"Are you sure that you're okay with me leaving?"
"Neville, for the last time, I don't want you to keep Luna waiting" you insisted. "Besides, Draco will be here in like ten minutes anyways-"
"I just don't feel very comfortable leaving you alone, and if Draco sees-"
"You really need to stop being afraid of my husband" you laughed. "You're taller than him!"
"I'm not afraid of him" Neville defended himself.
"So, go meet Luna then" you said, smirking and making Neville roll his eyes.
"Fine, but if Draco freaks out that you were here alone, I am blaming Dean" he said, going to hug you goodbye.
"Dean is off today" you chuckled.
"He doesn't know that!" he yelled before walking through the door.
You laughed, rolling your eyes before you started cleaning up a little. You just needed to wait for Draco to come pick you up and he should be here any moment now. You heard the door opening and thought Draco was finally here.
"I'm almost done, love" you said, not turning to look back at him.
"Take your time, Mrs. Malfoy."
You heard a voice that was definitely not Draco's and you froze a little bit. You turned around and saw three men standing inside the shop. This could not be happening. The one time you asked Neville to leave before Draco got there.
"W-we're closed" you said, trying not to sound as nervous as you were.
"We know" one of them said, walking closer to you.
"What do you want?" you asked, gripping your wand in your hand tightly before another one of them pointed his wand at you and your wand flew to his hand.
"We just want to talk... until your husband gets here" the one in the middle said, stepping closer to you.
"My husband is not coming here" you lied and the three men laughed.
"Oh, but of course he is. He always does" one of them said.
"Every day at six" another one added. "So, only a few more minutes before-"
Before he could go on, you heard a noise coming from outside. Draco was here.
"Ah, right on time" one of them smirked at you. "So, here's what's going to happen Mrs. Malfoy" he quickly said, standing in front of you. "You're going to open the door and let him in-"
"No" you shook your head.
"(Y/N)?" you heard Draco's voice as he tried to open the door.
"It is not a question!" he said, grabbing your arm forcefully and dragging you towards the door.
"I know who you are!" you said, making him stop dead in his tracks.
The three men were always careful to hide their faces from you and Draco. And it was always when it was dark. But since last time you knew there was something familiar about one of them.
"Open the door" he growled once you were in front of it.
"No" you insisted. There was no way you were going to put Draco in danger.
"OPEN THE DOOR!"
Draco felt his heart stopping when he heard that followed by a loud thump on the other side of the door. Someone was inside with you. He knew you wouldn't leave before he came to pick you up. And he knew that voice was not Neville's and it wasn't Dean's.
"(Y/N)!" he panicked. "OPEN THE DOOR!"
Draco took out his wand and was about to burst the door open when he saw the doorknob turn and the door opening in front of him. He walked inside to confirm that his worst fear was true. He saw the three men that had attacked them months ago. One of them pressing his wand at your neck. The other one closed the door behind him. And the third one stepped in front of him.
"Good evening, Mr. Malfoy" the one in the middle grinned evilly at him.
"Get your fucking hands off my wife!" he said, about to launch himself at the guy holding you, but the one in the middle blocked his way.
"Now, I would watch my language if I were you, Draco" he said, pushing him back. "May I call you Draco? After all, it seems that we have the upper hand here" he said.
"Let her go" he said, never taking his eyes off you.
"Give me your wand" he said, extending his hand out.
"No!" you yelled from your place, only to be pushed by the man holding you to the floor as he pointed his wand at your head. Draco instantly took his wand out and threw it on the ground.
"There" he said. "Now let her go" he begged. You felt yourself being pulled up to stand again and pushed towards Draco, who quickly grabbed you and hugged you closer to him. "What do you want?" he asked, starting to walk behind to get you further away from them until you bumped on a shelf.
"Why are you doing this?" you asked, shaking, behind Draco.
"We've told you before. We simply do not think is fair that he got to go on as if nothing happened after the war-"
"So, what are you going to do? Kill us? How does that make you any better than the Death Eaters who started the war?" you snapped.
"You mean Death Eaters like your husband?"
"You're Dennis Creevey!" you burst out suddenly and he turned to point his wand at you. "I know you! Y-you're Colin's little brother" you stuttered. "You're not a killer!"
"Don't say his name!" he said between clenched teeth.
"I knew your brother" you kept going. "I used to tutor him Herbology" you said, nervously. "He was a really sweet kid" you said walking closer to him, despite Draco's protests. "Why would you do this, Dennis? I know you're just as good as your brother-"
"He wasn't supposed to die!" Dennis snapped.
"I know" you told him. "He wasn't even supposed to be there" you said. "He sneaked back to fight with us" you remembered. "He wouldn't want you to do this, Dennis-"
"Shut up! You didn't know him! You have no idea how it feels to lose someone-"
"I do!" you insisted. "I lost my brother too" you said, crying a little. "He died that day. And I lost... somebody else that was very important to me" you continued. "I know that you are hurting, but this isn't how you make things right! Hurting me or Draco is not going to bring Colin back-"
"I DON'T CARE! I just want him to feel what is like to lose someone you love" he said, pointing his wand, directly at your neck.
"I'm sorry!" Draco said, turning the attention towards him. "I am really sorry about your brother" he said, making sure all three of them had their wands on him and not you. "He didn't deserve to die. So many people in that war didn't deserve to die. But (Y/N) had nothing to do with it. She was fighting with you. She was fighting for you! Please, don't hurt her!"
Before anybody could do or say anything else, you all heard a big ruckus outside and the door burst open. Draco tried to make his way towards you but you noticed one of the intruders was pointing his want at him, or more specifically, behind him. You saw the big shelf filled with pots and plants and you did the first thing you could think of.
"DRACO!"
You threw yourself at your husband, pushing him out of the way and letting the shelf of pots and plants fall on top of you instead. Draco pushed himself off the ground and saw the spot where he had been a minute ago. His heart stopped when he saw the broken pots and plants on top of you.
"(Y/N)!" he said with a trembling voice. He got up and ran towards you pushing the broken pots, the plants, and all the dirt aside.
He saw a red flash over his head and he quickly threw himself, covering you of any curses. He felt his breathing again when he saw that Neville was at the door with two other people. But everything disappeared for him. The only thing he could focus on was his unconscious wife lying in his arms.
"Draco?" he heard Neville walking towards him but it felt like it was so far away.
"(Y/N)?" he cried, cleaning your face, revealing a big cut on your forehead. "L-love, you need to wake up" he said, gently shaking you. "I need you to wake up" he said with a shaky voice. He hugged you closer to him and looked up at Neville. "She's n-not waking up" he sobbed. The only thing he could think of was how you felt when Fred died. You had done the same thing for him. You loved him just as much. "SHE'S NOT WAKING UP!"
"She hit her head" Neville said, kneeling down. "We have to take her to St. Mungo's" he said, placing his hand on Draco's shoulder.
"W-when did you get here?" he asked, looking around and noticing that the other two people he saw were Harry and Ron.
"I came back because I forgot my keys" Neville explained. "I saw what was going on inside and I sent a Patronus to Harry and Ron" he told him.
"We came as fast as we could, mate" Harry told him as Ron checked the rest of the place.
"Did you get them?" Draco asked, his voice turning to a tone filled with anger.
"We're working on it, Draco" Harry assured him. "You just focus on (Y/N) right now, okay?"
Draco only nodded, unable to do anything else. He brought you closer to him and kissed your forehead.
"You're gonna be okay" he whispered. "I promise!"
**
"We should have heard something by now" Draco said, pacing around outside your room.
"Draco, Seamus said it takes some time, but that (Y/N) is mainly okay-"
"Mainly okay is not okay, Longbottom!" he snapped.
"Look, I get that you're upset" Neville said, standing up from his seat. "But you're not the only one that loves (Y/N). Some of us have loved her way longer than you, So, you're going to have to accept the fact that you're not alone in this, and snapping at me is not going to help her get any better!"
Neville was expecting Draco to yell back at him or maybe even hit him, but he wasn't expecting him to look away, sit down and start crying.
"I'm sorry" he mumbled. "I just... I feel so lost without her" he said, looking back at Neville who sat next to him. "A-and this is all my fault-"
"Draco, this isn't your fault" Neville said, placing his hand on his shoulder and Draco let out a bitter laugh.
"She would say the same thing, you know?" he said, nervously playing with his hands. "They attacked her because she's a Malfoy" he said. "Because they knew it would get to me!"
"She chose to be a Malfoy-"
"Her parents did" he told him.
"They may have" Neville admitted. "But (Y/N) loves you, Draco" Neville assured him. "I have never seen her love somebody that much" he said. "And she's going to be okay" he repeated. Draco only nodded as Dean and Blaise made their way back towards them.
"Alright, Blaise sent an owl to your parents and I sent another one to (Y/N)'s" he said, sitting down in front of them. "Although don't hold your breath for her parents to reply any time soon. I have no idea where they are" he admitted.
"Me neither" Draco said, burying his head in his hands. "Merlin, I am not in the mood to deal with my parents right now" he sighed.
"It would have been worse if you didn't tell them" Blaise reminded him and he nodded.
"It's a bit late, maybe they won't come until tomorrow-"
"DRACO!" the four boys turned around at the terrified scream coming from Mrs. Malfoy.
"That was quick" Neville muttered to Dean.
"Blaise!" Draco widened his eyes at his friend.
Blaise rolled his eyes but he knew what he had to do. He got up and walked towards Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, pulling them away from the scene. He knew Draco was really close to the edge, and his mother crying, or his father scowling him right now, will push him right over it.
"Your parents came?" Dean asked as he watched Blaise take them further away.
"Yeah" Draco said, shrugging his shoulders.
"For (Y/N)?" Neville added.
"My mum loves her" Draco admitted. "What is the big deal?"
"Nothing" Dean said, shrugging his shoulders. "I just... think (Y/N) would be really happy that they're here" he admitted.
Before Draco could say anything else, Seamus came out of your room. The three men quickly rose to their feet, Draco standing in front of Seamus.
"She's awake" he said, seeing the weight being lifted off their shoulders. "But she's refusing to take any potion I give her for the pain" he added.
"She's what?" Draco asked, getting upset.
"She says she won't take anything that is not brewed by you" Seamus told him. "And she won't let me check her any further until she sees you-"
Seamus barely got to finish his sentence as Draco barged into the room where you were, curled up in a bed. You looked so fragile. You had bruises and cuts all over your face and body and you had a large bandage on your forehead and another one on your arm. You jumped at the sound of the door opening but felt a wave of relief when you saw it was Draco.
"(Y/N)!"
He quickly made his way towards your bed and sat in front of you and you instantly threw yourself at him, not caring about the pain you were feeling, wrapping your arms around him and sobbing on his shoulder.
"I thought y-you were d-dead" he heard you whisper as you tightened your grip on him. "I thought- I thought-" you said, breaking down, unable to finish your words.
You hugged your husband closer to you, tighter than you ever had held onto someone, afraid as if he was going to vanish in front of you. Draco quickly wrapped his arms around you and gently stroked your back, kissing your temple, letting you get it all out and he let out a few tears as well. He had never, in his life, been as scared as he was tonight. Even more than when he was a Death Eater. Now he knew what they meant and why they wanted revenge against him. He didn't know what he would do if he ever lost you.
"Look at me, love" Draco said, placing your face between his hands and making you look at him. "I'm alright" he assured you, wiping away your tears. "I am here, (Y/N)" he whispered, placing your hand on his heart so you could feel it beating. "I'm not going anywhere, love" he whispered, before kissing your hand.
"I love you" you said, hugging him tighter. "I love you so, so much, Draco!"
"I love you too, (Y/N)" he said, kissing your head. "I am so-"
"Don't you dare say you're sorry, Draco Lucius Malfoy" you warned him, pulling away and looking at him. "This was not your fault" you said softly, wiping away his tears and giving him a peck on the lips.
"I promise I will never let anyone hurt you ever again" he vowed. You smiled weakly at him before you got back into his embrace. "I love you" he said, kissing your head over and over again.
"I love you too" you replied.
"And you need to drink your potions" he said all of the sudden.
"I don't want to" you said, childishly.
"(Y/N)! That is not a question!" he said, pulling away and resisting the urge to laugh at your pouting. "You need to heal, love" he said, kissing your forehead once more.
"But they taste worse than the ones you brew" you complained.
"Excuse me?"
"You know what I mean, love" you said, with a small smile. "Yours are better" you insisted. "Can't we go home and you can brew one for me?"
"I don't know if Finnigan will let you leave tonight, love-"
"B-but he said that there was no internal bleeding a-and it's only scratches and bruises" you insisted, making puppy eyes at him. "I don't want to stay here" you begged him. "I want to go home with you" you said, getting a scared look on your face again. "Please?"
"I'll see what I can do" he said, cupping your cheek, knowing he couldn't say no to you. Especially not tonight. "But you have to let Seamus finish checking you further and drink at least one of the potions for the pain, at least until we get home" he insisted.
"Deal" you caved and he gave you a peck on the lips. "W-would you stay with me?"
"Of course, love" he said, kissing your hand. "I'm not going anywhere."
**
After Seamus finished his final check-up, and everyone insisting on seeing you before they left, Draco finally convinced Seamus to let him take you home. He promised he would let him know if something was wrong and assured him that he was going to brew every single potion he instructed him to. He knew you did not want to spend the night without him, and if he was being completely honest, neither did he. His parents insisted that you stayed at the Manor, but Draco wanted nothing more than to be in his own home, with his wife and have nobody disturbing either one of you. He saw your grateful face when he declined the invitation.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay with us, dear?" Mrs. Malfoy asked you again as she helped you up to your room once you were at your flat.
"I promise we will be alright, Mrs. Malfoy" you said, smiling gratefully. "You've already done enough. You didn't have to come to St. Mungo's in the middle of the night-"
"Oh nonsense, dear" she insisted. "Of course we're going to come if our daughter was hurt" she said as if it was nothing and you stopped, looking at her in awe. "What is the matter, (Y/N)?" she asked confused as why you had stopped.
"Y-you just called me your daughter" you said, feeling your eyes welling up.
"Oh, is that alright, dear?" she asked worriedly.
"Y-yes" you replied before you wrapped your arms around Narcissa. She was taken aback for only a moment before she wrapped her arms around you as well. You had only felt these kinds of hugs from another person; Mrs. Weasley. "Thank you" you whispered.
"No thanks is needed, my dear girl" Mrs. Malfoy said, kissing your head. "You're family" she assured you. "Now, you need to rest, come on" she insisted guiding you to your bedroom.
Meanwhile, downstairs, Draco was pacing around between the kitchen and the garden to start brewing a potion for you.
"Stop pacing" Lucius said in a low voice as he sat on the kitchen table, watching his son run around like a mad man. "Your wife doesn't need you spiraling right now" he added as he looked around the kitchen, trying not to have a displeased look on his face since he had promised his wife he'd try. "You need to-"
"What I need is for you and mum to go back to the Manor" Draco snapped at his father. "I really don't need you to sit here and tell me again what a horrible husband I am to (Y/N) while I try to make her a potion to relieve the bloody pain that she's feeling in her entire body because a fucking shelf filled with heavy pots and plants fell on top of her instead of me! So really, father, if you have any comments of how awful of a husband I am, please tell them to me tomorrow because, believe me, I already know!"
Draco stood there, trying to calm his breathing down. He had no idea what had possessed him into talking to his father like that. He was certain no one had ever spoken to him like that or even raised his voice. But he didn't care. He was feeling anxious and scared enough that he could have lost you tonight and it was all his fault and he knew that if he had to hear it from his father too, he would snap. Mr. Malfoy didn't even flinch. Instead, he removed his cloak and hung it on the chair before he stood up, next to his son, and rolled his sleeves up. He grabbed some of Draco's ingredients and started preparing them for the potion.
"I know you're scared and furious, Draco" he started, as he kept on working on the potion. "But your wife is also scared and she is in a lot of pain" he continued. "And right now, the only thing you can do for her is to ease her pain and assure her that you will take care of it" he said.
"How did you do it?" Draco asked. "How did you always keep mum safe during the war?"
"That? That was easy" he admitted. "Those were things I could control" he said as they continued working on the potion. "I am not proud of many things that I have done, Draco. But I will never apologize for taking care of my family" he insisted. "You know, when you were born there were some... complications" he kept going. Draco had no idea where this conversation was headed but he remained silent as they both worked on the potion. "I was with your mother in the delivery room but then, something was wrong. You weren't breathing. They wouldn't let us see you. They wouldn't even let your mother hold you" he said. "And then... she started losing a lot of blood and they dragged me out of the room" he said, with his voice breaking a little. He stopped and looked at Draco. "I have never been more scared in my life" he admitted. "And the worst part was that there was nothing I could do" he told him. "My wife and my son were in extreme danger and there was nothing I could do" he said. "I felt... helpless."
"What did you do?"
"I couldn't do anything. I could only wait. That's the difference, Draco. When you can't control it. But right now, you can. You can brew this potion, you can help (Y/N) and then you can take care of it" he said before smashing the knife against the board, chopping the wormwood for the potion, and pouring it in the cauldron.
"I got (Y/N) to settle down and fall asleep" Mrs. Malfoy said, appearing on the door. "We should be going, Lucius" she said, looking at her husband and walking over to Draco. "I love you, darling" she said, kissing his cheek. "We are so glad you are both okay" she said, placing her hand on his cheek.
"Thanks, mum" Draco said, hugging her.
"Take care of (Y/N), alright? Let us know if you need anything."
"Yes, Draco" Mr. Malfoy said, ready to leave. "You should rest. And take care of your wife" he said, nodding his head before the two of them apparated out of there.
"Are they gone?" Draco heard your small voice at the bottom of the stairs and then appearing at the entrance of the kitchen wearing his favorite sweater.
"They are" Draco said, finishing the potion. "What are you doing up? My mum said you were asleep" he said, knowing very well that it was far from the truth.
"She wouldn't leave until I fell asleep" you said, walking towards him and wrapping your arms around his waist. "But I can't sleep if you're not there" you said as he wrapped his arms around you.
"I'm almost done, love" he said, giving you a peck on the lips.
"Can I help?"
"No. You should be resting" he scowled you.
"I don't... want to be alone" you said, looking down. Draco felt his heart clenching and he hugged you closer to him, kissing your temple.
"Come on" he said, waving his wand, and you saw everything move to his room. "I can finish this upstairs" he said helping you back up to your room.
"Okay" you said in a small voice, letting him lead you.
Draco tried his best to finish the potion as quickly as possible, seeing how uneasy you looked, sitting on the bed waiting for him to be done. You assured him the pain wasn't that bad but he could tell you were terrified and trying really hard not to show it. You watched as Draco tried to quickly brew your potion. You couldn't help but feel anxious about what happened that night. Even if Draco was in the same room, and you knew nothing was going to happen, you still needed some sort of reassurance that this was real. That Draco was fine and that he was with you. But you didn't want to seem clingy or childish, no matter how scared you were. You were snapped out of your thoughts when Draco sat down next to you and gave you the finished potion.
"Love, what's going on?" he asked worried once you drank it. He had never seen you like this.
"N-nothing" you stammered, but Draco placed his hands on yours to stop you from fidgeting.
"(Y/N)" he said, softly cupping your cheek with his hand. "Talk to me, love" he pleaded.
"I just..." you started and took a deep breath, trying really hard not to cry. "I'm scared" you admitted, not looking at him. Draco gently brushed away your tears with his thumbs and brought you closer.
"Love" he whispered, hugging you closer and kissing your temple, trying to soothe you. "I promise you I will never let anything happen to you-"
"No. Is not that" you said between sobs. "I d-don't want to lose you" you said, looking at him.
"You won't" he assured you.
"Do you promise?" you asked, making him chuckle a little.
"I promise, love" he said, kissing your cheek.
"Good" you said, wiping away your tears. "Because I don't know what I would do without you" you admitted. "And that is your fault" you pouted.
"My fault?"
"Yes! You made me dependent on you! You made me love you this much! And now I can't sleep unless you're with me! And I can't drink any potion that is not brewed by you! And I can't... I can't feel safe unless you're with me" you said, feeling your cheeks blush a little.
Draco felt his heart warming and himself smile. Nobody had ever made him feel this wanted. Nobody had ever made him feel needed.
"I'm sorry, love" he said with a sweet chuckle. "But if it makes you feel any better, I can't sleep unless you're with me either" he said, making you look up at him. "And I can't brew a potion if is not with your plants" he said making you smile just a little. "And I promise you that I will never leave you alone, my love" he said, kissing you gently. "I will always take care of you" he vowed. "And I'll always be here" he said, kissing your forehead. "But you should get some rest now- we" he corrected when he saw the distressed look on your face, thinking he was going to leave. "We should get some rest" he said pulling you over so you could get into bed.
"I love you" you said snuggling closer to him.
"I love you more" he whispered, promising himself that he was going to do whatever it took to keep you safe.