Dramione Oneshots

Don't Touch Me (TW? kind of)

Hogwarts seemed quieter, even darker than normal, as though it were being swallowed gradually into an almost imperceptible abyss. The crescent moon was too thin to reflect any substantial light and the stars were all hidden behind dark clouds. While it was not yet that late, it was after curfew and the majority of torches were out until they sensed a presence, but even then they were very dim.

He had been wandering around the castle aimlessly. Whether to find solace in a few minutes of solitude or to escape any reminder of his past, it didn't matter. Neither would come from walking the corridors. A scorch mark here, a bit of rubble there. His past lived in every hallway and followed him everywhere he went, like a shadow constantly berating him for his choices and his failures. Even after graduation, he would never be able to outrun the awareness of what he did and everything he had seen.

Deciding it was time to make his way back to the dungeons, Draco Malfoy descended the steps on the south side of the second floor. Before he entered the main passage to the stairwell that would bring him to his dormitories, there was a sound echoing through the darkness. Soft at first and muffled by the large wooden doors that separated him from the origin, his first thought was that the ghost of a young girl.

Anyone would be able to identify the sound as heavy whimpering, sobbing almost, and justifiably assume it was Moaning Myrtle. However, this one particular student was unique in that he could identify exactly who it was on the other side of the door. He knew who it was without any visual confirmation because had heard her before. In fact, he would never be rid of her. Even in the still of the night, Draco could hear her crying. Sometimes, he thought his ears would bleed from the mere memory of her screaming. In the darkness, he could see her face, and would never be able to forget the look of terror in her eyes.

He wasn't sure why she had looked at him, perhaps because he was the only person there she actually knew. The only familiarity in a room of adults who wanted to cause her pain, who wanted her to bleed out and die.

He'd never forget the feeling that rushed through him as he saw what dripped from her body. Her blood. Red and viscous, the same as his own. He knew it would be, deep down, but it was startling how undeniable it was in that moment.

They were the same.

No. That wasn't true.

From a young age, she had made him question everything he had ever known. Everything his parents told him, everything he and his friends believed to be universal truth. Lies. All of it. He was furious when he discovered that the brown-nosing, mudblood swot out ranked him in every class. A girl with no prior knowledge of magic was able to surpass every single note he had received in their first school year. His father had been merciless, goading him for allowing such an embarrassment to fall upon the family. Second year was the same. Even with the fear of falling victim to the heir of Slytherin, her grades never wavered. Third year, she appeared to be suffering and he thought to finally have her bested. She was exhausted, stressed and completely isolated from her friends, whereas he thrived. End of the year approached. Not only did she have three classes more to her name than he did, but she beat him again in each one they shared. She beat him, physically and academically that year. It was humiliating. Fourth year was no different, even when helping prevent her prat of a friend from dying. Not that he needed it, Potter had the 'not dying' thing down annoyingly well. Fifth year, he could barely show his face around his father. Of course, as always, she outranked him again. Sixth year didn't matter. She excelled but that was the least of their concerns. He had a task. One she would have accomplished more efficiently than he had no doubt, but one she never would have taken. Because they were different.

They weren't the same at all. She was pure and he stood by while others tried to sully her.

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