DRAGON'S HEARTSTRINGS || dramione | harry potter

Chapter Sixteen

Sometime during that first night, exhaustion began overtaking Hermione. She stared at Malfoy's exposed upper body and realized this was the first time she saw it naked. Upon closer inspection, she saw that the skin on his back was marred not only with runes but with various other scars – some deeper, some shallower, a lot of them caused by dark magic or venom. Hermione shivered, thinking of all the torment he'd been through during those five years. She thought of how the first time she saw him half-naked could've been that night they were about to cross all boundaries if only Voldemort hadn't called for him. She would've scrutinized his skin and muscles not with pity, not with guilt, but with passion, with want, with a deep thirst to know all of his physical features. She would've touched his back not as a Healer to treat his injuries but as a woman, caressing the skin of a man to fuel his want.

Now, all of that was lost. She will never have a chance to see him for the first time. She will always remember last night as the time she saw him that unclothed.

After making sure Malfoy was really sleeping and no longer tensed with pain, she closed her eyes for a moment, lying on the floor next to him so that she was able to hear and feel if he was to wake.

She woke up a few hours later. It was still dark outside, but the clock showed five in the morning, so she figured the best thing would be to take Malfoy to his bed – he couldn't possibly stay on the ground until he healed fully. She was still too scared to levitate him entirely, so she used Wingardium Leviosa only to hold him up, pulling most of his body weight on her. Mipsy rushed to help with her own levitation spell, and somehow, they managed to take Malfoy to his room. Hermione used Cushioning charm to lay him into his bed with more ease. He groaned when his front touched the bedding but didn't wake. Hermione tucked him up, careful not to touch his wrecked back, while Crookshanks curled up by his side, meowing softly, and Hermione didn't shush him away. Then she went to clean up the living room from all the blood and poison.

She took a few hours of sleep in her own bedroom before casting a Homenum Connectare spell on a mirror which she took with her and a hairbrush which she left in Malfoy's room to hear if he woke up or was in pain. Those few hours were uneventful, as Malfoy still slept seemingly peacefully when she awoke.

Thankfully, Malfoy woke up with Hermione by his side. His eyes opened and the first thing he did was try to sit up – Hermione wanted to stop him, but he was already sitting, looking around like an irritated animal.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," she spoke softly, touching his shoulder. She knew he must have remembered the horrible torture he endured right before blacking out. "It's okay, you're safe. You-Know-Who's not here."

Malfoy blinked, recognition crossing his features. He looked around the room, the irritation switched by that non-expression. He tried to sit more comfortably, but he couldn't lean his back on the headrest, so he had to turn to the side. Hermione inspected his face, trying to see if he could've been affected by the cruel Aversion spell.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

Malfoy gritted his teeth. "Fine."

Hermione frowned. "You say you're fine almost all the time I ask you, but it always turns out to be quite the contrary." She reached out her hand, putting it on his. Luckily, he didn't take it out. "Tell me how you actually feel. If you're in any pain, I can bring you a potion to help with that. If the wounds still sting, I can perform more healing charms—"

"I'm not in pain," Malfoy countered. "Not the first time this happens."

Hermione's stomach sank. "You-Know-Who had done it before?" she asked, horrified.

"Once, twice," he said nonchalantly.

"Who helped you then? When I wasn't here?"

"Mipsy. With all she could. Mostly, I just stayed here waiting for it to end." Hermione couldn't imagine what he had been through before. And he said it all so casually.