Skyler had watched with a pained expression when the older Slytherin girl stomped on her wand, wincing as the crunch of the action echoed through the corridor. The brunette couldn't even muster a glare to spare Parkinson for it, too shocked to do anything but stare at her now useless wand on the ground.

The teen stayed hunched against wall, cradling her injured arm to her chest, for a good few minutes, unable to grasp the situation fully. Part of her wanted to sink to the ground and curl up. The other part wanted to wake up from the nightmare. But she knew there was no waking up, because it was real, and no matter how much she wanted to just curl up in a fetal position forever, that too was not an option. The little pride she had left wouldn't allow her to do it.

Thankful that she was right outside the bathroom, Skyler forced herself to move, her body protesting the action. Her stomach continued to churn, and the brunette knew it was only a matter of time before she really did lose her breakfast. She reentered the Prefect's place, which was always stocked with fresh towels thanks to the house elves most likely, and grabbed a couple of the fluffy, white cloths, forcing herself to get over to a sink.

The teen turned on the tap, dropping one of the towels in the water. Knowing her currently crippled arm wouldn't take any further pressure, the teen used her good hand to slowly peel her shirt off, wincing slightly as she did so. It would've taken both hands to hold her shirt up while the other washed herself of the blood, and her left arm just couldn't take that at the moment.

Sky avoided actually looking at the cuts made to her skin, taking the now soaked towel and dragging it lightly across her abdomen, hissing through her teeth as she did. The teen continued the action, and followed suit with her left arm, wiping away the blood as effectively as possible without actually looking at what she was doing. Taking in a deep breath, Skyler finally brought her eyes to the new additions of her body. She immediately wished she hadn't.

Cut into her abdomen just bellow her belly button were the angry red letters spelling out 'FAIL SNAKE', and on her left forearm was the word 'FREAK'. Skyler looked at the words in a horrified stupor, unable to comprehend that someone could actually carve into someone else's skin like that. The fact that someone had done it to her...

Her stomach roiled and she lost her breakfast there in the sink, heaving until there was nothing more to throw up. Breathing hard, the teen turned the tap on again, washing the remnants of her breakfast down the drain and scooping up some water to splash on her face and rinsing her mouth out. Turning the tap off again, Skyler could only close her eyes against the tears, but they fell anyways.

How could anyone be so cruel? Granted, she hadn't been exactly nice to Parkinson, but Merlin!! To carve such hateful words into someone like that... And then to snap her wand. It was the crushing blow to Skyler. The simple wooden stick was like another appendage to her. With it gone she felt weaker than she had ever felt, and more vulnerable. The brunette found herself between a rock and a hard place.

On the one hand, she needed to get healed. On the other, she couldn't very well just go to the hospital wing to do so. Well, she could hide the words etched into her skin and atleast get the wrist taken care of. Too many questions she didn't want to answer would be asked if she had the nurse heal her new markings. But she had to do something about them, because it she couldn't let Draco see them. Especially not the Fail Snake across her midriff. It was his term for her, and though he meant it in a good way, Parkinson had defiled it by doing what she did. Sky knew her boyfriend would take it as personally as if it had been done to himself if he saw it. Not that he wouldn't feel that way anyways, but it made her want to hide it all the more.

Her mind was coming up blank. Not only could she not figure out a way to hide or get rid of them, she also had no idea how to deal with not having a wand. She squeezed her eyes closed, trying to fight everything that was piling on top of her, but it was too much. The tears streamed down her face and her shoulders shook from her cries as the brunette hung her head. For once in her life she had no clue what to do, or who to turn to. And for the first time ever, Sky wished she didn't even exist.

Ever since that stupid game a few days back, meal times were the worst part of Harry’s day. Sure he saw people who were there all the time, in the common room, in quidditch, in classes, but he could distract himself from how bad it was in those situations by focusing on what he was doing and not who was glaring at him or avoiding him altogether. Meals were more of a problem, especially when Ginny was busy with something that kept her from sitting with him.

On meals like that, Harry tended to spend his time staring at the Marauder’s Map, learning the castle better than he already knew it and making sure there was nothing suspicious going on. As a result, he had spent lunch today staring at the Prefect’s bathroom, where there seemed to be a lot of Slytherins who were not Prefects milling about and everyone else seemed to have hastily cleared out. The cause was readily apparent, as Skyler, Parkinson, and Millicent Bullstrode seemed to be clustered in an extremely small space in a hallway near the Prefect’s bathroom.

He ate his lunch slowly, both eyes on the map as he did so. It would do him no good to try and storm in and save the day while it was still five versus one, and it he tried to gather up more people to help something might happen to prevent him to help at all. As soon as the other girls cleared out, Harry cleared the map and abandoned the rest of his lunch, making his way to the Prefect’s bathroom by the quickest way he knew.

The hallway was still empty when he reached it and sped towards the bathroom. Sky must have disappeared inside when whatever just happened ended. Through a stroke of luck, the password had not changed since the night of that terrible game and Harry was able to get inside without having to resort to anything crazy.

That was where his luck came to a crashing halt. Sky was facing the mirror, so all he could see was her back, and well, the straps of her bra, because she wasn’t wearing a shirt for some reason. The sight would have inspired only interest and confusion in Harry, expect that his friend was also sobbing.

He cleared his throat, making his way over to her and stopping just short, not wanting to touch her without permission in such a vulnerable position. Still, he had no real idea what to do about this situation. Maybe it would help if he had some idea what had happened. “What did those monsters do to you?!” he demanded, far more angrily than he intended to. Seeing Skyler sobbing like that had set off reactions in him he didn’t quite understand, and he really wanted to hurt someone right now. Not her, though. He took a deep breath, trying to get under control. “Tell me what I can do to help.”

The sound of someone entering the restroom barely registered in her mind, so lost in her agony and rather pathetic state Skyler was. The brunette's only response to the clearing of a throat was to tell them to go the hell away, and she could only hope that whoever it was would. If it was someone there to pick a fight they were welcome to it. The teen had no more fight left in her currently.

But whatever the brunette had been expecting, it hadn't been the sound of Harry's voice. Her eyes flew open in both fear at the obvious anger in his tone, and shock that he was there at all. It wasn't like he was a Prefect. In her surprise, she dropped the bloodied towel, and her good hand went to the unused one, grabbing it and covering her front before he could see what Parkinson had done to her. If there was one thing she didn't want right then, it was to add more humiliation to her situation. Though Sky seriously doubted Harry was the type of person to find what had been done to her in any way amusing, she definitely didn't want the boy to think less of her because of it.

She hugged the towel to her front with her band hand, wincing in pain but trying to suck it up enough to face the boy while her free hand tried to wipe the tears still flowing from her now lightless purple eyes. In the end, she faced him refusing to meet his eyes. She shook her head at him, but knew he was her best shot at atleast fixing her wrist some. Unfortunately, she didn't know any spell that would help heal the other damage done. "Nothing." Skyler responded in a voice much too quiet and shaky for her own self. The brunette couldn't even be bothered to care. She just wanted to hide in a dark space somewhere and never come out. "Can I please use your wand?" She half begged, half pleaded in the same small voice, still refusing to look at her friend.

Harry wasn’t sure exactly what he had been expecting. He knew it would be bad, to have affected Skyler like it did, but he certainly wasn’t expecting a blood soaked towel when she finally turned to face him. He tried to keep any sign of how bad it was off of his face, but knew he had to have given something away considering how much it hurt him to see the younger girl like this.

“You are so bloody impossible,” he muttered to himself, trying to fight the small hint of a smile that came to his face at the idea. “How could you let things get this far without telling me or Ginny or your bloody boyfriend what was going on?” He tried to turn a stern eye on the girl, but she was clearly in far too much pain for him to actually get mad at her. That meant he needed to set her right so that he could get properly angry, which meant that sadly he needed to see the extent of the damage.

“You can use your wand when I can tell why,” he said, giving her a heartbroken look and dripping the towel hard with one hand. He tugged forcefully, getting the towel away from her and dropping it to the ground, and then he stepped back in horror. He had never seen anything so terrible as the bloody words scrawled into his friend’s arm and stomach. Okay, that wasn’t quite true considering the monstrosity of Voldemort living in the back of Professor Quirrel’s head, but this was certainly the most painful thing he thought he had ever seen.

“Oh, Merlin,” he said, any anger he had felt melting away. He waved his wand in a gentle motion, clearing away the excess blood while trying to add on as little pain as possible. “What are we going to bleeding do about this?” He took a step forward, trying to figure out what he could possibly do to make this any better than it was. Without even really deciding to do it, Harry kissed her lips lightly, making sure to not touch any of her injured areas.

Then he realized what he had just done and took three quick steps backwards. He should apologize for that. Definitely. But he really didn’t want to, and if it was true that Malfoy had slept with his cousin recently like the rumors said maybe he really shouldn’t. Somebody needed to take care of Skyler, since she seemed to live to get herself in impossible situations, and Malfoy clearly wasn’t here. He shook himself mentally. Fixing his friend now, worrying about what else she might be later. “Are there any injures I should know about besides the two obvious ones before we figure out how to fix you?”

"Because I can fight my own battles!!" Skyler snapped back, glaring pitifully at the floor instead of Harry. He was hitting a sore spot and she didn't like it. It wasn't like she didn't realize her mistake. The brunette knew she had underestimated Parkinson, and knew she should have mentioned something to one of her friends or her boyfriend. But Sky was too prideful for it. She didn't like adding more worries and problems to already worried and troubled people. She was stubborn to a fault that she could handle things herself. And until going to Hogwarts it had pretty much worked for her.

Just when thought her humiliation couldn't grow or her situation couldn't get worse, Harry grabbed the towel and ripped it away from her, her new markings bared for him to see. Her shock lasted all but five seconds before the fear and humiliation set in to a whole new degree. When normally she would have glared in a furious manner, the brunette hung her head in shame, wrapping her arms around herself despite the pain she felt. Pain she could take. But her pride was taking a brutal beating that day and Skyler just wanted to fade away more in that moment than she ever had before.

Why did he have to see? He couldn't just trust her to look after herself, no, he had to bloody see. Skyler wasn't really mad at Harry though. She was afraid. The boy was one of her very few friends in the whole damn castle and he was..well he was Harry bloody Potter wasn't he? He was strong and brave and proud, and it was just downright humiliating to the teen for him to see her in this state and to view what had been done to her because she was too stupid and stubborn to realize she was in over head. And she was afraid he would turn her away as a friend because of how weak she was. After all, what use did he have for someone as pathetic as she was?

His lips pressing against hers for the small albeit sweet moment that they did only confused Skyler all the more and it showed on her face as she finally lifted her eyes from the ground to meet his emerald green ones. The question look in her violet eyes lasted only a moment, and then it was replaced with shock and realization. The memory of the breakfast she had shared with him not so long ago came floating back to her mind, and suddenly the pieces of the puzzle fit together, and one could almost see her come to the conclusion. It had been her he had been talking about that morning.

Unfortunately, this knowledge did nothing to make her feel even the slightest bit better. It only served to make her feel worse. Who was she to garner the interest and affections of someone like Harry? She was a death trap waiting to happen, and the guy deserved so much better than someone who was this weak and stupid. Her eyes fell to the floor again in shame and pain. Sky knew she shouldn't even think of such things, because she had Draco. And he was already as jealous of Harry as could be possible.

Skyler mirrored his movement, backing up slowly until her back hit the wall, still refusing to meet his eye again. "You're wasting your time likening me Harry. I could never be good enough.." The brunette trailed off quietly, having said too much already. She had no idea why she had even spoke it aloud, or even thought it. It was a disloyalty and traitorous thing to think or say because of Draco, but now that it was out she couldn't take it back and she wouldn't. The teen completely ignored his last question, hoping that maybe he would grow angry enough or disgusted enough with her pathetic self to leave. Atleast then she could feel humiliated and wretched alone.

Harry knew better than to argue with his friend as she shouted about fighting her own battles, because he tended to feel the same way. He also knew that he was right, because Ron and Hermione had always forced their way into his battles in the past anyway, and he had always needed them in the end. He just needed to make sure that in the future he was there for Skyler without her even having to ask.

The part of them that was just trying to fix her injuries and get through this was shoved way into the back of his mind when she moved as far away from him as she could manage. That really hurt. Was he so bad that she couldn’t even stand that he had kissed her? Then she spoke and it clicked into place.

His eyes flashed with anger for a moment at the way she had described herself. Striding forward again without even thinking about it, Harry claimed her lips in a much firmer, more confident kiss, not pulling away until he was sure she would get the point.

When he did take his lips back he brought one hand up, gently but firmly holding her cheek so that she would have to keep looking at him while he talked. “You already are good enough, because you are the only witch who I want, all of the time. You make me want to fight when I should want to run and hide, and you make me want to win, so I can just be a normal person with you after we do.”

That was entirely more than Harry had intended to say. Entirely more than he realized he thought. He knew that he wanted Skyler to be his and not Malfoy’s, but he had honestly had no idea how deep it went. Hopefully he wouldn’t scare her off by telling her that while she was weak and vulnerable like this. If he did, he would just have to keep working until he made things right for her and with her.

“Now then, if these are the injuries you couldn’t hide, what are you hiding, Impossible Snake?” he asked with more demand in his voice. “Maybe I can fix some of those before we worry about things beyond my skill level to heal.”

When Parkinson and her goons had wandered into the common room looking smug and practically cackling with glee, Draco knew something bad had happened. He spared a deadly glare for the girls before storming out into the castle and through the semi-full halls. Lunch had just ended, though Draco had skipped it, and he was sure someone had to have seen what the pug had done- or at least where she’d been.

Sure enough, the blonde stopped a younger member of his house who sneered something about the cow Bulstrode hitting him when he’d tried to go through the fifth floor corridor. The Prefect took off running, skidding around the corner into the hall and heading straight for the Prefects’ bathroom, following drops of what could only be blood.

His hair was disheveled, shirt untucked and sticking to his sweaty chest and back. He hadn’t even grabbed his tie, and his shoes were flopping off his feet not having been tied yet. His eyes were the color of steel as he shouted the password and barged into the room, only to stop cold at what he saw. Sure, he knew Potter loved her, but she said she loved him. She chose him. Not Potter. Yet there he was, holding her close and soothing her pain. That was Draco’s job!

Silver eyes darted over her body and he gasped in horror at what he saw, or at what he could see around the great Boy Wonder. ”What the hell did she do to you?” he demanded, manhandling Potter out of the way so he could look her over better. Draco stared at his girlfriend with pain and rage in his eyes, reading the words that were carved in her soft, perfect flesh. Fail Snake. Hardly anyone knew he called her that, and it used to mean such beautiful things. Now, it was tainted. It seemed like a mocking title just like the “Freak” etched upon her arm. This was more of an attack on him than Sky, and that made it ten times worse. She’d feel it forever. That pain, that fear, that helplessness… And Parkinson would act like she’d done nothing bad. The psychotic bitch.

”Oh, fail snake,” he murmured, stepping toward her and reaching out to offer her a place in his arms. ”I’m so sorry she did this to you. I’ll kill her. I swear I will. She’ll pay for this until she breathes her last breath.” He turned his icy glare on Potter then, growling at the boy. ”You can go now, Potter. I’ll take it from here.”

Skyler had expected Harry to leave, so it came as a complete shock when again he was pressing his lips against hers. This time, it wasn't so light, and it wasn't so quick. Her surprise nearly kept her from kissing back, but as the warmth and comfort that her friend seemed to exude at all times washed over her, calming her nerves and making her tense body relax, Skyler had pressed her lips to his lightly.

When he pulled back, it took a moment for her to realize what had just happened, and when she did her eyes popped wide open. How could she have done that!? A new feeling of wretchedness welled up inside her but Harry didn't give her much time to ponder it because the hand on her cheek kept her shocked eyes on him instead of the floor, guaranteeing she met his gaze for every word he spoke.

On the one hand, the brunette couldn't deny the warm feelings bubbling up inside of her from his words and kiss. On the other, she wished he had never spoken them or that she had never heard them because of Draco. Could she deny that she felt more than friendship with Harry now? Sky knew she couldn't, her eyes showed it, and it made her feel even more disgusted with herself than she already was. She didn't deserve either of them, and both deserved so much more.

Skyler couldn't bring herself to speak but his semi demanding tone made her respond out of reflex. Thanks to Draco's demanding ways it was almost a natural reaction, unless it was something she really didn't want to answer. The corners of her mouth twitched as she almost smiled when he called her impossible, which was fast becoming the term her friend most often used for her. But just as she opened her mouth to tell her friend about her wrist, a terrified look took over her face and she tried her best to hide behind Harry from the blonde who had just entered the bathroom. Why, oh why, did the fates seem to have it in for her?

She didn't want Draco to see what had been carved into her skin. Probably more than she had felt about Harry seeing it. Harry didn't have any personal ties to the wording, but Draco did. It was his name for her now marring her skin. His term that now marked her. And Parkinson had tainted it and turned it into something that mocked him. Skyler knew it would hurt him just as much as it did her, and she wanted to protect him from that.

But of course, he had to see, and those molten silver eyes pinned her in place like they so often did, effectively keeping her from moving even as she winced at his tone. All she could do was hold her broken wrist to her chest and look at Harry with a mixture of fear and pleading in her eyes, even as Draco pushed him aside to get a clear view of her. He looked gloriously disheveled and furious on her behalf, and she had just been kissing the one guy he was the most jealous of. The brunette bowed her head in shame, eyes closing as the tears started running down her cheeks again.

Everything was confusing, and for someone who usually had such a good grip on her emotions, Skyler was losing all her control on them. She couldn't tell where one emotion ended and the next started anymore. What she did know was that she was a horrible person, and she couldn't bring herself to meet her boyfriend's eyes, but when he opened his arms to her she broke. The brunette wanted nothing more than to just be comforted. For someone to hold her and tell her it would be ok.

The teen moved before deciding to, entering the embrace her boyfriend offered but almost pulled away when he told Harry to leave. "No!! I need him!!" Violet eyes widening as Sky realized what she had cried out, and how it would sound to Draco, she hung her head and added on hurriedly. "Harry knows healing spells, and I know you don't, and I can't go to the hospital like this Drake, I just can't. Please don't make me."

The brunette knew what he would say before he said it. That she could heal herself well enough. That was true. When she had a wand. Her shoulders sagged in defeat, the pain of having lost her trusty wand effectively breaking her to the point where she just seemed to give up. "I need to heal my wrist. They snapped it. Along with my wand." She admitted in a quiet and shaky voice to both boys, looking at the ground with a dead gaze.

Harry was only aware that something else was wrong because of Skyler’s eyes going wide in front of him, and he assumed it was another injury or humiliation from the attack that she was just noticing. As a result, Malfoy was able to easily toss him to the side like a ragdoll. Most of his body crushed painfully, but relatively harmlessly, into the wall, but his head glanced off the base of the sink near the floor, leaving the Gryffindor a little bit woozy.

As a result, the talk between the Slytherin couple went over his head for the most part. The only things that really got through to him were that Draco sounded angry rather than loving and that Skyler sounded upset at the end. That was all the raven haired boy needed to hear anyway.

Getting shakily to his feet, Harry waved his wand, using something like a nonverbal shield to force Malfoy several steps back. With that first step accomplished he stepped easily between the two, adrenaline making the pain in his head easy to ignore. He turned towards the blonde first.

“No,” he declared vehemently. “You don’t get to just come and go when you want, pretending to be there for her.” He hadn’t seen them together since the last time they were in this room, and now everything that he had been fighting not to say since it wasn’t his place was coming up. “You can’t just snog whoever you please and then run in too late to save the day and try to pretend you couldn’t do better. Where were you while she was getting attacked, having another round of hide the pickle with your cousin?”

He waved his wand again, muttering a spell that would give the effect of a mouthful of cotton to the blonde. Hopefully he didn’t know the counterspell and that would shut him up for now. Their fight was better continued later, where Skyler wouldn’t have to see just how despicable the Snake Prince really was.

Malfoy being dealt with for the time being, Harry turned back around to the injured witch. “Hold very still Sky. I’m usually the one with the broken bones, so I’m not all that practiced from this side of the spell.” In truth he had never actually healed a bone himself, but he was supremely confident as he waved his wand and said the incantation to set the damage right again.

He gave her other wounds a cursory glance to make sure his mop-up spell was still working and sighed. “These are beyond me,” he said sadly. “No hospitals, though,” he added quickly before his friend could say anything to protest. “I know a student who should be able to put you right again without asking awkward questions, and she won’t say anything to anyone who would cause trouble if I ask her nicely.” He stopped, waiting for the Slytherin girl’s permission on this plan before he started making arrangements. He knew she really wouldn’t want to trust a stranger with such personal wounds, but Felicity was a friend to Harry, and it had to be a better choice than the Hospital Wing.

He was shoved away from his girlfriend and immediately Draco was full of pure rage toward the Gryfindor ‘hero’. The idiot boy kept talking about how bad a person Draco was and how much he’d failed as a boyfriend, and the blonde silently thought Potter didn’t know the half of it, but then he mentioned his little soirée with his cousin and Draco’s jaw dropped.

He tried to defend himself but found his mouth felt full of something strange and he was unable to form words, only muffled mumblings that sounded completely un-terrifying, which was the opposite of what he desired. Potter’s hands were on his girl and all he saw was red. No. This couldn’t be happening. Yes, he’d been convinced he needed to ‘let her go’ as Snape had suggested, or perhaps shove her away since she seemed so damned determined to stick with him. This, however, was not the way he planned to do it. Not when she’d been carved like a damned block of wood and was completely falling apart.

All Draco wanted to do at the moment was scoop the girl up and convince her she would be okay. Her wand was snapped, her wrist had to still be a bit sore, and now Potter wanted her to trust one of his friends to take care of the words on her flesh? This was surely going to be too much for the poor little snake to handle! But then, Draco remembered what she’d said when he’d pulled her to him, before Potter had used that bloody shield to send him away from his girlfriend. ’I need him.’

Those words would haunt the blonde in his worst nightmares. He’d lost her. The way she added on the reason for needing Potter, like it was a legitimate excuse, the way she eased into his touch and let him heal her as best he could. It was very clear that he’d been successful in pushing her away, and all it took was for him not to be there when she needed him the most. All he could was stand there and stare intensely at the two, silently pleading for Sky to call him to her, to approach him, anything to make him stay. If she stayed in Potter’s arms and didn’t try to stop him, he’d leave the bathroom and consider his ultimate task complete. He’d broken her heart, just like he was supposed to. Merlin, he hoped it was worth it.

One minute she was in her boyfriend's arms, letting his scent wash over her like a cloak, and the next something had forced them apart. Blinking, Skyler realized immediately this was not exactly a good situation. Harry had forced himself between her and Draco, and the blonde had that furious look in his silver eyes that told her his next actions wouldn't be pretty.

Her jaw dropped of it's own accord at Harry's words. The brunette, more than anyone, would love to have someone to blame for this and in her heart she knew this was entirely her own fault. Had Draco known how bad it had gotten between her and Parkinson the blonde wouldn't have let her out of his sight, one reason she had neglected to let him know about it. She didn't think it fair for her boyfriend to get the blame for not being there when she had purposefully made sure he wasn't.

She did as told and held still for Harry to heal her wrist, but her eyes stayed glued to her boyfriend, even as she spoke. "It's not his fault Harry. I didn't tell him things had gotten this bad. I hadn't expected..this.." She trailed off quietly, wincing visibly when he performed the spell. It hurt, but it was also relieving. It was still sore though, but it was definitely a hell of a lot better than before, and for that she was extremely thankful. The teen' slips turned up at the corners. "Thank you Harry. It feels a lot better now. Though, I'm not sure what to do about these either, and I'd rather not show them to anyone unless I have to.."

Skyler thanked her friend, but was clearly unsure about the remainder of his plan. She really, really, didn't want anyone else to see the markings on her. The fact that him and Draco both had was already humiliating enough. Her violet eyes never strayed from Draco's grey ones, and she knew him well enough to know that look in his eyes. She flexed her wrist, wincing a little at the soreness. With that taken care of she felt the rest was a bit more bearable, and she approached the blonde, practically throwing herself in his arms.

"I'm sorry. I should have told you and I'm sorry." The brunette cried against his chest, seeking the comfort she so desperately needed. The shock was creeping back up on her, and she was feeling weak and tired. Skyler wanted to just be held, and to be allowed to be weak. But something Harry had said was bothering her, and she couldn't close her eyes to the world just yet because it was nagging at her. The teen pulled back only enough to look up at him questioningly. "Hiding the pickle?" She asked, a look of wariness and fear warring in her eyes along with the love and trust she held for the blonde.

When her friend had mentioned him and his cousin, Sky had automatically assumed Harry had meant Draco and Silas, and that it had something to do with their task for her uncle. But this confused her, because she had told Harry she already knew about that. Unless her friend was referring to something that the two cousins planned on doing that the Gryffindors thought she wouldn't like or agree with. That was the only reason she could think of as to why Draco would keep it from her, or why Harry would mention it. It scared her to think Draco might be doing something so dangerous that he would find it necessary to keep it from her.

For some unfathomable reason, Skyler returned to his arms, practically leaping into them and holding him like he was the only thing keeping her feet on the ground. Draco melted then, all his determination to hurt her so he could save her vanishing with every word she said. She was sorry. She hadn’t wanted to face all this alone, but she’d thought she had to. To protect him. Dammit, why could they both not stop hurting each other with the intent to protect each other?!

Draco knew inside that he should keep pushing her away now that he’d guaranteed he’d hurt her so totally, but he just couldn’t do it. Call him weak, but he loved the girl in his arms too much to keep pushing her away. If she didn’t give up on him after what he’d done so far, then dammit, he wasn’t going to force her to do so! He tightened his arms around her form, holding her tightly and kissing her head. He silently waved his wand, having figured out what spell Potter used, and lifted the cotton-mouth effect from his being. He cleared his throat and shot the Gryffindor a glare, making it clear how he felt about the Boy Who Lived.

”Fail snake,” he started, blanching at the words after they’d left his mouth. They tasted wrong now, and he looked down at his little snake with glazed eyes. ”I’ve been a complete fool. I’ve done the most stupid things, and I am so undeserving of you, and I’m so, so sorry, love.” He spoke softly, still holding her in his strong arms. It was time to confess his heart to her, and if Potter was there to see him at his weakest moment, so be it.

Whatever part of Draco had considered seeking Boy Wonder out for help with life had dissolved when the boy had thrown Draco’s faults in his face. It wasn’t that he pointed them out, or that he had Sky’s best interest in mind, but the idea that Potter thought he had the right to point out others’ flaws without bringing any attention to his own that made him angry.

”I wanted to hurt you, Skyler. I wanted to make you hate me because I was so scared. It was wrong and it killed me and I’m sorry. I just wanted… needed you to be safe! And I fucking failed. Look at what she did to you. You’re so beautiful, but those tears in your eyes… Merlin, they aren’t you at all. And it’s my fault.” He held her tightly still, trying to reassure her as he said the words he knew would hurt.

Draco thought of all the things he’d done to push her away, including the incident Potter spoke of. How was he ever going to make it all better? ”I just wanted to protect you so badly. And Snape said that to do that I had to let you go, but you wouldn’t let me let you go, so I tried to force myself away from you. I should never have listened to him. I should never have let your uncle scare me so damn badly, but fail snake… I can risk my life all I want. I’m not so willing to risk yours.”

Skyler relaxed further when Draco's strong arms wrapped around her, holding her tightly in that way that made her feel like nothing bad could happen to her while she was in them. The kiss he dropped on top of her head was welcome, and the brunette would have loved to demand he simply take her somewhere to rest. Unfortunately, things were never so simple.

As much as the teen wanted to simply lay down, the exhaustion from the attack on her and her breakdown leaving very little room for her to want to do much else, she knew from the tone of his voice that things weren't over yet. Her legs were already shaky, and she relied mostly on Draco's strength and body to keep her upright because she was sure she couldn't do it herself at this point.

Regardless, her sole focus was on her boyfriend, though in the back of her mind she knew Harry was still there. Sky could tell from the glare the blonde through at her friend over her head. It made her frown. Both boys were taking this whole mess out on each other, when really it had been entirely her own fault. She was just about to set them both right on that very subject when Draco grabbed all of her attention.

The brunette tried not to wince at the use of the name that was now etched into her skin, but she couldn't help it. It was all just too fresh for her to do otherwise. Her vibrantly colored eyes stared into her boyfriend's grey ones, steadily growing more and more confused the more he spoke. Maybe she had missed a step, because she had no clue what any of what he was saying had to do with a bloody pickle, or hiding one for that matter.

Soon that became lost as she continued to listen to him bare his heart to her. So this was why he had been so distant. The teen could understand his reasoning, even if she didn't agree with him one bit. "Drake, I could never hate you. You shouldn't even bother trying. I told you. You're stuck with me." Skyler told him, tiredly. The day's events really were starting to take it's toll, but she had to pull strength from somewhere.

Anger was usually a good source of strength, and she pulled it forward then, pinning her boyfriend with a glare. "This was not your fault. It was my own. I should have told you, or Harry, or Ginny, but I didn't. I was stubborn and I wanted to deal with it on my own and I made the mistake of underestimating Parkinson and I knew that if any of you found out how bad things had gotten I would've had a babysitter everywhere I went." Skyler said this for both boys' benefit, though being in Draco's hold made it impossible to really see Harry at all.

She wanted that part clear, because she didn't want either boy blaming the other for a mistake that was her own. Or blaming themselves. "You need to understand I'm my own person. I make my own decisions. You can't protect me from everything Draco, and you can't just make my decisions for me or take choices away from me that should be mine to make. It's my life, and I will live it how I see fit, with who I want in it. I don't care if you or anyone else thinks it's dangerous. It's my choice."

The brunette stressed that last part, willing her boyfriend to understand once and for all that how she felt and who she felt it for were her choices, not his, and they weren't something she could be forced into. "And you're wrong. You can't just risk your life whenever you feel or however you want. You can't do that anymore than I can because it's not worth it to me to be around without you there too."

Skyler desperately wanted people to stop trying to force her into things, and to stop making choices for her. She understood Draco was afraid. Hell, she was afraid too. But the Slytherin was far too stubborn to allow fear to rule her life in such a way that she would give up all her reasons for living in the first place. Especially now that she had so few of them. What kind of life would that be if she did?

Harry never should have kissed her. That was abundantly clear. Even while he was healing her, Skyler’s eyes were fixed on Draco. It was clear that the blonde still had her whole heart, and no matter what Harry did or what facts came to light, she would belong to the Slytherin prince. He had been foolish to think that kissing her and admitting how he felt could change anything.

When she went past him to go back to Draco, Harry drifted over to the large bathtub and took a seat on the edge of it. The adrenaline was wearing off, his head was starting to hurt, and he was apparently a bloody idiot. He tried to follow along with the argument, or reconciliation, or whatever it was, but they were right next to each other, and he was too far away to hear well, and it wasn’t really his business anyway. He followed well enough to be pretty sure that Draco had never actually answered Skyler’s direct question, but not well enough to know exactly what had happened, other than that they didn’t seem to be in any hurry to leave and get medical attention.

“I meant he was busy having sex with his future Death Easter of an older cousin when he should have been worried about you,” Harry said, his tone a weird mix of defeated and angry. “He just finished making you feel worthless in here, and then he went and had sex with Leyton right after, because he could or whatever.” He paused, intending to continue railing against the conceited jackass that Malfoy was, but finding that he really didn’t have the energy for it.

“I don’t really care what you two are deciding to do, I just want to make sure Sky gets fixed as well as she can be,” he said when he was able to speak again. “So let me know when you figure out what to do and I will do anything I can to help, and then I will leave you two alone whenever you need me to.” He thought he was done, but realized there was one more nagging thing that wouldn’t go away. “Malfoy, whenever this settles down a little bit, we need to talk, one on one and man to man.” With that he fell silent, waiting for the two Slytherins to tell him what they wanted him to do, so that he could finish this ordeal and go to sleep.

Skyler blinked. Her entire body tensing up in a painful way, her muscles not appreciating the going back and forth between tense and relaxed apparently. But she hardly cared if her body protested. Harry's words shocked her to her very core, and she immediately wanted to deny his accusations. But when she looked to Draco, expecting him to deny it completely, she was faced with another shocking revelation. Truth.

The brunette had never before doubted Draco. She had trusted him so completely, and had given him all of her. In the short time she had been at Hogwarts, she had learned how to discern the various emotions that he allowed to show on his face at any given time. When he was with her, he was usually completely open, which made recognizing the shock and anger on his face in that moment easy.

Her own face became one of a mixture of horror and confusion, and knew from the look on the blonde's face that what her Gryffindor friend said was the truth. Despite her aching body, the brunette wrenched herself away from the boy she had trusted with her heart, putting several feet of space between them as she did so. "It's true." Sky choked out, but it seemed to echo in the room. It wasn't a question.

For a moment the teen simply stared at the blonde with a look of disbelief. So many things raced through her mind. So many questions. Her eyes itched from the tears she was barely keeping back. In an effort to keep them from falling, Sky let out a laugh. It was empty, hallow, and not at all like the one that normally spilled forth from her lips. The teen was trying desperately to keep herself in check. Her anger was building into a ruthless fury, and she had no wand to channel it to. Her body was shaking almost uncontrollably with the rage boiling in her veins, and the vivid colored eyes blazed to life.

Never before had the Slytherin witch felt so hurt, so betrayed. It filled her chest, clamping down on her heart, making it hard to breath. She wanted to contain it. To force it down or away from herself. She bit her tongue to keep from spewing hateful things she knew she would only say out of anger. Meanwhile, her magic was responding to her anguish and her fury. While it didn't happen often, there were times, like then, when, if she didn't channel her emotions into something, her magic would react. Building until it lashed out. Which it did.

Every mirror in the room shattered.

It was like they all simultaneously imploded, sending glass flying. The brunette hardly noticed. Inside herself she was struggling to gain control. Of her magic. Of her emotions. She had been pushed far too far. She had considered Parkinson's attack to be the worst that day had to offer. But how wrong she had been. Skyler closed her eyes tightly. It was excruciating, looking the truth in the face, and that's what looking at Draco was at the moment.

But she couldn't ignore it. It was there. And no amount of anything was going to undo it. She could fall asleep for days and when she woke it would still be there. She would still be this carved up work of art who had trusted the wrong boy with her heart. The teen took a deep, steadying breath, willing herself to calm, and forcing back the tears again as she opened her eyes. Sky pinned the blonde with a look not of hatred, and not even of pain. It was one of pure fury and disappointment.

It felt like the day would never end. Like she couldn't close her eyes anymore because every time she did something else happened. Something that ripped her apart until all she was was a mass of emotions she couldn't get control of. First, the markings. Which seemed even more mocking now so than before. And then that. Skyler couldn't even figure out what to say. What was she supposed to say? What was she supposed to do? This was one of those times when she wasn't supposed to need to be strong. Where she was supposed to be able to break and he would pick up the pieces. But just like before, it was because of him that she was seconds from completely shattering.

The teen was doing her best to keep it from happening. If she fell apart now there wouldn't be no putting her back together. She would just be a like of broken pieces. She couldn't allow that to happen. She wouldn't. "Was it worth it?" Her voice was shaky, but there was no hiding the absolute anger in it. The betrayal she felt was clear in every word. "You say you did it to save me. Does this look like saving me?"

Tears began to run down her face, silent, but unchecked. Her body was starting to shake again with the unsure rage that was slowly building back up inside her with every word. "You promised. You promised you would never.." Skyler couldn't even finish the sentence. So many promises he had broken in one swoop. He said he did it to save her. Said he had to push her away. He had promised to never give her up. He had said he would never even look at someone sexually again. "You said you never wanted to see this look aimed at you again."

She looked at him with the same beyond repairable hurt look as she had that night in that very bathroom. Only this time, it went deeper. It was worse. Because there was no coming back from it. How could she trust him again? When he purposefully broke every promise he ever made to her. What had she done to him to deserve this treatment? She had loved him. Loved him so much it was killing her on the inside to even believe any of what she could tell was the truth. She had given herself to him. Had stood by him. And believed in him. She had trusted him with every fiber of her being. Was it so much to have thought he could have done the same for her?

"You're sorry? It was a mistake?" Skyler couldn't keep her anger and hurt in check anymore. Her eyes were raging fires and her tone was deadly. "Tell me, how many more of your mistakes am I going to have to pay for Malfoy, before you realize that you're only hurting me, and not protecting me?" The brunette's magic was lashing out again, it felt like a storm was brewing in the bathroom, wild, and dangerous. "Because I don't think I want to be around for the next one. I am sick of having my heart ripped out of my chest. I am tired of being fed lies. I have done nothing but be honest with you. And to you. And you fucking cheated on me." Sky was almost completely out of control now, and she knew she should reign herself in before she hurt someone but she didn't care. She had more than enough pain to go around.

As soon as Potter said the words, Draco knew he was screwed. All the sweet things Sky had just said were about to be taken back, and it was what he deserved. He knew in his heart that he didn’t deserve another chance, but dammit, he wanted one! Never had Draco hated himself as much as he did in that moment, seeing his girlfriend so torn apart by pain and fury. The mirrors shattered and he barely flinched. He was staring into her eyes, seeing the loss of control, and wishing she would hit him with some of that unshed magic that boiled in her veins.

He knew he should be scared. Should run, hide, and beg someone, anyone to protect him from a woman scorned, but he didn’t want protecting. He wanted to face her wrath because he deserved it. He wanted her to somehow find some magical way to transfer her pain and her scars and all the anguish onto him. Accidental magic was volatile and unpredictable, right? So why couldn’t her body just decide to transfer all the shit to him? He was the one who deserved it after all.

The blonde looked at her with eyes of the lightest grey, they were nearly colorless. He was absolutely broken, as he fell to his knees and bowed his head, not allowing himself to cry. He wouldn’t be weak when that was something he promised her before. He wouldn’t go back on every one of the things he’d told her. He just wouldn’t. No matter how much he’d done to hurt her, he wouldn’t keep digging the dagger in deeper through her heart. He knew he’d lost her at this point, but dammit. He had to at least make her see that it wasn’t anything she did. It wasn’t her. He was a completely stupid, ignorant, ass of a man. If he could even call himself a man. She was amazing. Beautiful. So smart and witty and strong. She was everything he wanted and he’d lost her. And he absolutely hated himself for it.

He was his father’s fuckup of a son.

”I never, ever should have hurt you like I have, Skyler Riddle. You are far better than me, and you deserve so much more. I know it doesn’t mean anything coming from someone like me. I’m a complete idiot, an ass. I’m a fucking bastard with a blackened soul and no moral conscience. But, I am truly sorry. I wish I could take away all the pain I’ve caused you. Hell, I want your uncle to take away your memories of me. Take away the love you once felt. Save you from me.” He swallowed hard, still fighting his emotions. His eyes glistened but he refused to let any tears fall.

Draco kneeled there in the broken shards of mirrors, looking into those fiery eyes and wishing he could undo everything he’d done to make her feel this way. If he’d just stayed away, she’d be unmarred and happy. She’d still have a whole heart. ”I don’t even care if Potter’s here. He can tell all my bloody secrets. Nothing matters anymore anyway. I’ve been a useless little shit since I was born.”

He took a deep breath, preparing to tell the girl all the truths he possibly could, to make up for the lies he’d hurt her with. ”I’ve hurt people my whole life, so it’s nothing you did, trust me. When I was a kid I used to kick Silas when he was down just to make myself feel good. I was so mean to him. And then in first year I was such an arse to Potter and Weasley. Just because I was jealous of the big family and the fun the Weasleys always seemed to have, and the fact that they got a new friend while I got the same idiot purebloods I’d been surrounded with for years.” He looked at Potter for a second, then focused again on his girlfriend.

”Then when I was twelve, I called Granger a Mudblood because she called me out for using my money to get on the Slytherin team. And when I was thirteen I tried to get that bloody bird killed even though it just scratched me. And you know what? I don’t even know why I tried to get him killed! The next year I tried to scare Granger half the death at the World Cup and then last year I was on that damned squad for the Toad. I never believed a single fucking thing I stood for, yet I stood for it. I hurt people for it all.”

Draco looked down at the floor, finally losing the battle with his emotions. A thick tear slid down his pointed nose as he choked out, ”And then I thought, what is the worst thing I could possibly do? What would drive people away from me so I can stop dragging others to hell and burn alone? And I stumbled across Leyton. And I did things I never wanted to do. Never should have done. But I did them. And that’s me, Skyler. That’s who I am. Oh, and I used Parkinson for sex and lied about intending to marry her for a few years… Which is why she took it out on you. Because I never honestly loved her, and every Snake can see I’m crazy for you. Crazy enough to hurt you this bad. Crazy enough to lose you forever.”

Apparently if Harry had wanted to avoid the hugging forgiveness stuff he should have led with the cheating thing instead of burying it further down his accusation of Draco. Still, it wasn’t like this result was any better at all. In fact, practically anything would have been better than what happened when Skyler stopped staring and Draco’s face and started reacting.

Harry thought that he knew what real anger was. He thought he was as angry as it was possible for a person to be when he found out that Dumbledore had kept information from him that had led to Sirius’ death and all of the terrible things around it. He thought he had been mad when Dumbledore kept him in the dark for any entire summer while everyone else was doing useful things. He thought he had been really mad all of the times he had yelled and screamed and broken things.

Harry had never made a room shake and destroyed mirrors with anger and power alone.

He ducked his head when the explosions started, not entirely sure what was happening. Then he looked up, and saw Skyler literally shaking with anger. Draco was kneeling in front of her, pleading or apologizing or something that was only going to get him killed if he kept doing it. How stupid did you have to be before trying to reason with a woman who was so angry at you that things were being destroyed without her touching them seemed like a good idea?

At the same time, Harry felt bad for Draco. While he doubted Skyler would even be able to process what the idiot blonde was saying through her rage, they got through to Harry. All the pain and rage and jealousy and useless violence. Most of it was a confession to the witch he had turned into a ball of rage, but some of it was an apology to Harry, and the Gryffindor intended to accept it when he could find the proper time and place.

For now Harry stood up gingerly, walking around the glass on the floor as best he could, and made his way to where Skyler was. He pulled her around and hugged her tightly to him before she could do much to stop him. “It’s gonna be okay,” he whispered in her ear in the most soothing voice he could manage under the circumstances. “You need to breathe, though, Impossible witch, or you’re gonna hurt yourself so bad that I can’t put you back together.”

Harry had no idea if any of this would actually work, but if not, he was at least holding Sky to him now so it would be harder for her to do anything crazy or violent. That would at least hopefully buy him time to come up with a new plan if this one failed spectacularly.

Skyler was so lost in her battle for control that she hardly heard a word Draco spoke. Somewhere in her mind she knew she should at least listen to the blonde, but her magic was so far out of control that the brunette knew if she let it slip any further, there was a good chance all three of them in the room would get hurt. Not very many people knew it, if anyone, but it was a constant fight for her. It was why so many new spells she used or tried to master had such bad outcomes. For being so small, the teen held a lot of power, and it was sometimes hard for her to know her own strength when it came to her magic.

She may have been hurt, and boy was she angry, but Sky would never want to cause either boy in the room with her deliberate pain. Which was why she stood there, biting her lip hard enough to make it bleed, fists clenched into balls so hard that her nails were cutting into her palms, trying to force the magic back down. The brunette knew it was a lost cause even as she tried, and her tears streamed down her face from the sheer will it was taking to fight the urge to just let it all out.

It was a godsend when Harry forced her around and into his arms, holding her so tightly that even if she had wanted to move, she couldn't. Never had anyone dared to come so close to her when her magic unleashed like that. Not even her own parents. It normally took destroying everything in a room before her magic would calm, but it only took a moment in his arms and his whispered words for the fury to leave just as swiftly as it had come. All the fight seemed to leave her at once, and Skyler sagged defeatedly against the Gryffindor, holding on to him like he was a lifeline while she tried to take in deep breaths in between the anguished sobs that wracked her body.

All she had left was pain. And endless amount of pain. Skyler Riddle had never felt or looked so completely broken and defeated as she did then. Her heart had been completely shattered, her body cut up like a holiday ham. Her magic display of anger and betrayal had left her completely weak and drained. Her wand was gone. Her parents were gone. The brunette wasn't sure she had even the will to continue anymore. She feared, for the first time, that her spirit had been broken.

And she still couldn't find it in herself to hate the boy that was Draco Malfoy.

She had loved him so completely. And she had seen him for what he was. For the man that he truly was, and could be, if he allowed himself to be. She believed in him, even now, and it hurt just that much more. Why couldn't he see what she saw? Why couldn't he believe her and trust her when she said he was so much more than what he had been forced to believe of himself? Why did he have to go and hurt her so? Why would he give up on her like that, when she never have up on him? Why did he refuse her love one minute and then want it with both hands the next? Why did he refuse it at all, when she offered it to him so freely? Was it so terrible to love her? Was it so hard?

"Why am I not enough?" She cried softly against her friend's shoulder, clinging to him like her life depended on it. It wasn't her. Skyler didn't cling. To anyone. She wasn't weak. She wasn't so insecure that she would think all of this was because she was lacking in one or another. Skyler Riddle could handle anything. She didn't break.

Yea. Right.

It was hard to breathe as he watched his girlfriend spiral out of control. So hard to even think when Potter, the Chosen Hero, embraced her and she calmed down. Of course he could soothe her while all Draco could do was stare at her with hatred for himself filling his soul. Her words were like a dagger shoved straight through his heart, and the blonde looked at her in the arms of his rival knowing he never deserved this beautiful, broken creature.

Draco reached out, setting his hand on Potter's arm asking without words for the boy to let him say just one more thing. He knew the noble lion would recognize the sadness and self-loathing in his eyes and know he wouldn't hurt the fragile fighter of a girl again. "You've never not been enough, little snake. I've just never been enough for you."

If he could go back in time and redo it all, the Slytherin wished he could say he'd spare her all of this. He wished he would be able to be selfless enough to let her come to love a better man- a good man like The Gryffindor holding her together now. But Draco would still do the same thing. He'd fall for her over and over again because he was selfish and she was amazing and he loved her. And that made him the weakest, sorriest sod of a man he knew. He couldn't protect her because he wasn't strong enough to give her up.

"I've failed at so many things, but the thing I failed most at was you. I made you feel useless, not enough, when you are everything. I never deserved your love or kindness," he looked to Harry. "I don't deserve forgiveness." The blonde pushed himself to his feet, fighting the shaking in his legs. "But I'm not going to be a pawn to villains anymore. I can still do some things right."

His face was a mask of determination and fear. There was a missing emotion, though. There was normal fear, yes, but Draco no longer feared losing. He knew he'd lose this battle. There was no way to win it. It was all a game of doing the most damage before he fell. Draco Malfoy was no longer afraid to die.

Draco's words hit Skyler deep down, pulling at her broken heart. Had she been so foolish to love someone who wouldn't accept the gift she offered him? The brunette ceased her crying, whipping around so fast that she cricked her neck. But who cared. It was just another injury to add to her steadily growing list of them, and she was already in so much pain it barely resonated with her.

For what was probably the first time ever, the teen scowled. The look in his grey eyes infuriating her just as much as his words did. "That is not true!!" Her temper was flaring again, and her hair was a mess of tangles, and there were trails of dried tears streaking down her face. Her lip was bloodied from where she had bit it too hard, and the violet eyes flashed in that passionate way they always did when she was angry.

"You do not get to use that as an excuse, because me loving you always made you good enough. Do you find me so incapable of making any kind of decision on my own, including who I do and don't love?" The brunette was frustrated beyond all hell. Did he think she was without her own flaws and insecurities? "You always me sound like some damn saint, and I'm not. You think you're the only person who doubts themselves? Well, since you're so intent on making me seem like something I'm not, let me tell you what I am."

Glaring, Sky brandished her arm, the word gleaming red. "That's what I am. A fucking freak. Always have been, and always will be. From the time I was six years old, that's what I was branded. My father was a muggleborn, and he forced me to go to elementary school. He forgot to mention that normal kids don't have eyes like mine. I was picked on, teased, bullied. You name it, I got it. And believe me when I say I've always been small for my age. I begged, I pleaded, I threw tantrum after tantrum but I always had to go back. Good fucking character building my father said."

The brunette flashed a disgusted look, dropping her arm. "And my mother." The teen let out a humorless, empty laugh. "Said I deserved it for making them purple in the first place. Like I had meant to. It's called accidental magic for a freakin reason!!" She took in a breath, no where near done with her tirade now that she had started it. She doubted it made one bit of sense to either of the boys but she didn't care. Sky was on a rollercoaster with no brakes to stop it.

"Eventually I stopped caring, and guess what? My parents were proud because I accepted it. Proud!! And then I went to Salem's, and I thought, cool, I'll be around kids like me for a change. But I was a freak even there. Because my spells were always causing some kind of mishap. I was afraid to even touch my wand for fear of what would happen if I did. I was a walkin target. Wanna know why I love my hair so much? Because I know what it's like to not have it." Sky didn't even know why she kept talking anymore. Maybe it was the humiliation she had already suffered that day, or maybe it was simply because it felt good. But she knew she had had a point, and she would make it one way or another.

"I accepted it. I stopped caring. I mean, why wouldn't I? How else do you explain being an outcast in a school full of kids just like you?" Skyler looked to Harry, meeting his gaze with her own. "And then I came here, and I met you in that bar place. And for the first time I didn't feel like a freak or like I was some damned side show in a fucking carnival. And I met Ginny, and the same thing. And then I finally came to Hogwarts." The brunette turned to Draco, meeting him with a look of pure honesty and determination. This was her point, and she was determined to get it across.

"I met you. The first person to actually compliment my eyes. To even ask why they were that color in the first place. And you laughed, like it was something I should be proud of. And so I was. You were my hero that night in more ways than one Draco, and you stand there and tell me that you're throwing my love back in my face because you're not good enough?!" Sky was back to glaring at him, but her violet eyes willed him to see what she saw for once.

"Until I met you, I felt every bit the freak I always thought I was. And I haven't felt that way again until this moment. Because who else but a freak could drive the one person they love most away and into the arms of another person? No. Not even to just another person, but their fucking cousin." She looked away, completely disgusted, but for once it was aimed at herself. "Don't do me the favor of lying to me about how good I am, when I know otherwise. I don't even fit in here. I mean look!!" She gestured to her stomach, glaring hatefully at the words. "I'm not even just a freak anymore. I'm a fucking failure too."

Unbidden, laughter spilled from her lips, and she couldn't control it. Skyler hadn't felt this pathetic in a long time, having spent years perfecting the walls that kept people from getting too close and hurting her. Those same walls she had let down for the blonde she had given her heart to. And she couldn't even find it in herself to even blame him for doing what he did anymore. Somewhere deep down the teen knew she hadn't deserved what he had done, but it was being drowned out by a louder voice that told her she had been kidding herself by thinking she had ever deserved the love and affection she had been shown throughout her short time at Hogwarts.

Skyler shrugged uncaringly, and her shoulders seemed to sag in defeat again while acceptance and resignation crept into her eyes and onto her face. She was in pain, she was exhausted, and she just wanted to be left alone. That had always worked for her in the past, and it seemed it was probably for the best then too. Atleast then she had always been the only one to get hurt, and even then it hadn't been so bad because she kept people at a distance. "I won't stop you. I have no right. I'm the least deserving person in this room, so you do whatever you want. But don't go get yourself killed, especially not after everything I've done to safeguard your life."

Her tone was just as defeated and resigned as her expression, and the brunette grabbed her shirt from the floor, slipping it back on so she was covered once again. She didn't care about getting healed anymore. The words seemed more suiting than ever at that point. "I just wanted you to know. You deserve to know. I would've followed you anywhere." With that, Skyler didn't even wait. She left the bathroom, and her humiliation, both past and present, behind. She couldn't stay there, when every second that passed brought her closed to completely shattering. It wasn't something she could afford now. More than her life depended on her now.