Who Are You? (Draco Malfoy)

Chapter 17: Only A Dream

I was gasping for breath as I continued to run, not knowing what else to do. I looked over my shoulder, seeing him running behind me, his wand out as he chased me. I was far ahead of him but I didn't want to chance anything. My breathing was ragged as I stumbled through the forest, my entire body mentally and physically exhausted. 

I took a turn to the left to throw him off before sprinting downhill and going right, hoping to lose him. I kept running, glancing over my shoulder and whenever I didn't see him, I ran behind a tree, hiding. I gasped for air, closing my eyes for a moment before opening them again, glancing from behind the tree to see if he was still on my tail.

He was nowhere to be seen and I let out a breath of relief, still breathing heavily as I tried to regain my breath. My legs were aching and felt like they would give out at any moment. I went back behind the tree and looked forward, letting out a gasp as I did.

Lucius stood before me, a wicked grin on his face. "You tried, Elena. But you have eluded me for long enough. It is time that I killed you." he says, holding his wand up and I feel my heart pounding. If I even tried to move right now I was good as dead; but then again if I didn't, I was dead.

"Why? Why me? Why are you scared of my prophecy?" I ask him and his eyes narrow. "You will destroy my future if your prophecy plays out. I'm preventing a disaster by ridding the world of you." he spits and I swallow hard. "Say goodbye, Elena." he says and my eyes widen and I let out a scream.

"Avada Kedavra!!" 

My eyes flew open and I gasped, sitting up quickly as I blinked several times, looking around me as I tried to figure out where I was. I felt sweat sticking to my face and I was breathing heavily, finally coming to realize I was in the hospital wing. 

"Elena?" a voice asks gently and I look over, seeing Draco sitting beside my bedside, a scared look on his face. "What happened to me?" I ask, my voice quivering and he shakes his head. "You just suddenly got rigid and collapsed. You were screaming horribly Elena." he says and I put a hand to my head before tears came to my eyes.

"He killed me." I whisper and I see Draco tilt his head out of the corner of my eye. My body began to shake as I covered my face with my hands and began to cry. "He killed me." I repeat, my voice shaky and I feel Draco put a hand on my shoulder and I flinch. "Shh, it's okay Elena, it's me." he says and I look up at him and he frowns.

"Who killed you?" he asks and I gulp. "Lucius. He was chasing me, he caught me. He killed me Draco, I heard him say the curse. I was dead." I whimper and his eyes widen in realization. "He's nowhere near here Elena. He will never kill you." he says, sitting on the bed and taking me into his arms, setting me down on his lap as he let me lay my head on his chest as he stroked my hair.

"It was only a dream, Elena. It was only a dream. He won't get you...I won't let him." he whispers and I barely nod my head. 

The opening of the doors made both of us look up and I saw Dumbledore walking in with Madame Pomfrey and Snape. When they reached us Madame Pomfrey made me drink some pumpkin juice before I tried talking to the others, and then she dismissed herself so we could talk.

"What happened?" Professor Dumbledore asks me worriedly and I shiver at the thought of the dream. It must've been a dream, I realize that, but it was so real. I felt the pain in my legs, I felt the lack of air in my lungs, the fear piercing my heart, and the life disappearing from me after he spoke that dreadful curse.

"He was there...he chased me and then he killed me." I whisper and both Professor's eyes widen a little. "Did it feel real?" Snape asks and I nod. "My legs still physically hurt from running, I feel aching everywhere." I admit and I hear Draco take in a breath.

"He's getting impatient." Dumbledore murmurs and I look up at them but don't say a word. "What do you mean impatient?" Draco asks and the two Professors share a look before Dumbledore lets out a sigh. "He's trying to change tactics to get to Elena. Harry, I regret to say, has faced similar attacks from Voldemort. They're getting into the mind and trying to manipulate you and hurt you." Dumbledore says and I feel myself cowering into Draco.

"Can we stop it?" Draco asks and Snape nods. "Only if Elena would be willing to go through extensive training to stop people from entering her mind." he says and I shake my head. "I can't." I whisper and all of them get silent, looking at me as I shake my head.

"He talked to me. He told me why he was afraid. If...he continues to do this, then we can figure out more information." I say tiredly and all three of them frown. "No, that's an idiotic idea." Draco says harshly and I sigh. "Elena this took a big toll on your body, I'm not sure it would be wise to have you continue to endure this." Dumbledore says before putting his hands on the railing at the end of my bed.

"Out of curiosity, what did he tell you?" he questions and I swallow hard. "He said that he was going to kill me to protect his future. If my prophecy plays out, it destroys his future. He said he was preventing a disaster." I say and they get quiet for a moment before Snape and Dumbledore exchange a look with one another.

"He must've figured something out." Snape says in a low voice and I feel myself getting more and more tired by the second. "I really don't care what he's figured out right now, but my question is why is this taking such a big toll on her body?" Draco snaps and Snape gives a wry smile.

"He's using a different approach. With Potter he just had to infiltrate his mind to get him to listen, but Lucius is using Elena's entire body, all of her senses, everything she possesses, and is turning them against her. She is, regrettably, a fragile girl, so it is especially tough on her body." Snape says and I frown.

"So if I wasn't so weak, this wouldn't be happening?" I mutter and Draco scoffs. "You aren't weak Elena, that's not the issue. The issue is that your heart is too soft and you don't have it in you to fight back. You're not that person." he says and I look down, knowing that he was right.

"And that's exactly why Lucius is attacking you this way. He's afraid of your heart, Elena. Your strength is your compassion, which is played out in your prophecy, which is why he's trying to use it against you." Dumbledore says fervently and I raise an eyebrow at him. "How is my compassion supposed to be used in my prophecy?" I ask and he shakes his head. 

"That I can't be sure of, but I am sure that it will show itself sometime soon." he says before he motions for Snape to leave. 

"We'll let you have some rest. You should be fine in a few hours, with Madame Pomfrey's help. We can discuss this later." he says and I nod, both of them leaving, the doors closing behind them which left me still in Draco's arms.

I let out a sigh and I let my head fall on his chest, feeling completely exhausted. "What good is a soft heart if all it does is put me in pain?" I ask sadly, feeling his arms tighten around me. "It shows that you feel enough emotion to actually know what pain is. It lets you connect with everyone so you can help fix them." he whispers and I smile. 

"Thank you." I whisper and he sighs, resting his chin on my head. "It's the truth Elena. It's what you did to me." he says and my smile grows, the feeling of fear slowly disappearing while I was in Draco's arms. I wrapped my own around him and hugged him tight, feeling a sense of security with him that I haven't felt with anyone else before. 

"And what you've done to me." I say and he laughs. "I don't have a soft heart." he scoffs and I giggle, looking up at his grey eyes, seeing them gazing down at my own. I smile at him and he fights the smile on his face as I nod my head. "Yes, you do have a soft heart Draco. If not, you would've loved me." I say and he breaks a smile, shaking his head.

"I suppose you're right." he chuckles and I nod, putting my head back against his chest as he sighs, resting his head on mine as he holds me to him.

"What are you doing to me Elena?"

Uh-oh! What do you think is going to happen with things like this? Please let me know what you think! I hope everyone had a Merry/Happy Christmas and I hope you have a Happy New Years too!!