Her Protector (Draco Malfoy)

Chapter One

He'd always protected me. From the very first time we met, he protected me. I never knew why. I never allowed myself to think about it for too long.

"TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!" A loud voice shouts, stilling all conversation. I look up in surprise, finding Professor Quirrell running into the Great Hall, his face paler than ever. "TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!" He goes quiet for a moment, stopping in the middle of the hall, "Just thought you should know."

And then he drops to the ground. For a moment, everyone goes absolutely silent. My eyes widen. A troll? Fear races through me in the next instant. Screams suddenly echo throughout the hall, and soon everyone is rising from their seats.

I stand up but am immediately pushed to the side. I stumble back onto the bench, stunned momentarily. A hand suddenly grasps my arm, pulling me to my feet. I look over in shock, finding Draco Malfoy before me. He offers me a nod, pulling me to where the others are.

"SILENCE!" Professor Dumbledore yells.

I look at Draco, "Thanks," I murmur.

Moments later, Lavender Brown is bounding up to me, fear and anxiety all over her features. Draco offers me a sharp nod, not meeting my eyes, before walking to his Prefect hurriedly.

"What was that?" Lavender asks, her anxiety lessening as curiosity takes over.

I shrug, "Not sure."

It only got worse from then on. Anytime there was a whisper of danger, he was there.

I put my chin on my closed fist, watching Professor Lockhart drone on and on about how great he is. Sure, he's kind of handsome, but he's old. And all he does is talk about himself. It's rather annoying.

Laughter rings out. Did I miss something? Suddenly, Professor Lockhart whisks the blue cover off of a shaking cage. All at once, the Cornish Pixies burst out of the cage and onto the students. Chaos rings out all at once.

A pixie comes running up to me and tugs my hair, causing me to shriek loudly. Fingers encircle my wrist, pulling me up from my seat. I look up in terror, finding Draco Malfoy before me. Memories of the troll incident come running through my mind, distracting me.

"Come on then," he encourages roughly, tugging me from the room immediately.

"Elaira!" I hear Hermione call, but it's too late.

Draco pulls me through the corridors, weaving and winding us through the school until we're suddenly in front of the Fat Lady's portrait. He drops my wrist just as quickly as he'd grabbed it. He turns to go, but my hand reaching for his stops him.

"Wait," I say. "Thank you. You saved me. Again."

Again, he doesn't speak, he simply nods and goes on his way. Why did he save me? Again, for that matter?

"Elaira! How'd you get here so fast?" Seamus Finnigan asks loudly, his accent ringing true.

Still stunned, I turn around with a broad smile, "A good wizard never reveals their secrets."

Even still from that year, he helped me once more.

I clutch my book tightly to my chest as I leave the library, looking around cautiously. The petrifier may only be targeting muggleborns, but the mere fact that my friends, people I care about, are being frozen terrifies me still.

"Williams?" I gasp, turning around and raising my wand defensively, the book falling to the floor with a loud thump. Draco Malfoy raises his hands, "It's only me."

"Oh, Malfoy," I whisper, dropping my wand to my side, heaving a sigh of relief. I pick up the book, cheeks flushing with embarrassment, "I'm sorry."

"Scared?" He asks, coming closer with his hands in his robes. Afraid to answer, I simply nod. "I'll walk you to your common room."

"Really?" I ask, unable to help myself.

He reaches me, extending his arm. Swallowing a bit, I take his arm. He begins to walk me, every so often watching me from the corner of his eye, noticing the way I look around in fear every so often.

He pauses, stopping me as well. I look at him then, not even bothering to hide how utterly afraid I am. Looking slightly conflicted, he shakes his head a bit before wrapping his arm around my waist, pulling me into his side.

"Nothing can get to you while I'm here," he reassures me, something I wasn't aware he was even capable of.

Unable to help myself, I take my right hand off of the book and clutch the hand on my waist tightly. He looks over at me sharply, and for a moment, I worry he'll let me go completely, but he doesn't.

"I'm sorry," I murmur, avoiding his searching gaze. "I'm in Gryffindor, I should be brave." He doesn't answer, simply holding me a little tighter. "I... I've been wanting to talk to you." He raises an eyebrow but still doesn't respond. "You always leave once you save me. I was... I was just wondering why?"

He sighs heavily, stopping once more. Only a flight of stairs stands between us and the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Williams, I don't want to hurt you, so I cannot speak to you," he says firmly.

I understand then, why he doesn't stick around after saving me. I lower my gaze, hurt filling me despite the fact he said he didn't want to hurt you.

"Because I'm a half-blood," I mutter, almost inaudibly. He nods, holding me even tighter, as if sensing my next move. I deliberately step out of his hold, letting go of his hand, "I can find my own way back. It's just stairs."

He watches me go, but even when I enter the common room, I can still feel his stare.

From that moment on, I'd done my best to avoid him, not that it worked very well. Come third year, I was determined to not speak to him. I managed to keep my unspoken promise even when he found me on the train ride to Hogwarts.

I sit in my own compartment alone, relieved to have a few more moments to myself before finding my friends. I just enjoy the quiet that being alone brings, and once I get to Hogwarts, I know it will be awhile to experience true quiet.

A cold chill makes me shiver, rubbing my arms to bring some heat back to my body. It fades and I go back to looking out of the window. The train jerks a moment, suddenly slamming on its brakes. I gasp, grabbing onto the window to steady myself so I don't fall. It gets cold again, harsher this time. I jump as the window begins to ice over.

"What in Godric's name?" I ask in slight fear, scooting down the seat.

My compartment door is thrown open and I let out a slight shriek, whipping around.

"It's me," Draco Malfoy reassures me, shutting the compartment door and taking out his wand, murmuring, "Colloportus."

The compartment door locks, and he's quick to sit next to me, drawing me into his arms. He brings his wand out again as it gets even colder, murmuring a spell I can't hear. Hot air steadily streams out of his wand, warming us back up. Something appears at the door, making me gasp and bury my face in Draco's neck. He simply holds me tighter, not wavering for a single moment.

The thing disappears and so does the ice. He stops the spell once we begin to over heat, stuffing his wand into his robes. He stands, helping me to my feet.

"You should sit with your friends," he tells me, avoiding my eyes as always. "Just in case."

He leaves without waiting for me to thank him. I watch him go, shaking my head. I kept my promise to myself, though. I didn't talk to him.