𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐓 ⚯͛ 𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑶 𝑴𝑨𝑳𝑭𝑶𝒀

[8] : no escape

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        "you bitch." pansy said, waking hydra up the next morning by flinging her curtains open. "i should ruin you."

        hydra sleepily laughed and asked," care to inform me why i should be ruined?"

        "that piece of shit malfoy got blaise suspended until after christmas break because he said that blaise had been harassing girls. i see the way you flirt with blaise. don't think even for a second that i don't know that you and malfoy planned this. now i don't have a date to the yule ball." she rambled, her eyes squinted angrily.

        hydra sat up and rubbed her head confusedly. malinda stretched up too before hissing at pansy, making her scoff and stomp off. draco had done what? what had she missed while she slept her terrible day off? she looked over to see daphne still passed out then looked at malinda who was looking back at her. she gave her cat a pet before getting up and getting dressed. she went to brush her hair and was caught slightly off guard when there was a lot less of it to brush. she fiddled with her nose ring and rubbed her eyes before making her way down to the dining hall for breakfast. she didn't really want to see anyome besides her friends but she was hungry.

        as soon as she stepped foot inside, every eye in the hall was on her. did her haircut look that bad?

        she slowly looked around at all the eyes belonging to whispering faces. her heart thudded hard in her chest as she wished daphne or luna or neville or ginny or anyone was by her side. but there she stood alone. for the first time in a long time, she felt hurt by her peers. to be ostracized by her own house was one thing, but by the whole school felt unreal.

        she looked over to the slytherin table where draco was the only one not staring, his head down as he ate. her bottom lip began to quiver as she turned and bolted out of there, going to the only place she knew she could be alone. squeezing out through the broken window she had a million times, this time broken glass managed to gash her thigh. she let out a cry as she sat in a fetal position, sobbing. she wanted to go home already. she missed bill. this place - this school - it only ever brought her hurt. no matter how strong she was, eventually everyone breaks. her shoulders shook as quiet sobs escaped her lips, clutching her bleeding leg.

        "hydra?" she heard draco's voice say, an instant feeling of relief flooding her body. she looked up at him with puffy eyes and muttered," go away. i don't want you to see me like this." she didn't really want him to go away though.

        he immediately went over to her and did something even he didn't expect, engulfing her in a hug as he shook his head. he didn't care that she was crying. she knew he didn't care but she didn't like anyone seeing her this upset. "it's okay." he softly said, rubbing her back. it was so strange for hydra to be consoled by draco malfoy that she almost stopped crying just to laugh, but she was still so upset.

        he pulled away and looked from her puffy, red face to her short hair to her bleeding leg. "what happened to your leg?" he decided to ask first. her finger lifted to point at the window behind them as she used the sleeve on her other arm to wipe her face. he looked at the window and nodded, sitting next to her. "we should go to medical, hydra."

        she inhaled deeply and sniffled, her crying dying down now that she was distracted. "it's a cut. it'll heal on it's own. dragon p-perks."

        there was silence between the two of them for a short period of time before she muttered," i don't get why everyone hate me." his heart felt a strong twinge of pain as he immediately responded," because they fear what they can't fathom. you've done nothing wrong." he grabbed her hand in his. he wasn't very good at this comforting thing but he was trying his best. it worked though, because she felt increasingly safe next to him.

        "do you feel okay to tell me what happened with zabini?" he gently asked. hydra looked at her free hand before saying," he was being even weirder than usual. he backed me into a wall and tried kissing my neck and threw daphne to the ground when she tried to pull him off. i hit him hard enough in the balls and face to hopefully leave a mark on both. do you, uh, feel okay to tell me what happened with you and him?" her eyes looked at him, already less sad looking now that she'd gotten it off her chest.

        he chewed at one of his nails, angry from hearing hydra's story, before spitting out," he shot me the most disgusting look when he got back to class after what he did to you. i just knew. i couldn't control myself. before i knew it, we were fighting in the hall. i'm sorry. i didn't mean to but i got so mad at the idea of him touching you or any other girl in the past that i couldn't take i-"

        she cut him off by placing a soft kiss on his cheek. he instantly froze, blushing, and looked at her, suddenly shy. "w-what was that for?" he asked. she bittersweetly stared back at him and said," for being you." his heart felt like it melted inside his chest but he tried his hardest to ignore it, quickly asking," are you feeling okay?"

        the cut on her leg had healed by now and though her eyelids were still puffy, her crying had stopped. she brushed her thumb on his hand and responded," definitely better now than a few minutes ago."

        he smiled at her and softly said," i like your hair, by the way. it suits you nicely. you look pretty... uh, pretty cool." his mannerisms and speech patterns showed hydra that he suddenly felt nervous around her, but her mannerisms displayed clear as day how soft she felt around him at this moment. her thumb caressing his hand, her inability to look away from him, her admiration for his sudden nervousness - she didn't know what any of it meant but it made everything feel a little more okay.

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✧ NOTES ✧

- this is a pretty short chapter and writing sad hydra makes me sad too but it definitely gets a lot happier for a while starting next chapter. :)