The Pact

“That’s not what I meant and you know it. I apologized!”

“Gee, that’s right! My bad, that makes it all better,” I huff.

Draco rolls his eyes. “You can’t be mad at me for something that happened under the influence of your spell.”

I cross my arms, leaning back in my chair. “I’m not mad, it hurt my feelings.”

“And I apologized for it pretty much immediately,” he shoots back. “Do you know how unheard of that is for me?”

“You basically said my name didn’t matter because my mum disowned me.”

“You’re twisting my words.”

Draco and I are still across from each other, knees touching. We’ve been walking in circles for about an hour now, trying to get everything off our chests so we can resolve whatever the mess is that we are.

“How am I twisting your words? You literally said ‘I just thought you might not care so much about your image anymore.’ Doesn’t get any clearer than that.”

“No, no, listen. That’s really not how I meant it. I wish I had the freedom to not have to care about my image—to not have my parents breathing down my neck about being perfect all the time. It was completely innocent, I swear. And I’m sorry if it came across the wrong way.”

I sigh, resting my cheek on my propped up hand. “I just want you to be more aware of how you say things. Sometimes you say innocent things in a really sharp tone and it makes it sound mean.”

“I know. You’re right. I’m working on it, I swear,” he replies, gently patting my knee. “But please remember I wasn’t in my right mind. I would have never brought up your parents knowing how touchy it was right then if I knew what was going on.”

I place a hand over his, taking a breath. “Yeah, I know. It’s half my fault—I should never have done that to you.”

Draco gives my knee a squeeze before leaning back again, pulling his hand away. “Speaking of. Brilliant segue, little badger.”

I let out a groan, already bracing for whatever he’s about to say. “Draco—”

“No, no. We’re talking about it,” he cuts me off, leveling me with a stare that’s just as sharp as his tone. “You obliviated me.”

I swallow hard, guilt curling in my stomach. “I know.”

“And you thought that was okay?” His voice is eerily even, but his knee bounces—a tell.

“No, I—” I stop, rubbing my temples. “I didn’t think it was okay, but I thought it was necessary.”

Draco scoffs, leaning forward. “Necessary? Necessary for who? Because it sure as hell wasn’t for me.”

I flinch at the raw betrayal in his voice. “I was trying to protect you.”

His jaw clenches. “No, you were trying to control me. You took away my choice, my agency, my memories—things that were mine, not yours to touch.”

I close my eyes for a second, trying to steady myself. “I know. And I hate that I hurt you. But I was scared, Draco. I was scared of what you’d do, what you’d think, what it would mean for us.”

He exhales sharply, shaking his head. “So instead of trusting me, you took the choice out of my hands. Do you have any idea what that feels like?” His voice drops, quieter now, but no less intense. “To wake up and feel like something is missing? To see everyone treating you differently and not understand why?”

My stomach twists. I know exactly what that feels like.

Draco huffs out a bitter laugh. “You talk about me hurting your feelings, but you ripped out a piece of my life. And I didn’t even get a say in it.”

I meet his gaze, throat tightening. “I know.”

For a long moment, we just sit there, the weight of it settling between us. Then, hesitantly, I reach for his hand again. “Draco, I—I never wanted to hurt you.”

He doesn’t pull away, but he doesn’t squeeze back either. “Then why did you?”

I take a shaky breath. “Because I was afraid I’d lose you.”

His expression flickers, something softening in his eyes. “You lost me anyway,” he murmurs.

My heart clenches. “I know,” I whisper. “And I hate it.”

Draco watches me for a moment, then sighs, dragging his free hand down his face. “I don’t know how to move past this.”

I shake my head, my fingers tightening around his. “Me either. But I’d do anything to make it up to you. To fix this—whatever that looks like. Whatever you need.”

Draco thinks for a while, the silence suffocating me, but I don’t interrupt him. The magic of the room of requirement hums around us, but it does little to comfort me.

Finally, after what feels like ages, he furrows his brow.

“I need to understand this better. Because I never would have done that to you.”

I look away, exasperated. We’ve walked in this same circle a dozen times. “I know.”

“So why did you do it?”

“To protect you.”

“No,” he shakes his head, messing with his hair. “That can’t be all. I need to know what you were thinking.”

I wipe a hand over my face. “Draco, I’ve explained this in every way I can.”

“I don’t want an explanation,” he huffs. “I want a walk through. I want to know everything. Exactly what was going through your mind from the moment you saw me until the moment you raised your wand.”

I shudder, painful memories of the battle at the ministry flooding back to me in full force. “You’ll have to bear with me, then. I’ve been trying to scrub it from my own memory.”

“We have all the time in the world,” he says cooly, leaning back. “I just need to know why. The real reason, not the half baked excuse you keep giving me.”

“Okay,” I reply softly, rubbing my throat. “Okay.”

There’s a beat of silence as I readjust my position, pulling my legs up underneath me. Draco huffs at the loss of contact, pulling out his wand and dragging my chair closer to his, until our knees are touching once more.

With all the courage I can muster, I start at the beginning.

“Well, the battle was going well. The Conseil and French aurors had just shown up and I was completely relieved because the death eaters weren’t outnumbering everyone so much. I was still working as a double agent—I pointed my wand at the aurors, but I was using my wandless magic to screw up the death eaters.”

Draco nods, listening intently. “And then?”

“And then… well, I was ducking and weaving spells, helping the Conseil get the upper hand when I heard your voices.” I look down at my feet, taking a shuddering breath. “When I looked up and saw all of you, I started freaking out.”

“But we were doing fine,” Draco protests. “We were holding our own.”

I nod. “You were. I know you were. But my whole body was already flooded with adrenaline and dark magic, and then you lot took me off guard. It was like… like sirens going off in my head. All I could think was, ‘no, they’re not supposed to be here. Draco’s not supposed to be here.’ And, well… I panicked.”

Draco takes a breath, unbuttoning part of his collar like it’s suffocating him. “So then you apparated us out of there.”

“Yeah,” I supply unhelpfully. “And doing that many people at once almost made me pass out on its own. But then, when I got in the room and everyone started talking at me, I thought I was going to have a meltdown. My head felt like it was going to explode.”

“So you were… what, scared and overwhelmed?” Draco prompts, tilting his head.

I swallow thickly. “And angry. I was angry, too.”

“Why?” he questions, his tone completely genuine.

“Because,” I start, wrapping my arms around myself, “I knew it was you who told everyone. Who let them come with you. But mostly I was just pissed off that you’d throw yourself into a dangerous situation like that so carelessly. Knowing how much I’ve done—how much I’ve put on the line—to protect you. To protect all of you. Showing up like that, well intentioned as it was, made everything I had done up to that moment completely pointless.”

For a moment, I can see the gears turning in his head. “I hadn’t considered that.”

“It’s okay. There wasn’t much time to consider anything.”

He shakes his head, his jaw clenching. “But you have to realize that I was angry, too. For the same reason—that you were being so careless about your safety. And that wasn’t the first time you’ve done that.”

“It’s… a bad habit of mine,” I quip, avoiding his gaze. “But I would rather die than let any of my friends get hurt trying to protect me. I’d rather suffer it alone than risk something happening to you.”

“For fuck’s sake,” he groans. “You’re such a Hufflepuff. And I mean that as an insult right now.”

I look up at him through my eyelashes. “I gathered.”

Draco kisses his teeth before prompting me again. “So you got bombarded at the door, gave us your big speech, and then what?”

“Then I freaked out again. I could tell none of you were going to let up—and as much as I hated it, I was willing to do anything to keep you all away from the battle.”

“So you trapped everyone,” he deadpans. “You stuck us in a bubble and bound us to the floor.”

I chew on the inside of my cheek. “But you kept getting out of it. Every single thing I tried—you got out of it.”

“Well, to be fair, half of it didn’t do anything at all because of the bond,” he states matter of factly. “I still can’t figure out how you were able to disarm me.”

“I think it was some kind of… dark magic override or something,” I reply, sitting up a little straighter. “Either that or it was the bond working in my favor because I was doing it to keep you safe.”

Draco scoffs. “That’s rich. The blood pact’s been a pain in the ass every other time, but the moment you want to strip me of my wand, it’s on your side?”

I give a half-hearted shrug, not really in the mood to argue over the logistics of it. “It worked, didn’t it?”

He exhales sharply, shaking his head. “Yeah, it did. And then?”

“And then…” I trail off, staring at where our knees are still touching. “Then you wouldn’t stop fighting me. I knew you wouldn’t. I knew you’d keep trying to break through whatever I threw at you, because you’re just as stubborn as I am.”

Draco doesn’t refute that.

“I was exhausted. My magic was depleted, I was unraveling, and I couldn’t think straight. But I knew one thing for certain.” I look up, meeting his gaze. “If I didn’t do something drastic, you would have found a way to get out. You would have gone back, and I couldn’t—I wouldn’t let you.”

His throat bobs as he swallows, his fingers twitching where they rest on his thigh. “So you obliviated me.”

I nod. “So I obliviated you.”

Silence stretches between us, the weight of everything hanging in the air. I watch as Draco processes it, the tension in his jaw loosening just slightly.

“So that’s what was going through your head,” he murmurs.

“That’s what was going through my head,” I confirm.

He leans back, rubbing his hands over his face. “Merlin. This whole time, I thought—I don’t know what I thought. That you did it because you regretted everything? That you were trying to push me away? That you didn’t trust me to handle it?”

I exhale softly. “I wasn’t trying to erase us, Draco. I was trying to save you.”

He shakes his head again, but it’s not in frustration this time. It’s something else. Something softer. “You have a really fucked up way of showing it.”

I let out a weak laugh, feeling some of the tension crack. “Yeah. I know.”

Draco studies me, his gaze flickering between my eyes. “You really would have done anything to keep me safe, huh?”

“Anything.” I hold his stare, letting him see the truth in my words. “Even if it meant you hating me for it.”

Draco releases a slow breath, running a hand through his hair. He looks tired. We’re both tired.

After a moment, he nods. “Okay.”

I blink. “Okay?”

He shrugs. “Okay. I get it. I don’t like it, and I’m still mad at you, but I get it.”

A lump rises in my throat, a mix of relief and something else I can’t quite place. “That’s… fair.”

Draco glances down at our knees, still touching, then back up at me. “Just—don’t ever do something like that again.”

“I won’t,” I say without hesitation. “I swear it.”

He stares at me for another beat before sighing and shaking his head. “You’re so infuriating.”

I smile, tentative but real. “I know.”

For the first time in what feels like forever, he smiles too.

But I can’t really relax—I haven’t been able to since…

“I miss the bond.”

The words leave my mouth before I can even process I’ve said them, and Draco’s smile morphs into something pensive. “What?”

“The bond,” I repeat, folding in on myself. “The tie we had to each other. I miss it.”

“We have the soulmate bond,” he suggests, clearly trying to cheer me up. “It’s… kind of similar, right? Makes us want to be around each other or whatever?”

I drop my head, willing a decent explanation to come. “Yes, but it’s not the same. It’s not as good. It’s not even close to what we had.”

Draco tilts his head, studying me carefully. “What do you mean?”

I let out a shaky breath, gripping my own arms like it’ll somehow hold me together. “Before, I could feel you. Even when we weren’t together—even when we weren’t talking—I always knew where you were. How you were feeling. I could sense you in a way I can’t anymore, and I hate it.”

His expression shifts, something flickering behind his eyes. “You hate it?”

I nod, my voice quieter now. “It feels like there’s a hole in my chest. Like something was ripped out of me, and I can’t—I can’t fill it, no matter what I do.”

Draco watches me, his fingers twitching against his thigh. “I didn’t think you’d feel that way.”

“How could I not?” I scoff, looking up at him. “It wasn’t just magic, Draco. It was us. It was every stupid fight, every time we tried to push each other away and couldn’t, every second we spent trying to understand what we were to each other. And now it’s just… gone.”

His throat bobs as he swallows. “I thought you’d be relieved.”

“Relieved?” I gape at him. “Why the hell would I be relieved?”

Draco shrugs, glancing away. “Because you don’t have to be tied to me anymore. You don’t have to deal with the weight of it.”

I shake my head, reaching out before I even think about it, my hand finding his. “You are the weight of it.”

His eyes snap to mine.

“I know we didn’t have any say in it, but… that bond was the best thing that ever happened to me. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. If I had it my way, I’d never have broken it.”

Draco gapes for a moment, not sure how to react. “I don’t understand. You had no choice.”

“I’d choose it,” I say softly. “I’d choose you a million times over again.”

We sit in a tense silence for a while before I hold my hand out to him. He laces his fingers in mine without question.

“I hate that I can’t feel you anymore,” I start, my voice small. “And that we don’t have that protection anymore.”

“What, you’re upset you’re not invincible?” he asks softly, though he’s not teasing.

I shake my head. “No. I’m upset that you aren’t.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” I reply weakly. “Because I worry about you. All the time. Even when we had the bond I worried about you all the time—but it was okay, because at least I could kind of feel if something was off. Then I could come find you and fix it. Come help or something. But now? I don’t have that security anymore.” I squeeze his hand, looking down at it as I speak. “When the bond broke, I felt it—like a snap. Like one of my organs was ripped out of my body, and where I used to feel you, now there’s nothing. Just this… this…”

“Emptiness.”

I meet his eyes, seeing nothing but understanding in them. “You feel it too, then.”

He nods, blinking. “I didn’t understand what was happening when it broke, but I felt something snap, too. A break. It freaked me out—Granger had to try and reason with me, saying I must’ve been feeling off kilter from apparating or something. But even then, even when I didn’t know you, I knew. Do you know what I mean?”

“Yeah,” I shoot back, my voice low. “I know exactly what you mean.”

“I didn’t mean to cut you off,” he adds gently. “You can keep talking. It seems like you’ve needed to.”

My heart constricts. He has no idea how right he is.

With a breath, I continue. “It was devastating to lose it, Dray. I had just stopped feeling broken—and then my other half was ripped away.” My voice cracks, my eyes suddenly hot. “My whole life I’ve always felt out of place. I never felt at home until I met you.”

Draco’s grip on my hand tightens, his thumb grazing over my knuckles like he’s trying to soothe something in me—like he even can. But there’s no fixing this.

“You still have me,” he says, and it’s so quiet, so earnest, that my chest aches.

I shake my head, my throat closing up. “Not in the way I did before.”

Draco swallows, his other hand lifting hesitantly before he brushes his fingers over my cheek. It’s barely a touch, but it still sends a shiver down my spine, a phantom of what the bond used to be.

His voice is rough when he speaks. “Tell me how to fix it.”

I let out a shaky breath, leaning into his touch without thinking. “You can’t.”

He exhales sharply through his nose, jaw clenching. “I hate that.”

“I know.”

A silence stretches between us, heavy with everything neither of us knows how to say. He’s still looking at me like he’s trying to solve a puzzle—one where half the pieces have been stolen, leaving only gaps and jagged edges.

Finally, his fingers trail from my cheek down to my wrist, wrapping around it carefully. “What if we found a way?”

I blink. “A way to what?”

“To fix it. To get it back.”

My breath catches. “You’d want that?”

Draco scoffs, shaking his head like I’ve just asked if the sky is blue. “Of course I would. You think you’re the only one who’s lost something?”

I gape at him, words failing me.

“I’ve spent months reaching for something that isn’t there,” he continues, voice growing more intense. “I used to feel you—whether I wanted to or not. I always knew if you were safe, or pissed off, or about to do something reckless. And now? I have to ask.”

I huff a breath, shaking my head. “I know. I know.”

“And it’s unbearable.” His hand tightens around mine again. “I don’t—I don’t know how to function without it.”

A tear slips down my cheek before I can stop it. I don’t bother wiping it away. “So what do we do?”

Draco’s eyes flicker with something unreadable, something desperate and determined all at once.

“We find a way,” he says, and his voice is steady now, certain. “We get it back.”

“What if we can’t?” I ask, my voice pleading. “What if it doesn’t work?”

Draco seems to abandon his attempt to keep some distance between us, reaching out and pulling me onto his lap. “Then at least we tried.”

I don’t stop him from pulling me close, desperate for some comfort. The kind only he can give me.

He wraps his arms around my frame, pulling me into his chest. I breathe a sigh of relief, tucking my face into his neck and clutching his robes.

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper, the tears flowing freely now. “For everything. For hurting you. For breaking your trust. I was just so scared.”

Draco holds me tighter, letting his free hand stroke my hair. “I know. I was, too.”

“I should never have done it. I should have never taken me away from you. You were right. Everyone was right. I should have figured out another way, or let you help or—”

“Stop that,” he says gently, his voice rumbling in his chest. “What’s done is done. It happened. It’s over.”

My shoulder shake. “It’s not over. You’re still hurt. You’ll always know I fucked up. That I willingly betrayed you.”

“I’ll always know that you were willing to lose the most important thing in the world to you to keep me safe,” he whispers into my hair. “I told you, I get it. You make me do crazy things when I’m worried about you. I should’ve known it would be the same for you, too.”

I let out a broken laugh against his shoulder, my fingers curling tighter into the fabric of his robes. “That’s the problem, though. I don’t want to lose you. I never did.”

Draco exhales sharply, his grip on me unrelenting. “Then don’t.”

I pull back just enough to look at him, my vision blurred with tears. “It’s not that simple.”

His thumb brushes over my cheek, wiping away the evidence of my heartbreak. “Maybe it is.”

I shake my head, my hands slipping down to his chest. “Draco—”

“I know things aren’t perfect,” he cuts in, his tone firmer now. “I know it’s complicated, and messy, and we’re still figuring it out. But I also know that you and I? We don’t work without each other. We never have.”

I swallow, my throat aching. “So what are you saying?”

His gray eyes bore into mine, filled with a kind of certainty that leaves me breathless. “I’m saying I want you. With or without the bond. No matter how we have to figure this out, no matter what it takes—I want you.”

The weight of his words settles deep in my chest, cracking something open inside me. “You do?”

Draco huffs a quiet laugh, shaking his head like he can’t believe I’d even ask. “Of course I do.”

I don’t realize I’m crying again until he wipes another tear away. “Dray…”

“Say it,” he murmurs, voice barely above a whisper. “Say you want me, too.”

A sob builds in my throat, but I force myself to breathe, to look at him and say the one thing I’ve never stopped meaning.

“I want you,” I confess, my voice trembling. “I never didn’t want you.”

Draco’s breath shudders against my skin as he exhales, relief washing over his face. “Then that’s all that matters.”

And then, before I can second-guess it, before I can let fear or guilt or anything else stop me—he kisses me.

Time stops. I’m certain that if I was standing, my legs would give out.

The kiss itself is fiery—months of pent up frustration and longing being spoken without a single word. One hand slips to my waist, the other tangling in my hair as he pulls me closer still, as if daring me to pull away.

There isn’t a single bone in my body that would ever make me want to do that.

I melt into him completely, my head going fuzzy. After nearly experiencing death, I can confidently say that I could die happy right now.

But I don’t want to die. Not when I finally have him again.

I clutch at his robes, grounding myself in the feel of him—warm and solid and here. The way he kisses me is desperate, like he’s afraid I’ll disappear if he stops. Maybe I am, too.

His fingers tighten in my hair, angling my head as he deepens the kiss. I let out a soft sound, barely even conscious of it, but Draco must hear because he groans, his grip on me tightening.

It’s overwhelming—the heat, the closeness, the raw emotion behind every movement. I feel like I’m burning, but I never want to put out the flames.

Eventually, he slows, his lips lingering over mine like he can’t bear to part. His forehead rests against mine, his breath uneven.

“Bloody hell,” he whispers, his voice hoarse.

I nod, dazed. “Yeah.”

A soft chuckle escapes him, breathless and disbelieving. “You’re not running away this time.”

I shake my head, threading my fingers into his hair. “Not a chance.”

He exhales, his grip on me gentler now, reverent. “Good.”

For a while, we just stay like that, tangled in each other, the world outside this moment ceasing to exist.

And for the first time since the bond broke, I don’t feel as empty anymore.

~

“Fucking finally!” Pansy huffs, exasperated. “Seriously, Draco? It took you this long?”

I chuckle to myself, my fingers intertwined with Draco’s. He rolls his eyes.

“Do you ever let up, Parkinson?”

She shakes her head, crossing her arms in a very I told you so manner. “I told you that you were being ridiculous. What do I always say?”

Draco looks at Blaise and Theo as if to ask for help, but they lift their arms in surrender. He sighs, relenting.

“Communication is the most integral part of any relationship,” he says robotically, as if he rehearsed it a million times.

I can’t help but laugh. “What the bloody hell was that?”

“That, oh Chosen One, is the sound of Pansy Parkinson’s attempt to domesticate your boyfriend,” Theo says with a flourish, jostling Harry with his shoulder. “I can’t believe it worked.”

“Domesticate?” Draco scoffs, clearly offended. “I’m not some… some pet!”

Harry stifles a laugh. “You’re right. I’ve met snakes with better manners than you.”

Hermione rolls her eyes. “Merlin, Theo and Harry are a dangerous combination.”

“Tell me about it,” Ron whines. “Nott stole my best mate!”

“All in good fun, Ronald,” Blaise jests, throwing an arm over the redhead’s shoulders. “Consider yourself lucky that the Slytherins have taken a liking to your group.”

Hannah, who had been watching the exchange with an amused smile, leans forward from her spot on the couch. “Alright, enough bickering. Are we actually going to play this game, or did I invite you all here just to listen to Draco get verbally destroyed?”

“I vote for the second option,” Pansy says brightly, smirking at Draco, who glares at her.

Blaise snickers. “As entertaining as that is, I think we should give the poor guy a break.” He gestures toward the pile of games stacked on the common room table. “So, what are we playing first?”

“The real question is, do we want to play something that’ll bring out our competitive sides,” Theo starts, tapping his chin thoughtfully, “or something that’ll expose our deepest, darkest secrets?”

“Truth or dare it is,” Ron says immediately, reaching for a bottle of firewhiskey that’s definitely not supposed to be in the Hufflepuff common room.

“Merlin, no,” Hermione groans. “Can we please, for once, play a game that doesn’t end in someone hexing someone else or storming out dramatically?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” I tease, nudging her.

“Fine,” Hannah says, taking charge. “We’ll start with something light—Exploding Snap or Wizard’s Chess. Then, if we make it through without any casualties, we can move on to something more chaotic.”

Draco raises a brow. “You do realize who you’ve invited, right? Chaos is inevitable.”

Hannah shrugs, smiling. “That’s why I’ve already prepared a list of rules. No actual dueling. No sabotaging the other teams. No Veritaserum—”

Theo makes a dramatic gasp of offense. “How could you, Abbott?”

“—And, most importantly,” she continues, ignoring him, “no storming out in a fit of rage.”

Everyone immediately looks at Draco.

“Oh, sod off,” he mutters. “That was one time.”

Harry grins. “One time? Shall I recount every instance in which you dramatically flounced out of a room?”

Draco scowls. “We’re playing the game now.”

Pansy smirks. “Right. Because he’s not dramatic at all.”

I laugh outright at that, before Draco gapes at me in offense. “What? You are known to be a little… over the top.”

“Like you aren’t?” he shoots back, scowling.

I shrug. “I have reason to be. I have darkmagic running through my veins,” I reply, whispering the words like a scary story.

Theo gasps dramatically, placing a hand over his chest. “Oh no, not dark magic!”

Blaise smirks. “That explains so much, actually. And here I thought you were just naturally terrifying.”

I grin. “A little bit of both, I’d say.”

Hannah claps her hands together, drawing attention back to the table. “Alright, alright. As fun as it is psychoanalyzing Y/n’s terrifying existence, let’s get to the game before the fire dies out.” She shuffles the Exploding Snap deck with practiced ease and starts dealing.

Everyone leans in as the game begins, hands hovering over the stack, eyes locked onto the cards. A tense silence falls over the group as we wait for the first explosion.

Then— BANG!

Ron yelps, flinging his cards into the air. “Bloody hell!”

Harry bursts into laughter while Theo slaps the table. “You are so bad at this, Weasley.”

Ron glares, rubbing his singed fingers. “Excuse me for having human reflexes!”

“You are rather slow,” Draco muses, looking far too smug for someone who has barely won a round yet.

“Oh, like you’re much better?” I challenge.

“I’m—” BANG!

Draco jerks back as the pile of cards explodes right in front of him, and everyone howls with laughter. Pansy wipes a fake tear from her eye. “Brilliant.”

Blaise smirks. “Truly an iconic display of skill, Malfoy.”

Draco crosses his arms, grumbling under his breath, but I can see the slight twitch at the corner of his lips.

Hannah giggles. “Alright, while we wait for the next explosion—spill. What happened? You two were practically hexing each other to oblivion last week, and now you’re holding hands and finishing each other’s sentences.”

All eyes turn to us, varying degrees of curiosity and amusement evident.

I exchange a glance with Draco, whose jaw tightens ever so slightly.

Theo wiggles his brows. “What changed? Did Malfoy finally pull his head out of his arse?”

“Oh, finally,” Pansy drawls, feigning relief. “I was about to start sending anonymous letters to force you two to talk it out.”

I roll my eyes, but my smile gives me away. “It’s not that dramatic—”

Harry scoffs. “No, it definitely is.”

Blaise leans in, smirking. “So? Who caved first?”

Draco groans, dragging a hand down his face. “Can we please just play the game?”

“Not until we get answers,” Pansy insists. “Come on, someone had to give in first.”

I glance at Draco again, smirking slightly. “Well… that depends on who you ask.”

Everyone oohs in unison, while Draco shoots me a betrayed look.

“You traitor,” he mutters under his breath.

“It’s true!” I say defensively. “But if you all ask me… I’d say I was the one who initiated it.”

Draco smacks a card down a bit too hard. “What?”

I shrug. “I did. I dragged you up to the room of requirement—”

“After I initiated the conversation in the first place—”

“And trying to run off immediately afterwards like a little kid—”

“That is not what happened!”

“Oh, really?” I challenge, raising a brow. “Because I distinctly remember you saying, ‘see you later,’ and then dramatically turning to leave—”

“Dramatically?” Draco repeats, scandalized.

Pansy nods sagely. “Sounds like you, mate.”

Blaise smirks. “Did you at least swirl your cloak when you left? Because that would really complete the look.”

Draco glares. “I did not swirl my cloak.”

Harry snorts. “Now I know you’re lying.”

Theo chuckles, flicking a card into the pile. “Alright, so Y/n dragged you back, and then what?”

“Oh, I didn’t drag him at first. I—”

“Don’t you dare—”

“I called his full name and he froze. Stopped dead in his tracks. It was hilarious,” I finish, smirking.

Draco huffs, clearly not thrilled that the spotlight is still on him. “You just had to go there.”

I laugh. “You’re the one who turned back around.”

“I thought you were going to hex me or something!” he says defensively. “You sounded pissed! I was not trying to tempt fate with the Chosen One clenching her magic fists like she was going to—”

“Oh, come off it,” I reply with an eye roll. “You know I’d never actually hurt you.”

“You obliviated me!”

“Oh, come on! We just talked about this!”

Draco smirks in his ever infuriating way. “Maybe I’m still mad.”

“Shocker,” Ron butts in, chuckling to himself.

I wipe a hand over my face in exasperation. “I apologized, didn’t I? And it was a damn good apology if I say so myself!”

Draco‘s evil grin deepens. “You did, you did… and then you started crying.”

“Oh, I knew it!” Pansy exclaims. “I knew there had to be tears involved.”

I roll my eyes. “Well, yeah, I was emotional. But you were just as bad, don’t even try to act like you weren’t all soft by the end of it.”

Draco looks deeply offended. “I was not soft.”

Ron hums, pretending to think. “Holding hands at game night seems pretty soft to me.”

Hannah gasps, her eyes widening. “Wait, wait, was there a hug?”

Pansy leans forward eagerly. “Or worse—was there a forehead touch?”

Theo clasps a hand over his heart, gasping dramatically. “Merlin’s beard, was there a chin tilt?”

Draco groans loudly. “I hate all of you.”

I smirk, squeezing his hand under the table. “It’s okay, Draco. They’re just mad that we‘re the only ones in the group who aren’t single.”

“Speak for yourself,” Pansy chimes in, flipping her hair. “I have plenty of male suitors at my feet, thank you.”

“There she goes again,” Theo grumbles. “The epitome of being humble, as always.”

Pansy throws a card across the table. “Shove off, Nott.”

“Make me.”

Harry chuckles, turning back to Draco and me. “Honestly? It’s kind of impressive. Took you both forever to admit it, but at least now you can stop glaring at each other across the Great Hall.”

Draco grumbles something under his breath before slamming another card down—BANG!

The explosion sends a shockwave through the table, making everyone flinch back. When the smoke clears, Draco sits there, singed but glaring triumphantly.

“Finally,” he mutters, tossing the rest of his cards down.

Theo claps his hands. “Well, that’s one win for Malfoy tonight. Took you long enough.”

Draco glares, but before he can snap back, I lean in, smirking. “See? Dramatic.”

He turns to me, eyes narrowing. “You are infuriating.”

I grin. “And yet, you’re still holding my hand.”

Blaise lets out a low whistle as the group bursts into laughter again, while Draco groans and buries his face in his free hand.

The laughter is still lingering in the air when Hannah perks up again. “Okay, so we get that you two finally stopped being stubborn—thank Merlin—but what now? Are you just back to normal, or…?”

Harry quirks a brow. “Yeah, you two were practically a force of nature with that whole blood bond situation. Are you relieved it’s gone?”

Draco and I exchange a glance. His fingers twitch slightly in my grasp, like he’s hesitating. I should let this moment pass—I should—but instead, the words slip out before I can stop them.

“Actually… we kind of want it back.”

Silence.

Ron blinks at us. “I’m sorry, what?”

Pansy’s mouth falls open. “You want it back? Are you insane?”

Blaise leans forward, looking far too amused. “Hold on—let me make sure I’m hearing this correctly. You had a magical bond that literally forced you two to be obsessed with each other, nearly killed you if you tried to harm one another, and you’re saying you… miss it?”

I hesitate. “Okay, well, when you put it like that—”

“That’s the only way to put it!” Theo exclaims. “You two were miserable! One of you would sneeze and the other would feel it.”

Draco rolls his eyes. “It wasn’t that extreme.”

“It was that extreme,” Hermione cuts in, exasperated. “Merlin’s beard, you two. Do you hear yourselves?”

Harry shakes his head, clearly trying to wrap his mind around it. “You finally got your free will back, and you’re telling us you want to be magically bound to each other again?”

I shift uncomfortably. “It’s not about losing free will. It’s just… things felt different when we had it. Stronger. And now, it’s like—like something’s missing.”

Draco nods slowly, his jaw tight. “Like a part of me isn’t where it’s supposed to be.”

The group collectively groans.

“Oh, gross,” Ron mutters. “You two are getting worse than Bill and Fleur.”

Pansy throws her hands in the air. “I told you all they were insufferable. I warned you. And now look!”

Theo sighs dramatically. “Unbelievable. First, it was oh, we hate each other so much, let’s glare at each other across the Great Hall and ruin everyone’s appetite, and now it’s oh, my soul is empty without you, please chain me to you forever.”

Draco scowls. “That is not what we’re saying.”

Pansy smirks. “It might as well be.”

Blaise just shakes his head in disbelief, a knowing look in his eye. “You two are so far gone.”

Hannah giggles, resting her chin on her hands. “Honestly, it’s kind of romantic, in a completely deranged way.”

I groan, throwing my head back. “Forget I said anything!”

Draco grumbles under his breath, rubbing his temples. “This is why I didn’t want to tell them.”

Harry snickers. “You really thought we wouldn’t react like this? To you two wanting some kind of magical bond again?”

I look at Draco, pausing. He can see exactly what I’m thinking—and he’s already groaning in exasperation.

“What?” Blaise asks, ever the observer.

“We can’t tell them,” Draco whines. “We’d never live it down.”

Hermione perks up, seeming vaguely concerned. “Oh, no. What did you two get yourselves into now?”

“Nothing!” we reply in unison, before Draco sinks back into his chair. A silent, fine, but I’m not happy about it.

“It’s just… we still have a bond. Technically.” I shift in my seat, everyone’s eyes on me.

Theo quirks a brow. “What? You guys said it broke or whatever.”

“That one did, yes,” I reply sheepishly. “The blood pact broke during the battle at the ministry. But—”

“Stop walking around it,” Draco huffs, rolling his eyes. “We’re soulmates, okay? We have a soul bond. There. Now everyone shut up about it or I swear—”

Ron laughs.

Not just a chuckle—a full-bodied, wheezing laugh like Draco just told the funniest joke he’s ever heard.

“Oh, that’s a good one, Malfoy. Soulmates? Merlin, you had me for a second there.”

Harry snorts, shaking his head. “Yeah, right. Soulmates aren’t real.”

Draco and I exchange a glance. “Er—yes, they are.”

Pansy scoffs, leaning back in her seat. “Oh, come on. That’s an old wives’ tale. Some dramatic rubbish people tell kids to make them believe in fate and romance.”

Theo nods. “Yeah, it’s all nonsense. Like a fairytale.”

“It’s not,” I insist, my expression serious. “Everyone has a soulmate. Most people just never find them because there are so many people in the world. And even if you do meet yours, you wouldn’t know unless you have some kind of meaningful contact with them.”

Hermione tilts her head. “Meaningful contact?”

I nod. “Yeah—like something that really connects you. It could be anything, but it has to be significant. Some people go their whole lives without ever realizing it.”

Pansy frowns. “If that were true, why doesn’t everyone have a soulmate mark or something?”

“Because the magic is dormant unless triggered by that meaningful moment,” I explain. “It’s why most people don’t even know soulmates exist. They never experience the bond forming.”

Ron shakes his head, clearly skeptical. “Right, and I’m supposed to believe you two somehow managed to activate this supposed soul bond?”

Draco sighs, clearly wanting to be anywhere but here. “Believe it or don’t, but it happened.”

Blaise squints at us, intrigued. “Okay. If soul bonds are real, how did you lot figure it out?”

I hesitate. “Well… remember that welcome party? For the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students?”

Harry nods. “Yeah. Malfoy was busy sulking about you being friends with Aurélien.”

“That was the night it happened,” I admit. “When we hugged for the first time.”

Pansy’s mouth drops open. “That’s all it took?”

“That’s all it took,” I confirm, my face softening at the memory. “Before that, we had never really touched. Certainly not like that.”

Draco clears his throat, shifting uncomfortably. “Our soul marks appeared right after.”

Theo’s brows furrow. “Soul marks?”

Wordlessly, I pull Draco’s pendant out of my shirt, flipping it over to reveal the mark etched into the silver. Draco sighs, looking down. “I don’t have your ring.”

“It’s in my keepsake box,” I say gently, patting his knee. “I found it. I’ll give it back to you if you want it.”

Draco nods, perking up. “Thank Merlin. My finger has felt empty without it.”

I smile softly. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

I run up to my dorm, unlocking the keepsake box Draco got me for Christmas. There, safely tucked away, is my ring—with the matching mark carved into the metal.

When I come back down, everyone is waiting with bated breath. I toss the ring to Draco and he shows it to the group, displaying the matching symbol.

The group stares.

“Oh, shit,” Blaise mutters.

Hannah gasps. “Oh my gods—that’s real?”

Pansy leans forward, her eyes wide. “You mean to tell me you’ve been walking around with soul marks this entire time and didn’t think to mention it?”

Draco groans. “I didn’t even know until today. Someone never told me.”

I hold my hands up in surrender. “To be fair, I just found out like a month ago.”

Ron still looks skeptical. “Alright, so let’s say this is real. What does it mean? Does it make you, what—destined to be together?”

I hesitate before shaking my head. “Not exactly. It means we’re connected, yes, but it doesn’t force anything. We still have free will. The bond is just… there.”

Harry crosses his arms. “And you want to make it stronger?”

Draco and I exchange a look.

“…Maybe,” I admit.

The entire table erupts.

“You’re insane—”

“Absolutely mental—”

“What the hell, Y/n—”

Draco groans loudly, burying his face in his hands. “I told you this was a bad idea.”

I sigh, already regretting everything, before crossing my arms. “Okay! Enough!”

The chatter dies down, but everyone is still staring at us like we’ve lost our minds.

I exhale slowly, running a hand through my hair. “Look… I know this is hard to understand. But you won’t understand. Not fully.”

Draco lifts his head, jaw tight as he nods. “We were literally bound to each other since before we were even born.”

Pansy scoffs. “Yeah, the whole blood pact thing. We know.”

“No, you don’t,” I say firmly. “It wasn’t just some magical contract our families forced on us. It was a bond. And when it broke, it wasn’t just—gone. It felt like something was ripped out of us.”

Draco clenches his fists. “You lot act like we’re choosing to be insane about this. Like we want to be obsessed with some stupid soul bond.” His voice is sharp, frustrated. “But it’s not that simple. When the blood pact shattered, it didn’t just go away—it left something behind. Something that’s missing. And if you had ever been through something like that, you’d get why we can’t just ignore it.”

The room falls silent.

I glance around, meeting everyone’s gazes—some skeptical, some confused, some… concerned.

Harry is the first to speak, voice unusually soft. “So… it actually hurts? Not having it?”

Draco exhales through his nose, looking away. “…It’s not pain, exactly. But it’s—wrong. Like something should be there, and it isn’t.”

I nod, looking down at our intertwined hands, my ring back securely on his finger. “It’s like losing a part of yourself that you didn’t even realize was that important until it was gone.”

Pansy frowns, tapping her nails against the table. “So this whole time, you’ve just been… missing each other?”

Theo hums, thoughtful. “That’s why you two were acting so weird. You weren’t just being stubborn—you were actually needing to fix something.”

Draco huffs, shaking his head. “I knew you’d all think we were insane.”

Blaise leans forward, studying us closely. “Nah, mate. I don’t think you’re insane.”

Draco eyes him warily. “No?”

Blaise smirks. “I think you’re doomed.”

Draco groans. I just roll my eyes, settling into Draco’s side as the group erupts into laughter again.