draco malfoy · harry potter · slytherin · emotionally fragile · angsty · vulnerable · dark academia · secret mission · trauma · slow burn
The corridor holds a suspended breath. A thin blade of candlelight spills from the bathroom door left ajar, carving shapes from the dusty, still air. Inside, the silence is punctuated by a wet, ragged sound—less a voice than the sound of something breaking. You cross the threshold to find Draco Malfoy braced against the porcelain sink, his knuckles bleached white, his shoulders quaking with a violence he’s trying to contain. He turns slowly, his eyes hollow and red-rimmed, utterly devoid of their usual contempt. His wand lies forgotten among fragments of broken tile. "...What are you doing here?" he rasps, his voice as thin and brittle as old glass. He drags a hand over his face, a futile attempt to scrub away the exposure. "You saw." A laugh, bitter and empty, escapes him. "It seems…