✓ WE NEVER SLEEP, draco malfoy

N I N E

"Waking up was a daily cruelty, an affront, and she avoided it by not sleeping."
— Gregory Maguire 

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Rowan was halfway down the corridor to class when a hand grabbed her arm and she was pulled sideways into an empty classroom. The lights were out, admitting a strange eerie calm to the room as she spun around to see who the hell brought her in here.

Draco shut the door behind him, seemingly unaffected by her scowl. He placed his book bag down and rummaged around inside, bringing out a fresh roll of bandages and what looked like some of Madam Pomfrey's special ointment to stop pain. 

"Malfoy, what you are doing?" she murmured, leaning against one of the desks. 

"Didn't I tell you to call me by my first name?" he scowled, not looking up as he unrolled his bandages carefully. 

She sighed, crossing her arms. "And why did you have to pull me into this classroom? Couldn't you have just given those to me if you really wanted-"

"I want to do it myself," he said abruptly, finally looking up and gray met brown. 

He motioned with his wrist for her to sit and she dropped her bag and jumped up on the desk, sitting atop the surface, letting her feet just hover above the ground. He approached her, laying out his materials before reaching for her hand, which she let him take. 

His hands stilled once he unwrapped it and he cursed under his breath. "It looks worse than yesterday."

"That's what I get for pissing off the lady in charge," she joked, hoping to make light of the situation but he didn't laugh.

Her hand was so swollen the words were plump and pulled taut against her skin. It was red and bloody, like she had cleaned it and yet it still bled. He reached for the water he had brought with him and a small cloth, wetting it before lightly applying it with a soft pressure.

"At least I'll be done with her in a few days," she offered, thinking this would finally calm the edge in his eyes and tone. "I honestly think I've learned my lesson with the whole hitting other classmates thing."

"You shouldn't be forced to do this to yourself," he mumbled and she sucked in air when his pressure got too hard. "You'll have a scar after all of this is finally done, she left you fucking scarred-"

Rowan reached out with her other hand, resting it on his forearm. "It's okay, I'm okay. I'm a big girl, I can handle a little pain."

"But you shouldn't have too."

She let her hand fall from his arm, sitting straighter when he removed the cloth. He grabbed the ointment, applying some to his finger and swiping it across her hand and the pain eased significantly. The throbbing was a dull drone now. 

"It always amazes me how this stuff works," she told him and he didn't speak. His body was tense, his movements seemed strictly calculated like he was afraid of doing one wrong thing, he'd snap. "Hey, Draco, are you-" she reached for his arm again and he took a step back and away from her, dropping her hand.

"I'm just so fucking angry," he hissed at her, but his anger wasn't towards her at all. "How could she think this was alright? How could hurting you over and over again be okay?!" He pounded a fist against the desk closest to him and he shuddered, stilling for a moment. He turned from her, his hands drawn back into fists. "You shouldn't have to deal with this, all of it."

She pushed off the desk, standing. "The punishment fits the crime, Draco."

"I think taking points away was good enough-"