After Everything (Dramione)

Chapter 17

Okay, firstly, I want to apologise for being so slow to update. Thanks to everyone for the extraordinary amount of reads and votes I could never have imagined to receive.

Just a quick warning: this chapter is fairly gory

Enjoy!

I opened my eyes to find myself in complete darkness. After a few moments, my eyes slowly adjusted and I could just about make out an outline of a door, a long, long way away from where I was sat on a slightly damp, disgusting smelling floor. No. Not a long way. My head span and the door seemed to move, teasing me as I tried to work out where it was. My head throbbed and I tried to move, but I couldn't. My ankles had been shackled to the floor.

"Hello?"

I almost screamed in fright as a broken voice echoed from out of the shadows. It was hoarse, painful.

It was different, but I would know that voice anywhere.

"Draco?" I whispered, my mind struggling with the combination of relief that he was alive and the dread that he might not be for much longer.

"Herr... miney." He managed, his voice cracking.

"Don't talk," I said, "We're going to get out of here, ok? And then we're going to kill her."

Though I could not move my feet, I stretched my arms towards the direction his voice came from until I felt the smooth skin of his arm.

My relief soon turned to horror, though, as I felt deep cuts carved into his flesh. I felt the crusty scabs over the edges and then the hot liquid that bubbled over his skin. I heard his sharp intake of breath so I quickly moved my hand away, instead finding his hand.

His fingers were cold, and I held them tightly to quell the shaking.

"What has she done to you?" I breathed.

Just then, the iron door heaved open, and I was momentarily blinded by the bright light that poured into the room.

Astoria stood in the doorway, her yellow teeth highlighted against her wide grin.

"Oh, what a touching reunion!" She laughed, and I knew that, were I not chained to the ground, I would throw myself at her, claw her eyes out, throttle her skinny neck.

It was then that I caught sight of Draco. I felt tears rise to the corners of my eyes, tears that for weeks I had kept suppressed, tears that I refused to let flow now. I blinked then back as I took in the extent of his injuries. His arms were worse than I had thought. Most of the skin had been burnt off, red tissue and pus and blood left behind. His face had deep scratches down the length of it, clearly as a result of Astoria's black talons. His clothes were wholly stained with scarlet, and deep knife wounds ran the length of his body.

I wanted to kill Astoria. I wanted to rip her arms from their sockets and watch her bleed to death.

But most of all, as Draco turned his grey eyes to mine, more than anything I wanted to take his place.

I wanted Astoria to inflict those injuries on me, if it meant Draco would not have to suffer them.

That was when I finally let the tears fall, though they were not tears of sadness or pity. They were tears of anger, tears of resolve.

Conjuring up all of my fury and rage and love into one place, along with all my knowledge of wandless magic, I closed my eyes. I let the feeling spread and grow, throughout my body, until I heard the satisfying snap of my shackles breaking.

Astoria took a step backwards in surprise.

"How did you do that?!" She roared.

Inside my head, I spoke a command, and sure enough, I heard the familiar quizzing noise of an object being summoned.

As my wand drew closer to me, I felt my power building.

And when it came to a stop in my hand, I turned it, sure of what I had to do.

I pointed my wand at Astoria, it's energy flowing through my body, making me feel both weightless and the most powerful thing in the universe simultaneously. And then, without hesitation, I said the two words I had hoped never to use in my life.

There was a flash of green light.