We've been swingin' and missin'. It ain't broke yet, but damn, it needs fixin'.
Hermione squeezed her eyes shut as Draco's clenched fist left the sink and flew through the air landing in the middle of the mirror that he had been facing. She could hear the bits of glass raining down against the porcelain and on the floor before she cautiously opened her eyes to see the damage, only managing to look at Draco’s bloodied hand as she let out the breath she had been holding. He had failed to show up to their spot all week but she kept coming hoping he would finally appear to spend time with her, but this is not what she had been expecting to find when she pushed open the door.
His mood swings had been getting progressively worse since the beginning of the year and ever since they came back from Christmas break a week ago it was like he was a completely different person. Any little thing set him off. She watched from a distance as he snapped at his friends and stormed off from classes. Her stomach rolled remembering how ill he had looked when she saw him enter the great hall that previous Monday morning. She wanted to rush up to him and hug him, wanted to hold him like she had when she found him crying on the bathroom floor all those months ago, but her friends didn’t know about their odd alliance. They wouldn’t understand. So she stayed put beside Harry, Ron, and Ginny and dug her nails into her palms as he passed by where they were sitting.
Been a while since your kiss felt like kissin'. It's just different.
They had always met late at night. She would sit next to him and listen as he talked. Sometimes he kept it light with discussions of potion recipes or poking fun at something she had said or done in class causing her to roll her eyes and slap at his shoulder and other nights she sat perfectly still and held his hand as his eyes glazed over and he told her about the awful things brewing at Malfoy Manor.
The night before they left for break he had kissed her. It was unexpected but gentle, exactly how she would describe him when he was in private with her. The shy smile he gave her after warmed her heart and had her watching the clock her entire holiday in anticipation to see him again.
We've been talkin' 'bout forever since we've been together but we're caught in between a rock and a hard place.
Hermione took a small step toward him and opened her mouth to speak but snapped it shut when he looked back at her with death in his eyes.
“What do you want, Granger?” The poisonous words dripped from his lips and a chill ran down her spine. She suddenly felt like she was the thing that got punched. He hadn’t spoken to her in that tone in so long, even when they were in public his voice was never that sharp with her and his foul insults had been redirected to other people.
It took a second longer than she would have liked but she snapped out of her stunned silence when he blinked at her and then looked down sullenly at the blood dripping from his hand to the floor like a child coming down from a temper tantrum.
“What’s happened?” She asked calmly as she reached for his injured hand, preparing to cast a healing charm. Draco shuddered when her warm skin slid against his icy fingers.
He closed his eyes and let his shoulder drop from their tense hold when she inspected the wounds crisscrossing over his knuckles, almost as if her touching him was enough to tame the raging storm inside of him.
Red wine and mistakes. Tears rollin' down your face.
She turned his wrist just slightly to better look at a particularly bad gash and immediately noticed the pop of black ink against his pale skin peeking out from his shirt.
“Draco…” she gasped. His head snapped up and her eyes were once again trapped within his predatory gaze. She didn’t break eye contact as she continued rotating his wrist bearing his forearm to her.
Even though his eyes were black with malice a lone tear slipped out of his right eye and ran slowly down his cheek. She went to push up the sleeve of his crisp white shirt to better see the mark when his other hand clamped down on her wrist stopping the movement.
His jaw ticked, “Don’t”.
Is this where it mends or it breaks?
Draco took a step back, releasing his hold on her and slipping out of her grasp at the same time.
“We both know what it is, Granger. No point in trying to pretend it’s something else.”
“I… you…” she sputtered, for the first time in her life her brain was not quite able to keep up. “We can fix this?” She didn’t mean for it to come out as a question but her throat had started to close up while holding back her tears. The reality of what it meant for them, for HIM, hitting her harder than one of bludgers Ron and Harry always talked about.
His broken laugh was enough to finally send the first of her tears spilling out of her eyes and onto her face.
For the record, throwin' in the towel takes some effort. So I'd rather ride it out for better weather, together.
“We can!” She fought with a shaky voice, swiping at the tears hoping he wouldn’t see them. He looked at her incredulously.
“Unfortunately, Granger, the answer to this problem can’t be found in one of your little books.” He sneered. With a flick of his wand the mirror was back in one piece and another had his battered skin stitching back together.
She scowled and let out an annoyed huff. “I was thinking more along the lines of Harry, Snape, or Dumble-“ she didn’t have time to finish her sentence before she suddenly found herself spun around and pressed against the wall next to the sinks.
Between a rock and a hard place.
Hermione couldn’t tell if Draco’s eyes were panicked or murderous but the grip on her waist pointed towards panicked. Their noses were almost touching and she could feel his rushed jagged breaths puff against her lips.
She’d lost count of how many times his eyes bounced back and forth between hers before they slid down to her lips. His clutch on her hips intensified. She hadn’t realize she was holding her breath until he forcefully spun away from her, panting and clenching his fists at his sides as his shoulders caved forward and his head was once again down.
“Go.” He murmured so quietly she almost didn't hear it.
“Draco…”
He spun back towards her, eyes now haunted and lifeless like they had been when she saw him walk in the great hall. “Go, I never should have allowed this.” She opened her mouth to protest but was cut off by his harsh voice. “LEAVE!”
Tears rollin' down your face when I walked out that door and that's when I lost it.
She took one step and then another. She brushed by him and did her best to blink back her tears but by the time she reached the bathroom door they were raining down her cheeks.
Hermione pulled the door open quietly and glanced back over her shoulder. Draco looked so conquered that it almost made her turn around to go back to him but in that moment of indecision he must have noticed that she never left the room and straightened his spine before cutting her with the most menacing stare.
And then she was running. Running through the dark empty halls, running up the stairs to the girl’s dormitory in Gryffindor tower, running through the small door to her bed and collapsing on it.
She had enough mind to cast a silencing charm before she fell apart for the boy that was too proud to ask for help even when his world was crumbling down around him.
Is this where it mends or it breaks? Between a rock and a hard place.