Mine

[16]

"Draco, what room is this?" I asked once we had entered the Room of Requirement, except for once it was not the usual room we would enter.

"Fuck." Draco muttered under his breath, not moving from within a few steps inside the opening.

"Is someone else in here?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows together as I looked around. I walked in further, examining all the random items that filled the room.

"Erm, maybe." Draco said weakly, causing me to turn around to face him.

"Were you here earlier?" I asked.

I could tell Draco was debating on how to answer. I gave him a look, sort of a warning to not lie to me now. "Fine, yes. I guess I was just too distracted to focus my thoughts."

I turned back around, slowly making my way through the room and taking in all of the clutter. I felt my heart rate quicken as a bad feeling came over me. "What were you doing in here?" I asked quietly, knowing Draco was close behind me.

"Gemma..." Draco trailed off, his voice having a slight edge to it.

"What were you doing in here." I said, turning around to face him. I could tell that Draco was trying to keep his expression composed, but I knew him well enough to see the panic in his eyes. "Answer me."

"I-I can't." Draco said quietly, taking a step back from me.

"And why not?" I asked lowly, my eyes narrowing at him as I took a step forward.

"Gemma, you have to trust me. I can't tell you. Please, it's for the best." Draco said quietly, his eyes flicking around the room. By now I knew that eye flicking was the equivalence of a nervous twitch that normally came before Draco started to really freak out. He pulled out his wand, whispering, "Homenum Revelio." Nothing happened.

"Draco, what the hell is going on!" I exclaimed once the revealing spell indicated that no one else was here with us. Clearly he was scared and after he said that spell it made me realize he was more worried that maybe someone had followed him in here earlier and stayed rather than him being distracted when he summoned the room.

"I have a task." Draco said quietly, his eyes falling to the floor. I felt my stomach sink, my eyes watching him carefully.

"What kind of task?" I asked quietly.

"Lord Voldemort. He's asked me to do something." Draco said, still staring down at the floor.

"When were you given this task?"

"Before school started." Draco mumbled. It was starting to make sense now, the way Draco had been acting. I mean, obviously I knew him becoming a Death eater had been weighing down on him since the beginning of the school year, but it was likely he had been working on something in here since we returned from Christmas and that's why he was so distant and absent that first week back. He still snuck away for hours at a time, but we had a better understanding of each other now where I no longer felt concerned about it.

"Draco, what does he want you to do?" I asked, taking a tentative step towards him.

"I can't tell you that. You know I can't tell you that." Draco said, his eyes raising to stare at me. His eyes were dull as he looked at me, his face altogether rather blank. "I didn't want you to find out. I wanted to protect you."

"Protect me from what, Draco!" I shouted, the anxiety of the situation taking over so that I couldn't keep my cool and try to coax him any longer. "What are you protecting me from? What do you have to do?"

"The less you know, the better. Gemma, I don't want to do this, but I don't have a choice." Tears brimmed Draco's eyes as he took a step towards me, but I quickly took a step back. "Gemma, please. Please try to understand. I...I can't tell you what's going on for your own safety. Just like I can't have my dad knowing about us. Don't you understand? If Voldemort were to find out about you, you would be in danger. He would hold you over me and I can't put you in danger."

I took a deep breath, trying to process everything that Draco was saying. Of course, it all made sense. Of course Draco would be concerned that his father knowing about our relationship would mean Voldemort could find out. I mean my boyfriend was a fucking Death eater! I knew this, I knew it – but I guess it never felt real until just now.

"Don't look at me like that." Draco whispered, his voice breaking. I felt so overwhelmed that I honestly had no idea what my face was doing or how I was looking at him. "Please." He whispered, reaching a hand out towards me. My body involuntarily flinched away from his touch, making Draco's entire face crumble. He dropped down to his knees, his breathing growing sporadic as he clutched at his hair. All I could do was stare at him with wide eyes, my brain going through the possibilities of what this task could be.

Finally, I snapped back to the present where my boyfriend was having a panic attack right in front of me. I quickly rushed forward, dropping down to my knees in front of Draco. My hands tugged Draco's own hands out of his hair and then I wrapped my arms tightly around him, whispering into his ear. "You're okay. You're okay, Draco. Breathe. Everything is going to be okay."

Draco's arms suddenly raised rapidly, forcing my arms off of him. He put his hands on my shoulders, his wide, frantic eyes staring into my own. He was shaking his head, his mouth open as if he planned on saying anything, but no words came out.

"Draco." I said softly, putting my hands on his elbows. "You're okay. Please, just breathe. It's okay."

"I-I'm sorry." Draco croaked out, tears beginning to quickly fall down his cheeks.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." I said softly.

"I never wanted th-this." Draco forced out. "I wish I could be n-normal. You deserve someone who is good."

"Draco, stop that right now." I whispered firmly, dropping my hold on him to cup his cheeks in my hands. "You are just trying to do what you need to do to survive. You are just trying to protect me."

I knew I was telling him what he needed to hear, but I also knew in my heart that it was the truth. Draco nodded frantically at my words. "You need to let me protect you." He whispered, "I can't let anything happen to you."

"I know." I murmured, pulling him close to me and pressing a kiss to his head. "I know, Draco. Everything will be okay."

I had no idea whether or not everything would be okay. I had no idea what it was that Draco had to do, and seeing how scared he got just talking and thinking about it made me terrified. But the last thing I could do was make him feel alone. As much as he didn't believe it, he had a good heart. If he were to be abandoned now, he might lose that side to him forever. And that would kill me.

I held Draco until he his breathing returned to normal, my fingers running soothingly through his hair. "I'm scared." Draco whispered to me as we sat on the floor in the dark of the room.

"I know you are." I whispered back, knowing there wasn't much more I could say with the little information I had. "Draco, it's going to be okay though. It has to be."

"It has to be." Draco whispered back, his gaze seeming to be far away.