Keeping me Sane {Draco Malfoy}

0.75: Welcome to the Department of Mysteries

•YEAR FIVE•

The next time I saw Lucius Malfoy it was over a year later. He looks nasty and disheveled as he casted colourful curses at my friends. He hoped to harm them in any way possible, kill them even. My breaths were ragged as I crouched behind a rock, it's gotten much too dangerous for me to continue to fight.

Ron and Ginny were each draped over Luna's shoulders, she struggled under their weight as she placed them against the rock beside me.

"Hi Cassie." Ron murmurs in a daze. "I've been stunned." He groans, attempting to speak without the ability to move.

"-In the face." Ginny adds on, her faint laughs turn to gasps of pain due to her broken ankle.

Luna sits off to the side, her eyes are widened, focused as she taps her wand against her knee. Surely trying to come up with a spell to help Ginny and Ron.

"We can at least ease the pain, okay?" I reassure Ginny who nods, tears streaking down her face. Her hands are firmly wrapped around her thigh as she attempts to calm herself. Ron's blank expression is accompanied by a dull stare which is set on me. His eyes follow each move I make, causing me to feel slightly insecure as I attempt to help his younger sister.

"Aguamenti." I point my wand at a dip in the stones structure. The sunken area fills with crystal clear water in seconds, bringing a brief smile to my face as I get ready for the next step. "Glacius." I whisper, the water then turning to ice. I grab a nearby piece of rubble, smashing the ice to pieces.

Ginny's head is dropped and her eyes are squeezed shut. She's mumbling incoherently to herself, while Luna is beside her watching the battle. I tear off a portion of my flannel, shovelling the ice into the centre before tying it closed.

"My flannel." Ron attempts to frown yet nothing changes, his remorse is instead evident through this eyes.

"You wouldn't have wanted it back anyways." I reply, lifting the bloodstained, torn sleeve to show him the damage.

"Cassidy! Luna! What happened?" Hermione's eyebrows are threaded together as she runs towards us. She pulls her wand out of her pocket, immediately approaching Ron. Hermione cups his cheek in her hand, and he leans into her touch with a soothed expression.

"I was stunned, an- and Ginny, she-" Ron attempts to explain the situation but he's doing a horrible job due to his state.

"I broke Ginny's ankle." Luna speaks up, her soft voice barely louder than the battle occurring above us. "It must have hurt dreadfully." She continues, looking to Ginny with an apologetic expression.

As the battle became silent, I curiously looked above and I watched Sirius Black die. A sight I wasn't expecting, a sight that will be etched into my mind forever. Sirius stumbled back a step, the life leaving his eyes as Harry watched.

As Reamus Lupin ran up to Harry he wrapped his arms around him, struggling to keep him within his grasp as Harry thrashed against him in agony. He let out a deafening, heartbroken, scream. A scream that caused even the murderer to look mournful, she clutched her stomach as she watched. A smile grows upon her lips, erasing any humanity I thought she possessed, she's proud of the pain she's caused.

Pure Insanity.

•••

"This is all your fault." Draco murmurs against my neck, his head rested against my shoulder. I feel the vibrations from his voice as he speaks. "My father is in Azkaban because of you and those- those blood traitors." He adds, my breath hitches in my throats as his grip tightens, yet he doesn't let go.

"I would do the same for you." I reply, my voice wavering as I speak. My hold on him has loosened significantly while his hasn't changed at all. "I would fight with you, I'd do anything for my friends." I say, as I back out of his grasp. "Draco-" I begin, cupping his cheek in the palm of my hand, as I run my thumb along his cheekbone his warm gaze disappears.

"Friends?" His eyebrows crease together as he completely disconnects us from one another. "This is friends?" He gestures to the both of us, a bewildered look on his face.

"No, it's not-" I find myself completely at a loss, limply dropping my hand down to my side.

"What is it then?" He snaps, his aggression in his tone shows this is deeper than just a miscommunication.

"I didn't mean it like that!" I exclaim, desperate for him to know that I chose the wrong words to say. As much as I wasn't ready to admit it aloud, or to myself, there was definitely potential that Draco could become more than just a friend. "But Draco, you have not made it easy." I point out, which he knows is true.

"That's because it's not easy." He mumbles, suddenly broken down to appear vulnerable. "With my father in Azkaban things are going to be changing, and I won't be 'easy' to be around." He frowns, pulling me back in hug, tighter than before.

How he hugged me, made it seem like it would be our last. I wondered what he knew that I didn't, what 'things' would be changing. As I took in a sharp breath, attempting to hold back my emotions, his scent entered my system. I took it in for all that it was as I expected our end, unbeknown this wouldn't be the worst of our problems.