High (A Harry Potter Fanfiction--Dramione)

They'll Take Your Fire

Draco had always known that after he confessed his dark Death Eater deeds to Hermione there was a possibility she might not be too keen on him. It still didn't prepare him for the emptiness he felt when Hermione left him that night in the Room of Requirement. Now it had been a week and she hadn't even looked at him.

Draco's Slytherin gift for compartmentalization was failing him. Hermione was at the forefront of his mind and all he could think about was missing her. He had promised her he would never let anything ever come in between them again. He meant it. Even if she could stay away, he would wait. He would ache for her, until the minute she wanted him again, then he would be at her feet.

Aaaaand...this is what it must feel like to be Pansy Parkinson.

He didn't care. Damn it all, he loved her and that wasn't going to go away no matter what she decided. He just wished he knew what she was thinking. Were they still together?

What if they weren't? What would he do then? Pretend everything with her had never happened, take up with the Death Eaters, and pray that he never found her on the other end of his wand?

No. That was impossible. There was no going back to his life before her.

Of course this meant he was living on borrowed time. But he developed a sort of zen in knowing that he would die, probably at the hands of his lunatic aunt after she tortured him into insanity. It just inspired him to protect his memories of Hermione cloaked in his mind where no one could reach. No one would take those from him. He would die knowing that she was the one good thing he did with his life.

In an attempt to distract himself from his loneliness, he busied himself with the Vanishing Cabinet, working virtually non-stop. He just wanted to be rid of the damn thing forever. Once it was finished, he would need to come up with a plan to protect Hermione. The Death Eaters were coming, and if she wouldn't let him near her to keep her from harm, he'd have to work out another way to do it.

He hadn't slept properly in almost a month. Not since that night Hermione snuck into the Infirmary to see him and spent the night. He felt manic. His insides were liquid and his brain was on fire. But he had a job to do and he couldn't let a little thing like his deteriorating health and mental state stand in his way.

One morning on his way to breakfast, Draco heard a sound he naively hoped he had escaped forever.

"Draco, wait for me!" A high-pitched female voice rang through the corridor towards the Great Hall, causing Draco's blood to freeze.

Oh what fresh hell is this?

"Draco, I've been so worried about you. You shouldn't go anywhere alone. Not with those Gryffindors lurking around."

Draco didn't stop walking or turn around to face Pansy Parkinson as she clung to his arm like an oversized leech.

"Are you busy later? It's been ages since we've been alone." She bounced her eyebrows suggestively.

Draco scoffed. Even if he wasn't hung up on Hermione, he still wouldn't have the slightest desire to ever touch Pansy again. In the two minutes since she'd bounded towards him, he already found her presence grating. "Not interested." He pried her off his arm.

"Draco Malfoy you will not just walk away from me. What did I do wrong?" She tugged on him even harder, throwing her arms around him and throwing him off balance.

She might be small, but she had that Pansy-on-a-mission strength and Draco actually struggled against her. As he attempted to be free of the simpering girl, he was put off guard as a figure bumped into his shoulder, pushing past him.