Harry's POV
I crawled towards my wand and fixed my glasses. I could see everything clearly now— my raw knuckles, dishevelled room, blood-spattered floor.
It looked like a crime scene.
Which it was, to be honest. I clenched my shaking hands into fists and slumped onto the side of the bed.
It had been some time since Malfoy had left the room. He hadn't even taken his wand with him. It still lay on the sofa.
After a few minutes of resting, I stood up and walked to the bathroom. That's when I saw the state of my face.
There was a large purple bruise on my jaw; it hurt as bad as it looked. There was a trickle of blood from my temple. I had a sweet black eye, and it seemed like one of my teeth was cracked.
I carefully pulled out my wand. Hermione had taught me some simple healing spells, nothing too complicated.
"Brackium Emendo," I whispered, pointing it at my broken tooth.
"Episkey," at the small cut on my temple.
There wasn't much for my black eye and bruising, except for some murtlap essence, which I would get later, hopefully without arousing suspicion.
Placing my wand and glasses on the side of the sink, I started the tap, and cold water rushed out. I began to wash the blood from my hands and face carefully.
Slow and medical.
After turning off the water, I wiped my face and grabbed my belongings, ready to venture into the bedroom.
Suddenly, there were some knocks on the door.
"Harry?" It was Neville. He's outside. "Mate, we have to go now for lunch. What's taking so long?"
I groaned internally. I had completely forgotten about our plan.
"Oh— Neville," I tried to sound normal. "It's— sorry, I won't be able to join you for lunch." I hoped I wouldn't have to open the door.
"Why?" His voice sounded worried.
"I'm just— not feeling well, yeah," I reasoned.
"Oh..."
I heard some whispers. Someone else was there with Neville.
"Alright, mate, I hope you get well soon then. See you later."
"Yeah, thanks," I said.
"And Harry," Neville called again. "If Malfoy comes, you can go to my dorm. Wouldn't want you two to fight or anything,"
I tried to make my voice light when I replied, "Yeah, of course,"
There was silence. I clumsily put my glasses on, eyeing the bed. It looked extremely comfortable at this moment.
Walking towards it, I practically threw myself on it, falling asleep instantly.
It was around four o'clock when I woke up, a feminine voice hovering above me.
"Harry? Hello, Harry?"
I groggily opened my eyes. As my vision cleared, Astoria's features became evident. Her dark, snatched eyes examined my face.
I opened my mouth, but she started talking. What is with girls always interrupting?
"Have you seen Draco?" she asked, looking around the room as if she expected him to jump out from the corner.
"I don't know," I replied flatly, too tired for some prudence, "And I don't care."
Astoria didn't seem to notice. "We were supposed to go to lunch together, but he didn't come, so I thought he might have changed his mind. But I couldn't find him anywhere these past three hours." Her tone made me feel bad for her. She was so sweet, really, worrying about Malfoy.
"He has to be somewhere in the castle, right?" I nervously asked.
"I've searched everywhere!" Astoria exclaimed, tears glistening in her eyes. "Every corner or every place I could think of!"
She glanced around the room again. "Tell me anything you know, please. You were the one Draco was with last."
I looked at her expression and then on my white sheets.
"Well..." The guilt gnawing at my insides told me to tell her the truth. "We got into an... argument... and I haven't seen him since."
Astoria didn't get angry like I expected her to. She just looked even more troubled.
"Oh, Salazar!" she breathed. "This is bad. Draco overthinks so much. He's probably really sad right now..."
And hurt. I thought. In more ways than one...
"I'm so worried about him now," she said, "It's very unlike him to just disappear like that. What if he's done something to himself?"
All this worrying made me worried. "I- I'm sure he's fine." Though, he probably wasn't. I remembered his ghastly expression when he ran out of the dorm. "I can help you find Ma—Draco if you want."
Astoria nodded. "We can find him quicker that way."
We both got to searching for Malfoy. I was thankful that Astoria hadn't questioned the bruises on my face. She either didn't make the connection or was too polite to make a point of it.
Astoria decided to look in the castle, so I took responsibility for searching the grounds.
I went to check the quidditch pitch first. No luck.
Wandered towards the greenhouses, but still, no luck.
I was getting a bit more nervous now. Where could Malfoy have gone?
In the state he was, it would have been almost fatal to apparate. He couldn't have left Hogwarts without thoroughly injuring himself.
As I walked towards the lake, I bumped into Hagrid, who grinned when he saw me.
"Harry!"
I smiled back, but it was a bit strained. Hagrid seemed to notice, "Wha's wrong?"
"Malfoy's missing," I said, but it sounded like I was complaining. "I was just wondering if you'd seen him." I tried not to look guilty as I said this.
"Why, o'course!" Hagrid beamed, but then his expression darkened. "Poor boy was beaten up ter shreds. Face a bloody mess, nose broken an' all. Could barely breathe tha' one, crying his eyes out, wouldn't say wha' happened. Finally managed ter get some sleep an hour ago! Bless his soul."
Hagrid shook his large hairy head sadly. He had many reasons to hate Malfoy after all the pain he and his father had given him. Yet, here he was, speaking of him like he was some innocent victim.
If it was possible, I felt worse.
"Is he with you now?" I asked desperately.
"I couldn't le' him stay out in that state, could I now?" Hagrid indignantly said, waving his large hands around. "He wasn't polite about it either, but didn't expect him ter be anyway, the git he is."
"I see..." I said. "Can I see him?"
"O'course," Hagrid heartily said. "I gotta go feed my browtruckles, but yer can go ahead without me. He migh' be sleeping still, so try not ter wake him up."
I thanked him, making my way to Hagrid's hut, unsure what to expect anymore.
Draco's POV
I woke up when I heard someone call my name. It seemed like a dream at first since I was still half-asleep.
Fluttering my eyes open, I saw the figure above me. It was Potter, muttering my name.
"Malfoy?" he said. I almost believed I was dreaming because why would Potter come looking for me? But when the pain in my body revived, I realised it was too painful to be a dream.
I spent a few more seconds recalling what had happened and where I was.
Potter called me again, loudly, this time as if trying to get my attention. "Malfoy!"
I opened my eyes more widely, blinking away some light. I jumped when I noticed our proximity.
"Merlin, Potter!" I sat up, creating some distance. "Trying to murder me in my sleep?"
Potter scowled, "Very funny."
Only then I started to register my very painful headache. I winced, pressing my fingers to my temple.
Potter's expression changed into an anxious one. "Do you feel alright?"
"Yes, brilliant!" I couldn't seem to lay off the sarcasm. "Never been better. What are you doing here anyway?"
"Astoria is worried," Potter said. It made me sit up straighter. "You've been missing for hours."
"Okay," I said, looking away.
"Let's go. We need to inform Astoria about you." I could feel Potter's gaze on me as he said this.
"It's alright, Potter," I said, clearing my throat awkwardly. "You don't have to feel responsible for me. I'll manage."
Potter's brow furrowed as he bit his lip.
"Listen, Malfoy," he said in a low voice. I lazily faced him. "I was worried too, you know?" he said, "I'm sorry for punching you and resorting to violence. You didn't deserve that."
It's not just that. I found myself thinking.
Potter seemed to realise that as well. "And also for— for calling you a coward."
"Why were you worried about me?" I asked. It seemed rather surprising.
"I feel guilty for saying all that. You obviously aren't a coward. I was just mad and wanted to hurt you," he answered.
I shook my head. "No, you were right. Everything you said added up."
Potter shook his head rapidly. "No, no! You're not a coward, Malfoy."
I was astonished to see how he pressed on that.
"What about the fact that I became a death eater to please my father and didn't succeed? You were right when you said I was a coward at the table of death eaters, scared for my life. I'm so hopeless that I couldn't deny when Father arranged my marriage with Astoria." I met Potter's eyes again. "Don't you see, Potter? I am a coward!"
"No! You're only misunderstanding yourself, Malfoy," Potter said, his face very sincere.
I swayed my head away, not believing him.
"I was wrong," I heard Potter continue. "I was wrong when I thought your failure at assassinating Dumbledore was an act of cowardice. It was actually an act of bravery."
"What do you mean?" I looked back at him.
"Holding yourself back when you're surrounded by so many people pressuring you to kill Dumbledore is an act of bravery when you knew going against their will can be fatal," Potter explained. "You chose to do the right thing among the wrong-minded people."
Potter was sugar-coating everything!
I scoffed. "I let them in, Potter. You can't deny that I was the reason Dumbledore died."
"True, but you were in the pressure of a whole crowd of death eaters just waiting for a moment of disloyalty," he said. "What matters is, in the end, you didn't kill him."
I shook my head, looking away. Both Potter and I knew it wasn't enough for me to believe what he said.
"And at Malfoy Manor, you denied it was me when you were asked to identify me," Potter suddenly said, making me look at him again. "You knew it was me-"
"I didn't-"
"Don't lie, Malfoy," Potter interrupted. "You very well knew it was me, but you didn't tell them the truth. Was that not an act of bravery?"
"Granger still got tortured!" I protested.
"But that wasn't you!" Potter replies angrily. "You didn't have a say in that!"
I closed my mouth, my eyes lowering.
"It was brave of you to sit with those people with a straight face, risking your life every second and still having an opposite belief to theirs," Potter continued. "You could have killed me in the room of requirements if you wanted to, but you didn't."
I shook my head slowly. "That's not entirely true. I was about to let Crabbe kill Granger and Weasley."
"Do you believe that would have made you feel better at that moment?" Potter asked.
I shook my head and muttered, "No."
"Well, it's clear then. You never intended for it to happen, truly. The war made everyone vulnerable. You cannot be expected to remain perfect."
I sighed. Potter's words were consoling, but I didn't know if I should believe him.
"You say you are a coward to let your father arrange your marriage, but I believe you are aware of your responsibilities as a part of the family." Potter gave me an assuring smile, it warmed me slightly. "You put your self-needs aside and agreed to this marriage. That takes a lot of courage, Malfoy. I know I would never have been able to do that."
I chuckled. "Now, you're just making that up."
"I'm not," Potter's smile spread wider, then disappeared. "I can never continue to live a normal life by holding all these emotions within me like you do. You must really be brave to still go on with your daily life."
"Don't act foolish, Potter," I scoffed, not understanding how he could find me brave, of all people. "You're the bloody Chosen One. You can do anything."
"That's not entirely true." Potter's smile was back. He looked better this way.
Both of us remained silent for a few more seconds. Our chat had come to a point where we both didn't know what to say.
The silence was somehow more comforting than awkward. It reminded me of what I had done to Potter— the person who sat here consoling me. I had done something terrible to him, but here he was, making sure that I was okay.
It felt good.
"I apologise," I said, "For what I did. It was really pathetic of me to tear up your journal during the quidditch game like that. But trust me, I will fix it."
Potter smiled. "And how are you planning to do that? Almost the entire Hogwarts has read it. Will you obliviate everyone's memories?"
"If that's what it takes," I said with a hint of seriousness.
Potter certainly hadn't expected me to respond with that. His smile got replaced with a surprised expression for a moment, then he chuckled.
Shaking his head, Potter said, "It's okay. I don't believe people will remember it for long. Sooner or later, everyone will forget it ever happened. It doesn't matter, even if they do. My life is a mess anyway."
"So is mine," I uttered before I could fully process it.
Potter nodded his head knowingly. "I'm sorry about your letter. I shouldn't have read it."
"It's alright. It's not your mistake, really," I sighed. "I would have done the same if I were in your place."
"But I shouldn't have said it was your fault," Potter bit his lip, looking down. "It wasn't right to blame you for it."
I chuckled. Potter sounded as if he had done something wrong to a saint, while I totally deserved it.
"I was no saint either when I kept mocking you when we fought," I said, trying to make him feel better about himself.
"Yeah," he muttered lowly. "But I'm sorry to hurt you. I shouldn't have punched you and said all those things that I did."
Potter looked at me as if suddenly remembering he had hit me. I was more than surprised when he held my chin.
"Merlin," he said, wincing when he sees it fully. "It looks bad."
He slowly moved my face, carefully studying my wounds. My face grew warm. I was only glad, Potter didn't seem to realise how flushed I had gotten under his gaze. It was the least of my expectations.
As Potter continued to examine my face, I looked at his. His wounds seemed better than mine. He must have cured them. His glasses weren't broken anymore, but one of his eyes had turned into a darker shade of blue, while some parts of his skin were undeniably purple.
Potter's green eyes wandered around my face. He pressed his lips together as one of his fingers travelled to trace the bruise on my jaw. It knocked the breath out of me. His fingers were warm, and I don't know why I was letting him touch me like this. It was very strange for me. Potter seemed to be lost in thoughts. His fingers lightly trailing in my jaw, slowly inching towards my chin.
Almost at my lips.
I cleared my throat quickly, and Potter snapped into reality. He removed his hands from my face and sat straight.
"It seems your wounds need to be cleaned. We can do that once we return to the castle," he said nervously, face flushed.
It seemed funny to me for some reason that Potter was getting awkward.
"Alright," I said with a chuckle, face feeling like fire.
Potter's face broke into a smile as well. "Shall we?"
I smiled with pressed lips and nodded.
//TAAAADAAAA!! I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER :)
Some cooling down after that drastic last chapter-
I hope you all had a great day today, and dont forget to take care of yourself :))