ethereal - draco malfoy

the incident

t/w: mention of molestation

After I got done vomiting and flushed the toilet, I walked over to the mirror and looked at myself in the mirror. At some point, I must've started crying, because my makeup was running down my face and there were dried tear tracks on my cheeks.

I used a charm to take my makeup off and walked back into my bedroom slowly. I glanced at the door to make sure it was still locked before walking into the walk in closet. I closed the doors behind me and locked them before changing into a large sweatshirt and sweatpants.

I unlocked the closet doors before slowly pushing them opened and peeking into my bedroom. I slowly stepped out and sprinted across the room to my bed before crawling under the safety of my duvet and crying. I screamed into my pillow and sobbed loudly, wanting to vanish into thin air, as if I'd never existed.

After about ten minutes of crying, someone knocked on my door, causing me to jump and slap my hand over my mouth. I stayed perfectly still under my duvet and made no noise whatsoever.

Another knock emitted throughout the room, as I clenched my eyes closed, as if that would make whoever it was go away. I heard the lock click and the door creak opened slowly, and I clenched my eyes even tighter, making sure I didn't move or make a sound.

"Rora?" Draco's voice called quietly. A quiet whimper escaped my lips, and I hoped that it was muffled by my hand and duvet. I heard Draco's footsteps come towards my bed, and then I felt him sit down next to me.

"Rora, love." he said softly, before bringing the duvet off of my head. I opened my eyes and flickered my gaze up to see him looking down at me with a frown. He brought his hand up to brush my hair out of my face, but I quickly flinched back, not wanting to be touched. He furrowed his brows in confusion, his eyes studying my face.

"The night that we admitted our feelings for each other during that argument," he started slowly, looking down at his hands, "you said you were molested when you were nine. It was him, wasn't it?" he concluded, slowly bringing his gaze back to me. I swallowed thickly and nodded once, slowly. I knew my voice was going to be hoarse from screaming and sobbing.

"Does anyone else know about this, besides you, me and him?" he questioned again; cautiously. I shook my head no slowly. I was grateful that he placed himself between the mention of him and me, even if he didn't do it on purpose.

"Can we talk about it? Or do you not want to?" he queried, staring into my eyes. I flickered my gaze down and thought to myself. If I talked to him about it, maybe he would understand, but he could also be disgusted and break up with me. I trusted him, though. I knew he loved me, he wouldn't do something like that.

I flickered my gaze back up to him and tapped my throat twice with my index finger. "Dinky." he stated, and Dinky appeared into my room. "Dinky is here. How can Dinky help Master Cynthia?" Dinky said, toying with the tip of one of his floppy ears.

"Water, please, Dinky." Draco ordered. Dinky disappeared for a few seconds before reappearing with a glass of water in his hand. He handed it to Draco and Draco thanked him before he disappeared again.

Draco cautiously watched me sit up against my headboard and pillows before handing me the glass of water. I grabbed it, careful not to touch his hand, and brought it up to my lips with a shaky hand. I took a few swigs before placing it in my lap, both hands wrapped around the glass.

"When I was nine, my parents were having a meeting with a few people. I was sitting in the library on the first floor during the meeting." I started quietly, my voice slightly hoarse and wavering. I stared down at my glass while Draco looked at me patiently.

"Rodolphus came into the library while I was reading. I don't know how he knew I was in there or how he managed to slip out of the meeting, but he did." I continued, tears starting to roll slowly down my cheeks.

"He told me he wanted to try something, and I had trusted him at the time, so I obliged. He walked closer to me and," I released a shaky breath and bit down on my lip, to ensure that I wouldn't whimper or sob, "and he pinned me down on the couch in the library and slipped his hands inside my pants." I said, still staring down at the glass.

"He groped me repeatedly and kept squeezing my barely-there thighs. Then, he raised my shirt up, using his knee to pin me down, and ran his tongue over my stomach and chest." I said, tears pooling in my eyes and racing down my face uncontrollably. "And then, he touched himself in front of me for a few minutes, finished, and then left me there; crying and paralyzed in the library." I concluded, now sobbing.

I sobbed into my hands, covered by the sleeves of my sweatshirt, ashamed. I was disgusted and ashamed, and I felt dirty. I felt used and stained and I felt like nothing. I felt like I was nothing. A nobody.

I wiped my tears after a few minutes and finally looked up at Draco. He had been crying too, staring at me with tears in his eyes and tear-stained cheeks. He closed his eyes and wiped his cheeks before clearing his throat. "That's part of the reason you have a skin to skin contact issue." he stated, staring at me. I nodded slowly.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, just staring at each other. "Do you hate me now?" I blurted. He furrowed his brows and flinched at my words; he looked taken aback. "No, of course not. I love you. I'm in love with you." he assured frantically, shaking his head no.

"Please don't tell anyone." I begged, giving him a pleading look. "I would never." he said solemnly.
"Lay down with me?" I asked, pointing to the left side of the bed. He furrowed his brows and glanced between me and the left side of the bed. "Are you sure?" he asked. I nodded.

He got up and changed into a pair of pajama pants before cautiously laying down next to me. I laid my head on his chest and rested my right leg over both of his, and he raised his arms up, trying not to touch me. I frowned and looked up at him.

"Draco, you can put your arms down. I feel safe around you, you don't have to be so cautious." I assured him. He slowly placed his hands down, one hand on my lower back and one on his stomach, tapping his index finger on his abdomen. "I'm going to play with your hair now." he announced, causing me to sniffle and smile. "Alright, Draco."

He brought his hand that was in his stomach up to my head and played with my curls gently. Draco loved me, even after knowing what happened. "I love you." I blurted.

"I love you." He repeated.

Draco POV

I laid there with my arms wrapped around her small figure, swirling her curls around my fingers, while she rested on my chest. She thought I would hate her because of her past, but I could never hate her, not after everything.

What happened to her wasn't her fault in any way whatsoever. She was taken advantage of by someone she trusted. It's his fault. Rodolphus Lastrange, my uncle.

And as I laid here, looking down at her as she slept peacefully in my arms, I made a promise to myself. I made a promise, that before I grew old and died, I would kill Rodolphus Lastrange.