On the Nature of Daylight

Chapter 22

A/N: Disclaimer- I took a scene and a bit of dialogue from the Half Blood Prince, Chapter 24 so just in case, I don't own that.

Soundtrack- "No Time to Die" by Billie Eilish 

Chapter 22

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A deep, aching thunder pounded into the recesses of Draco's head. He tried to groan, but his mouth and throat were so dry he wasn't able to summon it. He rolled over, trying to get some relief, but the ground was hard. He wasn't in a bed, that was for sure. Shit, where was he?

He opened his eyes, trying to focus on the world around him, but quickly closed them against the brightness. Daylight was streaming in windows in different colors and filling whatever room he was in. He groaned and pushed himself up successfully this time. His palms pressed into the floor and it was... wet. He opened one eye and saw tiles. Water. A bathroom? Was he in a bathroom?

Slowly he was able to lift himself up and look around through squinted eyes. The prefect's bathroom... Fuck how did he get in here? Last night... he didn't remember much of last night. Flashes and phrases began to come back to him as he struggled to sit up.

Throwing chairs... Blaise shouting at him... "What the fuck are you doing? Get it together, Draco!"

More pounding. He leaned against the wall.

"Why are you drinking?"

Granger. Granger had been there. Oh... shit.

He could remember her beside him. She kept talking, asking questions. She was always asking questions. The only time he could ever get her to shut up was when...

"Draco, stop-"

"Let me touch it."

"No. Let go of me."

Oh God...

He felt sick. What had he done last night? What had he done to Granger? He couldn't remember much else. He remembered being on top of her and hearing her whimper under him, not her normal pleading whimper, but a pained one. A terrible coldness sunk down into his bones. He had done terrible things before, but he never thought he would-

"I'm not going to leave you."

"It's... okay."

Thank fuck... the memories were hazy, but she was there, annoyed but okay. He hadn't... thank fuck. He didn't want to hurt her. But she wasn't here and he was alone. What happened?

He looked down at himself. His clothes were still damp. Someone had put him in a bath last night because the pool next to him was still full. The same someone had undone his shirt. He stared down at his chest and stomach, but it was still on, still covering his arm. He has been too drunk to do that himself, hadn't he? He swallowed something sour down and slowly slid his sleeve up.

He looked up into the daylight falling softly down on him, illuminating the Dark Mark on his white skin.

It had been covered and that part of his shirt moderately dry thankfully, but... how did he get here? On his own? Fuck... he didn't know.

He looked down at it again. Had anyone seen it? Had she seen it? Oh God...

Granger.

He had to find Granger.

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Hermione was in a daze. Nothing really felt real the next morning as she made her way up to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry and Ron walked on either side of her, talking about... something. She didn't even know. She hadn't been paying attention. Her eyes felt dry and somewhere in her head something told her to blink, but she just kept staring ahead, unseeing.