The long, black table was almost full, yet not a word was uttered. Draco tried not to make eye contact with anyone - these were people he knew. His old teachers, parents of people he grew up with, his own classmates and people he once considered friends an eternity ago.
The empty chair at the head of the table held a grim reminder, and Draco felt the uncomfortable sensation of being watched.
"Why isn't 'e here? Thinks 'e's got a better place to be?" someone with a very gruff voice said somewhere across the table.
"You dare question him?" On Draco's right, Bellatrix shrieked. "Our Lord has sacrificed everything for us and you-" she extended a rough finger. "You dare to-"
"Enough, Bella," Narcissa murmured, touching her arm.
Her face contorted into a snarl, Bellatrix stiffly lowered herself back into her seat.
A young man twitched his tongue as he leant on the table, fingers linked together. "So? Has it been done? Have you made our Master proud?"
All eyes shifted to Draco who swallowed uncomfortably.
"Not yet, but-" Lucius did his best to appear confident, but he blabbered too much to be taken seriously. "But, ah, we have his coordinates and we have the plan."
"Calm yourself, Bartemius." a slow, nasally voice commanded.
The man flicked out his tongue again in annoyance. "Master doesn't like being kept waiting, Severus."
"I am aware." Snape's dark, beady eyes travelled the room, momentarily resting on Draco before continuing the cycle. "But he would rather the job be done well... than the job be done poorly. Am I correct?"
Barty Crouch Jr sourly sunk down into his seat.
"Who wishes to tell our newest members of our agenda?" A rough-looking woman said with a snigger.
Draco risked a glance over to a younger-looking man with acne scars whose eyes were glazed over. Drugged.
"Please, Alecto, after you." a man with a striking resemblance to her said.
Circling the drugged man, Alecto began her narrative. "Long ago there was a time where things were as they should be. Our Master kept things in order - maintained our purity. People like us were at the top, and the rest rightfully fell below."
Only slightly moving his neck so that no attention would be brought to him, Draco looked at the faces around him. All of them glowed hauntingly pale in the dim lighting of the room. Eyebrows slightly furrowed, Draco turned back to Alecto, an uncomfortable feeling settling in his stomach.
"But there was only one person who could match our Master. One homo who somehow always found out his plans, who was always one step ahead. He had the opportunity to follow his friend onto the right path, but stopped. Instead of joining, he fought against our way of life. The M15, the NDEDIU, the DI, you name it - they all wanted him. But, he insisted that his passion was..." she said the next word with a scorned chuckle. "Teaching."
A few others joined her with rolling eyes and shaking heads.
"It was this man's fault that our Master was sent into hiding, not to be seen for too long." a horrid smile made its way onto her face and she looked around the table. "Until now." Her eyes rested upon Draco. "What is this man's name, Draco?" she asked testily, eyes wide.
Unable to look up, Draco's form was rigid. He managed to whisper one name. "Dumbledore."
Amycus stood up, a distorted grin on his face. "Until we can fully regain control, we start small. Dumbledore, the Potter boy-"
Draco jerked up his head.
"-and any collateral damage."
The gruff voice from the beginning furrowed his eyebrows. "Why the useless boy?"
"Our Master started something long ago he wishes to end," a small man next to him said, the look in his eyes showing something too complicated to put into words.
Surrounded by the worst people to be surrounded by when having a breakdown, Draco tried to control his breathing. Four in, six out. He had trouble doing two in, two out. Underneath the table, his hands were shaking uncontrollably. Swallowing, he shoved them between his thighs which did practically nothing as his knee was bouncing rapidly. He had no idea this would get so close to Harry, that he would be so affected.
When the meeting ended, Draco almost ran to his car, yelling excuses at his parents that he was late for work. In his defense, he was. But he wasn't driving to work. His knuckles were turning white with how hard he was gripping the steering wheel.
Four in, six out. Four in, six out.
After he pulled the car out of the driveway and drove a few blocks away, Draco parked the car again, thankful that there were no nearby pedestrians this early in the morning.
Four in, six out. Four in, six out.
He leant his head against the steering wheel.
Four in...
With a strangled scream, Draco lifted his arms and slammed them into the steering wheel, the anger, frustration and fear pulsing through his body like an out of control fire.
---
Harry balanced on top of his mountain, feeling as though he were weightlessly floating in water. Remnants of light were left burned in his eyes from a gradient of pink to blue - no matter how many times he blinked, it was still there. Harry took a few moments to look at his surroundings which looked as if he was above a room from the Burrow with countless redheads milling around the place below him. An out-of-place looking figure with incredibly light hair caught his attention, and Harry was about to call out a greeting when a rough shove from behind knocked the wind out of him and Harry found himself plummeting.
Gasping for breath, he tried to scream out for help but no sound came from his mouth. He clawed at his throat, but no noise was made as the wind rushed in his ears and his limbs flailed helplessly. It's just a dream, it's just a dream, he repeated to himself over and over again, but the feelings of panic refused to subside.
There was no light. When Harry extended his arms, expecting the usual nothingness, his blood ran cold when a surface brushing by stung his fingers. His foot scuffed something behind him. And Harry realised that walls around him were closing in. Horrified, he soundlessly screamed again.
In a moment of panic, he felt himself keel over forwards and tried to pull his limbs in, but some invisible force was taking a hold of his ankles and wrists, stretching him out.
When he looked below - though he couldn't be sure which way was up and down anymore - Harry's rapid breathing only increased as he saw sickening green light begin to glow. The further he fell, the brighter it pulsed until Harry was forced to screw his eyes shut, the light seared into his mind until it felt like his head had been cleaved open.
With a gasp, Harry tore open his eyes. Breathing frantically, he touched the objects around him. Table, chair, broken coffee machine... he was at work. How did he have a nightmare at work? When did he fall asleep?
The door to the back room opened and in came a pale girl who tilted her head when she saw Harry. "Am I early? I didn't mean to interrupt."
What was the time? Harry looked around for the clock but couldn't focus. "No, Luna, um... you're on time."
"Oh, good." She gave him a bright smile before putting down her bag that it looked like she had made herself. "There is a customer, in case you were unaware. I would serve him myself, but he seems to be waiting for you."
Pausing from his previous act of jumping up and trying to calm down his hair, Harry paused quizzically and looked at Luna. "For me?"
Eyes characteristically wide, Luna stared at Harry with no particular emotion.
His confusion deepening, Harry pushed his glasses up his nose before pacing out into the serving area.
A boy with strikingly light hair looked up quickly.
"Dr- Malfoy?" Harry frowned, shoving his hands into his pockets. He glanced at the bench that Draco was looking at before realising with a sharp intake of breath that the notebook with the damn flag was on it. Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck-
Draco quirked an eyebrow, with that obnoxious smirk that Harry hated, though it seemed like the expression took more effort than usual. "Correct," he said. He was wearing the bank uniform, a smart black blazer fitting him perfectly. His hair was firmly gelled into place as it had been probably his whole life, and Harry just wanted to mess it up purely to wipe the entitled smirk off his face.
Harry's eyes fluttered closed for a moment as he tried to string together a sentence, but his mind was clearly elsewhere. This did not escape Draco's notice, as his eyebrows slightly furrowed and he looked Harry up and down.
"Why is your shirt soaked?" he demanded, his concern only increasing when Harry lifted a shaking hand to attempt to cover the sweat. His tone more gentle this time, Draco made eye contact. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, um..." when Harry took a deep breath he had intended this to make him seem confident. But when his breath caught and shuddered, it only worsened his case.
Draco pursed his lips at Harry's vulnerable expression. "Maybe you should go home."
"I'm fine," Harry said quickly, only for Draco to reply without a pause.
"You're not."
"How would you know, huh?" Harry said crossly. "Why do you even care?"
Nostrils flared, Draco opened his mouth but the tinkle of the door opening stopped any argument about to come out of his mouth.
"Cormac in the house, yo!" the burly boy held out his arms, showcasing his old hockey jersey (simultaneously showcasing how he clearly peaked in high school). Without a second glance at Draco, he grinned at Harry as he barged past. "Beautiful weather eh? Everyone wearing jackets but not me, I never need one."
"Catch hypothermia and die," Draco muttered under his breath, pinching his nose bridge. He reached into his blazer pocket and pulled out a pen.
Harry sent Cormac smile that couldn't even be mistaken as genuine, but Cormac slapped him on the back anyway.
"Cheers, bruv." he said before disappearing into the back room.
Sighing, Harry walked back up to the counter only to see Draco's back turned. Though he was confused, he said nothing. After a few moments, he heard the small sound of paper ripping before Draco turned around again, swallowing.
"Um-" Harry began, but Draco pressed something against the bench, on top of the notebook. He held eye contact with Harry before promptly leaving the shop.
Does he not even want his coffee? Harry wondered before picking up the scrap of paper. Draco had torn the corner off a larger notebook and hurriedly scrawled a little picture.
After pausing for a few seconds, Harry looked up with a dropped jaw.