"Blaise! Hurry up, I need to do my hair!" Draco whined, pounding on the bathroom door. Blaise had locked himself in about an hour ago, class began in ten minutes and Draco's blond hair still stuck out in odd places, "come on, Mate, you've already made us miss breakfast."
"I'm moisturizing!" Blaise screeched, opening the door a crack.
"You don't need the entire loo for that!" Draco yelled, pushing up against the door, "I need to fix my hair!"
"Shove off!" Blaise yelled.
>•<
"Why are we doing this today?" Harry slung his bag over a chair and sat down in his respective chair.
"I thought we ought to discuss the events at the Quidditch World Cup," Snape said, "we're just waiting for Draco to get here."
"Wait until you see his hair," Harry laughed, "he definitely had a rough morning."
"Git," Draco grumbled, stalking into the office. His blond hair, frizzy and curled, fell over his face in strange positions.
"Language," Severus stared at the boy, trying to keep a straight face.
"Whatever," Draco rolled his eyes, throwing himself into the chair besides Harry, "what're we doing? It's Thursday."
"Someone's cranky," Harry coughed.
"Potter, I swear to Merlin!" Draco seethed, reaching for his wand.
"Cut it out," Severus shook his head, "we have serious problems to discuss."
"Do we?" Draco groaned, "I was kind of hoping we were just going to eat biscuits."
"Draco, you cannot survive off of carbs alone, you need to incorporate protein into your diet," Snape gave him a look.
"Let me be," Draco pouted, crossing his arms.
"Anyways," Snape rolled his eyes, "are you two ok?"
"Just peachy," Draco said snarkily.
Harry elbowed him in the ribs, "yes, we're fine, nobody got hurt."
Snape let out a discrete breath of relief.
"That's good," he sighed, "however, I do have something to discuss with the both of you."
"What?" Draco asked, bluntly.
Snape rolled his sleeve up to reveal his left forearm. He ran his wand over his arm and a faint, red burn-like mark appeared.
"That was in the sky that night," Harry frowned, looking up at his guardian, "are you one of them?"
"No," Snape said sharply, Harry flinched at his tone. "No," he said softer, "I was once, but my loyalties no longer lie with Voldemort. During the war, I served as a spy for Professor Dumbledore."
"Why are you telling us this?" Draco asked, he couldn't look away from the mark that he had seen on his father's arm so many times.
"I feel you had the right to know," Snape pulled his sleeve back down, "to hear it from me. Now that Death Eaters made an appearance at the World Cup, there might be some rumors about me. I wanted you two to know the facts before you heard anything about me."
Harry and Draco nodded.
"Is that all you wanted to tell us?" Harry asked.
Snape took a deep breath, "no, no, it wasn't."
The boys looked at him in curiosity.
"Peter Pettigrew has escaped Azkaban."
"What?!" Harry roared, shouting up from his chair, "how? When? What happened?"
"Sit down," Snape ordered, "I don't know how, I assume he got outside help. Someone had taken his place, the Ministry isn't sure when he escaped but I don't think he was ever in Azkaban to begin with."
"I—" Harry was at a loss for words, "I didn't see anything about it in the paper!"
"It's not released information yet," Snape sighed, "however you are going to have to be careful again this year, we do not know if Pettigrew plans to come after you."
Harry shook his head in disbelief, "do Sirius and Remus know?"
"They do," Snape nodded, "they're currently pet of the team searching for him."
Harry groaned and closed his eyes, "why me?"
>•<
Draco leaned on the railing of the Astronomy tower, looking down at the grounds below. Seeing the mark on Severus's arm, identical to the one on his father's arm had flooded his emotions to a point where he could no longer handle. Hence, he was standing alone in the Astronomy Tower.
He didn't understand why seeing the brand on Severus's arm effected him the way it did. More than anything, it scared him, it scared him to think that there were more people like his father. People that didn't care who they hurt to get their way.
"Hello?"
A voice broke Draco out of his thoughts. He spun around to see a girl with long blonde hair and curious, sapphire blue eyes.
"Hello," Draco sighed, "Luna? Was it?"
"Hmm," Luna nodded, coming to stand besides the boy, "are you alright?"
"Yes," Draco lied, "I just came to watch the sunset."
"Does this have anything to do with the reason you're living with Professor Snape and Harry Potter?" Luna looked out to the grounds.
Draco's grey eyes widened, "how'd you—"
"How'd I know?" Luna giggled, "well, it's quite obvious. You and Harry get along so well now."
Draco was rendered speechless, however, the blonde girl didn't seem to care.
"Is that the reason you're upset?" Luna looked at Draco.
"Yeah," Draco sighed, surprising himself by admitting it. The peculiar girl with radish earrings just seemed like someone who wouldn't judge him, a good listener.
Luna smiled sadly, and reached down to grab his hand, squeezing it in reassurance.
"We all have our pasts," she looked back to the setting sun, holding a firm grip on his hand, "they don't define us. Our choices make us who we are, not our blood, not our heritage."
They stood in comfortable silence, watching the sun disappear in the fading sky. For once, Draco felt peaceful, like the worries of the world were merely thoughts in the September breeze.
"Thank you," Draco whispered to the girl besides him.
"I didn't do anything," Luna hummed.
"You did," Draco smiled.
>•<
"Where were you?" Blaise asked as Draco entered their dormitory.
"Up in the Astronomy tower," Draco responded.
"By yourself?" Blaise raised an eyebrow.
"No," Draco hid a soft smile, "I made a new friend."