*Draco pov*
The gates of the Manor loomed as sheets of rain mercilessly thrashed my face. I threw up one soaked shirt sleeve in an attempt to shield myself from it, but my thoughts again circled back to Harry, and the expression on his face as I'd wounded him.
Actions speak louder than words, my mother used to say. And my actions... I'd gone too far this time. My actions, not Astoria's. I knew it wasn't her fault - unwittingly or not, I had led her on. I hadn't pushed her away, not immediately.
I lowered my arm. Let the rain lash me. Merlin knew I deserved it.
Upstairs, on the second floor of the Manor, I saw a bedroom light turn on and I knew that the wards had alerted my mother to my presence.
Another light came on; this time, it was downstairs. The door opened, and a figure came hesitantly down the path, though, as always, she made it look graceful.
Of course, I had never loved Astoria, or even remotely liked her like that. My hesitation had been a good ten seconds of total gay panic. But to Harry...
It was every worst nightmare for either of us: that it was all a prank, a cruel joke. That one of us was straight.
And for Harry, his worst fears had been played out before his very eyes.
I'd broken his heart.
And I had nobody but myself to blame.
"Draco?"
Her quiet voice pierced the darkness, soft though it was against the pouring rain. "I thought you were coming next week. Come in, darling, you must be freezing."
She didn't ask, though I felt her curious gaze. In silence we sat, as she poured some herbal tea, and the peacefulness and normality of it soothed me.
The next morning was a Sunday, and though she hadn't once asked, I told her over breakfast, a bewildered father having been sent out for potion ingredients earlier that morning. When I was finished, she only said gently, "Go back to Hogwarts tomorrow, Draco. I think you should explain to him, or at least try. If he won't listen, he isn't worth it anyway."
And that was that.
***
It had been cowardly and stupid to run home, I knew that now, but I hadn't known what else to do. After Harry had run away... I couldn't have faced him after seeing how much I'd hurt him. But today was Monday; this morning I would have to go back to Hogwarts.
My eyes drifted across the room to the desk in the corner, surrounded by balled-up and half-burned bits of paper. The letters I had tried and failed to write him to explain everything.
I could do this; it was the last week of term.
Sighing, I Apparated to the castle gates and once again made my way up the path.
Harry would be having breakfast in the Great Hall. He'd see me. What would he think? That I was the manipulative bastard who'd ruined his life, undoubtedly.
How could I ever make him see otherwise? I knew if it had been me, it would have taken a lot to convince me that what I'd seen wasn't what it looked like. Explanations would be meaningless.
Reaching the top of the path, I pushed open the great oak door in the entrance.
*Harry pov*
Draco hadn't come back to Hogwarts this weekend. Harry couldn't stop thinking about him, though he tried to distract himself on the grounds that only someone guilty would have run. Draco would have come after him if Astoria had lied, which she obviously hadn't.
He could have sworn he'd even seen pity cross her face.
Pity, because he'd been played by Draco Malfoy.
Draco, gay? Astoria had scoffed. Had he really been so blind as to believe for one second that Draco had actually loved him? How had he ever thought that his arch nemesis would actually be falling for Harry just as hard as Harry was falling for Draco?
Harry looked up from his cold cup of tea as he saw someone cross past the door.
The platinum-blond hair was unmistakable. Draco was finally back.
*Draco pov*
It wasn't right to leave Harry without an explanation. I had to see him, to explain.
I turned and took a deep breath before entering the hall.
Harry was at the eighth-year table, looking more alone than ever, watching me with a weary, resigned expression.
"What do you want, Malfoy?"
That stung. He hadn't called me Malfoy in months.
"Harry, I want to explain."
"What is there to explain?" He laughed bitterly. "I bet it was a great joke to you, having the Chosen One fall for you, when all this time you were screwing your girlfriend behind my back."
"Harry, she's not my girlfriend-"
"Don't. Please. If you ever cared about me at all, Malfoy, you wouldn't make this any harder than it needs to be. As it is I'm going to have a hard time getting over you. Just leave me alone, okay?"
*Narrator/Felicity pov*
Felicity was watching this exchange, completely horrified. "You guys broke up?"
Harry gave her a look. "He told me he was gay and then he cheated on me, with a girl who basically then told me that he was straight and never loved me. So yes, I'd say we did."
This was awful. Harry and Draco were a model couple! She shared a brief look with Susan, who seems to have had a sudden idea. This, contrary to popular belief, was rarely a good thing, but as her best friend Felicity was usually obligated to go along with it.
"This is gonna be awkward for you guys," Susan started. "I think I speak for both of us when I say... do one of you guys want to switch rooms for this week?"
No no no. She wasn't speaking for both of them, not at all. Then they wouldn't be able to work this out... but equally, maybe it wasn't Susan's worst ever idea. Maybe they both just needed some space.
"Are you sure, Susan? That would be amazing." Said Harry gratefully.
"Yeah, no problem." She replied brightly. Felicity nodded in slightly resigned agreement.
"Um, so who's sharing with who?" Harry said, a little awkwardly.
It was awkward, very awkward, that any of them would have to choose who went with who, because then they'd be choosing sides in Harry and Draco's argument, so Felicity drew up three empty bowls and some paper with her wand.
"This is gonna decide who goes with who," she said by way of explanation. "That way there's none of the awkwardness that would result if any of us chose. This bowl has Draco and Harry's names int it, this one has mine and Susan's and this one has Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff and Slytherin/Gryffindor dormitory in it. Is this okay with everyone?"
They nodded.
"Okay." She drew out the names.
"Harry, Susan, Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff dorm. Me, Draco, Gryffindor/Slytherin dorm. Draco... I think I'll conjure myself a hammock, if that's okay with you? Otherwise that could get quite awkward, since you guys only have one bed normally."
Draco looked extremely relieved to hear this. Straight, my ass, Felicity thought. Whatever Harry thought he'd seen, he must have been wrong - there was no way Draco would have cheated on him, especially with a girl.
A/N
Hi... It's me. Sorry for not updating much. I'm not dead, I just have a slightly busier schedule these days, and writing is more of a hobby than a priority. But who knows, maybe I'll update more often now that most of my exams are cancelled?
I'll try to get the next chapter out soon.
Until then, keep commenting, voting, adding this to reading lists etc if you enjoy it - most of the time it's the notifications that remind me to write this!!
Stay safe,
Immortalsheep05 :)