fifteen
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harry sat at the gryffindor table with flushed cheeks and glowing eyes, and he could feel his friend's stares taking him in. he knew they were confused. he didn't often look as...well, alive as he did that afternoon.
but spending the night beside draco in the greenhouse was doing good for him. the scent of flowers clung to his clothes, and his fingertips were still a little gritty with dirt. nature had turned the dimming green in his eyes to vibrant emerald once more...and every time he thought of draco against him, sunshine caught on his light lashes and his pink lips puffing out slow breaths as morning approached, his cheeks turned to blooming rose.
he hadn't felt this awake in a good while.
and he guessed it was obvious.
but, he was grateful to his friends, because they knew better than to cause him distress by forcing him to explain himself. happiness was such a fickle thing, and with harry, it could flee at any given moment.
so they simply talked amongst themselves, sharing playful bickers or soft kisses while harry savored his treacle tart.
ron was in the midst of explaining the details of the new dragon charlie was caring for in romania when they heard it.
the sound of jeering voices echoing through the great hall, growing louder and rougher with each passing moment.
"what on earth is going on?" hermione murmured, the familiar distressed crinkle forming between her brows. she peered over harry's head. "is someone having an argument?"
"ugh," ron rolled his eyes, and it was then that harry noticed the slight droopiness around his eyelids. he wondered if he was also having nightmares again. "probably another lover's quarrel."
harry shrugged, licking the taste of raspberry off his lips.
but then hermione's frown deepened, her eyes glowing with realization.
"isn't...isn't that malfoy?"
harry nearly choked.
he was whisking around in his seat before the syllables even left her mouth, panic gripping his heart.
his eyes frantically scanned the green table for draco and spotted his platinum hair almost immediately.
there were three boys standing in front of him. three gryffindors at the slytherin table, and they stood out like a sore thumb, bright red in a sea of green.
they were sixth years, standing in front of the group of former death eaters. harry recalled seeing them once or twice. if he remembered correctly, their names were lucas and eric.
both of them were smiling, but it looked more menacing than friendly. plus, their voices were too obnoxiously loud to be having a polite conversation.
he barely had to strain to hear their jarring words.
"...you guys seem a little to happy for murderers." lucas remarked, sharp eyes determined to cut the frightened slytherins into shattered pieces.
many of the former-death eaters flinched at the last word, shrinking into themselves even further.
harry's face twisted in despair, but before he could act, angry words on the tip of his tongue, hermione grasped his arm in a sharp, vice like grip.
"hold on harry," she whispered, an edge of fear to her careful tone. "we can't do anything yet."
"why not?" he cried helplessly, flailing against her. her eyes were pleading.
"if-if you do something now, you could get seriously hurt...and not only that, but severely punished for acting without provocation-"
"this is provocation-"
"you know what i mean!" she interrupted, lips pinched. "i just...you're not invincible anymore harry. they could hurt you. let the teachers handle it–i'll go get them...they're in a meeting right now. you and ron make sure things don't get out of hand, okay?"
harry barely had time to nod before hermione was running off in a flurry of bushy hair and frantic limbs, robes billowing behind her.
harry's chest was cold with dread as he turned back to the slytherin table.
he watched, along with the rest of the students, as eric turned to a small sixth year girl with short, dark hair. she tensed when his narrowed eyes landed on her, and tears welled in her wide hazel eyes.
"how can you eat after everything you've done?" he scowled, nose wrinkling in disgust. "look at you. you're getting fat."
she burst into tears, and he pushed her roughly into the table.
"shut up!"
he observed her; shaking and sobbing, curling into herself with every choked breath. "look at you...disgusting. you should have been left to rot in azkaban!"
"stop touching her!" draco shouted, lightly pushing him away from the scared girl.
"oh, has malfoy come to save the day? daddy's boy malfoy actually has something to say to me? you look thinner. that's good. hopefully you'll starve yourself to death." he spat, venom seeping from his words.
"you need to stop. stop, walk away. leave them alone or i'll make you regret it." the blond had a fiery determination in his eyes. there was fear and worry too, but his face remained firm and still.
"there it is. i can see your father in your eyes-"
"you know nothing about me-"
"oh really? i know that you let those death eaters into the castle to kill us all while we were sleeping. i know you watched and said nothing like a useless idiot while he tortured people, and i know you're as good for nothing now as you were as a stupid first year, dependent of daddy's money and his status."
he then turned to another slytherin boy, a short, green eyed brunette. "i know you and i know that your parents died right here in this castle didn't they? i saw them. my father got them...found them, pathetic and screaming for their dark lord...and where was their dark lord when he stained them red and cast the killing curse?" he smirked, watching as the boy cried out, no doubt reliving painful memories.
"stop!"
he turned back to draco, sneering. "they deserved it. they deserved it and so do all their sick children. you deserve to bleed like they did. you should have dropped dead with them–"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" draco roared, his carefully crafted mask cracking for a moment, and letting loose some of the emotions he tried so hard to hide.
but it was only for a moment.
and the next moment, the mask was back, fierce calmness returning as quickly as it left.
"that's enough." his voice quieted. "you have no idea what our lives are like. now please leave. we...we don't want you here-"
"i didn't want you here. the moment you walked in, i despised you. and you made it so easy malfoy. you were neglected by your poor, rich parents and they left you to rot so you decided to do anything to get their attention. like a pathetic, whiny child. you liked to walk around like you owned everything and everyone, but we all know the truth."
"i'm not the same...i'm not...not-"
"you can't even speak. you are the same. you're just as useless, and stupid, and hideous to look at, except now you've got blood on your hands and a mark on your arm."
"no...it's gone now–" draco objected, wincing when the boys lunged forward to grab hold of his arm.
rough hands squeezed the scarred skin beneath the sleeve of his white shirt, sending shoots of sharp pain along his veins.
he cried out in anguish, wrenching his bruised arm out of their tight grips and cradling it to his chest.
"it's still there. it's still there, no matter how much you want it gone."
"stop."
"you'll always be a malfoy, son of a pathetic, sniveling man, and a mindless doll of a mother."
"don't talk about my mother!"
"i'll talk about her if i want to. just like you did to me and everyone else."
"well you have a problem with me right? stop touching them. stop."
"why should i?"
"please."
they laughed.
it was the first time they'd heard draco use manners, let alone say please.
"all of you should have died. all of you."
a girl screamed.
draco was so focused on eric, he hadn't realized. lucas had his fist tangled in a fifth year's hair, pulling it. he was smirking, yanking on her hair even harder when he saw draco look over. she let out pained whimpers, tears streaming down her face.
draco lurched forward to help, but was blocked by eric, who pushed him back, hard.
he barely managed to catch himself before he collided with the stone floor.
"leave them alone. my parents did more than any of theirs. please, i don't care if you hurt me but leave them alone." he pleaded, pushing his way between the bullies and the slytherins.
fire blazed in eric's eyes. his fists clenched and unclenched.
he raised his arm–
smack.
the sound was loud, resounding.
red blossomed on draco's pale cheek, his silver eyes tearing up at the stinging pain.
this was the last straw.
"STOP IT! LEAVE THEM ALONE!"
a/n: a long one today for you lovely little squishies!
did you like it?
i stayed up late to finish it because i had so much inspiration after a brief period of writers block!
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