Requisite - Draco Malfoy

3.1

It was a whole ten days before I heard from him again.

For the first few nights after he left, I couldn't sleep without seeing that expression in his eyes after he disapparated, and feeling the sensation of his finger tips where the bruises scattered my neck. It wasn't that I was scared of him, it was the fear of what Bellatrix was doing to him, so much so that it made him murderous even in his nightmares.

Every evening I pressed the necklace between my forefinger and thumb, letting him know I was still thinking of him, but he never sent the notion back. Most of the day I found myself wondering how he was feeling, and every time I did my heart would crack that tiny bit more. What happened wasn't his fault, but I knew he wouldn't forgive himself for it.

Even though he had cast a healing charm on me before he left, there were still significant purple bruises of where his fingers had dug so deeply even the magic couldn't heal the skin. I used a glamour charm to cover up the bruising everyday, but I knew they wouldn't naturally fade for a good few weeks.

So I remained in the usual darkness, until one night at three AM, I was awoken by that familiar fuzzy feeling spreading throughout my chest, the stars cascading into the dark of my duvet as I pressed back to him.

I carried around this incomprehensible feeling which I couldn't describe, weighing me down and feeling a great burden on my mind with every step I took.
The defence training was still holding up well though, McGonagall teaching us more grotesque spells as the days dawned closer to the impending war.

Neville, Luna, Ginny and I were pretty much inseparable at this point as all we focused on was being prepared for Harry's return, but when I found a moment alone, I reconciled with Blaise about Pansy.

He still seemed tormented over the situation, but offering him advice and a shoulder to lean on helped to distract me from my own problems.

"Have you heard anymore from Draco?" Blaise's question seemed to bring me out my trance, the many book shelves of the restricted section closing in on me.

"Hm? Oh, no, not since last week..." I cleared my throat, growing conscious of the bruising on my neck even though it was invisible to Blaise.

"How come you left so early that morning?"

I'd told Blaise about him coming back for the night, but hadn't mentioned anything past spending the night together.

My stomach twisted as I replayed the moment of terror over and over again in my head.

"I just didn't want to get caught in his room, can't exactly risk anyone finding out, can we? And besides, he went back to the Manor by the time I woke up." I shrugged off the lie like it wasn't burning away at the tip of my tongue, tracing my fingers over the back of one of the books.

There was a moments pause between us before his hand came to gently rest on my shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

I refused to meet his gaze as the question caused my eyes to sting with tears, nodding quickly and turning my face further away from him.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine."

He grabbed ahold of both of my shoulders now, turning me to face him as he looked down at me.

I knew I looked a mess. My eyes filled with tears, pressing my lips together to stop the tears as my cheeks flushed red, deep circles under my eyes from the lack of sleep.

"For fucksake, come here." Blaise sighed as he pulled me into his chest, holding me tightly against his body.

His arms held me close to his chest as I helplessly let the tears fall, finally releasing what I'd been holding in for so long.