Pros & Cons

26. The Intrusion

Draco woke up a little before dawn. He looked down to find his and Violet's limbs entangled under the covers and her hair tickling the side of his face as it sprawled out on the pillow. He took a deep breath in before carefully removing his body from hers and getting out of bed. He stood over her for a second or two as she slept.

To him, she was the most delicate thing in the world. As he watched the rise and fall of her chest and the way her nose crinkled when her hair fell in front of her face, he realised how easily he could break her. It was like she was a helpless baby bird––one wrong move and she could just snap in half.

Draco felt an unexplainable bond between the two of them. He wasn't sure why but he knew he would always do everything he could to protect her. She was his responsibility.

He leant down and pulled the covers up to her neck. She shifted in her sleep and Draco worried he might have awoken her, but instead she nestled further into the pillow.

Draco walked over to his dresser and changed into his black suit. He went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, and only glanced briefly at the mirror, but he noticed that the dark circles under his eyes had diminished slightly. As a matter of fact, his whole appearance had improved––he was still pale but now without the sickly undertones, and he'd been eating more regularly and managed to gain some muscle. His cheeks were still hollow, but no longer lifeless and he no longer felt like he was dragging through the day.

He tried to convince himself it was a natural change and that it had nothing to do with Violet. No matter how much he cared for the girl he didn't want to believe she had had that much of an affect on him.

Because if that were true, then what would happen if she left?

Draco pushed away the thought and strode towards the door. He cast one last glance at Gardner to ensure she was still sleeping before leaving the room and making sure the door was securely locked behind him.

The Slytherin corridors were empty as it was before dawn on a Saturday. He made his way through and out of the common room without encountering a single person.

He made his way to the Room of Requirements, occasionally pushing himself into the shadows if he heard approaching footsteps.

Once he reached the cabinet he straight away started casting spells. Draco had spent months searching for the right spell to fix the cabinet. Each one being worse than the last, until he finally stumbled across the spell he'd been looking for.

Harmonia Nectere Passus

He'd found it about two weeks ago and once he realised it was indeed the mending the cabinet worked out how often he would need to speak the incantation. It had reduced the time he needed to spend with the cabinet as he knew when he needed to cast the spell and would only stay for the required amount of time.

Draco knew it wouldn't be a quick fix. The first time he cast the spell he felt the strain it had put on his magic, so knew he would only be able to use it for a few hours everyday. He often went in the morning so that he could slip away unnoticed and could avoid the prying eyes of Potter.

After two hours of casting the incantation Draco decided that he couldn't handle it anymore. He'd become breathless and drowsy and leant his forehead against the cabinet as he steadied his breathing.

He closed his eyes and tried to gauge how much longer it needed, as if he stood there long enough the cabinet would speak to him. Give him some kind of clue, or hint, or anything that could possibly help. However there was only silence and Draco released a heavy sigh before pocketing his wand and leaving the Room of Requirements.

The sun was only just rising when he walked back to the dorms and only a few teachers were up. He was in the dungeons and thought he'd made it back unnoticed when he felt a tug on his elbow and was pulled into a classroom.