Author's Note: This is a darker piece I picked up after listening to a song sharing the same name one too many times. It shows a person spiraling into a deep depression to the point where drugs are used to numb them. I do not find this method appropriate or healthy in any way at all, but I also know that it is a common problem a lot of people cope with every day of their lives. Addiction is one of the worst sicknesses out there that is often used as a means to comfort other ailments, and often becomes a vicious cycle.

Summary: How can one cope without the euphoric emptiness that can take away the pain from loss? Post-Hogwarts. First Person.

Rated T: Mentions of Death, Mourning, Depression, Drug Abuse/Addiction, Forced Admission into a Rehabilitation Hospital Center, Drug Withdrawals/Recovery

Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Tragedy

My Sweet Prince

This disaster was never meant to happen. The obituary of my late husband laid beside me. I stared at the ceiling in a near-comatose state while my hand caressed the paper image of him. My body felt cool, doused in a light haze of sweat from anticipation. A stinging bite flooded through my veins from a fresh hit, I discarded the needle recklessly nearby. I soon felt myself fade into the numbing, euphoric state that swept all the pain and suffering away.

My precious Dragon appeared at some point beside me. He appeared distressed and wanted to help me stop hurting myself. I lifted a bony hand to touch the smooth skin on his cheek, wishing to offer comfort and tell him I am okay, but my muttering fell on deaf ears. He pulled a sheet over me to offer some modesty, but I didn't care. I simply stared at the sweet, gentle prince that I could still call mine and wished he would cuddle beside me as he had done so many years before.

My mind lapsed into a haze, and soon the room became blinding with light. Rhythmic beeping pierced at my hearing and I flinched, gritting my teeth with agitation. A heaviness resembling lead filled my head, an IV was embedded in my heavily tracked up arm. I hated the state I was in. I needed more. My sweet prince was at my side once my alertness was noticed. He claimed to have brought someone to fix me properly, but I never asked to be fixed. I just want to stop feeling the ache.

The withdrawal was worse than the pain and the hurt. I screamed profanities and lashed out at my prince; he was the giver and now he was the taker. I hated him for it. I missed my love. I cried so much, his name a curse on my lips as the ache throbbed with each beat of my heart. Why did he have to die such a tragic death and leave us so alone? I loved the fool too much, and now that love was tearing me apart.

This disaster slowly subsided. My body felt empty, my body felt numb. I curled up on the bed waiting, but death never came. Soon a hand was held before me, and my precious Draco looked upon me with hurting eyes. It crushed me further to know my coping caused him a different suffering, and I was ashamed to hear him call me Mother. I took his hand with tears in my eyes and I hugged him as close as he could be to me. My body shook from a heavy, sorrowful sob in apology. I knew that the pain would always remain, but we would still have each other.

Originally written for:

Monthly Challenges for All

The Houses Competition

Word Count: 464

Originally Written: February 2018