Draco's Obsession

Unbelievable

It wasn't the way he handled himself.

It wasn't that he felt an adrenaline rush with releasing so much of his energy by commanding all the brooms.

It wasn't the way the students were amazed by his power.

Or even that Ginny seemed absolutely starstruck by his magical abilities.

It was the one word.

Not just a word.

His name.

My name.

Over the last couple of weeks, it was the only thing he would obsessively think about.

He thought about many things. Some even impossible.

But he waited for this particular action from her.

"Yeah, Draco, give the kids what they want."

His heart raced as the world seemed to slow down to a halt. His body tensed and all he could do to keep himself grounded was to clench his fist. He needed to feel tension and some pain. He needed to know he wasn't dreaming.

I wasn't dreaming.

"How did you do that?" A voice suddenly spoke beside him.

He thought he had left the field alone, not realising that Hermione had followed him and tried to keep up with his fast pace.

He slowed down so she wouldn't be out of breath.

Draco stared forward as he asked, "Do what?"

"Command all twenty brooms?" Hermione said like it was the most obvious thing ever.

Draco shrugged his shoulders. "Practice."

"Practice?" Hermione huffed a laugh as if she didn't believe him. "That was more than just practice. It was power."

It wasn't just power.

It was discipline.

It was a reminder of his childhood.

It was years of his father and mentors pushing him over and over again until he was the most powerful young wizard in the room.

It was months of disappointment from his father when he couldn't command his broom because he was mentally exhausted.

It was when his aunt would smack him over the head because she didn't believe he was trying hard enough.

It was pushing his magic to the absolute limit.

It was collapsing from exhaustion and being expected to do it all over again.

"I've never seen anybody do that... ever," Hermione continued saying.

"There's a first time for everything," he replied back a little dryly.

Hermione was quiet for a moment, when he suddenly felt her hand at his elbow, halting him so that he was looking at her.

"I need to know, that everything is okay."

Draco inhaled deeply.

He didn't know that things would be okay. He had too much on his mind. Draco felt like there were a million things that needed to be done before he could get to the one thing that mattered.

His mother.

"Why wouldn't it be?" He decided to ask, hoping Hermione didn't hear the insecurity in his voice.

She was silent for a short while, her hand still on his elbow. "With everything going on, I just want you to know that I am here... for you."

Draco already knew this. Even after she had confessed her loyalty to him over the weekend.