Green Eyed Monster | Draco Malfoy

102. Something's Wrong

Chapter 102 - Something's Wrong

No matter what I did, nothing would remove the blood from my hands. The red deluge had caked itself within the lines of my skin and trying to wash it away only seemed to make it stain deeper within the folds of my skin. Because the blood had leaked into the creases of each nail and had dug itself into my pores, it was everywhere. It looked like I was the victim, instead of the culprit of all the chaos that had ensued just hours before.

In the dunes behind me, Harry had created a grave for Dobby. Everyone who had escaped was there, with the addition of Bill and Fleur. It seemed that in the time since he had been laid to rest, all the animals of the surrounding area had even come to pay their respects...though I didn't understand how they had known to come. Perhaps they had heard my screaming when I tried to save him. Perhaps they could sense the death that lingered even after he was gone.

The annoying little elf had gotten in the way of the wrong witch this time - and now he was gone for good. The House Elf who had saved my brother's life time and time again had now vanished to a place where I couldn't lure him back. There was no energy to manipulate on a corpse.

I felt the sand around me shift when someone came to stand at my side. I didn't bother to look through my hair - I doubt I could have even if I tried. The blood on my hands was only rivalled by the blood in my hair and around my neck. Still, I hunched over toward the water, scrubbing the skin on my hands raw from my effort. It was starting to hurt, likely because I had started using sand to try and dig into my pores; but still it did nothing. The blood clung to me, just like the reminder of everything I had lost...and everything I was still so likely to lose.

The person hovering over me cleared their throat. "We should get you inside. If you're half as bad as Hermione, we need to look over your injuries."

My head snapped up to the side so quickly that I felt the caked blood pull painfully at the damaged skin on my neck. Fred Weasley had come to check on me...who knew when they had called him. Who knew how long I had been out here - hours, surely. It was enough to tell by the look in his eyes - so worried, so tortured. It made my stomach turn to look at the emotions he was trying to hide.

It was strange, seeing the same emotions in his eyes that I had felt weeks before. While he was in front of me and in one piece now, it had been just weeks ago that he had been bleeding and unable to defend himself. It was crazy to think that we had fought off Death Eaters at Malfoy Manor in December and now we were recovering again...this time with life lost on our side. But at least while I stood there covered in blood, Fred Weasley looked fine. I couldn't see any lasting damage from his own experience at that Death Eater hub. It was a relief to see it for myself, rather than to blindly trust that he would be okay.

I had a feeling that blind trust would not be something I could rely on anymore.

"Not often I see you so close to the water, Potter," Fred gave me a small smile while he dug the toe of his shoe deep into the sand. "Aren't you afraid you'll get sucked in?"

"That could be for the better," I mumbled to myself. "Besides, it'd give you a chance to live up to your promise...remember? You promised you'd teach me to swim."

"I did promise that, didn't I?" He nodded overdramatically, settling himself into the sand by my side. He must have realized that I would not be following him inside like he'd wanted, and I was glad for the pause in reality. I wasn't ready to face everyone...not yet. "I'm sorry I didn't."

"I'm sorry I wasn't here to learn," I paused, taking a deep breath. I looked up at him, hoping he would understand just how deeply the sentiment ran. "I'm sorry about everything. I've royally blundered this up, haven't I?"