Wonder // Draco Malfoy

49. Nightmare

All I can hear is my breathing. There's grass in my face and my hands are both digging into the soil below me. Hedges are on either side of me and I push myself up to look around. Blood trickles down my face, starting from my hairline and dripping on the ground below me. Sweat stings my eyes as I lift my wand shakily to the darkness beyond.

A man's laughter can be heard from the darkness as I stumble closer. His heavy footsteps slowly step closer to me and I limp close enough to see his shadow. Only his feet are visible and there's something limp on the ground in front of him.

"What a pathetic excuse of a boyfriend," the man mocks. I wipe the sweat and blood from my eyes to see more clearly, but I wish I hadn't. Draco's lifeless form is in front of the man, his gray eyes wide toward the sky. His shocked expression makes vomit rise in my throat.

"You monster!" I shriek. A sharp pain spreads through my leg and I collapse with a yelp. I shake as I push myself up again, barely sitting up as I try to focus my quivering wand at him. "This will be the last thing you ever do."

The man laughs and takes a step forward. I can fully see his face now.

Lev.

"Wake up," he says, his dead eyes staring directly at me. I try to cast a spell only to find that my wand is now a twig. "Wake up," Lev repeats, raising his voice without a hint of emotion in his face.

"Valentine, wake up!"

I jump up but Draco catches me in his arms. His warm, concerned, and most importantly alive eyes look down at me as he holds me. My chest heaves as I try to calm myself down. It was just a dream, Valentine. No need to be dramatic.

Draco wipes my wet hair from my face and rubs my forehead with his thumb. "What on earth were you dreaming about?" He asks. He kisses me gently on my forehead repeatedly to try to calm me down. My chest is vibrating and I'm too scared to open my mouth to reply to him.

I force myself to look up at him slowly; my heart slows as relief washes over me. He's alive; he's holding me and making sure I'm okay. Lev hasn't killed him or even laid a hand on him. And he doesn't even know about this abandoned room.

"Y-you were de-dead," I stutter. I sob into his chest and his grip tightens around me. "I-I'm sorry Dr-Draco," I whisper. I take deep breaths to stop my crying. My dreams before have been scary, but none have been this realistic. I could see the expression on his face as he laid before me, dead beneath his perpetrator.

"My darling, there's no reason for you to say sorry," Draco comforts. He lifts his white shirt to dry my tears as I take a final deep breath. I lean back further against him and he readjusts us to where he's supported by the bed frame and my head is resting in the crook of his neck. "I'm right in front of you, Valentine, there's no need to be so scared." Draco's voice is as soft as I've ever heard it.

Draco's fingers rest gently under my chin as he tilts my head up slowly to kiss him. His lips tenderly move on mine. "Do you care about me this much?" He asks. His voice is almost a whisper as he gently rocks us from side to side. "Would you actually be this upset?"

I move to where I can face him and cup his cheek in my hand. His eyes are vulnerable again as he looks back at me. "It would crush me to ever see you hurt," I reply. Draco nods silently and pulls me closer to him. "I can't wait for the tournament to be over," I confess. I've seen the worry of my friends two times already, and I can barely think about the third. Wouldn't it be the most difficult task yet?

"All I've been wanting is to wake up and this be in the past. Or a dream," Draco says. He's no longer looking at me, but at the wall opposite us. There's a painting that's been torn and has decayed to where it isn't possible to know what it's supposed to be.

We lay in silence for a moment. I feel myself becoming more tired. With Draco playing with my hair, his calm heartbeat under my ear, and his gentle humming, it doesn't take long for me to fall asleep.

-

When I wake up, Draco is still asleep beneath me. His hands are loosely wrapped around me still and he looks the most peaceful I've ever seen him. After I fell asleep again, I didn't have any nightmares. I didn't dream at all.

I slowly move myself out of Draco's grip and rub my eyes. The only windows in the room are small and covered in old drapes. I grab my book anyways, open some of the drapes, and sit in the desk chair and read under the morning light.

Martin meows lightly and jumps on the chair next to me, his large yellow eyes staring directly into mine. When I try to pet him, he moves his head out of the way and continues to stare as if to say "you should know what I want, mom!"

"He's hungry. The fat beast never stops eating."

I jump lightly at the sudden voice. Draco is awake now, tiredly looking at me. "Did you not sleep?" I ask. I walk to the nightstand Draco is pointing at and open it to find a bag of cat food. As if he knows what I'm about to do, Martin purrs and rubs his head against my legs. A small bowl of water is already filled next to the bed and there's an empty bowl with a few crumbs.

After I pour Martin some food, I scratch his forehead and return to Draco. His eyes look sunken and his hair has a bit of sweat that's sticking it to his forehead. I wipe his hair away and look at him apologetically. "I couldn't sleep knowing you might have another nightmare. And then I saw how angelic you looked in my arms. Your hand was grabbing my shirt lightly and I almost melted on the spot."

He kisses my hand softly. "You said you had feelings for me longer than I knew," I say. Draco smirks at my sudden statement. "When did you develop feelings for me?"

Draco stands and takes his shirt off, facing away from me now and opening a dresser drawer. I close my mouth quickly before he can see me staring. "I knew I liked you when I felt jealous after you stood up for Potter on the train last year."

I laugh. "You like me because I stood up for the boy you hate?" I ask in disbelief. There's got to be more to the story than that. Draco rolls his eyes and puts another shirt on.

"I liked you before, but didn't realize it. It was then that I felt upset that you argued with me to protect him."

I stand and put my hand on his cheek. "I'll argue with you again if it means you'll like me more."

"I could think of a few other ways to evoke a certain emotion," Draco replies, his large hands falling on my waist and pulling me closer. I put my hand on his chest to stop him.

"Nice try, Draco."

"Can you blame me for trying?"

A/N
Sorry for another abrupt ending <3 the final task is coming soon!! It'll be a very dramatic/serious chapter so just a warning!!