Draco And Astoria (The Untold Love Story)

13| I don't want to hurt you

Draco is a werewolf.

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~Astoria's P.O.V.~

Astoria sat shivering in the common room. She'd lit a fire in the fire place and pilled a dozen blankets over herself and yet, she still shivered. She doubted it was from the cold. 

Somewhere outside, Draco was fighting to take control of himself. And what she hated most was that there was nothing she could do about it. She'd studied about werewolves at the end of third year and she knew that the only thing that made them not dangerous was the wolfsbane potion. 

It took till 3am for her to fall asleep and even then her sleep was infested with nightmares. She kept waking until dawn finally took the pleasure of arriving. She jumped out of the armchair and ran as quietly as she could to the boy's dormitory where she grabbed some clothes for Draco. In her dorm, she took out the first aid kit that Ellie always had in her bedside table because of how clumsy she always was. Then, stuffing it all in a bag, she topped it off with a blanket. 

Light barely touched the trees outside. Astoria frantically searched around the whomping willow. In vain. She couldn't find Draco anywhere. Only desperate scratches around the bark of the tree. 

Finally, she found a knot of strangely coordinated tree bark. She pressed on it experimentally and the tree opened up. She had no time to be surprised because she was already racing through the tunnel, not caring where it lead. After what seemed like an age, she came through to an old and abandoned building. 

"Draco!" No answer. 

She ran upstairs. "DRACO!" From the third room came a barely audible whimper. 

Inside, she found Draco lying in a small pool of blood, his eyes closed, his chest barely lifting from his breathing. She gasped and fell on her knees beside him. Astoria helped him into sitting position and moved him away from the blood. Draco groaned in pain. 

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," she soothed. 

Taking out the first aid kit, she dabbed some salve onto his wounds. The scars and slashes that Draco had said only looked bad because he'd come out of the shower were now bright red, bleeding and scratched. They were all over his back, covering his arms and legs. Astoria forced back the bile that rose in her throat- she'd never been good with blood.

Only then did Astoria realise that Draco was completely naked. She'd already expected this since he'd obviously turned into a werewolf before he'd gotten to wherever he'd needed to go (this building it seemed) but it still made her blush. She took out the blanket and covered him. After, she drizzled water into his mouth. Draco's eyes fluttered open and he struggled for more water. 

"Not too much at once," Astoria ordered. Reluctantly, he obeyed. 

"Astoria," he groaned, his voice still parched.

"Don't speak yet, you need to rest."

It took half an hour to clean all of his wounds and to bandage his arm that had taken (what looked like) a severe wolf bite. In all that time, Draco was too weak to even stand. He'd tried and stumbled back to the ground- Astoria wouldn't let him up again. 

When he finally seemed to have gathered enough strength, Astoria handed him his clothes. He took them and silently got changed. 

With his arm around Astoria for support, they managed to get Draco back to the Slytherin common room. Once Astoria made sure he was seated comfortably, she asked, "What building was that?" 

"The Shrieking Shack," he answered without looking up to meet her gaze. 

She sat beside him and lifted his chin, forcing his eyes to meet hers. "I don't hate you, you know. You were wrong."

Draco didn't answer.

"I know that's hard to accept- you being wrong," she jokingly continued, "But it's true."

Draco closed his eyes for a second, as if gathering his thoughts. "You really don't?"

"No, I don't."

"You won't tell anyone, will you?"

Astoria sighed. "If you don't want me to, then no. But- trust me- Bennie and Ells won't shun you because you're a werewolf."

He closed his eyes again. "Just don't."

Silence stretched between them. Finally, Astoria said, "We need to get you to Madame Pomfrey." 

Draco shook his head, "I'll go in the morning, like I usually do. I need to sleep now or I won't be awake for any of my lessons tomorrow."

Astoria stood up, "I'll just be a second," she promised and went to the kitchens. She was greeted by a dozen house elves all ready to do her bidding. "Can I have two cups of butterbeer and some muffins, maybe cookies too." Within seconds the house elves presented her with a basket filled to the brim with food. She thanked them and returned to the common room. 

"Here, eat. You need to get your strength back." 

Draco smiled gratefully and devoured the food like he hadn't eaten in years. She didn't blame him. She'd learnt that when werewolves transform, it takes all their energy, leaving them weak and lifeless afterwards. 

It was after Draco had eaten that Astoria said, "You told me to forget about us kissing because you're a werewolf, right? It's not linked in any way but in your head it is and so you told me to forget about it. Not because it was a heat of the moment thing, but because you're a werewolf."

Draco sighed and cradled his mug of butterbeer. "I don't want to hurt you Astoria. I'm a werewolf. Now you know. Do you know how dangerous I could be- how dangerous I am, should I say. I could tear you to pieces and not know about it until dawn," his voice broke and he coughed, trying to cover it up. 

"I don't want to hurt you. Or anyone. I've done enough of that," Draco's voice broke again and this time he did nothing to cover it up. He placed his mug down and rubbed the tears out of his eyes. "It's best that we move on. There's a ton of guys who'd like to date you- you're bound to find someone perfect among them."

Astoria put her arm around him and said quietly into his ear, "You don't have to be brave. Not all the time. It's fine to cry." 

Draco shook his head and swallowed down tears. "You don't know how many people I've hurt during the war. I deserve all this, it's the only kind of redemption I have. So many people. So many families. So many..." 

Astoria repeated the same words he'd said to her not too long ago, "It's not your fault, Draco. Don't blame yourself."

Draco looked her in the eyes, his brimming with water. "But it is-" he choked out. His sentence went unfinished because the tears that were being held back finally overpowered him. They flooded out, wetting his cheeks and racking his body. 

Astoria wrapped her arms around him. It was her turn to be his support stand. He sobbed unceasingly into her shoulder. Unlike her, he cried quietly, the sobs barely escaping his lips before another one came through. His arms held her tight, like she was a lifeline that had been thrown out to him. "It is-" he choked through a cry.

"It's not your fault, Draco," she breathed. 

When Draco pulled away from her, his eyes were puffy and pink, the skin of his lips chewed and his cheeks wet like he'd just come in from the rain. He stood up and so did Astoria. "Thank you, Astoria." He kissed her cheek. "But I don't want to hurt you any more than I have already."

And with that, he walked away.

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What do you'll think? I really enjoyed writing this chapter but I had to rush it a little so if there's any holes please forgive me. 

As always, I'd appreciate your votes and comments. And keep reading!

MainalWriting :)