𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧 {a Draco Malfoy story}

chapter thirty-three

Rose

     For the entire day after Draco was sent to the hospital, I sat in the seat beside his bed. He was unconscious, but he was breathing, so I knew he wasn't dead. I held his hand for hours at a time, and thankfully it was a Sunday so no classes were being skipped. 

     It was a bit heartbreaking, now that I think about it, that so many people came to visit Ron while he was in the hospital, but Draco's only had 5 visitors - Madame Pomfrey included. 

     Pansy had visited earlier, bringing me a plate of strawberries and some pumpkin juice. She set them on the table beside me and stood in front of me with her arms crossed. "Rose?"

     I looked up at her. "I'm so sorry, Pansy, I'm so sorry."

     "You left me alone for 5 months! From December until May, you left me all alone. You're my best friend, Rose, and you just left. The only female company I had was Millicent Bulstrode's bloody cat!"

     She sighed and took a seat beside me. "Promise me you're not leaving me again."

     I smiled at the girl, only now realizing how much she had grown since my first day at Hogwarts. "I promise."

     She pulled me into a hug and laughed. "It's good to have you back, Rosie."

     "Oh god, you're calling me 'Rosie' now, too? Wasn't Blaise and Theo enough?"

     "Those bellends are calling me Penny. I think you can survive with Rosie."

     She got up and began heading out the door, when Draco began coughing. My eyes quickly turned to him, hoping this would be the moment he wakes up. However, he did not open his eyes. He went back to sleep and I slumped back down in my chair, taking his hand in mine again. "Are you going to be all right?"

     "Honestly, no, but I can't do anything about it."

     "Do you need me to bring anyone?" Pansy asked.

     "No, it's okay." She began walking away, when I called out again. "Actually, tell Hermione to come visit me."

     Pansy groaned. "Do I have to talk to her?"

     "I mean, if you're able to speak to her through dance, by all means be my guest."

     She rolled her eyes. "You owe me one, Esparay."

     I stuck my tongue out at her as she left the room, leaving me with Draco again. 

     Please wake up, love.

+++

     "Would you care to explain why Pansy Parkinson just tried to waltz her way to the hospital wing while signalling me with her eyes?" Hermione asked while walking to the place I was seated at. She looked at Draco and had a sad smile plastered on her face. "He'll make it out, Rose."

     "How can you be sure?"

     "I can't, but let's just blame it on love for the time being."

     I put my hair into a bun and stood up to stretch. "You knew about my mark."

     Hermione nervously look around. "Yes, I did."

     "How?"

     "This man right here came to me asking for help -"

     "Draco came to you? As in, he spoke to you?" She gave me an annoyed look. "Sorry."

     "Anyway, he was about to tell me but then he stopped. I thought it was because he didn't want to explain anything about the... you know... mark. But it was obvious, so I took a guess and assumed it was You-Know-Who who forced you to do it."

     "It was obvious? The mark, I mean. It's obvious?"

     "What? Oh, Merlin no. It's just whenever Draco started talking about you, he would get nervous and stutter. He would look over to his left arm. Trust me, I only noticed because I was paying a bit too much attention," She said, clearing up the confusion.

     I leaned back and laughed. "He really never stopped."

     "Stopped trying to bring you back? I wasn't too surprised, if I'm being honest."

     "No, I mean," I closed my eyes. "He never stopped loving me, you know? He did everything he could." I looked at Draco's pale face, his once pink lips now turning a shade of light purple. "Which is why I can't stop waiting for him. It's the least I can do."

     "I haven't told Harry or Ron about you being a Death Eater. I know you didn't do it because you wanted to. Neither did Draco. I can't even begin to understand how scared you must've been."

     "Why didn't you tell them?"

     "Malfoy told me not to, and I thought it was better they didn't blame every small inconvenience on you."

     I chuckled. Sounds exactly like something Harry and Ronald would do. My heart sunk as I realized what Draco and I needed to do by the end of the school year. How was Hermione ever supposed to forgive me after it? "Hermione, listen. I need you to promise me you won't despise me after school ends."

     She looked at me and tilted her head to the side. "Why?"

     "I can't tell you. I just need you to know that we didn't want to do it. Draco and I, we didn't want any of this."

     She relaxed her face and wrapped her arms around me. "I believe that it's best I do not question this any further. I won't hate you, Rose. I've always had a fued with your boyfriend, but if it comes down to it, I'm always here for you. Always."

     I hugged her again and let a couple tears stream down my face. "Thank you."

     She lingered back for a couple more seconds, then left the room, leaving me with Draco alone once again. Madame Pomfrey came in followed by Professor Snape to change his bandages. As she lifted his arm, his sleeve fell back, revealing his mark. She looked at Snape and raised her eyebrows, letting out an audible gasp. "He's just a boy, Severus."

     "I can't talk the Dark Lord out of it I'm afraid, Poppy."

     His chest was scarred and wounded up. It was a miracle he was still breathing.

     He's stronger than I could ever imagine.

     He can fight this.

     I'll kill you if you die on me, Draco.