Hanahaki • Drarry

C H A P T E R T H R E E

TW: MENTIONS OF BLOOD
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Draco allowed another small, white petal to fall into his hand with another, throat clawing, breath before laying his head against the unwelcoming tree perched at the edge of the Black lake. His eyes closed in discomfort as he tried to focus on anything other than the rattling in his chest.

It was like his heart and lungs were doing twice the amount of work needed to keep him alive.

“ Malfoy? ” a familiar voice gasped from a few feet away; but Draco couldn't find it in himself to open his eyes to confirm the worried stare and stunned figure that was Hermione Granger. “ A-are you alright? ”

“ Oh, I'm just peachy ” Draco coughed out in a hoarse voice, uncomfortably aware of the vines blooming from his lungs. Twisting together in malice.

Hermione's gaze shifted from the Slytherin's face to his hands. She swallowed down the unsettling crawl in her stomach upon seeing the rose petal sticking to his hand - using nothing but a coat of drying blood as glue. “ Malfoy, what's- ”

“ - go away. ”

The Gryffindor didn't seem pleased with his response, because the next thing he knew she was seated beside him. Her textbook long forgotten on the grass as she placed a hesitant hand on his shoulder. “ How long has this been happening? ”

Draco scowled and tilted his head towards her. “ I don't- know what you're talking about ” another flower torn apart. Another petal forcing it's way up his throat.

“ Clearly you do, Draco ” Hermione said, her eyes impossibly wider than they had been when she had seen the first petal. She reached for his hand, only for him to pull away.

“ I don't need your pitty, Mudblood ” he growled through a false mask of anger and hate. “ And I certainly don't need, and didn't ask for, your help either. ”

“ I don't care whether or not you want it or asked for it ” she replied immediately, her voice now colder but still laced with worry. “ Something is wrong with you and you need help. This could be serious. ”

Draco's reply was muted by another, dry, petal infested, cough...