Chapter 7
Draco avoided any Gryffindors that passed him. He steered far, far, FAR away from Potter, even so far as to sign up for a different position in Quidditch (he couldn't leave because his father threatened him), he stayed in his common room in his free periods, took different routes as to not bump into Potter or any of his stupid friends, he cut all his friends off, left the club he was in, and devoted every single free second to studying. Hell, he was almost even more vigorous then Granger!
Almost.
To his father, it wasn't enough; Lucius wanted Draco to be completely cut off from the outside world. He started telling Draco's professors not to let him join group activities, and if he had to, gen the professor would have to work with him themselves. Of course, the professors didn't like this at all. Surprisingly, Snape was the most against it.
"If we cut the boy off from his peers, he won't develop proper social skills. I don't want to be responsible for your boy doing something stupid in a public space. This is not a good idea." He advocated for Draco as much as he could, but in the end, Lucius's rules stood tall.
All of these constant rules and laws set by his father wore down Draco. He didn't bully anyone anymore (cause he couldn't talk to them), he couldn't even really hold a conversation with a teacher soon after. Nearing the end of his fifth year, Draco stopped trying. He started getting shitty grades and snapping at professors that tried to simply help him, and he sneered at anyone that looked at him. With no friends to talk to and hang out with, Draco would spend his OWLs alone, struggling on his tests with no one to confide in.
But then that changed.
Three days before their OWLs, a boy walked over to him and sat next to him. He scooted away, but the boy scooted closer. They did this for a minute until Draco was against a wall.
"What the bloody hell do you want?"
"I saw you pouting," the Ravenclaw said. "My mum always said if someone's pouting, then I should help them."
Draco stared at him and then sneered and looked away. "I'm not pouting."
The Ravenclaw looked at him smugly. "Sure, and I'm not a Ravenclaw. Cmon, I can help you! Just let me, mate."
"We aren't mates." Draco snapped at him and walked briskly back to his common room, looking back at the Ravenclaw following him.
"Hey, wait for me! Cmon, wait up!" He called out to Draco over and over.
Draco skidded to a stop in the middle of the hallway and turned back to the Ravenclaw. The kid bumped into him and then flew back and hit the ground.
"Hey, mate, a little ha-"
"We aren't mates. I'm not your friend. I don't even know you! Leave. Me. Alone!"
The hallway went silent. Everyone could feel the venom in Draco's words. The Ravenclaw looked up at him with fear and sadness on his face, then he turned and ran back down the hall.
Draco stomped off to his dormitory and slammed the door. He tugged off his cloak and sat on his bed and just thought for a while. His chest tightened every time he breathed, and he was sweating. He didn't even do that much, so why did it hurt so bad?
Draco didn't get any sleep at all. He just sat up all night long, wondering. Not wondering anything specific, just... wondering. He only got up to get dressed when the sun started to rise.
He was, naturally, the first one to breakfast. He sat down and looked around at the empty hall for a while when the food started showing up. He decided on a small plate of eggs, two pieces of toast, a goblet of pumpkin juice, and a small bagel. As he ate, he thought about the day; Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration, Double Potions, and Defense of the Dark Arts. That was a good enough schedule. He would do the same thing he did all the time: work in the back and stay quiet at all times. He only had two day left before the OWL exams, so it probably wouldn't be much work. Just catching up.
He finished his breakfast but decided to stay at the table until all the kids came in and the owls brought the post, then he would leave to the library. He didn't have to wait long, for not ten minutes later, a huge wave of students flooded into the Great Hall. A few of his peers looked at him out of the corner of their eye, but other than that, Draco was unbothered.
Until the one person he didn't want to see walked over from the Gryffindor table.
Potter.
"Malfoy, we need to talk."