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Draco slid into a seat in the library and took a deep breath. He just needed a moment to himself, was all. No Potter, none of his friends fretting over him or teasing him. He just needed a moment, was all. He sat at one of the tables and simply sighed, closing his eyes. Just a moment…"You know, I would have expected Zabini to hide away in here, maybe, but not you. I guess I figured all you Slytherins had your own personal libraries in your dorms." Draco had tensed the second he had heard the voice, how could he not have? Damn Harry Potter had been constantly stalking him at every turn since that damn health class they had all been forced to attend. Were still being forced to attend."I'm surprised you know how to find the library without Granger's help," Draco couldn't help but to shoot back at him with a sharp glare. Why couldn't he simply just have two seconds alone? Was that too bloody much to ask?Potter only laughed, shaking his head. "You ask Hermione, she probably would agree with you. You know she's already starting to study for finals?" He said that like Draco had a care as towards Granger's study habits.Draco's frown deepened. "Why are you telling me this as though I care?"Potter snickered and flicked his eyes to the ceiling, not completely rolling his eyes at him. "Oh, right, yeah. Sorry, your highness. Forgot that all the Slytherins aren't supposed to show any emotions, cause…" He looked up at Draco through his lashes. "What, cause you're all snakes and people can't actually know that any of you are human?""What do you know?" Draco had stiffened, standing up quickly. "You're the bloody war hero that everyone looks to, are you now preaching the value of accepting your emotions and speaking with those you care about? That's how you killed him, isn't it? By all gathering around the fire and singing and crying? Was that it?" Draco felt his face getting red, but he didn't care! Potter wanted a bloody fight, then Draco would happily give it to him!He was laughing at him, again! "Now I finally get it, I think. Slytherin's animal is a snake because when you all feel threatened or backed into a corner your first instinct is to show your fangs and snap, right?" This smarmy git-!Draco straightened and gathered his things. "If you're going to do nothing but torment me, then I'll leave-""Draco, hey," Potter said, holding Draco's wrist. "I'm not tormenting you, I'm joking with you. There actually is a difference, you know." Pulling his wrist away, he frowned and stared at him."I don't see any difference." Draco held his books close. "Shouldn't you be finding your friends?""Just did."...No. No, now Draco knew he was attempting to make a fool of him, and he would not allow that. He quickly turned and left, huffing quietly. Behind him, he could hear Potter calling out to him, "Hey, Draco, wait- No, I didn't- Would you wait a minute?!" Draco only hurried his pace and tried to leave as quickly as he could.He just got to the doorway of the library, when there was something pulling on his sleeve and jerking him back. "How dare you-""Draco, hey, whatever you're thinking, it's not true. I really do want to be your friend."Draco stared at him, before pulling his sleeve out of his grip. "I don't believe you."Potter watched him before lowering his head and nodding. "Yeah. Makes sense, huh? I've never really given you much reason to believe anything I say, have I?""No," Draco spat at him. "You haven't."Instead of being put off, Potter only smiled at him. "Then I guess I'll just have to give you more reason, huh?" He didn't reach for Draco, but he instead stood beside him in the doorway, now. "Walk you to lunch?"Draco eyed him warily. "What's in it for you?"Potter laughed. "What, your company isn't enough?""No.""Well it is. Come on, lunch is almost over, and you're too damn thin."Draco jerked around. "How dare you-""I'm teasing you, Draco, you just need a little more meat on your bones." He called him Draco. He… He was actually serious about this, wasn't he?"You aren't exactly the most heavy-set student, yourself, you know," he finally grumbled.Potter chuckled, nodding as they walked together. "Yeah, well. Take it from someone who knows. Come on, lunch smells good." Maybe… They could start with being friends. It was a start, at least, with no strings attached. Draco could deal with that, for now.
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He was getting more and more used to this. Was that a bad thing? It started to feel natural to hear Harry blundering about in his apartment, stumbling through conversation, and trying to help Draco while also trying to not make him feel as though there was a constant intruder in his home. And… It started to work. He no longer felt so much like an intruder. Were Draco in a particularly chipper mood, he may go so far as to call him… A friend."Hey, Draco…" Draco looked to the direction of his voice. He sounded close, as though just beside the couch. Hadn't he just been in the kitchen making lunch for the two of them? "I guess being blind would make some of your other senses better, right?" He felt himself frown. What was he talking about? He felt Harry sit down on the other side of the couch. "What about touch?""Excuse me?!" Certainly he was not implying what Draco thought he was implying! Harry chuckled beside him."No, not what I- Here. Just…" Draco's hand was taken in his quickly and roughly- "What do they feel like?"What did his hands feel like? This was completely absurd! "What on earth do you mean-"Harry interrupted him, "Just… What does it feel like?" Draco frowned and finally gave in, focusing further on his sense of touch.He took a deep breath and let himself feel instead of trying to look or listen. It took him a moment before he finally began to speak. "Rough. Coarse. Like you're always working with your hands." That was… He supposed it made sense, but he never really had noticed it whenever they'd had to interact at work before. "They're… Wide." They were much bigger than Draco's. Draco had always considered his own hands to be slim and delicate, the best show of his aristocracy and class."They're wide," Harry laughed, though he still left his hands in Draco's. "My hands are wide.""Well, I never have to describe how people's hands feel! Yours just feel abnormally large," Draco defended, even as it felt like his face was going red as he thought about how his words could be taken.Harry was silent for a moment before he spoke again, "Your hands… They remind me of Hermione. Your fingers are long and thin. I think a teacher when I was young said something like 'fingers of a piano player' or something like that. Your hands remind me of that. And they're really smooth, like you've never had to so anything for yourself in your life." Oh. That was…Though he couldn't see him, Draco looked up to Harry and spoke softly, "It sounds like you've thought of it quite a bit."Harry's hands tightened around his. "I have."Everything in Draco wanted to immediately jerk his hand away, and cut off contact with him, but there seemed to be a small voice in the back of his head telling him not to.So he didn't.The two of them didn't say much more, they both just sat there, holding each other's hands, and Draco felt like his own hands - which were always chilled - were getting warmer with each second that passed. Though it made sense, as Harry seemed to run warmer than he did. It was only after it felt as though they had been sitting like that for hours that Harry finally took his hands away and stood from the couch. "I need to… Lunch." Draco had just barely nodded before he felt one of those same hands that had been in his own a moment ago now running gently through his hair. He didn't even know that Harry knew how to do anything gently."Okay," he said quietly, and that was enough for Harry to leave him completely and return to the kitchen. Once he was certain he was gone, Draco groaned and laid himself back on the couch. This couldn't end well.
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When Harry stumbled upon Draco in one of the bathrooms, he hadn't expected to find him. Most no one seemed to use this bathroom, so it seemed the obvious best one for Harry to use to think. He certainly hadn't expected to find Draco Malfoy crying by himself in the bathroom, and Harry was violently reminded of his sixth year. He stowed his wand away and took a careful step closer. "Draco?" he called softly.He heard Draco hiccup and the blond's hands went to his face before he turned around. "What do you want, Potter?""Are you-" Don't ask if he's alright, that was a stupid question. Shit. "D'you need me to go get someone?"Draco shook his head frantically, like the thought terrified him. "No, no, don't- I don't-"Staring at him, Harry couldn't help it, it just stumbled out of his mouth like his mouth and his mind were on two separate tracks. "You're speaking in English, again."His shoulders looked like they slumped, when he said it. "I learned it first, it's my native language, of course I'm going to speak it, first," he said with a distinct whining sort of tone in his voice."No, just…" Harry gave a small shake of his head, trying to smile for Draco to show him it was alright. "You haven't spoken a word since we got here.""Well, my apologies, Potter, but I don't see why I should do anything to give them all more fuel for the fire," Draco snapped back at him, red in the face, though whether it was from crying, or from being upset at Harry seeing him cry, Harry couldn't tell.Harry nodded. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense… Why are you…?" Crying? Alone? Crying alone in the bathroom?Draco shook his head again and for a moment seemed to forget it was Harry he was talking to. "It's just bloody typical, a new school, a new year, a fresh chance, and someone thought it would be funny to put my name in the cup, so yet again Draco Malfoy is being forced into doing tasks he wants no part in." Harry easily recognized the double meaning in his words."They're not letting you back out?" But then, it did make sense… They hadn't let Harry back out, even when he'd wanted to. But still, Draco had always seemed… Different. Other. In something like this, surely, he should have gotten his way."No, they're not," he sighed. "You'd think they'd be more than eager to replace the Death Eater with an actually respectable student.""Hey," Harry said with a frown, taking a few steps closer. "You're plenty respectable."Draco glanced up at him and seemed to chuckle. "Incredible. The first time you've actually said anything decent to me, and it's to tell me I'm respectable."Harry gave a small shrug. "Well, I mean… You are," he said, feeling uncomfortable before he finally made his way over to sit on the window sill beside where Draco was standing. "What is it you're always saying, anyway?""What do you mean, what I'm always saying?" Draco had turned to face Harry, now, a frown on his face.Harry waved his hand when he spoke, "Whenever you're speaking French. What are you saying that's got all them laughing all the time."He thought for a moment that Draco's flush got darker. "Just insulting the other Hogwarts students." That was it? That couldn't be it."Why are they always hanging around you?" Sometimes literally hanging on him. Annoyingly. Didn't any of them have better things to do?"Oh, well, I tell them stories," Draco said as though it were some sort of secret. "About where I grew up, or how I grew up. Or sometimes about Hogwarts. They're not used to an Englishman so well-spoken, and sophisticated."That had him laughing, "Oh, yeah, I'm sure that's all it is." He watched as Draco slowly took a seat near him. "So you're always insulting me, too?""...Not always," Draco admitted, not looking at Harry properly. "Sometimes I'm telling them stories about you.""Probably make it all sound more boring than most people would," Harry said with a small shrug.Draco looked like he was debating with himself over something before he finally gave a quiet chuckle. "I may or may not sometimes over exaggerate my own role in it all."Harry smiled at him, leaning back against the window to watch him. "Tell me one of them."He seemed to startle, looking over at Harry with wide eyes. "Tell you…" He looked nicer, like this. Without all the stress of their homework and the championship weighing over them. Almost younger. His face was smoother, and his eyes were almost lit up, again."One of the stories. One of the ones you tell them," he clarified. "I wanna hear it."Draco shook his head quickly. "No, no, you don't want to hear any of them-""I do. Go on, then, I'm good and settled, ready for a proper story. I don't get to hear stories, much, so tell me one.""Well, I-" Draco stopped himself, looking over at Harry. "Are you trying to guilt me into telling you a story?""That depends," Harry said, shooting him a grin. "Is it working?""Well…" Draco sat down at the window next to Harry's, looking down at his knees as he thought about his words. "One of the ones I commonly tell is about how we met. Do you remember, at Madam Malkin's? I was-""No, no," Harry said, shaking his head. "Tell me in French."Now he looked completely confused, causing Harry to laugh. "But you won't understand any of it.""Do it anyway. You could insult my stupid hair, and I wouldn't know."Draco seemed to stare at him, as though he were expecting a trick, before he slowly leaned back against his own window. "Nous étions chez Madame Malkin. Vous et moi. J'étais affreux." And he was right. Harry didn't understand a word of it, but he was content to just listen to him talk. Right now, they could… Talk.
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Scorpius had known that there were some things that their parents never told them about growing up. But even the idea that his dad might have been a Death Eater… He knew that it was an alternate reality, and that none of it was real, but it felt real enough. "The Dark Lord will have fun with you, Potter," the Draco Malfoy of this reality said to Siri, causing Siri to curl up further as they waited in their… Their cell. What were they waiting for? The end? For some big rescue? Life wasn't some story. His dads wouldn't even realize they'd left, probably. There wasn't going to be some big rescue. "Oh, yes, he's been wanting to get his hands on you. Though I do have to wonder how you did it. You're so small. So weak."Scorpius finally stood up, standing in front of Siri. "Leave him alone! He hasn't done anything to you! Just let us both leave!""No, no, I'm afraid not," he tsked, so much like Daddy. "That's not going to be happening, nameless accomplice. Now sit nicely and be quiet. You won't like it if I have to get upset with you."Scorpius only felt like his cheeks were burning as he stamped his foot at him. "I'm not afraid of you!"Now he was grinning, like this was all some game. If it was a game, Scorpius didn't want to play anymore. This wasn't a very fun game. "You should be."Scorpius finally decided to ignore him and turn to Siri, putting his hands on Siri's shoulders. "Hey, Siri, hey."Siri was shaking as he stared up at Scorpius. "I'm sorry- I know I'm a baby-""No, no, hey," Scorpius said, finally pulling Siri into a hug and whispering to him. "I'm scared too. I'm really scared. But hey, isn't this Dad's job? Stop the bad guys, and save people? It's the thing that he's the best at. He's gonna find us. He's gonna come get us, and stop the bad guys, and we'll go home."We're gonna go home, and we'll make Dad and Daddy feel so bad that they get us whatever we want," he continued as he pulled away to rub at Siri's arms and smile at him. "We'll make them get us a giant tower of ice cream for each of us, and lots of new toys. Like that giant teddy bear you've been wanting for ages?"Siri stared at him before a wobbly smile slowly started to form on his face. "Or like that train track you've been asking Dad for?"Scorpius grinned, relieved to see that Siri was really starting to feel a little bit better. "Exactly like that. They'll feel so bad, they'll have to get us whatever we ask them for.""You can put on whatever acts you like, I know you're just pretending. You can give it up, now," the Draco behind them yawned. "You're trapped and the calvary is not on the way, Potter. You've finally lost, and honestly, it's about time."Siri finally huffed and stood. "My dad never loses! You're stupid!""Your father? Oh, right, yes, because you're still pretending to be a child. Well then. You ought to know by now that my side? The Dark Lord? We always win. You won't be getting out of this one.""That's what you think," Siri proclaimed loudly, his arms crossed as he lifted his head, looking like Daddy when he was about to win something. "My dad always wins. He's Harry Potter! He always wins!"Scorpius realized too late exactly what it was that Siri said. He turned to his little brother with wide eyes, "Siri, no-""Your father… Oh, I see, now," Draco said with a smirk, looking them both over while his eyes seemed to shine. He looked like the kneazle that caught the owlet.Oh no.
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Draco sat at the window of the common room, watching the rain that dripped down the glass and the grey clouds that all seemed to swirl into an even greater storm. No one was out on the grounds right now, not that he could blame them. He felt a small pull at his fingers and at his chest, and a moment later, he wasn't alone as Harry sat down beside him. "Watching the rain?"Watching him for a moment, Draco gave a small nod as he made room for Harry to sit properly. "Yes. It calms me down, sometimes.""Yeah, I think I can understand that." He could? Draco hadn't really thought that he was the type to ever just sit and watch anything, even Quidditch. Even in their shared classes, he always seemed so jittery and paranoid, as though expecting a murder attempt to come from anywhere and everywhere at any time. Although, again, he couldn't be blamed. He'd probably gotten used to teachers threatening his life over the past seven years. There was Quirrell, then Lockhart, then accidentally Lupin from what he heard, then… Oh dear."I suppose so," Draco managed to say as he looked back out the window. Everything always seemed quieter when it was raining, which wasn't much of a bad thing. He liked the quiet, these days. Quiet seemed to mean safe, these days. If things were getting loud, he knew he needed to turn the opposite way and run. Typically loud laughs and loud words were accompanied by loud hexes and curses. He felt a hand take his, and he did his best to not startle and jump completely. Though judging by the quiet chuckle, his sudden tenseness had not gone unnoticed."Just relax and watch the rain, Draco." Well he certainly couldn't do that, now, but… It did feel nice, at least. Draco glanced down between them and adjusted his hand until they were twined, and he exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He'd ought to just… Relax and watch the rain.
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Even as Draco had repeated it, it still never seemed like Harry understood everything that had been lost in this time until a copy of the Daily Prophet came in. Draco had just barely read the headline before Harry had snatched it from him. 'Mass Funeral Service to be Held for those Lost in War'. Obituaries seemed plastered all over the front page, and Draco saw more than a few people he recognized. Harry seemed to shake, though, as he finally set the paper down "They really did all die, here?"Draco gave a nod, snaking an arm around Harry's shoulders. "They really all did. If you'd like to… We can go and pay our respects, as well?"Harry nodded. "I know that they didn't die- Not in our time, but I still feel like we should. It just… It feels so wrong." Draco couldn't help but to internally agree. He looked over all the pictures that someone had managed to find of each of the fallen. Someone had used Sirius' wanted poster picture and he honestly looked insane, screaming like that. Remus looked quite peaceful and content, as he normally did when he was teaching, though Draco could also see that mischievous spark in his eye. It was the same spark he saw in both Tonks, and in Fred Weasley."What do you mean, they didn't die in your time?" Draco looked up at Potter, and… It had happened. He felt nothing for him."He means they didn't. All there is to it."Potter shook his head. "You- You can't have saved all of them.""I didn't. Not Dumbledore, or my mother, or my aunt, or the Creevey, but I did what I could."Harry only looked at Draco with a smile. "What you could was pretty damn amazing."Draco couldn't help but to chuckle. "Thank you, but I don't remember asking for your approval.""I should see when this is, anyway, if we really are going," Harry said, picking the paper back up and looking it over."You know," Potter began. "People won't like you showing up, there."Draco rose an eyebrow and looked through the paper as Harry flipped through it. "Oh. I see. We only care about the lives lost on this side.""Well, when the other side was nothing but insane dark wizards who wanted to kill off all muggles and rule the world.""Therefore they aren't human, and their deaths should be entirely ignored? My own aunt died in both times, and my mother died in our time."Potter frowned and shifted from one foot to the other. "Well… But she was on our side. And I thought you didn't like your aunt.""She was still my aunt. I have a memory or two of her holding me as a baby, it's not as easy as you make it out to just let go of that," Draco pointed out, only calming down when Harry took his hand and rubbed the back of his palm with his thumb."He's still working through some things," Harry explained to Potter. "It's not easy being a double-crosser and then dragging half your family into also double-crossing and spying for you.""You what?"Draco sighed. "Well, once my family took over legal guardianship of Harry, my mother and father weren't exactly comfortable with Riddle's actions."Potter put his hands out. "Woah, hang on, back up. 'Took over legal guardianship'?"Harry groaned, leaning forward to rest his chin on his hand. "We're gonna be here a while."
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Tom held the diary tightly in his hands. Only while he himself was holding it was he able to see his past entries. A few of the precautionary charms he had placed on it so long ago. And now, he was rather glad that he did so. He wouldn't have wanted Harry and Draco to see some of these entries. He stared down at the pages, his fingertips dragging along some of the words as he recalled penning the entry. Even so young, he had been so full of violence and hatred. Had none of his professors really seen the signs?
He had been so upset because he finally was a part of this world that had been meant for him, and even now, others had to go and ruin it for him. 'Tom,' he had written as a future note to himself. 'Just remember, you can't ever trust anyone. Wizards or muggles. They're both human, and just as likely to turn on you as they would turn on each other. Never trust another person. They all have their own motives and even if they seem like they may consider you a friend, a single word could change it all.'
He still remembered it clearly. He had Sorted into Slytherin, and been tormented by the rest of the school for being a snake, and untrustworthy, while the rest of his house taunted him for having such a muggle last name that he most likely hadn't had a drop of magical blood within him. At least he had found the truth, but he had hated them all, even into his adult years. When he had found his pet, he had seen in his mind's eye the soon-to-be deaths of so many of his classmates, and he had taken such glee in so many of those fantasies. Even more so those of his upper year Housemates, who had rarely lifted a finger to help him when he'd been in need."Tom?" He startled and quickly flipped the diary closed. "Are you alright?"He nodded as he stood, walking stiffly. "We'd ought to be going." He placed the diary back underneath the nest of his pet and looked back to Harry Potter. "Well?"Harry stared at him for a moment before nodding as well and… And smiling at him. "You're right. Come on, Draco's probably getting worried." Tom took a glance back towards the nest before quickly shaking his head. It didn't matter, anymore. The past didn't matter. He need only look to the future.
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Draco stared out the window, not even turning when he heard footsteps coming towards him. "Hey.""I'm not up to anything, you know. You don't have to stalk me, again," Draco said, though he knew Potter wouldn't understand. Since the moment they'd stepped foot into Beauxbatons, Draco had taken to speaking French exclusively. It felt freeing, as though he had taken on a new identity, and he could escape from who he was back at Hogwarts. The language was just one more way from which he could distance himself."Uh, right… What are you looking at?""The mountains. The Slytherin common rooms had a brilliant underwater view of the Great Lake, though I also preferred to look out over the forest plenty of days."Potter seemed to lean against the wall beside him and stare out the window. "Weird that there's no trees, huh? Just all rocks and snow." Of course. Only when Potter couldn't understand him could they agree on something."I miss the forest. I didn't like going inside it, but it was nice to look at from the surface, at least."Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Potter nod. "Yeah, I don't really like the Forbidden Forest much anymore, but at least at Hogwarts it's there. It's… It's like one of those things that will always be there no matter what, even when it changes. Nothing up here changes. It's all just snow and ice and rocks.""Sometimes what we need in life is stability. Do you need stability in your life, Potter?" Potter stared at him before bursting into laughter."I still don't know what you're saying, so I'm just gonna agree.""I do, too. Too much has changed in recent years. I think we just need a few months of things just staying the same, and not changing. Not that this tournament is doing much for that.""Right," he heard Potter chuckle. "Whatever it is you just said. I guess I'll leave you to whatever it is you're doing, Malfoy. Have fun.""To you as well." Ah, he was still an idiot, wasn't he? Still… He was fairly cute.