Saved by Malfoy*

Chapter 8

Draco's P.O.V

I couldn't speak. I did the only thing my body would let me do: I pulled Mother into a hug. It was such a rare occasion that I hugged her, she knew something would happen.

“Mother, that's the best thing I've ever heard you say,” I breathed, hugging her tighter.

A smile broke across her face.

“You feel the same?” She asked, hesitantly.

“Yes, Mum, I'm the exact same,” I grinned, releasing her.

We were suddenly interrupted by a pair of soft, running footsteps above us. Mother quickly took the locks off the door. A set of heavier footsteps bounded after the light ones.

I quickly opened the door just to have Hermione fly behind me. I spun around to look at her.

“Why are you downstairs?” I asked, quickly noticing a wound on her arm.

“B - B - B - Bellatrix,” she whimpered.

Just as I was about to try and heal the wound, the spoken witch came to the doorway.

“Draco, your Mudblood disobeyed and ran from a superior, she needs to learn her place. She must be punished,” Bellatrix snarled.

I glanced at Mother, who gave me a small nod. I took a deep breath and spun around. I slapped Hermione on the cheek, hard. The force was so much that she fell to the ground, so I turned back to my aunt.

"That's all?" My aunt asked me.

"Yes, you aren't her main superior, I am. She's not the kind of slave I use for torture. I don't want her too injured for me to have my fun. She will be punished much more later," I waved her off.

My aunt looked speechless.

She apparated before I said another word. I sighed and turned back to Hermione, making her flinch. I grabbed the arm that wasn't bleeding and helped her up.

“I'm sorry, I didn't want to hurt you,” I uttered. “If I didn't you were sure to get tortured.”

I easily healed the thin scratch in her arm and cleared the blood off her skin. She nodded but didn't make eye contact. I looked at her, the terrified look in her eyes made me hate myself. I've never hated myself more than this moment.

“I'm going back to the room,” she muttered, almost in audibly.

She bolted off before I could say another word.

I knew my expression showed exactly how I felt because Mother put a hand on my shoulder.

“Let's talk upstairs,” she offered.

I led the way upstairs. She locked the door and put up some silencing charms. I could hear the shower running, so I approached the door. I heard the quiet sobs coming from Hermione over the water. Gasps for air made my heart ache; she was having another panic attack.

"Hermione?" I asked, knocking.

I didn't get a reply.

"I'm sorry," I told her through the door.

I got a loud hiccup in return. I sighed.  I stepped away from the door and sat on the bed next to Mother.

“What's she doing?” Mother asked.

“She's having a panic attack,” I whispered, putting my head in my hands. “I might have just ruined all the trust she had in me.”

“Draco, you did the right thing. You both would have suffered a lot more if you hadn't hit her,” she soothed.