Interstellar || Draco Malfoy

43 || I Love You

I groaned groggily as I sat up, feeling an unfamiliar softness beneath me. I blinked away the blurriness in my eyes in time to see Draco's concerned gaze on me.

"Mona!" He exclaimed, reaching forward to help me sit up properly. "Easy, love."

"What happened?" I questioned, only remembering bits and pieces of the past few weeks. I looked around the room, realizing then that I'd been sleeping in Draco's bed.

"Well, they were torturing you; leaving you for days without food or water, and carving disgusting lies into your skin." Draco spat, running his fingers gently over my bandaged forearm. "When you collapsed at my mother's feet, she brought you up here and tended to you. She's going to start feeding you normally and she's going to heal what she can."

"What she can?" I asked.

"The Dark Lord doEsn't want your brands to be healed." He huffed, his eyes flooded with anger. "He wants you to wear them so the other Death Eaters know what you are."

"It's okay, Draco." I whispered, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

"No, it is most certainly not okay." Draco hissed. "I did everything he asked me to do, and he still hurt you."

"Draco, it's alright." I repeated. "I'm still alive, and I'm no longer down in that cellar."

"You shouldn't have even been down there in the first place." He sighed, gently running his fingertips over the scarred word on my cheek Instinctually, I flinched away, closing my eyes and sucking in a breath.

"Sorry." We both apologized.

"Don't be sorry, love." Draco tried to speak softly, but his tone was stiff and his eyes were an ocean of rage.

"Draco, I'll be alright." I tried to reassure him, bringing his hand back up to my cheek. "See, already better."

"You're not alright now." Draco said sharply, gently pulling his hand away from my face. "You're dehydrated, malnourished, and you're hurt."

"I'm alive, Draco." I told him, gently grabbing his chin to make our eyes meet. "I know I'm not okay right now, but I will be."

"I love you, Desdemona." Draco said, reaching up and placing a hand on my non-scarred cheek.

I sucked in a breath, and for the first time in months, it wasn't from pain. My eyes widened slightly, and a small smile spread across my face. I watched as Draco's eyes filled with an emotion I hadn't been able to identify before, but now I knew what it was; it was love. Normally, when people looked at me, I felt uncomfortable; but here, with Draco's loving gaze resting firmly on me, I felt blanketed in warmth... I felt at home.

"You don't have to say it back, love." Draco whispered, dropping his hand from my face. "But, I needed you to know."

"I love you, too, Draco." I smiled, reaching forward and bringing Draco into a hug. Draco let out a sigh and melted into my arms, burying his face into my- no doubt- disastrous hair. After a moment, his arms tightened around me and he started to shake. I hushed him, running my fingers through his hair gently.

"I thought I was going to lose you, Mona." He sniffed, holding onto me tighter.

"Not any time soon, love." I soothed him. "I promise."

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I was allowed thirty days of peace to recover from the torture I endured, and nearly every waking moment during this time was spent with Draco by my side. Narcissa would accompany her house elf when he brought meals up to Draco's room for me, and she used healing spells to help with the pain the scars etched into my skin provided. She'd healed each of the wounds as much as she could, but no matter how many spells she tried, the wounds always found a way to reopen.