Aine forced herself upright, she took a few steps into the room before another wave of stabbing affliction hit her. Her body lost all its strength from shaking, and the screams inside her mind were torturous. She winced, clutching onto her head that was rupturing apart, crushing her from within.
She shrieked in pain with hysteria when the noise became shrill, her footsteps faltering backwards as she cowered to the wall. Everything was flashing by her eyes, one moment she was able to see past the black spots in her vision, and the next, her surroundings churned and blurred. She could see two figures ahead, turning to face her but she couldn't quite see what expressions they were wearing.
The girl secretly cursed in her mind, of all the rooms she had chosen, it had to be one where there were people. "I'm... I'm sorry—" she apologizes with a ragged breath, her hand holding onto the wall as she makes the attempt to flee before the two people in the room with her. With another step, her knees wobbled and she slumps down. "Shit, I'm sorry— Don't mind me..." she breathes, huffing and puffing for air.
Aine's lids fluttered, seeing fleeting visions of the figures running towards her. She waved her hand, not wanting them to come near her. She was losing control of her powers and the last thing she wanted was to set another soul on fire as she did in the cellar of the Malfoy Manor.
"What is the meaning of this Estoil—" she heard a familiar voice in the midst of the commotion in her head. She narrowed at the approaching figure, trying to make of the identity.
"Professor..?" she weakly called out, recognizing the ever so monotonous voice of her former Potions professor. She hears him click his tongue, clearly peeved by her sudden intrusion and lack of manners.
Next to him, was a younger lad. And even in the gloomy dimmed room, Aine could make of his face, especially with the familiar platinum blonde hair and emerald green tie. His voice only further supported her assumption of who it was. Even with all the excruciating pain, she managed to cast a weak smile at the boy. Thankful that it was someone she could trust with her vulnerability, but then she realized how much she was going to burden him again with her problems.
"Aine? Love— What's wrong?" Draco cuts in, sensing that something was wrong with the girl. He was bewildered, watching her crumble away so quickly as her face was drained of all colour. He rushed up to the raven-haired girl who was on the ground, his pupils wavering as he scans her face, holding her shoulders. Her breathing was shallow and it even looked like she was suffocating.
"Aine, look at me," he instructed her, cupping the girl's face as she forces herself to meet his eyes. Her head was heavy in his hand, having zero energy to even sit upright.
"Hel... Help m... E... Pl... Please..." she said through her clenched teeth, slowly giving up trying to fight the noise.
Draco shakes Aine's frame, getting her to stay conscious, panic in his eyes as he watches her suffer again. Another round of torture and internal battle and there was nothing he could do but watch like a fool. His thoughts ran wild, trying to come up with what to do but it wasn't as if he could just cut the connection between her and the being inflicting misery on her.
The cabinets around them started to shake, the glass cracking under the weight of her immense unstable powers. Draco could feel his arms shivering from Aine's trembling body. He could see how hard she was trying to stay awake with her heavy eyelids.
Aine was exhausted from the hissing in her ears. She was in despair, she couldn't breathe and she was cold and numb. It was like she was hit with everything unpleasant she has experienced before, from the tortures of Umbridge, Bellatrix and Cal to experience being in the presence of a Dementor and even the first time she had to face her fears in the Boggart class.
"MOVE!" she hears her professor snaps at the boy in front of her. He waves for Draco to move aside so he could tend to her.
Aine felt another hand on her dampened forehead, a larger and more worn-out hand. Snape checked her temperature, she was warm but her sweat was cold. He could hear his heart beating even faster, and faster, as if in a dilemma about what he should do first. It wasn't the first time he had tended to her as she spirals apart into a panic seizure.
Though back then when he had treated her, he didn't need to worry about her powers going on a rampage since the girl still had her father's seal. Snape furrowed at the girl, realizing that she did not remember what happened the last time since Dumbledore had instructed him to tweak her memories a little to protect her.
The world around the three of them shook again, causing Snape to break from his reminisce abruptly. Both his and Draco's eyes widened as they dart about the room, it was like an earthquake, except they were the only ones who were in that space encountering it. The professor was quick to cast a couple more protective barriers around the room as a countermeasure just in case.
It seemed like a part of him could foresee that this was no ordinary seizure like the one she had before. It was far more destructive and he could only imagine the worse.
Both men held onto their wands, terror in the younger lad's eyes but he was more afraid for Aine than his own life.
What in Godric's hell was happening?
"It's too loud... Pl- Please stop... The voices..." Aine pleaded through her tightened throat, pushing through the pain. She could feel herself slipping away, but her power only raged on.
Aine's uncontrollable powers only escalated, it wasn't just her surroundings that tremored. The fire on the candles flickered weakly, daring to be put off but at the same time, growing, even more, stronger, wanting to engulf everything in its way in flames. There was a gushing wind swirling around them even though the windows were closed. Stationery began to clatter down from desks as piles of books shifted and tumbled. Within seconds, the entire room was in a mess as if a hurricane had just swept by.
With the girl's magic growing more unstable, the life around the room was affected. The little botany plants around the room started to wilt, including the single stalk of a lily flower hidden at the corner of the window still withers away bitterly. Darkness pained all living things, purging their life away.
Falling deeper into the episode, Aine's body thrashed as she clawed her ears from the splitting nose rupturing inside her lobes. Tears welled in her squeezed eyes, " Make it stop! Please...! No more...!" She shrieks.
Draco was still holding her close, he was slowly losing his own mind to trepidation. His silver eyes widened, suddenly feeling his breath being sucked away. Breathing became difficult, he was getting light-headed. Being the one closest to Aine who had no control over her profound powers, he was feeling the weight of it more.
He clutched onto his chest, heaving short and quick gasps for oxygen. Despite losing strength, he forces himself to stay awake, ignoring the spots appearing in his sight. He wheezed, his other hand holding onto his neck. "Ai... Aine..!" Draco mustered to call out, reaching to restrain her from hurting herself anymore. He was getting strangled by the monstrosity of her powers. "My love— Please!"
Snape was no exception, even though he was a powerful wizard himself, he felt the same effects. The magic within Aine was so powerful that he felt his energy drain away from his body so quickly. Like someone had left the tap of his strength opened. His eyes met the pure flower for a second, watching it sink down sadly, sapped of life. If this continues any further, he was going to be like that flower.
"Estoileon! Get hold of yourself!" he hissed, but his words fell on Aine's deaf ears. She couldn't hear anything but the screams and cries of the people she did not know, and above all, his voice was the loudest, drowning out the sounds of her reality.
What was happening reminded Snape very much of Aris— The same destructive powers that reaped everything of life. Snape's fingers went cold and he clenched his jaw, he glares at the girl, and with what little resilience had left, he cast a binding spell to suppress her powers shut. His knees soon lose strength in the process and he closes his eyes briefly to recompose himself.
The power within Aine subsides from the magical shackles that Snape had placed to stop her from tearing the room apart and killing everyone in it. The binding magic soothes the chaos and Aine releases the force from the air within them, ending the tremors and curse.
The room found its peace once again though everything else in it was in disarray. The smothered flames were relit, bringing some light back into the gloomy space. The howling wind had left through the gaps in the window but whatever stayed was still in a big mess. The plants and the lily flower remained wilted and darkened.
Dried and dead.
Draco shakes his head to rid of the remaining dizziness and when he looked back to Aine who had stopped convulsing. His heart stopped at the sight. To their horror, the men watched as blood began to trickle down Aine's nose, her eyes rolling up from the aftermath of the curse shutting down. The tears streaming down her face turned black, like ink.
Just like that day in the Three Broomsticks, though none of them knew that besides Aine. Shocked by the sight, they could only gape at the girl before Snape starts moving again.
When the professor had regained his strength, he stands back up and dusted his soiled clothing before lumbering away. He moves towards the cabinet closest to the window slowly, still feeling woozy from the aftermath. He picked through his shelves and brought out a small vial of potion to administer to the girl.
Draco wipes the black tears that stained Aine's face with his thumb. Softly he reassures her with a gentle voice, not wanting to cause her to go hysterical again. "It's okay... It's going to be alright now, my love..."
A breath of relief escaped Aine as her muscles slowly eases themselves. Her head lolling away onto Draco's shoulders, still heavily drowsy. The noises were fading away, all the painful cries and haunting screams, even the Dark Lord's words were muffled away. Still, she wasn't able to focus fully yet and her eyes were fluttering slowly, desperate to roll up for the hundredth time. She could only pant, regaining oxygen in hopes the spots in her vision would go away.
"Hold her," Snape instructed Draco as he unstoppers the medication that will calm her mind and alleviate the pain.
Draco caresses Aine's head, his hand supporting the back of her neck. She was weak, and though both his and Snape's strength was coming back, Aine's was slow to recuperate. His heart had shattered into a million pieces at how fragile she looked again. He leans Aine's droopy head to him as Snape pours the concoction into her parted lips. It took a few moments before the potion did its job.
The girl slowly finds her senses back and she exhales heavily, blinking from the momentary trance. With the remaining tears in her eyes sliding down the crooks of her nose and cheeks, she soon relaxes but her body never stops quivering like a baby deer.
Everything was back to normal once more but Aine lay frail in Draco's embrace. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." she said apologetically in a shaky voice. Her bloodlust dissipated away like the voices and the urge to kill and hurt people disappearing.
Snape could only sigh at the girl, feeling a pang of pity for her. He straightens his robes and walks away to prepare another vial of medication for the girl, leaving the couple alone.
Draco tightens his hug on the girl, his hand caressing her head. "Shh... It's okay... You're okay." he continues to hush her.
Aine thumps her head on his chest, sniffling quietly as she clutches onto the back of his uniform. "It's not okay..." she replies back, so softly only for him to hear.
Was this how things were going to be? She asked herself in her head.
A curse that can only be quietened from hurting others?
"I hate this so much, Draco... I hate it... I don't want to live like this..." she sobs. Even with the calmness, she could still hear the ghost of him, she could feel him breathing behind her neck, his blood coursing through her veins, corrupting her whole. The bond between herself and the man who terrorized her was still there, unbroken.
Impossible to break unless one of them destroys the other.
"I know..." Draco whispered to her, rubbing her back as he bit back his tears daring to fall.
At that moment, all Draco had hoped was that he could be the one to kill the person who had caused such pain to the girl he loved. He was burning with wrath, knowing that if anyone were to be blamed for the torment, it would be him.
The Dark Lord, himself.
Aine remained in Snape's office until she had the strength to stand again. Still lethargic and exhausted, Snape had instructed the girl to head to the infirmary so she could get some medicine and rest under the proper care. However, as stubborn as Aine always was, she refused with the reason that she didn't want to spend her time with others there.
Right now, she just wanted to be free from many beings as possible, in fear that she would hurt them again as she did to Draco and Snape. And, she didn't want anyone else to witness her vulnerability. She didn't want to show that side of her to anyone.
It was something both men could relate to. They were both tough beings who loathed showing weakness to anyone, except perhaps one or two that they really trust.
Snape gave an exasperated sigh, he looks at Draco who was already eyeing him. They nodded, having come to an unspoken agreement. Snape knew that he could trust Draco to take care of the girl and know that she would be in good hands with him by his side.
Before Aine and Draco left, their mentor had given her a bottle of medicine that would ease her headaches should they relapse again, one that she could take alongside the Dreamless potion that Slughorn had given her earlier if she wanted. For now, he had managed to calm the storm in Aine's head, stopping the episode she was having. But for all they know, there was only so much he could do to restrain such power.
She did have some powerful beings' blood running through her veins after all. It wasn't just her mother's rare blood but the darkest, badest wizard's blood mixed together in her stream.
"Take care of her well," Snape tells Draco who nodded. It was rare for their professor to show concern but he wasn't exactly a heartless creature like someone they all knew.
"I will," Draco replies with a pursed lip, looking over to Aine who was still weak from Snape's nullifying magic.
Taking one more look at Aine who managed to give a small smirk to him, Snape rolls his eyes and dismisses them from his office. "Get out of here."
With another bob of their heads, the two students turned and departed away. Draco's arm supported Aine's waist as they walked slowly. He would look to the girl every now and then, just to make sure she was alright. Thankfully, the colour on Aine's face was returning. She still felt tired but breathing was definitely easier now compared to just now.
"Are you sure you're okay?" he asks, worry laced in his voice.
Aine hummed a reply, "Mmhm... I'm fine now." She couldn't hear those noises ringing in her ears anymore, but if she had focused on it. There was still the faintest hint of murmurings, similar to the voices in the veiled archway in the Ministry of Magic. The past of her birth father and other souls whispering to her, beckoning her to unleash her powers. Very soft, but they were still there.
She tries not to dwell on it, now was not the time to seek those voices. She had enough on her plate for today and any more, and she was sure that she wouldn't be able to last until tomorrow. "I'm sorry," Aine says again, guilty of what she had done and caused.
Draco breathed out through his nose, stopping for a second to hug her out of nowhere. "There's nothing to be sorry for, love. You were in pain and you were hurt. If anyone is to be sorry, it would be the ones who had inflicted that on you," he said, rubbing her back. He pulls away and watches another tear slip down her eye, his heart aching again.
"I'm just glad that you're fine now. That's all that matters to me," he added, patting her face dry of her tears. He brought her close again, fearing to let go.
Aine closes her eyes and breathed into him, his familiar scent of apple mint and parchment comforting her like an embrace. It offered her more warmth than a fireplace could. "Thank you..."
The boy smiles back in response. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the Hospital Wing? Maybe Madam Pomffrey can help you," Draco said, still unsure whether it was a good idea to forgo getting some treatment in the infirmary.
"Yeah, I don't want to go there," she replies.
"Alright then," Draco huffs, yielding to her. "Then where do you want to go?"
Aine pondered for a while before she looks back to him again, speaking through her eyes. As if getting the hint, Draco smirks. "That was what I was thinking too." He gladly led the way, knowing it wasn't a long distance to the destination.
When the spiral staircase greeted them, Aine smiles. "How did you know that I wanted to come here?" she asks. Upon the eye contact before, she was certain that she did not say anything to Draco in her mind.
Proud of his choice, his smirk stretched, even more, helping her up the stairs until they were met with the amazing view. "I just know," he answered. It was a place he knew to offer some solace to Aine, a place with a deeper meaning. It was the place that they had 'claimed' to be theirs.
The afternoon wind kissed her forehead, cooling it after being drenched in sweat. Aine shuddered a little but she did not mind the breeze. If anything, she welcomed it. Her eyes fluttered drowsily at the horizon, there was always some unknown peaceful feeling that would spread across her heart warmly whenever she gazes out of the Astronomy Tower. The mountains, the lake, the vast beautiful skies. She felt free, and she felt the air.
She could finally breathe a little better now.
Although the Room of Requirement had offered her some sense of tranquillity and was rather enticing to be right now. Aine did not want to be in there, tucked away in some room— She didn't want to be caged up.
Draco lightened when he saw the smile on Aine's face. He conjured a small rug on the wooden floor panels before sitting down with Aine. He peels his outer house robe and placed it over Aine for extra warmth. She was still slightly out of it but definitely feeling sleepy now. He holds her close to him and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "Why don't you sleep for a little while, love?" he suggested.
Aine tries to blink away the sleepiness, not wanting to encumber him anymore. "It's okay, being like this is enough," she reassures him.
The Malfoy boy pouted a little, "Let me take care of you, Aine."
A chuckle escaped her lips, surprised by his words. "Shouldn't you even be at classes by now? I heard the bell ring—"
Draco hushes her with a look, his lips curling upwards. "I can afford to ditch classes for you. You're more important to me than revising!"
Aine's head was bobbing backwards as she tries to stay awake. Their eyes look ahead at the glowing day. "You should prioritise your academics more, Draco. What if you got detention?" she said, her eyes fluttering heavily.
"Relax, M'lady. It's Defense Against the Dark Arts, Snape's class. He'll pardon me," he replied with a cheeky wink.
"Jeez..." Aine muttered with a smile, giving up trying to convince him otherwise. Just like her, it was what she would do too if things were the other way around. Both of them were equally stubborn at times too.
He made sure Aine had drunk the Dreamless potion before presenting his shoulder for her to lean on to take a short nap. Aine was very much reluctant about it since she knows how much it'll ache in a few hours with a weight pressing on it for a long time. She knows how sore his shoulders would be when she wakes up again since Ginny usually snoozes on her whenever they share the same compartment on the Hogwarts Express.
Nonetheless, Draco reaffirmed to her that he was fine with it. He even told her that he had strong shoulder muscles from Quidditch training. "I can sacrifice a limb or two for you," he remarked. For Aine's comfort, as long as she could have a good rest, he'll gladly sacrifice his whole body too. That was all he cared about— Aine's well-being.
"Well, I can't have you losing your limbs for me," Aine said with her eyes closed. Her fingers searched for Draco's hand to intertwine it. He squeezes her hands and she smiles, falling deeper.
"I'll even be a fool for you," he teased and she chuckles softly. Draco went on rambling about the lengths he would go for Aine and in return, the girl would respond with how far she would go too. Hearing Draco's calming voice soothed her ears sweetly, filling away all of the unpleasantries she had heard before. It wasn't until her replies started to get muffled and become a series of hums. Then it came to a point when Draco finds himself not getting any responses.
He peeked over his shoulder after noticing her silence and grinned at her peaceful breathing. Her shoulders rise and fall softly and he admires how beautiful Aine looks, with her eyes closed, she appeared more angelic. "Sleep well, my love," Draco whispers as he kissed the top of her head and rests his head back on the thick pillar.
Draco remained still throughout Aine's sleep, watching over her as the day deepens. And without knowing, his eyes slowly close as he takes the crispy air, filling it in his lungs. He soon fell deep into sleep himself and they both forgot their worries for just a single moment.
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Two chapters updated for you guys~ Hope everyone is having a great week so far! We're halfway through this week, so let's keep up the spirit until the weekends are here! ^^ Do leave me some comments and upvote if you liked this chapter! Love you guys lots! <3
- Zeneria