Meliorism

03 | not safe

Chapter Three

His broken and shallow breathing was the only thing I could listen to while I drove.

The streets were cold and bare, allowing shadows to creep under streetlights and between houses. I could almost feel the gaze of the moon and stars as the car rolled down the streets.

I glanced at him worriedly.

I'd known Draco for a while. Before my father escaped from Azkaban, the Malfoys were the closest family I had. Although there was controversy on whether my dad was a blood traitor or death eater in the First Wizarding War, Draco persuaded his parents to invite me over on the holidays. 

I'm sure it had a lot to do with the fact that I was in Slytherin, unlike my father. They must have assumed that I could redeem the Black family name. I was grateful for their hospitality nonetheless.

With my father in Azkaban, I grew up with some of my father's old friends. They cared for me, but I recognized their uneasiness around me. People always said that I resembled Regulus more than I did my father.

After I became a bit older, I inherited the Black family savings and Grimmauld Place. Outside of Kreacher and my grandmother's portrait, the only family I had left were the Malfoys and the Slytherins. 

Despite all the problems that Draco started at school, he always made sure that I didn't feel alone. 

This was my chance to finally return the deed.

I grimaced. This was the first time that I had even attempted to drive alone on the highway. Thankfully, there weren't too many cars at four in the morning. We would reach the hospital soon.

Somehow, Draco's path crossed with mine after all this time. I never expected our reunion to be like this, with him bruised and bleeding. With the predicament he placed himself in, there was no doubt in my mind that he possessed the dark mark. Just like his father.

I should have stopped him from going down this stereotypical Slytherin path. He could've gone into hiding with me... Anything to prevent this from happening.

The sudden, roaring wind startled me from my guilt.

I whipped my head around, only to realize that the window in the passenger's seat had opened.

"Draco?" I couldn't hide the worry from my voice. "Are you awake?"

I quickly focused my eyes on the road ahead of me, making sure I was on the right path. My heart sunk at the thought of his condition. He's been unconscious for quite a while. Anxiety was burning me from inside out.

A deep groan erupted from his throat. "Alex?"

He rarely called people by their first names. It must have been the shock or delusion in his mind that influenced the slip of his tongue.

Draco's eyes squinted up at me in disbelief. A glint of surprise gleamed in the grey eyes that matched my own. Streetlights reflected off the fresh blood emerging from the edge of his mouth.

"Hey, Ferret." I grinned, letting out a sigh of relief. "I'm getting you help. Just hang in there, alright?"

At least he wasn't dead just yet.

"Wh-" His eyes widened with contained alarm at the recognition of my words. "Don't be daft, Black," he hissed in frustration, which caused him to clutch his sides in pain. He let out a shuddered breath. "It's not safe. We can't trust anyone."

☆彡 ★彡

I decided to park at a gas station near the hospital while we thought about our next plan.