Finite Incantatem

Dramione (flashback I)

Hi there!
This chapter begins with a dramione flashback, setted on the 7th/8th year. There is nothing innovative in there. My purpose was to write my own version of their last year, not a completely new one.
I hope you'll enjoy it the same!

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November 1998 [flashback]

Draco had always known that returning to Hogwarts to complete the seventh year wouldn't be easy. Despite intending to blend into the castle's wallpaper, even more discreet than the Fat Friar, he couldn't escape the disdainful looks from both students and even professors.

As unpopular as he never thought he would be, the bright spots of his days were when someone in the corridors made sure he heard the word "murderer" loud and clear.

Even the Slytherins were reluctant to socialize with him, if only because they feared alienating the rest of the school. Once, Draco overheard his dorm mates wondering how foolish he must have been to return to Hogwarts.

Nobody could have known, but Draco had no choice. Months after the Battle of Hogwarts, not all Death Eaters had been captured. Since his family had avoided arrest by revealing every little secret about their former friends to the Ministry, the same Aurors had warned of the risk of retaliation and stationed a couple of guards in his house.

When Headmistress McGonagall later suggested that it would be safer for the boy – and ideal for his education – to stay another year within the castle walls, his mother agreed. Without a second thought, Narcissa packed his bags and sent him to Hogwarts like a parcel.

The school year had started for over two months, and this was the usual Saturday afternoon that Draco was forced to spend alone. He missed Theo, Blaise, Vince... It seemed like an eternity had passed since he was the center of the world and everyone hung on his every word. Now there was no one left, and the only fate remaining for him to endure was a humiliating payback.

He didn't want to complain or shut himself in the Common Room or the Library pretending to study. So, he headed out of the castle, hoping to find a quiet spot along the shores of the Black Lake to bask in the sun before sunset. Other students had the same idea; in fact, walking near the lake, he noticed Hermione Granger in the company of Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood, folding blankets and putting books in a bag after a picnic.

Draco quickened his pace, as always when those three were around. Every time he encountered them, he felt uneasy, knowing what had been done to them in his home. Equally awkward and downright unbearable were Granger's repeated attempts to talk to him about his school issues, another good reason to avoid her. Continuing to walk, Draco only relaxed when the girls were no longer within his peripheral vision.

"I know what happened last night, Malfoy." Of course, he was mistaken. Granger had followed him. She stood a few steps away from him, the sparkling Head Girl badge pinned to her chest, so stern that she seemed like a younger version of McGonagall. Without any warning, she pointed her wand at Draco and exclaimed, "Revelio!"

The boy felt his cheek tingle in response to the magic, and immediately, he covered it with his hand. Even though he couldn't see it, he knew that the bruise he had carefully concealed that morning had just reappeared in all its glory: a mark composed of many shades of purple that extended from the nose to the left eye.

"Occultum!" Draco pointed his wand at himself, and once again, the bruise disappeared from view. "How dare you?"

No one else had seen, but Draco couldn't bear even Hermione's indulgent gaze, laden with determined pity.