Harry stormed through the common room that night eager to avoid absolutely everyone. The last thing he wanted was to speak to anyone when he felt as though the world was swallowing him whole. His entire mind had shattered and he felt completely broken at the possibility of losing the love of his life. Draco hadn't actually said the words "It's over" but their conversation made it pretty clear where it was heading
He slammed his door shut and threw himself onto his bed, his face buried in the pillow as he burst into tears, sobbing into the sheets completely unable to breathe and control himself. Everything hurt, every thought was of Draco which triggered more tears and more pain, searing through his chest. The pillow was getting damp as his tears stained the cloth
"Harry?" Hermione called at the door, knocking gently
"Harry are you alright?" Blaise asked, genuinely concerned
He mumbled into the depths of the soggy pillow "Go. Away."
"You seemed upset when you walked past... and then the door slam sort of confirmed that... do you want to talk?" Hermione pleaded
"No."
Blaise looked at Hermione, the two of them sharing worried looks before returning to the beanbags discussing every possible reason behind Harry's change in attitude. It was over an hour before Draco returned to the common room, looking like death
His eyes were red and puffy, face paler than usual and a total look of hurt shadowed his face. He too tried to hide from the view of everyone else but Blaise jumped up and followed him to his room, Hermione giving them space
"Mate, what's happened?" he whispered
"I don't want to talk right now"
"It's Harry, isn't it-"
"I said I don't want to talk, Blaise! Please, just... leave me" Draco snapped before slipping through the door to his room. Blaise turned back to Hermione who looked up from her book
"Shit"
---------------------------------
It had been four days since their painful encounter on the bridge. Draco sat in potions class looking around the room, noticing that once again, Harry had not shown up. He was already filled with unbearable guilt from breaking his heart, but knowing he would be affecting his school work too somehow added to guilt. He didn't want to be the reason Harry failed classes.
Draco caught a glimpse of Ron sitting across the room, who was undeniably giving him the worst death glare possible. He didn't blame him either. Every part of him was hurting. He'd broken Harry's heart, messed up his ability to attend classes and now divided the friendship group too. He wanted to fall off the astronomy tower and never wake up
Pansy and Blaise remained impartial over the days since they found out. They respected Draco's reasons but felt deeply for Harry too, which Draco thought was rather sweet how much they cared. They didn't plan on picking sides, but Harry wasn't exactly in a position currently to want to hang out with Draco's best friends
He buried his head in his hands and groaned quietly, the last thing he needed right now was a slow lesson from Slughorn while all he could think about was Harry
The following day, Harry entered the common room, dreading bumping into the Slytherin but knowing it would happen eventually. He'd avoided going down to breakfast, instead feasting on sweets in his bedroom and relying on Hermione to sneak back food during the dinner times. The cloak had been useful too, using it to travel the castle without any awkward encounters, though he'd grown tired of hiding and knew he couldn't remain this way forever.
Upon entering the room, he saw Draco curled up on the sofa beside Pansy, looking worse for wear. He had his head on her lap as she stroked her fingers through his hair, reminding Harry of how that would always relax him, triggering painful memories of when Harry used to be the one doing it. He looked miserable, staring at the floor while Pansy read the Quibbler in one hand and stroke his hair with the other.
He closed the door quietly and kept his head down, moving swiftly to his bedroom
"Harry"
Harry stopped in his tracks and closed his eyes. It was Draco, who'd perked up from his seat after seeing his arrival.
"Harry... H-how are you?" Draco asked timidly. Pansy sat beside him with a pitiful smile
"Fabulous, thanks. Can I go now?" Harry bit
"Wait... I-"
"What?" Harry snapped, feeling tears welling in his eyes. He begged himself not to cry in front of him
"N-Nev-never mind" Draco trailed off, sinking back into the sofa pulling a cushion over his chest close to him. Pansy looked back and forth from Harry to Draco, pained to see them like this
Harry walked off into his bedroom, biting back tears. Draco looked so sad, so lost. His eyes were shallow and he looked unwell but Harry felt bitter, he'd brought that on himself, he didn't want to pity him
He closed the door behind him and sat on his bed, letting the tears flow out, face in his hands stifling the cries. It was another ten minutes before a soft knock at the door caused Harry to sit up and hastily wipe his eyes with his jumper sleeve
Ron appeared in the door way holding a bag of chocolate fizzers "Can I come in?"
Harry was too exhausted to argue, nodding him in and trying to hide any trace of breakdown from his face
There was a long silence as Ron made his way into the room, taking a seat beside Harry and trying to find the best way to start the conversation. They hadn't properly spoken since their fight
"Sweet?" he asked, holding out the bag, but Harry shook his head and continued looking down at his hands
"I-I'm sorry about you and Draco" Ron finally said, but Harry just scoffed and looked away
"No you're not"
"I am, Harry, really. I don't like seeing you in pain"
Harry wiped his eyes one last time, sniffing the last of the tears back "Why are you here?"
"I just wanted to check on you, mate"
"Well, I'll be fine"
Ron sensed the resentment and decided not to push. He left the bag of chocolates on the bed and headed for the door. "I'll see you around"
As he closed the door behind him, Harry picked up the bag of sweets and chucked it in his direction, the bag slamming against the door sending sweets in all directions. He fell onto his back and curled into the sheets, staring out the window and crying until he drifted into another difficult sleep, filled with dreams and memories of the love of his life
_____________________________________
Draco sat on the outskirts of the castle courtyard the following evening, enjoying the peace and quiet of the evening that was closing in on them. The sun had almost set, the sky turned to a lazy pink that was falling away to the night creeping in. Odd students walked past here and there, making their way back to their common rooms while the last remainder of dinner goers trailed out from the great hall in the distance, taking their chatter and laughter with them. Draco thought back to when he was laughing with Harry, falling in love with his smile each and every time, and his heart stung once more
He hadn't spoken to Harry all week. Miraculously, he'd managed to give him some space to breath and was lucky enough to have separate classes and free periods for the last few days.
He sighed and rested his head back against the stone pillar, kicking his feet on the dusty floor when he heard a familiar voice come from across the walkway
"What are you doing here?"
Ron approached from the side, and Draco noticed he'd most likely come from quidditch practice hence the kit bag slung over his shoulder and the mud smears across his cheek
"Just... getting some air" Draco sighed, refusing to make eye contact "You?"
Ron looked down at his quidditch bag and raised an eyebrow, assuming it should have been obvious "Have a guess"
Draco forced a nod and closed his eyes, leaning the back of his head against the wall again. "Right, of course. Listen, if you're here to yell at me and call me a bastard for hurting Harry then please save it for another day, I'm really not in the mood right now"
Ron cracked a smile and shook his head, looking at the floor. He slowly walked over to where Draco was perched on the wall ledge, kicking his feet as he approached. He dropped his bag to the floor and pushed himself back up onto the ledge to join him, wiping the dust off of his palms as he settled.
The pair didn't look at each other, but instead out past the pillars opposite which opened up to an expanse of land, hills and mountains rolling in the distance above the black lake. The sun was setting against the back of the horizon, turning the sky a warm coral colour. They sat together, drifting out of focus at the mesmerising ever changing colours of the landscape
"I'm not gonna yell at you, Draco. I just don't get what's happened with you and Harry. You we're so loved up and then-"
"I realised that Harry would be miserable spending his life with me, I don't have a bright future like he does. My future is filled with hate and bitterness, oh and my father will use me to track him down and murder him. It's fine while we're here at school but as soon as we leave, life gets pretty shit"
"Shouldn't you let Harry decide if he wants to be miserable with you or not?"
"Well, maybe-I just... I'm saving him from the painful life ahead that will come from dating a death eater, trust me, it's not all sunshine and rainbows" Draco scoffed, focusing harder on the setting sun to distract him from the lump welling in his throat
"Right, help me understand something. If your future is destined to be miserable because of your troubled past and the mark on your arm... why would you let go of the only thing that makes you happy? You said yourself you're not a death eater anymore"
"Well... I'm just trying to protec-"
"Harry is the best thing that's ever happened to you, alright?" Ron cut in, turning to directly look at Draco "And honestly, I'm starting to believe that you're the best thing that's ever happened to him, too"
Draco let go of his stubbornness for one moment allowing Ron to see the vulnerable, hurt boy that still remained deep down. The boy that just wanted to be loved. Draco dropped his head and held back the tears he knew were forming
"He loves you Draco. With all his heart and soul he absolutely adores you and you'd be the biggest idiot in the whole entire world to let him go. You've found someone who is willing to forget all the shit from your past and forgive you for your mistakes. When he's around you, he radiates with happiness. I see the way his eyes light up when you enter the room. The way he giggles like an idiot at all of your stupid jokes. The way he looks at you when he knows he has to keep his hands to himself but he's aching inside to be close to you" Ron shook his head wondering when his best mate had suddenly become such a bloody softie
"This is the most content he's ever been during his entire time at this school and I don't think it's because Voldemort's gone..."
Draco tilted his head up slowly to meet Ron, longing in his eyes "You really see all of that?"
"He's my best friend, Draco. I know him better than he knows himself. As much as I hate to admit it... I see that you two belong together. I know you think that pushing him away will make things easier for him but really you've been so deprived of real love your entire life that you're just scared when finally someone actually loves you"
"You're starting to sound a lot like Granger.." Draco smirked
"Alright so maybe we had a long chat about all of this but it's only cause we both care about Harry and his stupid complicated love life" Ron admitted, triggering a hint of a smile from Draco
His smile softly faded, returning to the pain "I just know he'll end up resenting me for making his life so much more difficult. He doesn't understand the baggage that will come with me if he goes public about our relationship" Draco sighed
"Don't you think he's known from the start? Harry might be cool and collected but he's not stupid, and he's certainly never going to get into a situation that's going to bring him more pain. The poor guys suffered enough as it is"
Draco sat back against the wall, letting out a long troubled sigh. The last person he wanted to be weak in front of was Weasley, yet somehow a part of him knew Ron was right, and he needed to hear it
"Look, I know how hard it was for Harry to come out as gay, even harder to admit that he was in love with you of all people. Why would he put himself through all of that if he wasn't going to stay through it all?"
"If you knew how hard it was for him why are you giving him such a hard time? You handled the whole thing terribly" Draco reminded him
Ron sighed and rubbed his forehead, a twinge of regret at his recent outburst "I don't know why I freaked out so much, I just... I guess I'm still having a hard time adjusting to this new and improved, nice version of Draco. A part of me still believes this is all a big trick on your half and that you've come back this year to coerce Harry into to the death eaters"
"Weasley, that's just... ridiculous"
Ron broke into a chuckle joined by Draco who shook his head at the prospect of the ludicrous idea
"I guess it is. You'd have to really be dedicated to the part by now if you were" Ron joked
"Believe me, there is nothing death eater about me anymore. Not even if I wanted to" Draco rolled his eyes and gave an awkward smile, pain across his face and pain in his voice
"What do you mean?"
"My parents have sort of... turned their back on me. I can't return home and I can't speak to them anymore... ever" Draco trailed as tears stung his eyes
"Ever?" Ron repeated, genuinely surprised
Draco looked down at his shoes, desperately avoiding Ron's gaze which he could feel staring into his side
"I-I-told them I was in love with Harry and... they said I was a disgrace to the family. That I'd humiliated the Malfoy name and that I should be ashamed. My so-called 'betrayal' is unforgivable and they don't wish to ever hear from me again"
"Blimey that's... that's really awful. Although your father is a massive git, you'd do well to be shot of him anyway" Ron tried to make light but saw the hurt and knew he was terrible at comforting, even more so with Draco but even he felt bad for him "Sorry mate"
"There's nothing I can do about it, anyway. They hold all the power" Draco shrugged
"You'd be an absolute idiot to let go of Harry now, Draco-"
"I know" Draco sighed "He's all I've got left"
"Not if you let him go he's not. Go and find him, admit you've been a massive plonker and get him back. I really don't know how much longer I can deal with sulky Harry anyway" Ron assured, patting him on the back
"You really have a way with words, don't you?"
"Draco, I've come so close to finally saying goodbye to you this year and never seeing you again in my life, and now I'm coming to terms with you being there every bloody time I want to see my best friend in the foreseeable future. Go find Harry and do it before I change my mind"
Draco chuckled at this sentiment "You being nice to me feels weird, I'm not sure I like it"
"Just... go and find Harry" Ron said, smiling to himself. Even he was surprised at how supportive he was being
Draco mouthed a 'Thank you' and pushed himself of the wall ledge, dusting off his trousers and making his way back through the courtyard toward to common room. Hoping and praying that it wasn't too late. That Harry's heart could still be healed and that he could be forgiven