A Gift For darkhairedgirl: Everything or Nothing, (Draco/Hannah)

[rarepairs_mod]

Author: themightyflynn
Recipient: darkhairedgirl
Title: Everything or Nothing
Pairing: Draco Malfoy/Hannah Abbott
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1785
Summary: Seventh year was difficult enough, but now Hannah is dealing with confusing feelings brought about by someone she had thought she would not see again.
Author's Notes: Darkhairedgirl, thanks for those prompts, they were fun to work with! The ones I chose were wartime relationships and "You mean something, or nothing. I can’t decide which." Hope you like it!

Centuries old stone cracked and sizzled as a curse hit it. Hannah stumbled as she ran, her heart in her throat. Her hand was clenched around the handle of her wand, gripping it tighter than she ever had before.

"In here!"

The quiet call would have slipped past her, had it been in any voice other than his. Skidding to a halt by an unused classroom, Hannah's eyes flicked wildly around the corridor.

"Draco?"

The door to the classroom cracked open, revealing a set of pale fingers gesturing to her. Heavy footsteps raced down the hall she had just exited, following close behind her. Dashing inside the classroom, she closed the door as quietly as possible just as Amycus Carrow rounded the corner.

"Where are you, little Hufflepuff?"

Hannah placed a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle her heavy breathing. When a hand landed on her shoulder, however, she nearly gave herself away and squealed.

"Quiet." Draco's voice was low, barely audible. "He'll give up soon."

Hannah didn't turn to face him. Still panting, she knelt down, making herself as small as possible. Her heart thudded so loudly in her chest, she thought she could actually hear it. Her hands were shaking so badly she was in danger of dropping her wand. When Draco knelt behind her, his other arm slipping around her waist, she nearly sobbed in relief.

She hadn't seen him in weeks. Being forced to hide out in the Room of Requirement with so many others, it was difficult to keep track of the rest of the student body. Still, she sat frozen on the floor, unable to make herself move.

"Come here, little girl." Amycus' footsteps neared the classroom as his voice took on a derisive tone. "I won't hurt you, I swear."

Draco's arm around her waist tensed, pulling her back against him a little. While Hannah didn't resist, she also didn't relax into him. The hand not clenched around her wand moved to grip Draco's wrist, squeezing hard enough that she knew she must be hurting him. The footsteps moved on past the doorway.

"Psh," Amycus scoffed. "Fucking little bitch."

Hannah stayed where she was, tense and shaking, as Amycus moved on. She was unsure she would be able to move anyway, even if the entire Order of the Phoenix came storming down the corridor and wiped Amycus from the face of the earth. That had been the closest she had come to being captured by one of the Carrows, and her mind didn't seem to be able to process it.

"Hannah?"

She shook her head. Draco twisted the wrist she held, but she refused to let him go.

"Stay."

Their sixth year had produced many surprises for Hannah. Discovering Draco Malfoy was something more than the school bully had been the most surprising. He had been under a lot of pressure, and Hannah had been willing to listen, especially since she had discovered him in the girl's bathroom, spilling everything to a ghost of all things. She had lost count of the amount of times she had sat in the library, an aisle away from him – because they could not risk being seen in public together – and listened to him as he poured his heart out about… Well, everything. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was threatening him with the lives of his parents, and he thought he would not survive the year. He couldn't speak to any of his friends about it, so Hannah sat and listened in their place. That seemed like a lifetime ago now, however.

"Hannah?"

Taking a deep breath, she squeezed her eyes shut before releasing it and loosening the grip she had on him. "What are you doing here?"

Her voice was low and harsh, her throat raw from panting. As Draco removed his arms from her, she wrapped her own around her middle, keeping her eyes closed.

"I could ask you the same thing."

She felt him stand and move away from her. Lowering her head, she took several deep breaths, hoping to calm her racing heart.

"Food."

"What?"

"Food," she repeated, her voice still sounding raw. "We needed food."

As brilliant as the Room of Requirement was, it could not break magical laws and create food for the people currently living within its walls. The house-elves sympathised with them and their cause, and were more than willing to give them all the food they needed, but someone had to go collect it. Hannah had been the one to volunteer a lot of the time, needing to get out of the room and stretch her legs. This was the first time she had nearly been caught, however.

"You're living somewhere in the castle? With the rest of the students the Carrows beat?"

There was something to his voice that forced Hannah to open her eyes. Finding him in the gloom of the classroom was a little difficult after having her eyes closed, but as they adjusted, they showed him standing by the door. The position he had taken looked as though he was keeping a lookout. Or, it would have, if he hadn't turned to face her, completely ignoring the corridor outside. Her arms tightened around her stomach.

"Of course I am. I can't leave, and I definitely can't stay in my dormitory or those fucking maniacs will get me." He shifted his weight, and Hannah saw his hands clench by his sides. "Draco?"

He huffed out a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "I hadn't seen you in weeks. I thought you'd gotten out." He shifted again, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Run."

Hannah frowned as confusion tried to make itself known through the residual panic still flooding her. Forcibly unwrapping her arms from around herself, she pushed herself to her feet. She staggered a little, and Draco reached for her. Something thrilled down her spine, setting her nerves aflame. Meeting his eyes, she frowned.

"Why would you care?"

It wasn't like they had been friends, exactly. Sure, she had listened to him, but that had all stopped at the end of the year. They had not spoken at all that year, and she figured she had been suckered in; used like the idiot she believed herself to be.

"I don't."

"Liar."

His eyes flashed; she could see it, even in the darkness. "You… I…" He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. You need to leave. Now."

Turning from her, he glanced out the window built into the door. He reached for the doorhandle, but Hannah stopped him. Placing a hand softly on his shoulder, she stepped closer.

"It does matter." She could feel his muscles tensing beneath her hand, but she didn't let up. "What are you not saying?"

It took a couple of seconds for Draco to react. Clenching his jaw, he let out a huge sigh through his nose, the sound hissing in the quiet classroom. He stared at her out of the corner of his eye, his head still turned towards the corridor outside.

"Damn it, Hannah," he muttered when she merely stood there, watching him. "You need to leave. You aren't safe here, I–"

"My safety isn't any of your business."

This caused him to turn to face her properly again. "What?"

Removing the hand she still held on his shoulder, she straightened. "Whatever it was we had going last year, it's long gone by now. Why would you care about my safety now?"

His top lip curled and he reached for the handle again, but Hannah was insistent. Moving quickly, she beat him to the handle, forcing it to stay closed.

"Tell me, Draco. Why would you care what happens to me now? You didn't seem to at the end of last year."

She watched in fascination as a series of emotions crossed his face. Standing as close together as they were, it was even easy for her to see them in his eyes. Her stomach fluttered when he settled on exasperation.

"I never – We didn't–" Letting out a sound like a growl, he tensed his shoulders again. "Because you deserve better than…" He waved the hand not holding the doorhandle through the air, indicating the classroom as a whole. "…this. You – You're better than all of this. Better than all of them."

Hannah's nerves fluttered again. Adjusting her stance brought them closer together.

"Do I? Am I?"

His reaction was immediate: wrapping his free arm around her waist, he pulled her to him and drew her into a soft kiss. It was nothing special. She had had better fumbling in the dark with one of the other Hufflepuffs at the start of her sixth year. The quality of the kiss made no difference to her, however. No, what mattered was just who was doing the kissing.

"You mean much more than all of this," he whispered against her lips when they pulled apart. "I thought – I tried to make myself believe that you meant nothing in the greater scheme of things, but I can't. You confuse me."

Hannah's eyebrows rose towards her fringe. "Thanks? I think?"

"That's not…" Draco let out another sigh. "Not what I meant. I – you – shouldn't mean anything to me. I know that, and you probably do as well. We have nothing in common, and are on the opposite sides of what's to come. But last year was… fucked up. And you were there when no one else was."

When all Hannah did was stand there and stare at him, Draco began to fidget. She smiled when he frowned at her.

"Hannah, you could either mean the world to me, or you could mean nothing. I just don't know. What I do know, right now, is that you need to leave this classroom. Get back to where it's safe."

Instead of opening the door, Hannah placed a hand on Draco's cheek. He drew in a breath as she rose onto her toes to kiss him again. This time it was even softer, just a slow brush of their lips together. Still, it sent a shiver down her spine.

"When this is all sorted, you are going to decide what I mean to you." When he swallowed, nodding slowly, she smiled against his lips. "Good."

With that, she turned the doorhandle and slipped out into the corridor. She turned in a circle, getting her bearings. It seemed like she needed to head back around the corner she had raced down to escape Amycus. When the door to the classroom edged open, she smiled.

"Draco?"

"Yes?" His voice was low again. "What?"

"You could mean both nothing and everything to me as well, if you wanted." His eyes widened comically and Hannah grinned. "Goodnight."