daughter of wands (d.m)

XXII

"Draco!" I gasp, leaping from the couch and running to his side, my exhaustion disappearing.

His swollen eyes meet mine as he collapses to the floor, his hand gripping his chest tightly. I drop the to ground with him, my tired arms unable to hold his body weight.

He coughs, blood spurting from his mouth, as he attempts to speak.

I take his heavy arm over my shoulder, tucking myself under. "Just relax, you'll be okay. You've gotta help me though, you gotta stand up."

He groans as we lift ourselves off the ground, the blood from his throat still fresh on the floor. I lean down carefully and use the bottom of my dress it wipe it, leaving no trace that it was ever there.

"Everett..." He croaks our, his voice thick with pain. "I'm- I'm so sorry."

"No, no, no theres plenty of time for apologizing later." I say, his leg limping as I tuck him under my arm carefully. "Come on, Daphne and Pansy are gone, I'll take you up to my room."

He tries to protest but after a few words he coughs again, his chest heaving from the pain. We fumble as quietly up the stairs as we can, my feet uneasy under his weight.

We make it through the corridor and I turn the key to my room slowly, peaking around to make sure no one didn't decide to stay an extra night.

When I see the coast is clear, I lift him through the entry and lay him on my bed. I gently take off his jacket and unbutton his shirt, tossing them to the side.

His toned chest is torn apart with small lesions, still oozing a crimson red. I reach into my trunk and pull out one of my towels, lightly wiping away the blood.

He grunts angrily as I clean the cuts out, his body convulsing in agony. I can't help the tears from spilling again as I tie my hair back into a loose bun, his face contorting from the pain.

The gashes are too deep for me too clean out, the blood pouring over his sides and onto my bed, staining my green sheet black. I pause for a moment, the situation becoming too much to handle, when I notice my wand sticking out of my school bag.

I reach down and grab it, placing my free hand on his chest. I close my eyes in focus intently, blocking out everything besides the task at hand.

All at once, Draco's sobs are drown out as a spell rushes to the front of my mind. Without questioning it, I flick my wrist gently. "Valnera Sanentur."

Within seconds, the dried blood vanishes as his wounds slowly begin to close. I let out a sigh of relief as he starts to come to, his breath evening out.

I sit on the bed next to him as he continues to relax, rubbing my eyes furiously and wiping away the last few tears.

I stare into space as I listen closely and monitor his breathing, my heart still racing a mile a minute.

Once we've both settled down I grab the bloodied shirts next to him and toss them into my hamper, getting rid of all the evidence. He coughs a few more times, his voice stronger than before as he regains his strength.

"What happened?" I ask quietly, already knowing the answer. "Did they do this to you?"

He doesn't answer for a moment, his eyes burning a hole in the ceiling as he lays on his back.

Finally, he speaks. "I'm so sorry I've pulled you into this Everett. I did everything I could to keep you out of it but... But it was too late."

The crack in voice is almost enough to make me start crying again. I turn to him, his inflamed eyes filled with tears as he shakes his head sorrowfully.

"Don't be sorry Draco, this isn't entirely your fault," I say with a remorseful laugh. "If I never followed you that night, none of this would be happening."

"That's not true," He murmurs. "It would still be happening, you just wouldn't know about it."

I shrug, "I guess... Listen I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. You aren't as bad as Blaise."

He uses all his energy to muster up a small smile, his hand reaching out to grab mine. Our fingers intertwine as the moonlight pours in from the window and fans out over his tired frame, his bones nearly protruding from his chest.

His left eye is black and his lower lip is pouted with a small cut. He looked like he hadn't slept in weeks, like he had been ill for months and wasn't anywhere near getting better. But seeing him now was like seeing a completely different Draco Malfoy; no sarcasm, no walls, no secrets.

I leaned down in bed next him, careful not to disturb his freshly healed cuts. He twists his head to mine, our faces inches from each other as I brush a strand of hair from his sweaty forehead.

We don't say anything, we just stare into each others eyes with understanding. It wasn't sexual but it was intimate, like we had known each other for years.

"What are they doing to you?" I whisper, my hands still in his hair.

His gaze drops from mine, "You don't want to know."

I nod cautiously, not wanting to press for more information. My eyes well with tears as I realize he's probably sparing me the details because this is about to become my life too.

"I can tell you about the cabinet now, if you'd like." He says sweetly.

I smile and sit upright, brushing my thumb across his bruised cheek. "Tomorrow. I think you should get some sleep, I'll stay in Pansy's bed and you can stay in mine."

He nods, rolling over carefully and covering himself in my covers. I quietly step behind my privacy screen and change out of my dress, slipping into some pajamas and crawling into Pansy's duvet.

My eyes shut instantly, sleep beginning to take over as my mind wanders to the not so mysterious boy in my bed.

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