Chapter Text
May 29th, 2005
She still wouldn’t sleep; Draco took note that him and Potter also refused the overwhelming exhaustion he could feel between them. Instead Draco continued to cast warming charms over her sitting comatose position while Potter casted a few cleaning spells hours earlier, that wouldn’t last long before Tori started to feel uncomfortable, the strange memory of her beaming over the relaxation of a good bath. Draco moves to place a less stiff pillow behind her back on the bedframe Tori leans back on, gently tucking the blanket around her before sitting back on the edge of the bed to look her over again.
“You still haven’t said anything about the memory, Malfoy.” Potter’s voice was cautious, his eyes never leaving Tori as his hands ring together over his lap seemingly avoiding his wand laying below them.
“Did it change anything for you, Potter?” Draco asks quietly, moving slightly forward to move a fallen strand of hair that had untucked from behind Tori’s ear. “Did you really not know before she told you?”
“You did?” His voice raised slightly in shock, and Tori’s body reacted to it by squeezing the blanket in her hands. Draco’s hand moves like a magnet to hers, softly running his fingers to cup both his hands around hers. “Warm…” She barely murmurs in a light exhale, and he brings their hands to his mouth to softly breath his hot breath into them. “I’ve been putting the pieces together since 5th year, Potter. I had my contradicting assumptions but yes, I did.”
“Bloody idiot, I am.” Potter’s voice was low again, a hint of disappointment.
“Bloody busy, you were. Don’t find reasons to blame yourself.”
“Like her sitting here like a magical vegetable?” Draco watches his hand move to grip his wand, and he swiftly slips it from his grasp as his arm lifts towards her.
“If you think I trust your mind charm abilities enough you’ve gone fucking mad; you’ll do more damage Potter.” Draco’s voice was no longer gentle.
“She can’t just sit here like this; we can’t just sit here and let her!” Harry sounded absolutely exhausted, antsy, he was more than just a little on edge. Draco thought of Tori reacting to this fact, and how livid she would be with Draco if he just let Potter stay in this state of duress. “Go have a rest, Potter. I’ll send someone to you if anything changes.”
Harry let out a sigh of defeat, staying in his chair for a moment while Draco assumed his narrow eyes were digging into the side of his head. “To answer your question from before, I suppose it didn’t change anything… just, made the puzzle easier to see.” His open palm reaches to Draco for his wand back.
“I know that feeling all too well.” Draco nods to him while placing his wand back in his grip.
A few heartbeats pass before Potter takes his step towards the door, stalling once his hand reaches the handle for another moment and Draco could swear he could hear his breath catch as he finally walks out.
Once Draco hears the door shut behind him the muscles in his chest finally release their tension, moving himself closer to her on the edge of the bed to face her closely now. He takes note of how her hair no longer seems to hold the red shine when the sun hits it, he moves his hand to cup the side of her face and move his thumb along the circles of her sunken eyes. Draco allows his magic to seep out of his very being to gently swirl along hers, cautious not to allow any threatening movements and only trail along the walls of her mind. Once he feels a slight shimmer of her poking through it, he raises his other hand to hold her face still facing him.
Come back to me.
He uses his Legilimency purposefully, carefully echoing into her mind without damaging any of the brick layering she’s placed in protection. Draco’s eyes bare into her patiently, watching her mind react to his as the cloudy cast across her eyes begin to turn into more of a fog. Tori’s largely dilated pupils rapidly look around the room as they desperately search for danger.
“I’m here, love.” Draco’s voice was soft as he held her still facing him, waiting for eyes to lock onto his he watches patiently as her lip quivers when she tries to lift her hands to rest on his. Feeling the icy contact of her fingers and slight whimper in her breath as she made contact with him, Draco moves closer to her in one swift movement… resting his forehead on hers with a deep breath.
Draco…
Her shattered voice appears in her mind as he watches the creases around her eyes finally loosen, Draco can’t help but feel grateful that she’s not so far in her Occluding that he can’t reach her. “I’m here, you’re safe… everyone’s safe.”
No, no… not safe… we can’t let him-
Her hands try to grip onto his but he feels her muscles fail her, tapping the side of her head with her finger twice before slipping down to hold onto his wrists and lean her face more into his hands. He watches her use all her energy to take a large deep breath before finally speaking aloud, faintly. “Please… I can’t do it myself… but I can’t hold back anymore…”
Draco feels his heart drop from his chest as he pulls away just enough to be able to look at her fully, she wants him to take out the threat… and she thinks it’s her. She’s… asking him to kill her before she gets the change to damage all she’s been working deviously to protect.
“I’m going to fix it.” Draco tells her confidently, refusing to let go of what he’s so feverously waited for, for so many years. “I’m not going to give up, I’m never going to let you-“
“I’m tired, Draco.” Her mouth barely moved, but the sound of resigned surrender lingered strong in the air between them. It made him nauseous, her abandoned nature for herself stabbing into his soul like a familiar goblin blade. He watches her damp clouded eyes begin to pool in her lashes before slowly one by one trickling down her cheeks.
I can’t fight it anymore.
Draco’s eyes burn with a strange fire he’s never felt before, and he realizes that not only has she allowed his Legilimency in, she’s allowed her emotions to fully slash into him. An emotion he’s not felt from her soul for a long time, fear.
A slow movement of his one hand to bring out his wand and rest it gently on her temple.
“I’m sorry…” Draco’s voice crumbled, and he tries to regain his confidence with a deep breath. “But I can’t accept that.”
Before softly pressing his lips into her hair, he slowly pulls from her mind and begins trailing the movement to cast the bewitched sleep along the side of her head before allowing his magic to press into her. Once her muscles fall limp, he pulls her close to her with a familiar emotional breath, feeling the burn in his eyes dampen under his lids as he allows one heart wrenching moment between them and his hands hold her like a fragile parchment freshly covered in vivid colors.
Draco’s heart was cold in comparison to hers, remembering the emptiness resulting in hatred and drowning himself into the darkness. For years, he spent his waking hours mad at the world for the position he was put in, and for years after that he spend his waking hours like a fiend awaiting its next hit. He wonders where his soul could have traveled without hers, had she never given a purpose to continue fighting and feel a sort of warmth in his existence would he have survived at all? There she sat, the very essence of his years of longing begging him to put her out of becoming the monster she’s been trained to fear.
No. He refuses to lose her.
Draco lays her gently down onto the pillow, pulling the blanket up to tuck around her comfortably before tucking her hair to the side and away from her face as she sleeps.
He was going to figure out how to fix this, a solemn promise to himself now to do anything in his power to be with his witch once more.
He moves back from the bed to hold back any of his temptations, he feels every bit of him pull towards her as he takes slow steps back to the chair across from the bed. Straining against the magnetic feeling, he leans his elbows forward on his knees and drops his head as he feels the tears drip from his eyes. She would rather be killed by him, than allow anyone to take advantage of her strength to hurt what they both hold dear. Her voice begged, but her soul latched onto his like fangs into veins. A few sturdy breaths and strong walls built in his mind later, he finally rests his eyes on her, determined.