Were? - #100

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To celebrate the 200k milestone, I have finally completed the 100th part to this book. (Better late than never)
Hope you enjoy it. -A

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The corridor was long. Why did it have to be so long? As the darkness of the night sky descended upon the school, you just wanted to get well away from the castle before it was to late. You didn't want to hurt anyone or let a single soul know about your secret. The speed your legs were walking at got faster until you were practically sprinting down the hallway. Suddenly, you collided with someone. A tall blonde haired boy with a scowl plastered upon his pale face.
"Where the bloody hell do you think you're going at this time of night?" Draco snarled, glaring into your wide eyes.

Draco had been patrolling the grounds of the castle but there was no time for an angry chat. "B-back to m-my dorm?" You told him, although it came out as more of a question.
Malfoy narrowed his beady grey eyes at you. "But your house common room is in the opposite direction." He replied in an overly proud manor. Boy, this kid was smug. He placed his hands firmly on his hips and began tapping his foot against the stone floor impatiently. Silence lingered in the air for a few seconds before Draco broke it suddenly. "Well come on then. What are you doing out of bed." He demanded once more.
You couldn't think of a good enough excuse right there, on the spot. So instead, opted for dodging Draco and sprinting past him out of the castle, over the field, past Hagrid's hut and into the forbidden forest.

Meanwhile, within the castles thick walls, Draco had tried to follow but you were faster than he had initially thought. He began to search the halls tirelessly for you, but had no such luck. So, he retired back to his dorm with the thought of you plaguing his mind. The distant sounds of animals calling each other from the forest was the only sound that could be heard as he made his way back to his room.

The next morning, you pulled your groggy body into Professor Snape's Potions class room and sat at your usual desk, adjacent from Draco's. The blonde boy bought his eyes up from his open text book and looked at your scratched and scared face. "Pst. (Y/L/N)." Draco whispered in an attempt to grab your wavering attention. Your tired eyes looked up at Draco, too warn out to fight him at this time in the morning. "You look like you have just been dragged to hell and back. What happened to you?" He whispered, not wanting to gather any unwanted attention.
You frowned. Although his words weren't exactly sympathetic, they weren't malicious either. His pale face showed genuine concern which took you back a little. "It's nothing. Just an unfortunate encounter with a hippogriff." You assured him, smiling softly and turning back to place your books on the table in front of you.
Draco didn't look like he completely believed your excuse. It wasn't the best one you had ever come up with, but if he knew what really happened, Merlin knows what he would do. He would probably run away in fear. Or tell the whole school. No one would come anywhere near you ever again. You couldn't risk it.

After a long hour of Draco's eyes glued to your face, you were finally dismissed. You hurried out of the class room and out into the busy bustling hallway in an attempt to lose Draco as quickly as possible. It had worked at first. Looking back, you saw the tall blonde boy sporadically looking around the corridor, but you blended in nicely with the other Hogwarts students. You didn't fancy sitting around more people during your hour of freedom while the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were in Herbology, so you decided to make your way to the astronomy tower. This is the moment Draco's eyes fell once again onto you. Weaving through the filtered crowd, Draco made his way up the stares to the tower and towards you.

Once you were at the top of the tower, you walked over to the large viewing area and gripped into the cold metal hand rail. Letting the light wind sweep through your hair, you inhales the cool, pure spring breeze that slipped effortlessly into your lugs. Before long, you heard footsteps behind you, meaning only one thing. He had followed you. "Where did you go last night and what are those on your face? Because if you were 'in the common room' there is no way a Hippogriff would have attacked you." Draco pointed out blatantly. His tone wasn't like it was in the class room, but instead more like when you were in the corridor the night before.
You rolled your eyes and turned swiftly to face the proud blonde. "Look at you Sherlock. How very clever of you. All you need is a deerstalker and a pipe and your good to go." You jibed sarcastically, anger slightly boiling inside your tired body.
Draco just frowned. "I don't understand that reference." He explained, his face reverting to a stern glare.
Placing your hand onto your forehead, you sighed. "I'm just saying that you're stating the obvious there a little bit." You told him. All the rapidly decreasing energy you had left was going into keeping you on your feet.
Draco narrowed his grey eyes to stair at you. "So. Go on then. What is it? Are you addicted to a specific potion that means you have to sneak around the castle at night just to get your fix? Were you out to see that oaf Hagrid? And how about those scars on your face. They didn't just magically appear the morning after you ran away from me?" He taunted. He just wanted answers and you were beginning to become fed up.

Sinking to the ground against the stone of the tower, you held your head in your hands as he continued his endless bombardment of questions. Finally, you lost it with him. "I'm a werewolf!" You called out to silence the pressing questions Draco tirelessly asked.
The blonde boy fell abnormally silent. For once, the Slytherin prince was speechless. He wasn't entirely sure how he was meant to response to this new serge of information. Thoughts raced through Draco's mind. Was she dangerous? That must make her some sort of freak. What would father say? She can't possibly be aloud to stay here? Can she?
But as Draco's eyes fell on your quivering body that was bound tightly in a ball at the edge of the tower, his thoughts changed. Hug her. Wait what? No. But it's not her fault. She must have been bitten by someone. She looks so innocent down there.

Draco sighed and walked hesitantly over towards you. You were no threat to anyone and fed up of being so alone because of the secret you had to hide. The Slytherin sat down beside you but you didn't notice. You couldn't bare to look up and face the angry stair of your peer. But Draco's face was the opposite of hurtful. It was sympathetic.

The young boy was unsure of what to do. He felt the urge to wrap his arms around you and tell you that it will all be alright in the end. But he wasn't entirely sure how to do that. He wasn't the most friendly of people. But despite all of this, his arm slowly and hesitantly creeped over your shoulder as he pulled you towards him in a comforting manner. Your puffy red eyes looked up at Draco through your eyes lashes.
He gave a weak smile. "I'm sorry. It- it can't be easy for you." He addressed, looking away for a second.
You were in shock but it was comforting to know that someone cared. Even if you did think he may be hiding something. Regardless, while he was still looking away, you rested your head into his chest and hugged him in return. Stunned by the sudden actions, Draco looked down at you as your eyes closed, preventing the tears from tumbling. He gave a soft smile and rested his chin onto the top of your head.
"Thank you." You murmured quietly, knowing he could hear you but not wanting to attract the attention towards yourself once again.

The two of you sat in the tower for a good hour before finally getting up and making your way to your respected common rooms. The walk back was mostly silent, aside from the patter of your shoes that hit the stone floor after every step. "If you ever need to talk. Or if you need me with you when you are um- wolfing. I'm here." Draco informed you, breaking the tranquil silence that hung between you both.
You smiled shyly. "I wouldn't recommend anyone being near me when I'm, as you say, wolfing. But thank you Draco." You gratefully replied.
The Slytherin nodded and grinned. He felt protective over you all of a sudden. As though you were a little sister.

And from that day forward, Draco Malfoy became like an older brother to you. He was there for you after each full moon, taking you to Madam Pomfrey and refusing to leave until you had your strength back to normal. He would put other students in there place when they complained how much you were 'off ill' from lessons. And he even started trying to sneak Wolfsbane out of Snapes store cupboard, just to make your transformation a little less hellish.

It was safe to say, Draco, who started out as the boy who alarmed and unnerved you, had turned out to be the reason you could get through a day without feeling like the monster that you feared you would become.

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