"The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb." (Draco x Y/N)

Snake's Den (1)

I've gotten good at muffling my screams after every nightmare. So good that I don't need a silencing charm. It seems like almost every time I try to close my eyes, I get engulfed in fire and blood. Sitting up, I try to still my shaking eyes and steady my breath. My throat was constricting and my vision was blurry.

I don't even know why I try to even bother. Exhausted but irrationally, I decided to get up and make my way to the common room. I put on my green jacket that went over my shorts and sliped my feet in pink slippers.

Trudging to the common room, I spot the fire flickering in its place. Slowly and tentatively, I made my way and sat cross-legged in front of the fire.

I have a complicated relationship with fire. On one hand, I hate it. I hate how caustic it is, and how destructive it can be. But on the other, it's simply warm. I wonder if I can truly befriend it. I absentmindedly reached my hand over to the fire. The fire tickled and danced along my fingers. I barely feel it burn me. It's warm, with a tinge of pain. I haven't felt much warmth in my life-

"What are you doing?" I jerked my hand back and cradled it with my other hand. Sticking it in my hoodie pocket I turned around and met Tom. He was wearing a white shirt paired with green joggers. He doesn't even have shoes or socks. "Nothing." I sighed. My breath was shaky as I tried to cover up my self harm attempt. It wasn't intentional I swear-

He cast a ward against the fire. To prevent me from reaching in. I got up and sat on the comfy couch. Craning my neck to look at the ceiling. I could barely manage to look Tom in the eyes. He's probably disappointed at how weak I am.

Tom took my hand and examined the damage.
"It's nothing much, but you obviously shouldn't do that." I shook my head. "It's warmer-"

"You could've burned yourself." He interrupted. I can hear him take out some salve and massage it on my burnt finger. I don't know why he suddenly cares, but I can now understand why he's the head boy for this house.

"I'm fine. Stop being so sappy. It's just a burn." He scoffed, rubbing the salve in the burn wound. My finger was soothed, and I can feel my skin heal magically.

"It's a self-inflicted burn. I refuse to let my housemate hurt themselves in my common room." I took a deep breath.

"it's nothing compared to my night terrors. I don't think I can ever sleep properly ever again, even with pills or sleeping drought, it's meaningless." Looking over, I can see Tom's frown. He got up for a moment and reached into a chest that was at the right corner of the room. He took out a quilted Green and Silver blanket and draped it over me. He sensed that I was cold. How did he read me so well?

"I'll brew some tea, stay on the couch and try not to pull anything idiotic on me." I rolled my eyes as he trudged back to the room.

Before I can even think, someone else entered the common room. "Y/n?" A tired voice sounded through. I looked and spotted Draco. He was wearing a green hoodie with grey sweatpants. Running his hands through his hair, he made his way and sat next to me.

"What are you doing here?" He immediately spotted my bandaged finger.

"What happened?" He seemed to perk up because now he was concerned.

"I burned myself." There's no use in lying at this point. "What?" His voice raised, seeming anxious, he ran his finger over the bandage. He got his wand out and was about to cast a ward against the fire.

"No need, I cast it already." We both looked and saw Tom carrying a tray with three steaming teacups. "I knew you'd be here, Malfoy." He set the tray down and took his seat next to me.

"Tom, is it true, did she actually burn herself?" He nodded, taking the teacup he gave to my unburnt hand. I blew the steam away and sipped at the tea. The liquid ran down my throat. I was so warm. It was semi comforting, and helped keep the thoughts away.