It's been a week now since Wren left. Seeing her empty, made bed was a strange sight I didn't think I'd get used to any time soon.

Just like Hogwarts wouldn't be Hogwarts without Draco, it wasn't without Wren, either. And I missed her dearly, especially because I didn't even know if she was alright.

Surely, she must be headed to Malfoy Manor- she knew Luna was there. Would she make it in one piece, though?

The thought alone made a chill run down my spine, and I shifted uncomfortably on the spot in Draco's lap, turning from my side to look up at the ceiling, my head resting on his thighs.

My brows were knitted together tightly in an attempt to get rid of those thoughts creeping into my head time and time again. Draco sighed at the sight, brushing a loose strand of hair out of my face.

I fidgeted with my hands in my own lap, wondering why I was still wide awake at two in the morning, and wondering why Draco was still keeping up with me.

"You've barely closed your eyes in the past 72 hours, at least," He informed, a hint of worry in both his voice and his expression as he gave me a slight smile. "You need to rest, Y/n."

I shook my head dismissively, shrugging his worry off as if he wasn't 100% right.

"I'm fine," I added in a murmur. I felt his eyes burning into the side of my face, but I didn't adjust my gaze to look back at him. I felt fragile, and weak, and wasn't quite sure what would happen if I looked at him- truly looked at him.

Because if I was being honest with myself - I usually tried not to be - everything seemed to be falling apart; had been, for a while now.

Had been ever since that summer. I tried to pretend it never existed; tried to act like everything was fine. Like it was normal, even, to have been kidnapped by your own boyfriend's family and then tortured by his aunt.

Perhaps such tragedies were normal, for a Potter. - They were not, of course, but it's what I've been telling myself in order to avoid the fact I had to deal with those traumas eventually.

Because, whether I wanted to admit it to myself or not, they did scar me. And they did change things. No matter how hard I pretended they didn't even phase me.

The realisation made my breath hitch, and I was sure Draco had said something right at that moment. But I had drowned out his words, stuck in my own little world of nightmares.

This only made me spiral further down the rabbit hole of things that happened but haven't been acknowledged by me in the slightest.

The fact I couldn't even be near my own boyfriend when other people were around unless I were to insult him.

The fact my brother was somewhere out there searching for parts of Voldemort's soul in order to kill him.

The fact my best friend is on the run from Death eaters in order to rescue her kidnapped girlfriend.

The fact my best friend's girlfriend is being held hostage in my boyfriends dungeon.

The fact Dumbledore somehow trusted me with a secret so heavy it felt like a burden rather than a relief after I finally understood Snape's role in all of this.

The fact he died with the belief I was needed to defeat Voldemort.

The longer I thought, the worse it got, and my head felt like it was spinning so fast it was about to simply take off and leave the rest of my body behind.

When I somehow managed to catch a hold of my spiralling thoughts, I realised my breath had picked up quite noticeably, and I was breathing heavier than I first anticipated.

I only realised my eyes were closed when I opened them; wide and confused as they scanned my surroundings before inevitably landing on Draco.

He looked like he had absolutely no idea what to do with me, and I wasn't quite sure what I would like him to do, either.

Not a single breath I took - and I took many - seemed to get any air into my lungs, only making me breathe heavier, and louder, and faster while my vision blurred and I panicked, wondering if this was it.

It felt like it, for a moment.

That was, until Draco promptly sat me up, hands on my shoulders and eyes locking with mine. I saw his mouth moving, and I tried my absolute best to focus on the words coming out if it.

The sound of my own breathing in my ears so loud, for a moment, I genuinely struggled to understand him. But then his voice reached me. And despite the frantic expression on his face, it was soft and soothing.

"Count to five with me, will you, Y/n?" He asked, and I nodded slightly, preparing myself to do just that. "Slowly," He warned, nodding to himself before he mouthed the number one.

I repeated it.

"One," I said, my voice shaky and barely even audible through the sound of my breathing. He nodded with an encouraging smile on his lips.

"Deep breath now," He instructed, voice still as calm as ever as he, himself, took a deep breath.

I couldn't help but feel pathetic at the fact he had to show me how to breathe but mimicked him anyway before he moved on to count on further.

"Two," I copied once again, taking another deep breath with him. This time, it inflated my lungs, and relieved, I continued.

"Three," We both said at the same time, and I wondered whether he had been counting out loud the whole time or I just now registered it. We took a deep breath together, and I could feel myself calm down as I focused on the pressure he applied to my shoulders.

"Four."

Deep breath.

"Five."

I closed my eyes this time, taking one last breath, this one deeper than the previous ones before I slowly batted my eyelids open again.

"Better?" He asked, head tilted before he gently moved his hand from my shoulder up to caress my cheek. I nodded, giving him a small smile as I felt heat rise to my cheeks.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, trying my best to avoid his gaze. "Everything is just a lot- I don't think I quite noticed until Wren-" I cut myself off before hurling down a similar spiral, a loud sigh escaping my lips instead.

He shook his head quickly, the hand resting on my cheek now forcing my head up to look at him.

"It's not like I've never cried in front of you," He huffed, a small smile tugging on the corners of his mouth. "It's quite alright. We're even now." And with that, his finger moved to wipe across the wet patches under my eyes.

Up until now, I didn't even notice I had cried, and I quickly moved my own hand to wipe the remains of my five-minute breakdown away.

"I just miss the times where you were my only problem, Draco Malfoy," I admitted, poking his chest in a joking manner in hopes it would ease the tension that had accumulated in the common room.

"Who would've thought," He mocked, pulling me towards him, my back facing him, to have me sit in between his legs, while his back rested against the armrest of the sofa, his head on top of mine.

"Do you think she's alright? Wren, I mean?" I sighed, shaking my head at my own words.

Draco was quiet for a moment, probably observing whether I would start crying at the mention of her name. I wasn't that far gone yet, though.

"Of course," He snickered. "This is Wren Inkwood we're talking about. Merlin knows she's got enough rage within her to burn down cities if she wanted to. She'll be fine."

I hummed in contentment at this, his words reassuring me.

His hand began absentmindedly playing with my hair as he continued to speak. "Pansy asks about her a lot recently. The amount of times she's asked if I was sure I didn't know where she had disappeared off to is becoming quite unsettling," He informed, and I could hear the smirk on his lips.

"I feel bad for her, to be honest," I mumbled, tracing my nails up and down his arm that was holding me by my waist. "Like, why are her feelings always unrequited? With you, and now Wren- it must suck."

"Feeling empathetic today, are we?" Draco remarked, the surprise in his voice prominent, but I just shook my head.

"Well, am I wrong? No wonder she's so bitter all the time." I retorted, tilting my head back far enough to look at him only for a moment. He smiled at the rather strange angle before shaking his head.

"You're not. But the last thing she'd want is for you to pity her," He huffed, and I knew he was right about that one.

Even though Pansy and I never got along, when I first met her, Draco and her weren't so different from one another.

And if Draco Malfoy could change, what's to say she didn't deserve the benefit of the doubt, too?

A/N: ask for a breakdown you shall receive a breakdown

also lowkey projected my own thoughts about pansy into this chapter hope yall don't mind lmfao

got my last three exams Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday so if the chapters are late any of those days mind yo own business lolll