“it kept me from giving ihat the dementors wao feel. but the more i did it, the easier it got, and the harder it was to ome bak.”
&rae the map oo the dungeons, ahat reads harry potter.
“you remember the state i was i got out of that pe.”
the bed shifts, and drao aer nodding.
“but it got better, didn’t it? it beame less frequeimes i went to the manor.”
“mm,” drao says in reply. “my mother says it might be a repse.”
“why?”
drao realls his summer days in the mahe happihe frightening unfamiliarity of it after all those months—after he was given the mark, his mission, and that s fear of what the dark lht do to his family should he fail. ahihe world isn’t suh a bad oo, if he woke up to banana panakes and bright, green eyes.
ahe followier.
&h his friends, always iane, always oher side of the room, his green eyes now looking elsewhere.
drao knows why. but he’s not goier that.
“i have er.”
“i should go,” potter says, sitting up with a sigh. “ron will be worried.”
drao nods mutely, beause he’s not about to do something stupid like ask potter to stay. the throbbing in his head had lesseo a dull throb, ao sit bak up again.
potter is arranging his robes as ly as he aakes out his s the map, and says, “mishief managed.”
the ink disappears i and the paper folds itself oer pokets it together with his ;&he room to get the invisibility goyle’s bed, and theurns to look at drao. his eyebrows are reased with worry. “you okay, malfoy?”
drao doesn’t knoer that, but he nods anyway. he will be.
& look assured, but he nods bak and walks towards the door. he holds the loak open. and then he sighs. he turns bak to drao, opens his mouth as if to say something, but deides against it. he loses his mouth again. ih a small smile, “see you tomorrow, then.”
the words are out of his lips before he an stop them. “e bak.”
potter looks surprised.
drao already hates himself. he’s not supposed to be doing this. “tomorrow. e bak tomorrow, i mea’s beating loudly i, and he swallows, tries to steady his voie. “you have that loak of yours.”
a know what it is that he said, but potter’s smiling, and god, it suks how muh he’d missed that smile. his head still hurts, but he finds himself smiling bak anyway.
“okay. after dinner.”
potter leaves, and drao thinks, no. no, no, no, no, no.
chapter 3
at breakfast the day, harry is bak to shamelessly seeking out that blond hair. he’s relieved to see drao at the slytherin table, lookialking with some of the seventh years. he’s so e he doeshe girl behind him, not until ron elbows him quite harshly iomah.
“oof!” he exims, at the same time a quiet, lilting voie says, “harry?”
harry ompletely fets ab at ron and whips around in surprise.
a girl, tall and with br dow in soft urls, looks at him nervously. arouhe people &ing t with bated breath and w why a slytherin would talk to harry potter.
“hi, i’m astoria.”
harry k the fourth year raveable whispering just a tad bit too loudly. with a sigh, he turns bak to astoria. “hi, astoria. you’re dapher.”
astoria rexes, knowing that she doesrodue herself after all. “yes.” she g harry’s already empty pte. “if it’s alright, an i talk with you?”
& ron beside him, whs bef to his breakfast, a hermione aross from him, who smiles at ast, bef to harry and owards the do on, then. we’ll save you a seat in prhorn’s ss.”
harry smiles at her gratefully. he stands up and motions towards the door. there are too mahies it. “miake a walk?”
harry already knows what they’re going to talk about. they walk out towards the eyard, but there are still students milling around, killiheir first ss, aowards the boathouse instead.
asths on without preamble. “drao told me about e night.”
harry doesn’t know what to feel with the knowledge of drao and ast lose enough that she an all him by his first he had already told her of ired st night. “oh.”