Ficlet: Nine Crimes (Draco/Rose, 9/13)

[the-birdnest.livejournal.com]

Title: Nine Crimes
Pairing: Draco Malfoy/Rose Weasley
Prompt: till death
Rating: R
Word Count: 455
Summary: Draco and Rose are trapped in someone else's plan for revenge.
Link to Prompt Table: Here
Warnings: Abuse of power, dub-con, infidelity, invasion of privacy, language, some sexual content and (highlight for spoiler)minor character death in later chapters.
Notes: Thanks to queenb23more for the beta! Also, I spell it Asteria because that's how JKR spelled it on the Weasley Family Tree.

I cheated myself, like I knew I would

The spray of warm water burned as it hit the scratches on his back. Like the bruises she had left, they would have to be healed before Asteria returned. If he'd brought his wand in the shower, Draco would take care of them now so he could be rid of any reminders. All he wanted to do was to go to sleep and never think about this again.

He knew he wouldn't be so fortunate. If he was very, very lucky, Rose would never breath a word of this to anyone and they could move on with their lives.

What was the chance that the same woman who had left his shop in tears would have composed herself before returning home, or would it even matter? Would she simply tell Scorpius this time? She hadn't last time but then last time, she hadn't looked half-mad as she fled the scene of the crime. What if someone else saw her? What if she'd been spotted by one her many relatives or friends or enemies or anyone who knew her and would find it suspicious how she looked leaving her father-in-law's shop just minutes before him?

Slamming his fist into the tile wall of the shower, he swore loudly. He'd been so stupid. He shouldn't have left so soon after her. He should have Obliviated her to ensure she would never tell and it could never happen again.

And he should never have opened that damn door.

***

Stepping out of the shower, Draco wrapped a towel around his waist. As he hunched over the sink, he considered his options. There weren't many. He had to convince Rose that she should never tell Scorpius, that no matter how she felt, there was nothing to be gained by burdening him with this. It would destroy his son.

It would destroy him.

This was a nightmare. He had betrayed the two people he loved the most for a dirty-blooded Weasley brat. He must have lost his mind.

His sudden notion to spend the rest of the night with a bottle of Firewhisky struck him as the first good idea he'd had in weeks. Closing the mirrored door of the cabinet over the sink, the sight that greeted him caused a pain to twist his heart before shooting down his body.

There, holding his shirt that smelled of Rose and staring at the scratches on his shoulders, was his wife.

She tilted her chin up when he turned to face her, her jaw set and her eyes bright with unshed tears. Strange and awful as it was, he couldn't help but think she looked beautiful like that.

“I thought you were with your sister," he said to her hands, unable to meet her gaze.

“I lied.”