and care for her. Granger needed to get some better friends, he realized, though he wasn't sure if she really knew how. She'd been stuck with the two Gryffindors for so long that others wouldn't approach her and Granger definitely wasn't seeking out new friends.
The house elf flinched and took a few small steps backwards but with Draco being distracted, Granger was finally able to slip past him. He swore again and shoved the house elf out of the way rather rudely and took after her. It would only make matters worse, chasing after her through the corridors until they reached wherever she was going, but he didn't care. Granger needed someone and if Potter and Weasley were too rude to be there for her, well, then, maybe she wouldn't like it but she needed someone. And if that damn person had to be him, well, he wouldn't be happy about it but he couldn't just let her crumble while he watched. In the past he would have laughed, he would have been overjoyed to see Granger knocked down a peg, but what was happening with her at the moment was his fault. All his fault... You broke Granger, you let this happen he told himself sternly.
He passed a rather confused looking Loony Lovegood but he didn't care if she was the one the house elves had found; she was of no use to him now because now Granger was sprinting and he needed to follow her. "What-" the sixth year asked in confusion before Draco was out of earshot. He didn't think about stopping to explain; Lovegood was none of his concern.
He followed Granger through the corridors, passing plenty of students as they got to the main floor, but neither stopped. Draco knew just how oddly people were looking at him and he knew from the looks on their faces that they wanted to tackle him to get him to stop chasing after Granger. But it wasn't like he wanted to be there; it wasn't like he desperately wanted to spend his night with Granger of all people. A few moments after getting past the great hall, Draco caught up to her and grabbed her arm to make her stop. "Granger, calm down-"
She screamed and Draco swore again. He hated doing it, but he clapped a hand over her mouth and pulled her into an empty side corridor. "Calm down, stop screaming-Damn it, Granger, did you just bite me?" he asked, pulling his hand away and examining it. And then Granger blinked. She slid down the wall and pulled her knees to her chest, shaking slightly. Draco stared at her, still irritated but not enough to mention it. It had to have been a moment of pure desperation for her to do that because he'd never really seen Granger do something like that before. He hesitated for a long time as he watched Granger sit on the floor, shaking, before he knelt down and awkwardly grabbed her arm. "Stop-Stop shaking or whatever, Granger. You're fine," he said, sounding harsher than he intended to.
Granger nodded numbly but her shaking continued; Draco sighed heavily. This was why she needed Potter and Weasley; he had absolutely no idea how to deal with Granger when she was like this. He couldn't insult her, which was what he would normally do; no, that would be cruel because what had scared her so much was something Draco could have stopped. Sure he would have died in the process because his aunt would have killed him, but then he wouldn't be watching Granger suffer. He didn't want to watch Granger suffer; she didn't deserve it. "Granger, calm down, please," he said, hating that he was begging her for something. "Look, if you'll stop shaking I-"
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
I'm sorry. The words rang in Draco's mind as he'd never really said them before. Well, he had but most of the time he didn't mean it. Why mean it if no one would accept his words? But here she was, apologizing, when she didn't need to be. Draco was definitely irritated with her but he was angrier with Potter, Weasley, and himself. If he'd just ignored Weasley's idiotic words and Granger's expression then he would have been fine. He wouldn't have made a fool of himself and he definitely wouldn't have ended up chasing after Granger. But that was his fault, not hers, so why should she be sorry? Draco released her arm as he'd only just realized that he was still holding it, and he frowned. "Don't be," he said, his voice harsher than he'd intended.
"No, no I shouldn't have yelled, that's why it started, that's why I-You-"
"Spit it out Granger, I know you can," So apparently he was going with harsh; apparently he was going to make a complete ass of himself just like Granger said.
And then she said another two words that Draco rarely said. "Thank you,"
"For what, exactly?"
"I-Look, I don't know. But thank you, okay?"
Draco could only stare as she stood, every part of her still shaky and her eyes still afraid, and she walked away. What the actual hell had just happened? "Damn it Granger," Draco muttered, scowling at the ceiling as he stood up. She just had to go and make him-Well, no, actually. Granger hadn't made him do anything. But then why had he done it?
Being alone, Draco realized as he walked to the common room, was a lot harder than he'd imagined. In the past he'd been able to discuss his questionable actions with the most reasonable of his friends, Blaise, but they hadn't talked in months. In fact from the end of the war to the start of the school year, Draco hadn't talked to anyone his own age in an effort to cut ties with everyone he knew. But in that moment Draco wanted nothing more than to send an owl and let Blaise explain to him why he'd defended Granger. There was nothing logical about his actions; he could barely even tolerate her so why would he want to help her? He didn't really even want to help her but before he could even think he'd opened his mouth. The bloody thing was bound to get him in trouble some day, but there wasn't a thing he could do about that. He had little self control when it came to his mouth. He had little self control in general; it was all he could do not to hunt down Potter and Weasley and murder the two prats.
Draco got to the common room and frowned; Granger wasn't there. Without thinking of the consequences he went and pressed his ear to her door. He heard nothing though, and his frown only deepened. She must have gone to apologize to Weasley and Potter. The thought had him nearly shaking in anger so he hurried to the bathroom to clean up the mess that was his nose. And when that was finished he all but ran into his bedroom and locked the door. If he saw Granger before his anger wore off, they'd have the fight of the century. She had to be going to apologize to Weasley and-and thinking about it would only make him angrier. And that was something he definitely did not need.
Draco changed out of his school robes and into pajamas before opening his windows and climbing into bed. His anger made him hot and furious and only the cool air of the early October night could cool him down. It took three hours of confused, angry thoughts about Granger, Weasley, and his actions before he finally fell asleep. Though he could have sworn he had heard a faint scream before his eyes finally closed.
Though maybe sleep was just a wish that was far outside of his reach that night. He spent nearly four hours tossing and turning and when he looked at his clock and saw that it was only three in the morning, he was absolutely pissed. Not only was he still incredibly irritated with Granger but he'd only gotten four worthless hours of sleep that left him even more tired that when he started, and he knew he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. Not wanting to say it was his own mind that hadn't allowed for any sleep, he decided to blame it on Weasley and let his hatred of the other boy grow. And with at least that one pleasing thought, Draco walked into the common room.
He nearly let loose another string of curse words.
What the hell was Granger doing awake at three in the morning? What was she doing reading that bloody book of hers as if it were better than sleeping? And why on earth did she have to let him see her? His irritation was quickly slipping away to full-blown outrage. "How did your apology to Weasley go?" he asked, his voice heavy with anger.
"My what?" Granger asked, turning around to look at him with wide, nervous eyes.
Draco rolled his eyes before smirking at her. "Dumb never did look good on you, Granger," he stated, feeling bad as he spoke. She didn't need him being rude to her, but at that moment he was too angry to actually care to shut his mouth. He was right; the stupid thing was about to get him in more trouble than he wanted.
After a nasty comment like that he expected her to yell at him; he expected her to tell him that he was exactly like Weasley. But all she could do was frown and shake her head. "I didn't apologize to Ron,"
"Sure you didn't," Draco said, rolling his eyes again. "You're so desperate for that idiotic relationship to work that you'd do anything,"
"I don't need you telling me what's-"
"And I don't need you lying to me,"
"I'm not,"
"Then where were you when I came back?"
"That's not any of your concern-"
"So with Weasley then. Or you were sneaking around with someone else?"
"What?"
"I bet it was Potter, though I never imagined him to be much of a cheater... Oh please tell me it wasn't Longbottom," Yes. He was definitely being an ass. Too bad he couldn't stop now; he'd gone too far and Granger looked absolutely furious.
"I would never-"
"Then why don't you tell me where-"
"I was in my room! Sleeping!"
"See if you'd just led with that-"
"You're absolutely terrible,"
"I've heard. At least you weren't apologizing,"
"And why is it such a big deal if I do?"
"Weasley doesn't deserve an apology," Draco said. He wanted to tell her that Potter and Weasley didn't come when it was obvious that she need help. But that stupid little piece of his mind was telling him that Granger didn't need to hear that; it would hurt her too badly and Draco wasn't exactly evil. At least he didn't want to be. "No one who acts like he does deserves and apology,"
"So I shouldn't have apologized to you earlier?"
And there they were, the words Draco had been waiting for. "If you'll remember, I've never thrown you across the room," Draco muttered, folding his arms across his chest and narrowing his eyes. He'd expected it, yes, but he was nothing like Weasley. Weasley was beyond terrible this year and Draco was at least getting to be bearable. Or at least he thought he was. "And no, you shouldn't have,"
Silence fell over the common room as Granger stared at him with hard eyes. Minutes passed and Draco could feel himself growing more and more tired. Those four hours would do nothing for him; he needed to get more sleep. "I don't want to fight with you," Granger said quietly, tearing her eyes away from him and shaking her head slightly. "I can't handle that this year, Malfoy. Not anymore. Can't we at least be civil?"
He gave a noncomittal shrug and took a step toward his room. He'd be damned if he didn't at least try to get some sleep, even though he knew what the outcome would be. More tossing and turning didn't sound nice but at least he'd be trying. He shut his door to the sound of Granger sighing and sneezing.