the girl who lost it all [d.m]

thirteen: diversus

diversus: different, diverse, distinct

———

DRACO never dreamt.

He couldn't even remember the last time he'd fallen asleep and dreamed—his sleep was usually short and dreamless.

But this time—this time, he dreamt of Elara.

She was wrapped up in his arms, her head of curly hair tucked under his chin. They were standing on the edge of a cliff and there was wind whipping at their clothes, waves of midnight blue roaring and breaking on the rocks far below.

Instinctively, Draco tightened his arms around her, trying to pull her away from the edge. She didn't budge but instead, curled her hands into the back of his shirt, preventing them both from moving.

"Don't leave." Her voice was muffled and he felt panic claw up his throat at how close she was to the edge, her back facing the nothingness that led to the violent sea below. The sound of the waves crashing was almost enough to drown out her voice. "Don't leave me here."

"I won't." Draco's hands slid up her back, one entangling in her hair, the other belting around her shoulders to hold her to him. His heart was pounding, his head spinning from their proximity to the edge. "Can we—Can we move away from the edge?"

She shook her head against his neck. "No. No. I can't." She sounded like she was crying—but he couldn't feel her tears on his neck.

His chest ached at the break in her voice. "Please—it's not safe—"

"No!" It was a scream much alike to the one she had made when he'd cast a Warming Charm on her in the snow and she started to struggle. He held onto her tighter, the knot in his throat growing at how close she was to the drop. "No! I'm not leaving—"

A stab of panic zipped through him as he almost lost his grip on her body as she struggled in his arms. He caught a glimpse of her face, found her eyes wide and terrified and there was something leaking out of the corners of them but they weren't tears—

"Okay. Alright. I'm sorr—Okay. We're not leaving." He bundled her up again, burying his face in her hair and breathing in lavender. She was so thin in his arms and she was shaking as the wind howled around them, the ground under their feet feeling unsteady. She went limp in his arms again and he blew out a shaky breath, pressing his lips to her temple.

Her skin was freezing cold and he desperately tried to give her warmth, rubbing his hands up and down her arms and back. She kept her face hidden in the crook of his neck.

"I love you."

His heart shuddered to a stop and he squeezed his eyes shut, his lips grazing the top of her hair as the words left her lips. He hadn't heard them in so long—had never thought he would, ever again. Not from her.