Multi-fandom Oneshots

The Comfort We Give {Draco Malfoy}

"What?" I gasp out, trying to ignore the pure hatred that radiated off him. I had to convince myself it wasn't directed at me. It wasn't. It couldn't. He raises his arm and points at me.

"You're not mad at me? You don't blame me?! Look what I did to you? The pain I caused you!" He says, trying to shout through gritted teeth. I chuckled heartily, needing to look away from this ginormous git for at least a second. His eyes narrow at me.

"I'm not mad at you, Draco. And I can't blame you. No matter if I wanted to or not! You're not the one that tortured me—"

"I'm the one that got you caught. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have been there and those blasted twins wouldn't have seen you and made up an excuse to hurt you like this!" He argued, motioning to all of me as he moved his arm up and down.

"You didn't torture me!" I shout, overpowering his voice and forcing him to listen to me. His mouth snaps shut and he goes lax. His shoulders fall, his hands go limp, his mouth gapes. I take that chance and step forward and I try to explain to him. "You did not take a knife and swipe it across my face. You did not cut deep. You did not knock me back and around over and over with spells. You did not put your hands around my throat till I almost fainted. And you did not perform the Cruciatus curse on me," I hiss at him, trying to fuse these words into his head and make him understand why he isn't to blame.

I finally make it up close to him. He hadn't moved or tried to leave or attempted to talk. He stood and listened. For once. With my close proximity, I could see how badly he was shaking. I couldn't figure out the look in his eyes but knowing him, truly knowing him, it wasn't anything good.

I smile lightly and place my hands on each of his cheeks. "You see? You didn't do anything, Draco. So I can't be mad at you, I can't blame you. Because you didn't do this to me," I whisper out forcefully, the pain and pressure in my chest ever-growing. The sinking feeling in my gut intensifying.

Draco's jaw tightens. His hands shaking, practically vibrating, he places them on top of mine. I can feel the shake within my body, adding to the displeasing feeling.

"Stop that," Draco spoke so quietly, even in our close embrace do I barely manage to hear him.

"What?" I ask him. He squeezes his eyes tightly and jerks his head side-to-side.

"Just stop it!" He shouts, pushing my hands off his face and forcing me to stagger backwards. I catch my feet, instinctively groaning at the pain that shot through my back.

"Stop what?!" I shout back, ignoring everything. Everything but him.

"Stop trying to fix me!" He screams, face red, hands clutching his hair as if prepared to rip it out.

Silence spreads between us. His breath being the only noise. I don't even truly believe I am breathing. Not in this moment. In this moment where in an instant, I feel nothing. I was numb in disbelief. I— I couldn't comprehend.

After a few moments of silence, I brush my fingers through my hair and try and calm my racing heart.

"We're both broken, Malfoy," I say clearly. He flinches back at my use of his last name. I look between him and my own hands. "I'm not glue. I can't fix you," I say honestly. It wasn't my job. It wasn't what I was trying to do. Draco gapes at me, his entire demeanor changing. I step closer to him. "I don't want to fix you!" I shout, marching up to him, forgetting the pain coursing through my body and marching up to him with a determination that floods adrenaline through my veins. "And you can't fix me," I whisper brokenly.

Draco brings one of his hands to the nape of my neck and he buries the other one in my hair. He leans down and rests his forehead against mine. We simply stare at each other, letting our breathing calm down until our chests rise and fall in sync.

"We're just broken China trying to push our pieces together to make it look like we're whole," I say through the cracks in my voice. A sob wracks through my chest, tears of stress and heartache fall down my cheeks causing Draco's hand in my hair to tighten. "We're nice to look at... but as soon as someone picks us up, we crumble," I croak out. A small gasp escapes Draco. But instead of looking back into his eyes, I opt for closing them. I focus on his touch. How it grounds me.

But then suddenly it's gone. My eyes snap open and I stumble forward as Draco takes steps away from me. His gaze is empty and drifting off to I don't know where. He doesn't look at me but rather decides to stare down at the ground. He slowly backs away from me, shaking his head.

"I-I have to go," he says, his voice sounding small. My arms wrap around my body as tears continue to fall down my cheeks. But he ignores them, he just turns around and walks out of the courtyard at a quick space.

"Draco, please," I whimper, the sound of his name hurting to hear. "Don't go," I add; as if he could hear me. As if he would come back and comfort me after all I had been through today. I drop to my knees and cry, watching his retreating form get smaller and smaller. Smaller until he makes a turn and disappears from my sight. And the most terrifying feeling is not knowing when I was going to see him again.

By the time I managed to stop crying and actually stand, it was well into dinner. I didn't want to go. Not only was dinner an unpleasant affair; Snape, the twins, all the Death Eaters prancing around... but I highly doubted I could stomach anything at the time.

So I forced myself to walk and head down to the lake. The lake was often Draco's safe place. He liked the water and how it pushed and pulled. He liked seeing the squid and the merpeople. He liked the quietness of the lake. The serenity.

I look around the areas he usually sits to relax. I exhale sharply after realizing he must've known I would come right here to look for him. So I cross my legs and sit down on the ground. Waiting. I sit against one of the large trees that sit around the lake. I shift in order to not feel the pain as much.

I stare and watch the water move, the creatures that live in the water splash around on the surface. I listen to the sounds. The calming sounds that somehow make every sore muscle and every ache, relax.

After awhile I inhale deeply and move closer to the water. I take off my shoes and place my feet in the water. I splash my toes through the cool lake and smile. I sit like this for I don't know how long. I sit there until the sun sets and the stars twinkle. I can see the lighting of the merpeople under the water. It brightens the entire lake and the land surrounding it.

I jump as arms circle around my waist. I snap my head to look over my shoulder and I see Draco move closer to me. He doesn't look at me as he hugs me from behind and buries his head in my neck. I sigh and bring a hand up into his hair before I turn back around to the lake. I feel his shoulders begin to shake and his tears fall onto my neck. I nuzzle into the side of his head and fall into his embrace.

"I don't want to be broken," he cried, his tears and shaking increasing. "I-I don't want to be or act like this... but I don't know how to stop. I don't know how to fix what I've done or who I am," he says through sobs and gritted teeth. I let my own tears fall down silently.

"I know," I say, my voice wobbling. I soothingly brush my nails against his scalp. His grip tightens on me and he digs his face further into my neck, so much that I can feel his nose pressed into my skin. "And I'll be there for you until you figure it out," I add with a fierce determination; clutching at his hair. He's silent for a few moments before he lifts his head and lays his forehead against the side of my head, my hand falling to the nape of his neck.

"We'll be there for each other," he whispers into my ear, sending a chill through my entire body.