(Drarry) Faking My Own Death

Chapter 1: 'No One Lives Forever' by Oingo Boingo

Up until this task dropping in his lap, Draco had been on the side lines of the war, staying in his own lane, being a kid. He didn't have to worry about life and death and making moral decisions. All that had mattered was his grades and reputation.

He hated how his childlike ignorance had been so rudely interrupted, ripped away from him. It started with small stuff, and then the small stuff became attending secret meetings he didn't realise the importance of yet. His mind would wonder off to fantastical fairy tales of heroes and dragons while the adults were discussing the eve of war.

Then, the secret meetings evolved into this impossible task.

Draco was sure this assignment had been designed to test him, to see where his loyalty lies, to prove his strength. The problem was: Draco didn't have the strength and his loyalty was very much limited to his family. Not to Voldemort. In all honesty, not to his father either. All Draco wanted was for his mother to be safe.

Over the Christmas break, Draco had noticed that his mother seemed to be taking precautions to ensure Draco's safety as well. He had tried to confront her about it, so they could perhaps flee together, escape to a different life. He didn't dare say the words. Just another regret to add to the long, long list.

Now all there was left was Draco and the task at hand. No help from his father or mother, as he was far from home.

Once Draco got back to Hogwarts, he had felt more and more isolated in what used to be his safe haven. His friends became increasingly childish in Draco's eyes, only caring about pulling pranks, secretly drinking alcohol, getting girls, and doing homework. Okay, maybe homework not so much. Still, Draco felt himself grow more alone, surrounded by stupid children who had no idea what the real world was like. At the same time, he was jealous, wishing he could be as blissfully ignorant as them.

Then came the night of the dinner. Draco had spent his week ruminating as usual, sulking in his own misery. One of his friends, Riley, had asked him to come along to some special dinner professor Slughorn was hosting for his best (read: favourite) students. Riley explained that they were allowed to bring a guest and hoped Draco would come along 'just for the fun of it'. To his own surprise, Draco agreed to attend.

He wore one of his more dashing suits, hoping that looking good would make him feel good, somehow. At the very least, looking good may distract people from his unhinged mental state. Not that anybody had noticed so far, since Draco was great at hiding his feelings and struggles. Not even his grades had dropped since he was tasked with the impossible. Draco would never want to disgrace his family and that included grades. Because completing a murder for the Dark Lord isn't enough to earn respect, right?

At dinner-time, Draco arrived with his friend, who playfully knocked on the door of Slughorn's office. Draco had heard her gush about this dinner for the entire day, so he knew how excited she was. Although, at the minute, she looked rather nervous, as she kept carefully brushing her dress to ensure there was no wrinkle in sight.

Slughorn opened the door and his smile faltered somewhat when he saw Draco. He tried to cover up his apparent surprise: "Oh, well, Draco, I would have invited you as well, since your grades are fabulous. However, there is only so many people I can invite- I'm sure you understand, right my boy?"

Draco smiled and turned on his charm: "Surely, I do understand. After all, I'm here now, so it worked out for the better, didn't it?"

He heard a loud scoff from inside the room. As he and Riley stepped inside, Draco realised the scoff had come from the one and only Hermione Granger. Draco had to force himself to keep his composure. He had not expected to have to deal with his enemies for tonight. More than just hiding his feelings and turning on his regular charm, he now had to navigate the minefield that was Granger.

He felt inclined to call her out, make a clever remark, but he kept it to himself. Instead, he nodded to the people in the room, saying: "Pleasure to see you all this evening." He let his eyes rest on Hermione shortly, who was staring back furiously. He brushed it off and sat down next to Riley.

After their arrival, a few more students were welcomed to the dinner.

Then, Draco's heart sank. Harry Potter entered the room.

Harry tried to sneak in quickly, excusing himself for being late, saying he got held up by Professor McGonagall in his last class of the day. His hair was somewhat messy, and his maroon tie was not perfectly placed as it ought to be. He had clearly rushed to get here. The rest of his clothes looked neat enough. He was wearing a black slim-fit suit with a pair of maroon shoes.

Slughorn urged Harry to take a seat, so the Gryffindor boy nodded and turned his attention to the company at the table. A sense of disappointment or distaste flashed Harry's eyes when they met Draco's. He averted his eyes soon thereafter.

Draco's gaze followed him across the room as he sat down next to Hermione. There, Harry whispered something to Hermione that she had to laugh about. Draco dropped his eyes to his plate, mentally sighing. This was going to be a long, excruciating night.

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Thanks for reading!

Q: Do y'all have a favourite enemies-to-lovers ship/storyline besides Drarry?

A: As may be clear from this book's description, I really, really love Catradora. (It's refreshing that for once fans weren't being ridiculed for shipping two same-sex characters and they actually ended up together and it was done so well ugh love it)