Broken Mirror

xoXOXox

Hermione came awake slowly. For the first time since Malfoy Manor, nothing hurt. Her skin wasn’t crawling, and her nerves weren’t on fire. The magic inside her felt like it was drifting lazily along its pathways. But the thing she noticed the most.

The silence.

There was nothing in her mind except herself. No screaming. No voices taunting her. No hissing threats. She was entirely alone in her body. Tears flooded her eyes as a silent sob worked its way up her chest. She had slept nightmare free. She had slept the entire night. She had slept. And it was all due to one person she never thought would ever come to her aid.

Draco Malfoy.

Opening her eyes and blinking away the tears, Hermione took in his face. Though he seemed more at peace, even in sleep, he looked sad. The reader in her could only describe it as looking like he wore his broken heart for all to see. He was pale. Paler than he used to be. The stark white hair didn’t help with his color at all. She had no idea why he decided to change his hair that way, but she was a bit curious. Even his lashes were a dusting of snow white along his cheeks. She'd have to remember to ask him. That is if they were able to get to a place that asking him something like that was acceptable. Who knows? Maybe, if he really could help her, maybe they could find some semblance of civility to stand on. 

As she let her eyes travel down his neck and shoulder, she paused, realizing there was a third hand that didn’t belong to her current bedmate resting on his side. One that was tan with nails bitten raggedly. She knew that hand. She knew those fingers. Carefully lifting herself up, she looked over Malfoy’s shoulder and couldn’t help the melting of her heart.

Harry was there, just out of reach of touching Malfoy with any other part of himself. His body was curled just so to match the position Malfoy had taken in his sleep. And like her, he was asleep himself. His face smoothed of all his worries. He looked like the boy she had met in first year. A little older. Definitely more grown up. But still, her Harry.

Not wanting to wake either of them as her watch told her they could sleep for another hour, she lifted herself from the bed with magic, silently moving to her bathroom to take a much-needed shower and get ready for the day. 

Draco woke the moment Granger's magic was out of reach of his. He was warm and comfortable. There was magic surrounding him that felt like a blanket, cocooning him in safety. He couldn't remember a day he woke up feeling safe since that noseless bastard had taken over his family home.

Starting to shift, he paused, realizing there was a hand on his side that obviously didn't belong to Granger. Rolling over carefully, he froze, afraid to move anymore for fear of waking the other wizard.

What the hell was Potter doing in the bed?!

He didn't get a chance to contemplate that at all as green eyes blinked open and a sleepy frown formed on said Gryffindors face.

"Malfoy."

It was almost an auto response as he answered.

"Potter."

Potter frowned harder before sighing and rolling onto his back.

"Let's not make it a big deal, yeah? You helped 'Mione. I helped you. Call it even."

He started to roll away and up before Draco's hand seemed to have a mind of its own and stopped him.

"Helped me with what?"

Potter sighed again, those half-asleep eyes moving back to fix him with a bored stare.

"Sleeping. I came to check on Hermione. She was sleeping peacefully for a change, but you were having a nightmare. So, I helped."

Draco frowned down at the raven-haired wizard. Salazar, his hair was even more wild first thing in the morning.

"Why?"

Potter shrugged as best he could while laying down, eyes closing as he flung one arm over them to block out the room.

"Why not?"

Draco huffed at him.

"That's not an answer, Potter."

Shifting the arm slightly so he could peer up at him through one eye, Potter gave him another droll look.

"It's not the answer you wanted but it is in fact an answer."

A rush of anger flooded in as Draco growled down at the boy who couldn't be arsed to care.

"You know, you aren't the only one who suffered or lost people, Potter! You could try pretending to be less of a cunt."

Realizing what he said and who he said it to; Draco yanked his hand from Potter's arm and moved to sit up. The world shifted as he was slammed to his back and the face of his school rival appeared above him. The shift of his legs straddling Draco's lap had him biting his tongue not to groan.

"You made our lives hell! You made me pick a side before I ever understood what the sides were, you bigoted piece of shite."

Two could play at this game and he was a champion of it now. With a tilt of his hips and a twist of his body, Potter bounced onto the bed as Draco settled over him, hands snapping to grab his wrists and pin them to the mattress.

"I was too young to know any better and then too trapped to change it. What's your fucking excuse? You want to be the villain? Next time don't warn someone by speaking. Just curse them until they scream and bleed. Otherwise, you'll just give all us evil, foul little cockroaches a bad name."

They fought, arms yanking and legs kicking, breath growing heavy as they struggled to get the upper hand. A sharp knee to the ribs had Draco hissing. Yanking Potter back by his hair, he froze at the groan that left the other wizard's mouth.

With gritted teeth, Potter growled his next words at him.

"Let go, Malfoy, before I really do curse you… again!"

The memory of bleeding out on the bathroom floor hit him, causing his fingers to tighten in the locks of unruly hair. Moving until they were nose to nose, Draco's voice dropped to a deadly tone he had heard his father use time and time again.

"Fuck. You. Potter!"

Potter headed butted him, the sharp pain radiating from his nose. He barely registered the whispered 'fuck' that came from the other wizard as he scrambled back and tried to stop the bleeding. Dark red splashed on his hand, ran to his wrist and dropped with a dull splat onto his knee. 

Red. Splattered. 

On his hands. His face. His favorite dress shirt. Running like wine across the shiny surface of his shoes. He couldn't breathe. Fuck. Why couldn't he breathe? 

Screaming. There was someone screaming. He covered his ears. It was so loud. Piercing. Rupturing his hearing. Make it stop. Merlin, please, make it stop!

He groaned as the sharp pain raced through his head where it connected to Malfoy's nose. He only had a moment to rub it before the screaming started. Startled, Harry looked to find Malfoy staring at the blood on his hands. The sound. That awful, wounded, agonized sound was coming from him.

He moved just as Malfoy slapped his hands over his ears, as if he thought he could drown out his own screams if he just pressed hard enough. Harry's heart rate spiked, confusion swallowed up by that long lost spark that demanded he,

Fix it! Save him! Save. Him.

Summoning his wand, he waved it to stop the bleeding and clean away the evidence. Shuffling across the bed, he took Malfoy's face between his hands, forcing it up until they were eye to eye.

"Malfoy. Malfoy! Look at me."

Those silver eyes snapped open, and Malfoy's terror flooded into Harry's mind. Godric! He was petrified. There was so much. A well of agony, drowning in its intensity. He wasn't sure if it would work but he had to try something.

With the same iron will he went to meet Voldemort, Harry shoved his way through it until his own magic collided with Malfoy's. The blonde went silent, eyes widening as his mouth stayed in that silent scream.

"Malfoy. It's okay. You're okay. We're at Hogwarts. You're not in the manor. Voldemort is dead. You're safe."

He kept repeating it over and over as he let his magic wash over the other wizard. A lone tear fell from those stormy eyes as they closed and he slumped into Harry, defeated and broken.

"I'll never be safe again."

Those words crashed into Harry like a bludger. Hermione's voice echoing in the back of his mind.

'We're not really safe, Ron. We'll never be safe again.'

Something broke inside him. He felt it like a small fission in his core that widened until it couldn't hold anymore. The snap of it was almost audible, painful in its finality. Arms coming up, he wrapped them around the shivering boy, holding him pressed tight against his body as he rocked him.

"Yes, you will, Malfoy. Yes, you will. I promise. You'll be safe. We will keep you safe."

The sobs that vibrated off his chest brought his own pushed down tears to his eyes. Never in his life had he had a choice in who he saved or what he did. Never had a chance to decide if he even wanted to be someone's savior. Not until now.

"Don't lie, Potter. You hate me. Why would any of you keep any of us safe?"

Harry slowed to a gentle rock, his hand petting the soft strands of Malfoy's hair.

"I don't hate you. I don't!"

He pushed his honesty into the statement at Malfoy's scoff of disbelief.

"I don't know you enough to hate you. I hate what you stood for. I hate how terrible you made me feel. I hate your father and his bullshite. But… I don't hate you, Malfoy. I don't."

The blonde gave a watery chuckle.

"I hate my father too. And it's Draco. I hate being called Malfoy."

Harry grinned slightly.

"Can I call you Drake?"

Mal… Draco looked up with a glare.

"Merlin no. Not on your best day."

Harry grinned wider, some of the numbness falling away inside.

"Harry works. No need to give me a progenitor complex too."

xoXOXox