Why hadn't she come to breakfast? After sending her a note last night but never getting a reply, he was concerned to see she had missed breakfast two days in a row.
This morning, though, he had seen Ivan come in, for once without her. Ivan made eye contact with him and gave him a sneer. He could hardly stop himself from having it out with the man right then and there. But he resisted.
He wasn't some reckless Gryffindor who dove into problems head first. No, he was calculating and cunning, a true Slytherin. He had a plan. He would bide his time.
Today was the first task of the tournament and the whole school would be out there to watch, including Ivan. He was a mentor of sorts to the durmstrang champion so Draco knew he wouldn't miss it. He assumed, however, since Eden wasn't at breakfast, that she wouldn't go to the task. There were no classes today, so Draco made his excuses to stay behind as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~
About half an hour after the task started, Draco made his way to her classroom. They both had small apartments off unused classrooms to stay in while they were at Durmstrang. He knocked on the door and then heard someone moving around and things falling. Concerned, he knocked again.
"Eden? It's me, Draco. Let me in please? I need to talk to you." No response. "Ok, I'm coming in." He slowly opened the door. The room was crowded but tidy. Eden was sitting in a corner with her knees to her chest, burying her face in her arms and her beautiful curls splayed across her knees.
He hurriedly crossed the room. In a waste bin, Draco noticed the remains of a broken bottle, which only served to worry him more. Crouching in front of her and approaching slowly, so as not to upset her, Draco reached out and gently cupped her chin. "Eden, please. Look at me. Talk to me. I'm worried about you." She finally looked up to face him. She was wearing a jumper that was two sizes too big and sweats that were also too big. She hugged her arms to herself and turned her face away from him.
"I thought you were Ivan. You shouldn't be here."
"I disagree."
"You're just going to make it worse."
"Make what worse, Eden? This thing with Ivan you call a relationship? You won't even talk to me! I thought we were friends, but apparently I'm nothing to you."
Eden's head snapped up. "I only said that to get him away from you! He's so jealous, I didn't want you to get more hurt than you already were, Draco!"
He saw it. She tried to hide it behind her hair, but it still showed. She must not have had time to cast a concealment charm before he walked in. There was a pink handprint on the right side of her face. It was sure to bruise later on. He was seeing red. He could kill Dolohov for this.
He slowly looked up at her. His heart broke when she flinched at his hands coming up to cup her cheek. He lowered his hands. "Listen to me. We can fix this, okay? I already wrote to Harry and Hermione. We can help you, we can get you away from him."
She shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I can't. He'll hurt you, and I can't let that happen. He said he'd kill you if you ever touched me again. He'll find me and retaliate by hurting you all. I can't—I can't let that happen, Draco. I can't let him hurt you again."
"Don't worry about me, okay? I lived with bloody Voldemort for a year; I think I can survive a jealous git. Now, come back to my room with me. He doesn't know where it is. Then tonight we'll move you somewhere more permanent, and Harry and Hermione can meet you there. I'm going to get you home, away from him, and he'll never be able to hurt you again, okay? Come on."
He went to lead her by the arm, and she flinched again. "I'm going to kill him," he whispered through gritted teeth.
With that, they both quickly made their way to Draco's room, which was two floors up, off the potions classroom.
When they arrived, they were surprised to find Hermione there waiting. "As soon as I got your letter, we made a plan. We had Ron (who worked in the auror department) get us an international portkey. I have the activation word written down, so whenever you're ready, Eden, we can leave."
"But I can't—what about the tournament? And my classes? Who's going to supervise the students? I can't just leave; I don't have any of my clothes or anything. I left my wand!"
"Your classes and the students are taken care of, your replacement is on her way as we speak. As for clothes, you can borrow mine; they may be a bit long, but they'll do until we can get you more. We don't have much time; the task will be over soon. Harry is getting a room ready at our flat until you feel ready to come back to Hogwarts. Please, Eden, let your friends help you."
"But my wand-"
"I'll go back and get your wand. Stay here with Hermione, I'll be back" with that he left, sprinting down the stairs and through the halls.
When he opened the door to Eden's room, he stopped in his tracks.
"Where's my witch, Malfoy?"
"Expecto Patronum!" Draco's dragon soared through the room. "Tell Hermione to leave NOW! I'll follow later. No questions, just go!" Seeing that Ivan was distracted by the patronus, Draco snatched Eden's wand from the end table and darted out of the room. Dolohov was right behind him, throwing hex after hex at Draco. For once he was thankful for his experience in the war. He was well practiced in dodging and weaving. He was able to fire off a few hexes of his own. A well-timed tripping jinx sent Ivan tumbling down the stairs, giving Draco enough time to slip into the classroom. Trying to catch his breath, he turned and locked the door. How was he going to leave now? He opened the door to his bedroom to find Hermione, Eden, and the portkey still there.
"Did you get my patronus?"
Hermione straightened her back. "Yes"
"Then what are you doing here? I thought I told you to leave! Dolohov isn't far behind me!"
"We couldn't just leave you!"
"Bloody gryffindor!" There was banging at the door of the classroom, then an explosion as they heard shards of wood flying through the classroom.
"We don't have time for this! Hermione, activate the port key, I'm coming with you."
"Right, everyone got a hold? Ok. Ferret." And they were off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They left in such a hurry that they all crashed into Harry and Hermione's living room. Harry came running at the noise.
"Great Godric! Are you okay?
He helped Hermione up and Draco went to help Eden up. At her flinch, he moved away, giving Harry a concerned look.
Then he turned to Hermione and sent her a glare. "Ferret? Of all the words to activate the bloody port key you had to pick ferret?"
Hermione actually started to giggle, which lightened the mood. Harry was also laughing, "it was my idea."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Of course it was."
Eden looked at the three of them confused. "What's so significant about the word ferret?"
Hermione reached over to hug her friend. "One time in school when Draco here was being a right git, a professor turned him into a ferret for a few minutes."
"No way! Oh, I wish I could've seen that!"
Draco loudly clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "Ok! So, who's hungry?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3 days later
Draco was relieved to see Eden eat more than she had in days. She still would barely make eye contact with anyone but Hermione, but he'd take what he could get.
"I should probably find someone to replace me at Durmstrang. Do you think Johnson would be willing to go?"
"You're not going back?" This was the first time Eden had spoken to him since they got there.
"I may have switched to the light side during the war, but I am still very much a Slytherin. I may have lost my prejudices, but I did not lose my sense of self-preservation." Draco replied with a chuckle.
"I don't know, Draco. You seemed pretty keen on Eden and me leaving you behind once that brute came after you. Sounds pretty Gryffindor like to me."
"Oh sod off, Granger."
"Potter"
"Whatever," he looked over to see Eden actually smiling. He realized he hadn't seen her smile since the day they left for Durmstrang. She had such a beautiful smile.
When she noticed him smiling back at her, Eden quickly got up from the table. "Um, I'm very tired. I think I'll turn in early. Hermione, would you mind lending me some new pajamas?"
"Of course," Hermione led her down the hall.
Draco's smile disappeared, and he turned to Harry. "Did I say something wrong?"
Harry looked thoughtful, "I don't think so. I think she's just had a very trying couple of days."
"This is all my fault, I shouldn't have meddled."
"Stop right there. The fault is on Ivan alone. You and Eden did nothing wrong or to provoke his anger."
"She's scared of me."
"What?"
"She's scared of me. Every time I go to touch her, she flinches and moves away from me. She'll barely make eye contact with me and has only spoken one sentence to me since we got here. How do I make her see how much she means to me? That I would never hurt her."
"Give her time Draco. You can't 'make' her do anything. She literally just left an abusive relationship a few days ago. I imagine it's hard for her to trust any man right now. She seems to be leaning heavily on Hermione which is a good thing. If anybody can help rehabilitate her, it's Hermione. I mean look what she did with you!"
"Hey!"
"You used to be a spoiled arrogant git and you know it!" The two friends shared a laugh, followed by a silence.
"You should think about putting up more wards around the house."
"Already done. You two can stay here until you get everything together to go back to Hogwarts; you're safe here."
"Thanks Potter"
"Anytime," Harry headed for his and Hermione's bedroom.
Draco changed into his pajamas and lay on top of the bed staring at the ceiling. He was just about to doze off when he heard a soft knock at the door. He got up to answer it, not surprised to find Hermione on the other side.
"How are you, Draco?"
"Fine, just tired."
"Mhm, try again"
"Stubborn"
"Yep, now how are you really?"
"Heartbroken. Not for me but for her. Incredibly angry. It took everything in me not to kill him the other day. I don't think I've ever been that angry. I never wanted to kill Dumbledore. I wanted to kill Voldemort, but so did everybody else. No, I wanted to kill Dolohov that day. I wanted him to suffer. And that frightened me. I saw a side of my old self coming back."
He slumped on the bed with a sigh and placed his head in his hands. "I don't know what to do, Hermione. She's so scared of me, flinches when I come anywhere near her. Does she really think so little of me? That I would sink to his level? How can I make her see that I'm not him?"
"Draco," Hermione sat next to him and laid her head on his shoulder. "She had a very traumatic last few days. The man she thought she knew, perhaps even loved—Draco grimaced at that word. "Turned out not to be the person she thought he was at all. She doesn't trust herself right now. She's constantly questioning her judgment, especially when it comes to men. Just give her time, Draco, and don't push her. She'll come around."
"I just want things to be the way they were before. Even though we were just friends, I'd rather have that than have her afraid to be close to me."
"It will, Draco. Just give her time to trust herself again; you'll see. Maybe it'll even turn into something better." With a wink, she got up and gave him a hug, then headed toward her and Harry's room.
"Good night, Hermione. And thank you, for everything."
She gave him a smile and nod before leaving. "Good night"
Draco lay back down and stared at the ceiling once again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Across the hall, Eden lay on the bed, curled up in a ball under the sheets. How could this happen? How could she be so stupid? Ivan was supposed to be it for her. When they first met he had been so romantic and caring. That is, until she told him she was getting a job teaching at Hogwarts.
He had been upset because she would be so far away. She understood, but Hogwarts was a great opportunity for her. They had, at that time, only been dating a few weeks. She thought maybe he would eventually move to Scotland with her, but he had made it clear he would never do that. When she left he had been cold to her, but after she sent him a few letters he became more like his old self.
She had never mentioned Draco, because she didn't want Ivan to be uncomfortable. "This is all my fault" she whispered to no one. Draco. Sweet Draco. The poor lad had only wanted to be her friend and now look! He's been given a broken nose and sent on the run in under a week, all because she chose some jerk to be her boyfriend.
She remembered when they first met, when they had dinner with the potters and Draco had asked her out to dinner. She should've said yes. He never brought it up again though. It was clear how much he respected her after she said no. Ivan wasn't very good at that either. Draco had gone on like nothing happened and genuinely seemed to like spending time with her even if it was just as a friend.
She should've known from the way Ivan reacted to her leaving that this thing she had with him would never work. But she had to try, didn't she? Look where that got her. She lightly touched her face, where the handprint Ivan had given her 3 days ago was still there, but healing nicely. She flinched when she touched it.
She hated when she did that. She hated the look of heartbreak that crossed Draco's face every time she flinched away from him. It's not his fault. It was just a natural response now though, she couldn't help it. The thought of anyone touching her made her skin crawl. Draco deserves better. He deserves someone who will make him happy, not break his heart. He deserves much better than a broken shell of a woman. He deserves better than her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It's been a week, Eden. Normally I don't like to push these things, but this is getting out of hand. You're hardly eating and I don't think you've showered or left this room in days. Your hair is matted and your breath smells atrocious. Come on, we're cleaning you up."
"But Hermione, I just…can't…"
"That's what I'm here for, now come on."
Hermione led her to the bathroom. She first turned on the tub, then brushed Eden's teeth. While she was swishing some mouthwash, Hermione put some detangling spray on her hair, working it in with her fingers. Once she was through with that, she instructed Eden to remove her clothes. Eden was shy about it at first but did as her friend said, then she stepped in the warm water that smelled of epsom salts and lavender oil.
As she soaked, Hermione worked on her hair, working the mats out with conditioner in small sections before washing with shampoo and yet another conditioner. The process took ages, but Hermione didn't care. Once her hair was once again manageable, she went from the tub and turned on the shower to rinse off. Hermione held up a razor and shaving cream.
"Now you definitely don't have to do this part, but personally I love the feeling of crisp clean pajamas on freshly shaved legs." There was a spell to do this, but Hermione didn't trust herself to do it on another person without nicking them. "If it's too much we can always skip it and do it next time."
Having already felt somewhat rejuvenated, Eden figured it couldn't hurt anything to take it a little further. "It's ok, I can do it, though if you don't mind grabbing my wand, I'll just use the spell."
"Sure!"
Hermione returned with Eden's wand. As she was using the spell to shave her legs, Hermione went back to the bedroom to grab fresh pajamas. She picked out a set of blue satin pajamas with the Ravenclaw crest on the breast pocket, which Draco had picked up for her at the store.
She had forgotten that Eden was a Ravenclaw and she was two years above them, so they had never actually met, though Seamus mentioned her once or twice. Entering the bathroom, she found Eden drying herself off and applying lotion. She gave her the clothes to change into and then set about French braiding her hair.
"Thank you Hermione. I know you said you didn't want to push, but a push is just what I needed. You're a good friend."
"Anytime."
"Is it too late to go down for breakfast?"
"Never!" The girls shared a giggle and started down the stairs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Draco was getting restless. He needed to get back to Hogwarts and resume classes, since they had found a replacement supervisor for him at Durmstrang. He came up with a plan. He needed to go back and get the rest of his and Eden's things. Harry had an extra international port key. So if he used that to get there and back he should be able to get in and out without risking a confrontation with Ivan. Harry offered to come with him, but Draco refused. He only wanted to get the basics, he could send for the rest later. Harry insisted on giving him one of the galleons they used to use for Dumbledore's Army, just in case he needed them. He activated the portkey and was off. Not long after he had left, Eden finally came down, amazed at how hungry she was.
"How are you feeling this morning?" Harry started on more pancakes and eggs.
"I actually feel a bit better. A good scrubbing was just what I needed. By the way, where's Draco? I need to apologize."
"I'm sure that's not necessary, but either way, he went back to Durmstrang to get some of his belongings."
"HE WHAT??"
Harry was surprised at her tone and volume. "I'm sure he'll be fine, he has a port key and a way to get in touch with us in case of an emergency. I tried to go with him but he refused. He's fought his fair share of battles, I'm sure he can take care of himself."
Hermione sipped coffee. She was also worried about Draco, but panicking wouldn't help Eden at all.
"Of all the bull-headed, stupid stunts to pull! When he gets back I'm gonna-" she continued ranting as she stomped back to her room, taking her plate of food with her. Harry and Hermione had to fight to keep from busting out laughing.
Harry broke first. "Now who does she remind me of?" He tilted his head to look at Hermione, taking an inconspicuous sip of his tea.
"Oh sod off! If I ever acted like that, it's because you or Ron did something incredibly stupid! Which was quite often if you recall!"
"Yeah yeah I know. We would be dead without the brains of the golden trio."
"And don't you forget it, Potter." Hermione smirked and kissed his cheek.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Draco came back with their things later that evening without any problems.
"Harry? Hermione? Eden! I'm back!"
"DRACO LUCIUS MALFOY!"
Uh oh. When had Eden learned his middle name? And why was she screaming it?
"You are dumber than a sack of rocks! Why did you go back there? What if Ivan was waiting for you to come back? He could have hurt you! How could you be so stupid!" Eden vented her anger as she pummeled his chest with her fists.
"Hey Eden, calm down, I'm fine. It's okay" he cupped her face gently with his hands. She didn't flinch this time.
She shook her head and felt tears streaming down her cheeks. She sank to the floor. "He could've hurt you…I could've lost you…and I'd have no one to blame but myself"
Sitting on his knees in front of her, he took a chance and held her as she cried. Again, she didn't flinch. "Hey, don't talk like that. He didn't hurt me, I didn't even see him, he probably didn't even know I was there. I'm not going anywhere. Even if he did confront me, it wouldn't be your fault, Eden. He makes his own choices. Come on, let's get off the floor."
He picked her up bridal style and moved her to the couch.
She sniffled. "I'm just so tired. I haven't been sleeping well. I have nightmares of him coming here and hurting you, me, Harry, and Hermione. Dragging me back to him. I'm mentally and emotionally exhausted, but I feel like all I do is sleep."
He sat next to her on the sofa and she laid her head in his lap. Without thinking, he started to run his fingers through her curls that had broken themselves loose from her braid.
"You're safe here, Eden. I'll never let him hurt you again." He summoned a blanket and laid it across her. It wasn't long before she was asleep. He'd never felt more at peace in his life. Even with everything going on, he wouldn't be anywhere but here.
He could smell her shampoo. It was very fruity. What was it? Green Apple? Huh. He let out a small chuckle as he lay his head back on the couch, following her into a deep sleep.