CRUCIO // Draco Malfoy X Reader

Chapter 23 - Slytherin Common Room

You woke up with a start, rapidly sitting up. Your chest was heaving, and there was a patch of sweat on the sheets - you were dripping with it. The nightmare still flashed behind your eyes - the doves, dropping from the sky, Carrow's laughter, the careful precision in which you'd had to shoot them down, only hitting the ones out of the way of anyone, lest the curse go awry-

You exhaled, running a hand over your face. It was fine. No one had died. You and Lyre had done most of the work yourselves, just to ensure everyone's safety. Well, you had anyway. You couldn't be sure about Lyre. 

Dinah butted her face against your side, looking up at your sleepily. You reached down to pet her reassuringly. 

The dormitory was pitch black, and you could only hear your friends when they moved in their sleep. It must have been around 1 or 2 in the morning. You contemplated going back to sleep for a moment, but the adrenaline in your system still and the sweaty patch on your sheets drove you out of bed. 

No one would be in the common room anyway. 

Well, maybe someone would.

You made your way down the stairs quietly, as to not disturb anyone else - though you doubt many of them were sleeping soundly. It seemed the whole house had dark circles under their eyes now, and on more than one occasion, you would find people passed out in the common room, no doubt having drifted off trying to escape from their nightmares.

You had reached the bottom of the stairs when you heard it. A soft sniffling, punctuated now and again by a choke or a sob. You hesitated. 

Maybe whoever it was wanted to be left alone...

But maybe, you could help...

You stepped out into the common room, making sure to hit the creaky step, alerting the other person of your presence.

They stiffened on the couch, their head coming up from their hands. 

Draco turned to look at you, his eyes red from crying. 

Your heart pulled in your chest. "What happ-"

"Don't, alright?" Draco snapped, getting up from the sofa. "I don't-"

A spike of anger flared up in you. He wasn't doing this again. You cut him off a little harshly. "Sit back down."

Draco's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, 'sit back down'? I'm going back up to bed-"

You marched over to the sofa, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him down next to you. Draco was to stunned to do anything but let you manhandle him back into his seat. 

"You're not running away, and you're not going to do that thing where you just stare into the fire and not talk, alright?" You said. 

Draco huffed. "Like you have any right to-."

"What happened?" You asked, cutting him off. 

Draco shut his mouth, staring into the fire. 

You took a deep breath, and put one hand on his shoulder, turning him slightly, forcing him to look you in the eye. "Draco, please."

He sniffled loudly as tears started to roll down his face again. "Everyone hates me." He choked out. 

Your eyes widened as you pulled him forward, crushing him in a hug. "That's just ridiculous." You said. "No one hates you."

Draco laughed sarcastically into your shoulder. "Right." You could feel a damp spot growing on your pyjama shirt. 

"Where did that even come from?" You asked. "Did someone say something-"

"You can stop pretending it's a wild thought, alright?" Draco said, pulling back to look you in the eye. He was still crying. "I know people don't like me."

You just grabbed his hand, squeezing lightly. 

"The whole school hates me because of last year." Draco said, his tears growing in intensity. "I didn't want to do it. But he was going to kill me if I didn't, and my father made me promise-" He choked out a sob, cutting himself off. 

You leaned back on the couch and tugged Draco into you, resting his head on your chest. 

He continued to blubber into your shirt. "And I know my father hates me, because I couldn't kill Dumbledore and I let him down." He sobbed. "And Nott hates me because I didn't help him that night over holiday, but I couldn't because he just..." Draco paused, sucking in a needy breath. "Our friends hate me too. I know Blaise and Lyre do, and Pansy and Leo are just too polite to say anything."

You stroked his hair as he cried.

"I'm just so scared all the time." He said. "What if I mess up again and something bad happens to my mother? Or Pansy, or Blaise or the twins, or-" He stopped himself, pressing his face into your shirt more. "I should just drop of the astronomy tower." He mumbled. "Everything would be better then-"

You shifted, moving his face to look at him. "Don't think like that." You said softly. "Draco, you're more than your mistakes."

He scowled. "You just say that-"

"No, I'm not just saying that, alright?" You said. "You really are so much more that what you've done. I know it's not the best place to be. I'm lucky my parents haven't forced anything yet. But Draco..." You paused. "You know you can talk to us, right? We're all sort of going through the same thing here. You're not alone."

Draco sighed shakily, leaning in to your side now. "It doesn't feel like that."

You leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss against his forehead. "I'm scared too." You said softly. 

Draco sniffled, just staring straight ahead, still pressed up against your side. 

"I'm scared that my parents will decide they want me to be a Death Eater the moment I turn seventeen." You said. "I'm scared that Potter will lose the fight. I'm scared he'll win it. I'm scared that someone will figure out I've been trying to protect younger students and curse me. I'm scared Lyre will turn into one of them. I'm scared that Theo will kill Leo one day.  I'm scared that Pansy might starve herself to death. I'm scared that there's another basilisk in the school, just laying in wait."

Draco huffed a little laugh. "Really?"

You nodded. 

"But you're a pureblood." He said. "And in Slytherin house. Why would the thing come after you?"

"It's irrational, I know." You said. "But that doesn't make it less terrifying."

Draco reached up, wiping away some of the dried tears on his face. "I used to be scared of peacocks."

"Why?" You asked. 

"When we first got them at the manor, one of the males attacked me." Draco said. "Left a scar on my elbow. My mother had to beat it off."

You grinned a little. 

For a while, the only sound in the room was the gentle crackling of the fire. You could feel your eyelids drooping slowly, as the heat of the flames in front of you and Draco's body next to you lulled you back into a state of calm. You were tired. 

"Thank you." 

Draco's gentle whisper pulled you from falling asleep for a moment. "All you had to do was talk to me." You whispered back. 

"I was scared." He said. "But I'm not anymore."