The Afflicted Pretty Boy ~ Book 3 of the Pretty Boy trilogy

Chapter 5

As Blaise walks out of the lavatory, he furrows his brow "What's that for?"

I glance over my shoulder at him, before continuing on with the alarm clock "I've got to get up at five."

He gives a perplexed look "Why in hell would you wake up at five in the morning?"

I sigh, before explaining "To box with Hooch." He cocks an eyebrow to me "And to have a ten mile run."

"Before class?" He asks and I nod, before he asks "When do you have time to eat?"

I shrug, before declaring "I'll stop my the great hall, after my run." I motion towards my head "If I don't tire myself out, I'll be all hyper in class."

He gives a weak smile "What do you do, after school?"

I straighten out and tell him "I'm helping Hagrid with his creatures, until sundown. I'll take a shower, then meet you at dinner."

He nods, before asking "What about during the moon cycle? What do you do then?"

I shrug "Avoid mealtimes. Eat some well rare steak. Stay away from the moon. Take my potion."

He gives a look of pity and I shrug, before crawling in bed and slipping out of my pants.

When I turn out my light, he sighs "Goodnight, Draco."

I pull the comforter up to cover my chest, and yawn "Goodnight, Blaise."

~

The next morning, I wake up to the sound of the blaring alarm. As I rub my eyes and sit up in bed, Blaise whines into the darkness "Draco, turn off the alarm!"

I smack the off button and grab a cigarette from my pack. After I light it, I lay back in bed and take a long drag.

About half way through it, I sit up again and pull on my pants. Blaise furrows his brow "Do you sleep naked?"

"Yeah." I sigh, before kneeling in front of my trunk. As I pull out a running jacket, work out pants, and a jockstrap, he turns on his latern.

He narrows his gaze at my back "Is that the bite?" I scoff and sit on the edge of his bed for him to examine it.

He runs his fingers over it, before he starts chuckling. I give a confused look and ask "What?"

He pats my shoulder, before declaring "You're so white." I scoff at him, before he sighs "It's blinding."

I stand up and declare "It doesn't surprise me that Oliver is a bottom." He furrows his brow in confusion and I point out "He was too burly to not be overcompensating."

He chuckles at that, before declaring "It was nice to have a big burly man protecting you."

I motion towards my shoulders "He was enormous." He hums and I walk into the lavatory.

When I walk out, he watches as I pull on my shoes "When do you think you'll be back?"

I think for a second "Probably half seven. See you in the great hall?" He nods and I grab a ball cap.

~

When I walk into the great hall, I find Blaise at the Slytherin table, his back to the Gryffindor table.

As I squeeze in between Blaise and a seventh year, he asks "How was the run? See any pixies?"

I scoff, before telling him "Pixies, centaurs, and unicorns." He hums and I pound down a bowl of oatmeal.

He watches in amusement as I stuff my face "You always eat like this?"

I shake my head as I grab a few sausages "I've got an hour to get to Charms, and I've still got to shower."

He gives me a weak smile, before telling me "My first class is DADA, at half eight." He nudges me, softly "Go take a shower. I'll drop off some for on the way to class."

I nod, before getting up and stretching out. He waves his hand in front of his face "You reek!"

I chuckle, before jogging out of the great hall. After my shower, I jog up to Charms class, I find Blaise walking up to it.

"Blaise!" I call out and he turns to me. He hands over a packed full bento box. I smile "Thanks."

He nods, before asking "I'll see you in Astronomy?" I nod, before he walks down the hall to get to DADA.

As I walk into Charms, I look to the seating chart to look for my spot. My spot, I found out, is at the top row, opposite the door, in the very corner. Hermione is supposed to sit next to me.

Harry and Ron are supposed to sit on the opposite side of the class. I take a deep breath, before heading to my spot. As I take a seat, I sit crisscrossed apple sauce and open the bento box.

As I slowly eat the traditional beans and toast, people file in. About two minutes after I started eating, Hermione steps up to me and smiles, kindly "Hey Draco."

I hum as I chew. When she sits next to me, I ask "How have you been?" I give her a weak smile "I know you've know how I've been."

She scratches her forehead "I've been good, I guess. Harry's been a wreck, so it's been... rough."

I take in a deep breath, before telling her "Yeah, I saw him last week." As I take a bite, I scoff "It took Lucius a week to pry me out of bed."

She scoffs, before declaring "It took Harry a solid month to wear anything other than sweatpants and a sweater with your name on it."

I scoff, before telling her "He was wearing it last week."

She furrows her brow and asks "Do you think it's funny? You hurting him?"

I shake my head and tell her "It hurt, seeing him." She takes in a deep breath and I shrug "I hated hurting him."

She takes a moment, before asking "Then why would you break up with him?"

I think of a good lie, before telling her "While I was unconscious, they got in my head." Her face goes pitiful and I tell her "They made me into a ticking timebomb."

She gives a confused look and asks "What did they do to you?"

I give a version of the truth "They made me something I don't recognize. Something incapable of love or satisfaction."

She takes a moment, before asking "Why would they do that?"

I give her a knowing look "They want to get to Harry. What better than turning the person he loves into a-" I stop myself and lean my head back against the wall "A monster."

As class begins, I can see her watching me out of the corner of her eye. Mainly, I take my time, eating.

At the end of class, Hermione steps over to Harry and Ron. As I step towards the door, I remark "You three could, at least, wait until I walk out of the room."