Even as she stared at him desperately, air whistled uncomfortably down her throat and she felt her grip on her wand loosen. Hearing her name come from his lips, she nodded, blinking more tears out of her eyes. Her gaze moved down to her hand and she suddenly released the wand at his command as if it had scalded her. It clattered away harmlessly, and she clutched at her hand, begging her breathing to return to normal. She hadn't realized Malfoy had stepped closer, was nearing her even more as he talked, but she was grateful for his words. There was a clear ring of truth to what he was saying, she couldn't deny that.

She held onto that instead, her body finally sagging against the wall. Walter had tried to kill her - had gotten his hands around her neck and squeezed, so she must have defended herself. Must have fought back if he'd ended up impaled on the floor. But was she strong enough to do that to a fully fledged wizard? He had nearly towered over her. A flutter of sensation against her arm made her look up, seeing that Malfoy was within arm's reach, hand resting gently on her forearm. She swallowed thickly, her lip quivering as she stared up at him with a glassy gaze. She wanted comfort, wanted his comfort, and so she let herself collapse into his arms finally, burying herself into his chest.

"Malfoy," She mummured, her voice taking on a frightened edge; a thought had just come to her, born from the memory of the way Walter's eyes had made her skin crawl. Her hand came up to grip his forearm this time. She needed something stable if she was going to finish this thought; tried to say it without her voice wavering, but she could barely get the words out because what if saying them would mean they were true? "What if...what if he did.... more than than try and kill me....?"

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