Bitter Chocolate - (A 'Veronica Weasley' sequel) || Draco Malfoy

14 - His Tortured Soul

When our feet landed, I was surprised to see that we had appeared outside a pair of sinister looking wrought iron gates.

An oddly familiar pair of sinister looking wrought iron gates.

"Draco-"

"Don't freak out," he said quickly.

"Why the fuck have you brought me here?!" I cried, wrenching my hand out of his to clutch at my head. "Don't you remember what happened the last time I visited your humble abode? Your parents tried to kill me! Your aunt tortured one of my best friends! It's not exactly in my top ten fucking list of places that would cheer me the fuck up!"

"I know! Just hear me out." He said quickly, taking my hands in his. "You won't have to go inside and you won't have to see my parents, I just thought that maybe we could have a little one on one Quidditch fun in the grounds. I know you used to enjoy it at school... and I miss playing it with you."

I looked at him in utter disbelief. One on one Quidditch fun? I hadn't known what his idea might be when he suggested cheering me up, but I wasn't expecting this.

"But we don't have to," he added quickly. "If you don't want."

I swallowed, looking up at him. I almost laughed at his expression; his eyes wide and pleading, not unlike a puppy dog's and his lips pulled into an exaggerated pout.

"Pathetic but kind of cute," I muttered, trying not to smile as my lips twitched up at the corners of their own accord.

"You think I'm cute?" He asked, raising his eyebrows as a playful smirk instantly formed on his own lips.

"You have a tolerable face," I shrugged. "Now come on, you've twisted my arm. Let me go and thrash you at Quidditch before your ego explodes."

Chuckling, he led the way, clutching my hand in his as he flicked his wand causing the gates to slowly roll apart.

An unwelcome vision of the last time I was stood here suddenly flew into my mind; chained up and being smacked around by that fucking dick of a Snatcher.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked, his features pinched in concern as he glanced down at me. I realised he must have felt me shudder.

"Yeah, just... memories, you know." I murmured grimly as we made our way up the drive towards the dark looming manor up ahead.

He gave my hand a gentle squeeze. "Nothing's going to hurt you, Ronnie. I wouldn't let that happen."

Except what he didn't seem to realise was that this was just setting me up for more hurt than I'd ever experienced in my life.

And it was all through his doing.

I let my hand drop, suddenly realising how inappropriately intimate we were being. The lines were getting blurred again, as they always tended to with Draco.

We turned off the drive before we reached the gloomy manor, following a small windy path that seemed to go on forever through thick bushes and trees.

"Why are we walking? Why couldn't we have just Apparated to whether it is you're taking me?" I moaned, wondering what was the fucking point of having wands if we didn't fucking use them.

"Can't." Draco muttered, striding on ahead. "I had to place special enchantments on the grounds after the war due to people Apparating inside to vandalise the property." He paused, his voice lowering to a tone of bitterness. "The Malfoy's warcrimes didn't sit too well with a lot of pissed off people."

My heart gave a sudden squeeze in my chest as I pictured Draco sat all alone in this place during that first year when his parents were both locked up in Azkaban whilst simultaneously being a target for people to vent their anger out on.

"Draco, why didn't you reach out to me? I would have been here for you."

"I thought you deserved better." He said quietly, looking down at the ground as he slowed his pace. "This was no life for you."

"Could you not let me have decided that for myself?" I implored, feeling massively frustrated.

He came to a still before wheeling round to face me, his expression was pained and a deep sadness swirled in his eyes.

"Ronnie, you have no idea what it was like. I literally couldn't go anywhere in the following months without hate being thrown at me from all directions. I spent the first year hiding from the world whilst simultaneously visiting my mother everyday in Azkaban. I may as well have been in there with her. In some ways, it would have been easier."

"You visited your mother every day?" I gasped, utterly horrified. "Harry never said anything."

"She didn't deserve to be in there!" Draco spat, his face pinching in immediate anger at the mention of Harry. "She was just like me, we didn't have a choice. It was do or die! He used our home for his base; the home I grew up in. The things we had to do; the things we had to witness. We were forced to watch a witch get eaten by a snake on our own fucking dining table!"

He angrily kicked a tree as he let out a roar of frustration.

"Draco," I said, taking a tentative step towards him to place a comforting hand on his back, "I'm so, so sorry for what you had to go through."

He said nothing, his back still to me as his shoulders sagged defeatedly. And then he started to shake and I realised, with horror, that he was crying.

"Draco," I breathed, forcing him to turn around and pulling him into my arms.

His body seemed to sigh into my embrace, as if he'd been waiting for it for a long time, clinging to me tightly whilst he buried his face in my hair, his body racking violently with sobs against mine.

"I missed you so fucking much, Ronnie," he murmured hoarsely, moving his hands to clutch the back of my head, tangling his fingers through my hair as he started peppering furtive, frantic kisses over my brow, my eyes, my cheeks, my lips.

"Draco, don't," I gasped against his mouth as he tried to kiss my lips more firmly, desperately trying to prise them apart with his own.

But he wouldn't quit, his actions getting more desperate and forceful by the second. With great effort, I placed my hands flat on his chest and gave him a firm hard shove, causing him to stagger backwards, a stunned look upon his face.

"Draco what the fuck do you think you're doing?!" I cried, my heart pounding furiously. "This is not the way to deal with things!"

"Shit," he panted, his chest rising and falling heavily as he drove both hands through his hair. "I keep fucking up. Please don't hate me Ronnie, I couldn't bear it if you did."

"I don't hate you Draco," I sighed, "I could never hate you. But no matter how upset you are, you can't do things like that. You're engaged for crying out loud - something that I seem to be constantly having to fucking remind you of lately!"

"And if I wasn't engaged?"

I looked up at him, startled. I felt sweat bead in the palms of my hands as our eyes locked; the air seeming to still around us.

"I think you know the answer to that," I said sadly, feeling tears prick dangerously behind my eyes.

He nodded morosely but said no more.

I could see his heart was just as shattered as mine. What I couldn't understand was why he was allowing this to happen.

But I was too afraid to ask.

*****