Choose Me Instead II Draco Malfoy x Reader

Desperation

A/N: Thank you so much for reading and voting on my chapter! It means a lot <33

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"Draco?"

It was nothing more than a whisper. You stood frozen in place, staring at the bathroom door. Your heart was beating so hard in your chest that you were scared it would jump out any second now. Every breath that left your lungs trembled, showing the panic you tried to swallow down so badly. It was an eerie feeling – standing here in their empty room. The water of the Black Lake illuminated the room in a soft green light. You blinked and wondered if the shadow behind the glass had been just a figment of your imagination.

You cleared your throat. "Draco?"

Five large steps and you crossed the room. "Draco, it's me," you tried to sound as calm and collected as you possibly could and you were glad he couldn't see the way, you started to pick at your thumb. It would start to bleed soon, you were sure. You turned the doorknob but Zabini and Nott had been right. Draco had locked himself in.

There was no response from inside. He had gone silent. When you pressed the air against the wooden door, you could still hear suppressed whimpers. Your heart began to race again. Something was wrong, so very wrong.

„Draco, let me in, please," you said a little louder and a little more panicked. "I can help you, just let me in!"

"No!"

You flinched at his sudden reaction.

"No, y-you can't ... you can't h-help m-me." The way his voice broke at the end of the sentence made it feel like he stabbed you with sharp knife. You swallowed, fighting the tears that began to dwell up. He needed your help now. You needed to be strong for him now, there was no point in him seeing you cry. This wasn't about you.

"I'm coming in," you announced and pulled out your wand. He made weak sounds of protest but you ignored them. Three deep breaths, you thought to yourself. Then I'm going in.

One ... Two ... Three.

"Alohomora." There was a click and door slowly opened, accompanied by a high-pitched creaking noise.

You gasped when you took in the scene that unfolded in front of you. The bathroom was a mess. It looked a potions experiment gone wrong. Containers filled with liquids and other ingredients were scattered all over the wet floor. Pieces of broken glass filled the sink and a pungent smell that burned in your lungs hit you when you stepped in.

Draco Malfoy, the sarcastic Slytherin who never shied away from a confrontation and always had a witty comeback ready, sat on the floor and looked like a picture of misery. He leaned against the tub, legs stretched out and his left wrist pressed tightly against his chest. His white shirt was wet with water and ...

You shrieked and put a hand over your mouth when you realized that it was blood that gave his shirt a light red color, running down his wrist and dropping from his elbow onto the dark tiles. Draco lifted his head, his eyes meeting yours for the first time since you walked in. His face was red, his eyes swollen and puffy from crying. His body was still shaking, trembling sobs he desperately tried to suppress were echoing through the small room.

It was the look in his eyes that made you drop to the floor on your knees. So full of pain and heartbreak. A sadness he shouldn't be able to feel at his young age that made you lose the ground below your feet. "Oh god, Draco, oh god," you whispered. You reached for the wrist he was still pressing up against his chest. "What did you do? Oh god, oh –"

Tears began to stream down his face again and sobs shook his body. He mumbled something you couldn't understand but tried to turn and get away from your touch. Your heart was beating in your throat now and you quickly examined the situation. There wasn't much blood so you guessed he didn't ... you couldn't even finish that sentence in your head. Nonetheless, you reached for a towel behind you.