Hermione was screaming. The sound was piercing and she drowned in the sorrow she felt. She felt like her entire body was engulfed in flame, and she felt herself crashing to her knees. She couldnt breath, she couldnt think. She felt like she wanted to run, but her body betrayed her and refused to carry her away. She looked to her surroundings. She tried depseratly to wscape this hell. She knew where she was, and didnt want to look straight ahead of her. She fought with eveything she had to pull herself away, but couldnt. Her eyes reluctantly lifted and she felt her insides breaking, shattering in anguish and despair.Her parents lie limply, tied to the chairs of their dining room, knives protruding from various locations on their bodies, blood coating them and the floor around them. She could see them stir slightly, trying to push passed the pain they were experiencing, but quickly losing whatever strength they had left. Her father's eyes fluttered, and his head tipped to the side. He was looking for his wife, but could not bring himself to align his thoughts with his movements. She could see tears staining her mother's face, and she wanted to move, or call for someone. She wanted to do something. She couldn't. She could only scream and watch as the last moments of her parents lives dangled before her...
Hermione jolted upright. She was sweating, and shaking. She looked around in confusion, but slowly gathered herself and remembered her surroundings. She shuddered and touched her hand to her face. It was wet. She'd been crying. She dropped her head onto her knees and gripped her hair with her hands and growled in frustration. She had not witnessed her parents deaths, but Harry had told her what happened to them per her insistence, and her imagination constantly found ways to fill in the rest and torment her over the past year. This time was different though. It felt more pronounced, more real. She assumed it was because of how she'd found Malfoy in his room the other day. It was unnerving, finding him lying in his own blood with cuts and bruises littered across his body. She hadn't seen a sight like that since the war almost five years prior.
She took in a deep breath and sat up straight. She came to a quick decision, and pulled her bedding away from her body, and got herself out of bed. Shakily, she walked quietly from her room, and knocked gently on Malfoys door. She could not hear anything and thought he must be asleep. She was about to turn and leave, but heard his lock click, and the door slowly opened to her. She stepped inside, and could see Malfoy standing by his window. He wore a plain grey shirt, some muggle jeans, and was barefoot. He looked over to her.
"Couldn't sleep?" he asked, his voice filling the silent room.
She shook her head and shut his door. The locks automatically clicked back into place.
"I.. had a nightmare." She said, standing still by the door.
"I know." he replied.
"How did you know?" she asked. She was suddenly very unsure of herself. Draco Malfoy had the ability to calm but also unsettle her, and she never knew which it would be until it was already happening.
"I could feel you. Your magic. Your hopelessness and misery. I felt it."
She stood watching him, the shock of his words welled inside her chest. He could feel her magic and her emotions from across the hall? How could that even be possible? They were not bonded in any way, had performed no rituals or claimed one another. How could that happen?
"Is that why you're awake, too?" she asked quietly. He nodded. She briefly wondered why than, had he not come to her. She scolded herself at the thought, however. He was not her keeper. He was not required to come running when she was battling her demons. She involuntarily let out a quiet sob.
Slowly, he made his way to her and took her into his arms. He held her tightly, and she didn't bother fighting the pain this time. She shook, and sobbed, gripping onto the thin fabric of his shirt and let the sadness consume her. He didn't move or flinch once, just held her tightly and allowed her to whimper and groan into his chest. The pain washed over him in waves. He could feel the agony rip at the core of his own magic and all he could do was allow her to release the grief she held on to for so long.
"Draco..." She whimpered, sounding absolutely defeated and broken. She felt his grip on her tighten slightly at her use of his name.
"Hermione..."
Somehow she knew some unseen, unspoken barrier was just crossed. She didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. She didn't know if she should be upset or worried about it. All she knew was this man clutching on to her was forcing her to feel again, and she hated and loved it all at once and she felt like she was going mad because of it.
He pulled her across the floor to his bed and laid her down. She didn't bother protesting against him. She was so overcome with grief, nothing seemed to matter anymore. It was like second nature for her now, to be led around by him, and just trusting that he meant her no harm. She thought that might be stupid of her, that she should take better care, but she just couldn't. It was easier to let someone else make decisions for her.
She watched him through puffy eyes as he lifted her legs onto the bed, and pulled the blanket around her, tucking her in gently. The scent of him on the comforter washed over her, and she closed her eyes instinctively. She thought he would climb into the bed with her, but he moved to stand by the window again. She rolled over to watch him, before the exhaustion of her sobs took hold and her heavy lidded eyes shut as she drifted into sleep once again.
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Hermione awoke to a dim light shining on her eyes. She squinted to see she was facing toward the window. She looked around but didn't see the blonde man any where. She grumbled, noticing her head was pulsing with a mild headache. She rolled over and sat up in the bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Clearing her throat, she called out to the empty room, wondering if maybe he was in the bathroom.
"Draco?"
Silence.
She sighed and brought her knees up to her chest. She couldn't help herself. She began to cry quietly. She felt frustrated with herself. She could not understand this floodgate of emotions she was suddenly experiencing constantly. Was this Draco's goal? To bring her back into her despair? Is this what he wanted to do to her, instead of kill her? Or before killing her? She thought she may be losing her mind. She clutched onto her knees and buried her face in her arms. Her sobs came in gasping shudders now, and she felt herself getting light headed.
She jumped when she felt warm hands grasp onto her and forced her to sit upright. She looked up and her eyes locked onto stormy grey.
"Hermione, why are you crying again?" he whispered, his breath dusting across her face. She gulped down the lump in her throat and blinked away her remaining tears.
"I d-don't really k-know..." She whimpered, now clinging onto his shirt, and pulling him closer to her. He sat with her on the bed and pulled her into a hug.
When did hugging Draco start feeling like the safest place on Earth? she wondered, burying her face into the dip of his neck and his shoulder.
"Where did you go, Draco?"
He was silent for a long moment, holding her firmly against him. She always wondered if he would actually answer her when he did this. It was like he was fighting an internal battle in whether or not to speak to her. Finally she heard him exhale and he spoke.
"I was looking for someone."
Hermione tilted her head up to look at him.
"Looking for someone? Who?"
"Not your concern, Hermione."
She frowned. Why didn't he want to tell her? She pushed up from him and turned fully to look him in the eyes. A question suddenly popped into her head and she couldn't believe she hadn't thought to ask until now.
"Draco, what do you do as a job? I assume you have one, if only to alleviate any boredom you might experience in the daytime."
He stiffened momentarily at her sudden question, watching her through clouded grey eyes. She bit at her bottom lip anxiously, to which he raised his hand, and stopped with his thumb. She felt her face flush.
What in the world...
Her mind went completely blank, and she felt her heart thud in her chest. He tugged her bottom lip away from her abusive teeth and wiped across it gently before lowering his hand again. She felt her mouth go dry, and had to blink several times to refocus her thoughts.
"D-Draco, what do you do for work?"
He sighed.
"I am an Auror." He stated quietly, looking away from her.
She sat, unmoving, shocked at the revelation. He was an Auror. An actual works for the Ministry, probably sees Harry Potter all the time, catching Death Eaters and sends them to Azkaban, real life Auror. She didn't know what to say anymore. They were quiet for another lengthy stretch of time. She had to try very hard to complete a single thought instead of flick through several half formed ideas. Clearing her throat, she whispered another question.
"It wasn't a house elf that found me, was it?"
He sniffed, obviously not comfortable with this new subject, but shook his head which cause several strands of his hair to fall forward. She nodded, and took his hand in hers. He looked up into her cool, brown eyes.
"Who were you looking for, Draco?" Now with what she knew, she had a feeling she knew his answer.
"Your parents killer."
End Chapter 4