Affection
Chapter 18: Affection
Draco had been to his share of Hogwarts feasts in the last two years, but this one had to be the strangest. Students and staff alike were in various styles of pajamas and robes. Some students wore slippers, and a few were even barefoot. Disgusting.
He seated himself at his usual spot facing the Gryffindor table, and watched as Granger timidly joined the Weasleys and her friends. She sat across from Ginny, who was somehow smiling even while being weighed down under her brothers’ protective shoulders, two gingers lined up on either side of her.
He sulked somewhat at the sight. She had so many people who loved her and actually showed her. The only people Draco had that even attempted to show affection toward him were his mother, Pansy, and Theo. Pansy was just an overly-affectionate person, making up for her lack of it at home. Theo only did so because he knew it annoyed Draco to no end, but still it was nice to have someone at least.
Somewhere in the middle of his train of thought, Potter waltzed through the large, ornate oak doors, with his hair even more untamed than usual and glasses slightly askew. The Weasel stood up and started clapping for his best mate’s return, and the rest of the Hall quickly joined in sans Slytherins. Granger rose from her seat, then launched herself into a full sprint until she collided into her best friend yelling, “You solved it! You solved it!”
She yanked him into a tight hug and Draco could just make out a glistening tear of either happiness or relief rolling down her cheek before it was quickly wiped away on the shoulder of Potter’s robes. The blonde Slytherin looked away, feeling more and more frustrated every time he saw her and Potter together—why can’t she talk to me in front of everyone? Why wouldn’t she hug me like that? I’m the one who did all the work, Starkid Potter over there just skips in at the last second and gets lucky! Every. Fucking. Time. I could tell everyone what actually happened—doubt anyone would believe me…I’m a Slytherin—a snake—not to mention father’s doing a marvelous job mucking up the Malfoy name all on his own…
Draco dug into his plate of trifle sourly, watching as more students approached Potter cheering. Around half past three Hargrid arrived, and patted the Gryffindors on the back for helping to secure his release from Azkaban. Although Draco didn’t care for the half-giant much, he certainly didn’t think the man belonged in prison so he clapped politely along with the rest of the student body for his return.
Dumbledore also had returned to his post at the head of the staff table, and all seemed to be back to normal, at least for Hogwarts. Whatever that is. Holding his hands up to quiet the boisterous room, Dumbledore stood and announced the final tally of House points and, of course, gave a superfluous four hundred points to Potter and Weasley for “daring” or “bravery” or some shite. Naturally, the House Cup ended up going to Gryffindor after their last minute additions.
Before Draco’s mood could get too much darker, McGonagall stood up and announced that all of their exams were cancelled for the term, and a loud cheer erupted throughout the Great Hall. It took Professor Dumbledore nearly ten minutes to quiet the celebration in order to inform them that Professor Lockhart would not be returning to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts next year due to his missing memory, and that a new professor had not been chosen to replace him yet. The students, and even the professors, yelled excitedly at the news. Dumbledore himself had a slight smile playing on his lips.
The feast finally came to an end in the wee hours of the morning, and the students all sleepily trudged to their dormitories with the new promise of no classes or revision. Draco’s eyes kept drooping shut uncontrollably, and he was halfway into a dream state by the time he collapsed into his bed. Exhausted from the long day and night, he drifted off easily, not noticing the letter that lay on his nightstand waiting to be opened.
…
Draco slept deep into the afternoon, not even stirring once. He finally climbed out of bed around four, and took his sweet time showering and dressing for the rest of the day. Only after he returned to his room did he spot the ivory envelope sitting on the dark wood nightstand. Tentatively, he opened it, smoothing out the folded parchment inside, immediately recognizing his father’s sharp script.
Draco,
I have officially been removed from the Board of Governors so you can go back to whatever half-cooked schemes you and your little friends are usually up to without my interference. Unfortunately Dumbledore has resumed his post as Headmaster, which I am sure you are well aware of by now.
In a final attempt to undermine us, the Potter boy inadvertently gave Dobby a sock. I am sure he will not be joining us at the Manor any time soon, however we have the diary back for further examination.
You will resume your Occlumency lessons with Severus one week after your return.
Sanctimonia vincet semper,
Lucius A. Malfoy
Draco set the letter down and rubbed his eyes. Occlumency. Right. He had been practicing some, but he knew it was nowhere near Snape’s standards of perfection nor his father’s work ethic expectations. He had wasted nearly an entire year, barely using it and definitely not improving his skill level. Well, I guess I’m practicing occluding today…
He laid back on his bed carefully, so as not to rumple his fresh clothes he had just donned, and closed his eyes. A few deep breaths later, and he was back in his library, checking the locks on his filing systems and most precious books. He viewed a few of his favorites before gently tucking them back away—a sky blue memory of feeding the swans around the lake with his mother, the pale sage green memory with her on the train, a slim onyx memory of his father teaching him to fly for the first time. He hid them around the library, changing their locations each time he viewed them, just as his mother had suggested.
When Draco was content with their new placements, he shuffled some of the others around as well, moving some to the cart and taking a few dummy books and placing them among the stacks. He slowly opened his eyes, squinting at the brightness of the room around him. He could feel a throbbing headache coming on, and filled the cup on his nightstand with an aguamenti.
Sipping slowly until the cup was empty, he felt the ache recede somewhat, and he lowered his feet to the cold ground. Draco walked to the commonroom, looking for any sign of his friends who were oddly missing from their dorms.
“SURPRISE!!”
Draco’s jaw dropped open, and he clutched his chest with one hand. “What’s all this?”
“Happy birthday, Draco!” Pansy crooned, shooting green and silver streamers over his head, while Theo followed behind singing “Happy Birthday to you…” and the rest of their friends quickly joined in the song.
“Guys, my birthday’s not for a few more days,” Draco protested to no avail. The group of Slytherins just grew larger and louder, and eventually he was forced to join in his own celebration. His let a slow smile spread across his face, appreciating what his friends had done for him.
“Finally thirteen!” Theo sang at Draco, and Blaise held out a glass of butterbeer for him, keeping one for himself. They clinked their mugs together with a “cheers!”, then each took a deep gulp and swallowed. Blaise patted him on the back with a smile then also disappeared into the crowd to find Pansy.
Flint came up and wrapped an elbow around Draco’s neck, roughly scrubbing his knuckles back and forth over the blonde’s now-mussed hair. Draco winged and tried to slip out of the hold, but Flint tightened his grip and dug his knuckles in even harder. “Practice up this summer, yeah? We got a Quidditch Cup to win next year, birthday boy!” The older boy chuckled throatily. Draco was saved from his onslaught only when Gemma Farley, the Slytherin Prefect, passed by catching Flint’s eye and he dropped the boy and lumbered away.
Daphne, Millie, and Tracey skipped over to see him next, and each planted a sweet kiss on his cheeks before going back to their little group of giggling girls in the corner.
I don’t know what I was worrying about last night. I can’t believe this many people came for MY birthday!
Draco scanned the room again, realizing no one else would likely approach him. In fact, there were quite a few older students at the party…Flint’s only here because I’m on the quidditch team, and probably the rest of the older guys too…stop don’t think like this—I’m just being paranoid. Who wouldn’t want to be friends with a Malfoy?
His brain froze—stuck on the last thought looping in circles like a broken record. Oh. OH. They’re only here BECAUSE I’M A BLOODY MALFOY! Salazar! And I thought I had this many friends?! What a fucking joke—
“DRACO!”
He startled, and looked around for the voice. “Draco sodding Malfoy!” Theo called again, and he spun to face his friend.
“Theo?” He asked, unsure of why his friend was yelling at him at his own bloody birthday party.
“Hey, you tosser! I saw you over there spiraling—and don’t deny it. It was written all over your ghosty-pale face, now stop it!” Theo grinned at Draco’s scowl. “You know I’m right! Stop trying to ruin your own party!”
“Whatever,” Draco grumbled back, playfully shoving the lanky boy.
“You're welcome! Oh, and try to get some sun this summer won’t you dear?” Theo sing-songed once again, dancing away to stand by Daphne.
Draco sighed, then made his rounds like a good host should. He plastered on his Malfoy Heir mask, stopping at each gathered group to thank them for coming to or planning the party depending on who he was conversing with.
The Slytherins got more and more rowdy as the night went on. A few slipped out to get dinner in the Great Hall, but most just stayed at the party. Pansy had talked a few of the House Elves into bringing some spreads to the commonroom, and a few of the older students had brought their own stashes of Firewhisky. Being the good friend she was, Pansy kept snatching Theo’s cups of the hard stuff, replacing it with mugs of butterbeer or water when he wasn’t looking. They definitely couldn’t handle a replay of what happened last year.
They laughed and played music into the night, relieving the stress that had built up over the past year. Draco forgot his worries, as he clearly had plenty of friends surrounding him. At some point, nearing midnight, one of the older students had gotten out a contraband bottle of Veritaserum and started a game of Veritaserum or Dare. Theo begged to get in the game, and when they finally relented and let him play, he said they just had to let Draco and Pansy play too. Blaise, Daph, and Tracey politely declined and opted to watch instead.
“Birthday boy’s first,” Gemma said, tossing her long auburn locks over her shoulder. “Just pick either Veritaserum or a dare. If you pick truth, you take a shot and I’ll ask you a question, if you pick dare, you have to do whatever we tell you to do. For this first round, I’ll ask the questions and give out the dares, but when we get back around the circle to you, you’ll ask or dare the person that comes after you. Got it?”
The three second years nodded.
“Good. So what’s it gonna be, Draco?” She said impatiently.
“Uhh…Veritaserum?” He squeaked out. He knew it was a little dangerous to choose the truth serum, but he didn’t trust any of the older students not to give him some horrific dare that would get him expelled.
“Fine,” she pouted clearly disappointed, but poured him a shot of Firewhisky and dropped a single drop of Veritaserum in. Theo watched intently and gave her a questioning look. “One drop per shot, just enough to make you answer the question truthfully, but not enough that you go blabbing everything you’ve ever thought out loud.” Theo grinned wickedly, and Draco knew that this would be a regular occurrence for them now.
“How did you get it?” He asked earnestly.
“Like I’d tell you,” the Prefect sneered back at Theo in distaste, but the lanky boy didn’t seem to mind.
“No matter, Farley, I’ll figure it out, just you wait!” He smiled goofily and she rolled her eyes, handing the shot to Draco.
He took the shot glass and tossed it back like he had seen his father do. He coughed and sputtered at the burn as it slid down his throat. He felt like he could quite possibly breath fire.
“Alright, Malfoy, let’s start off easy. Who’s the hottest girl in this room?” She asked, batting her lashes coyly.
“You,” he blurted out, quickly covering his mouth feeling the loss of control. Gemma, however, seemed pleased with his answer, preening under the compliment.
“Why, Draco, thank you,” she crooned back.
“Oi! Farley, you not gettin’ laid so you gotta fish for compliments from the babies?” Flint chuckled, earning him an angry glare from the Prefect.
“Just get on with the game,” she said, clearly annoyed with the comment. “Veritaserum or dare?” She asked Theo.
He didn’t even let her finish completely asking the question before leaning into the circle and shouting, “dare!”
Draco laughed at his friend’s eagerness to be embarrassed or harassed by the upper classmen.
“I dare you to kiss the people on either side of you,” she smiled wickedly. Draco thought it was hilarious, Theo was pretty daring, but he’d never kiss his best friend and his other best friend’s girlfriend.
If Draco was a betting man, he’d be broke.
Theo leant over and grabbed Draco’s face harshly, and smashed their lips together. The blonde flailed his arms wildly, trying to push Theo off of him, finally succeeding. He landed a punch to the dark haired boy’s shoulder, wiping at his mouth frantically. Theo turned to his other side and did something similar with Pansy. She had been laughing at the scene—forgetting she was next. When he grabbed her face, she froze, eyes wide in horror as Theo pushed his lips against hers for the briefest second before releasing her.
He definitely kissed me way longer than he kissed her. What the hell, Theo?
The whole commonroom was laughing hysterically at Theo and his willingness to kiss anyone. Well, except for Daphne and Blaise. They both looked completely hurt. Poor Daph, her boyfriend just kissed her best friend AND another boyin front of everyone—how embarrassing…but look at Blaise. He looks so disappointed.
Pansy got up and followed Blaise out the door to the dungeons. Daphne straightened her spine and walked gracefully to her room, closing the door gently. It was such a quiet exit that almost no one noticed aside from Draco. Theo had no clue what he had just done to two relationships and his friendship with Blaise. This summer is going to be a rocky one.
The game continued on without Pansy, and Draco and Theo played one more round, where Draco dared Theo to kiss Gemma, which promptly ended the game when she stormed off as well. The two boys sniggered, swapping ideas for dates for next time. That is, until Pansy came back into the commonroom crying and without Blaise.
“Look what you did, Theo!” She shouted as she stormed up to him—tears turning to fury. Before either Draco or Theo could react, she slapped him hard across the cheek, and ran into her room.
“What was that for?!” Theo roared in confusion and anger of his own. He turned to Draco, “what did I do?!”
“Mate, you bloody kissed her in front of her boyfriend who happens to be your best friend!” Draco popped him on the side of the head for emphasis of how stupid he was being.
“It was a dare! It’s not like I wanted to kiss you two!” He shouted defensively.
“Yeah, well I don’t think that’s how Blaise and Daph saw it,” Draco said quietly. He wasn’t intending to hurt Theo, just point out the one person he forgot to think about was the most important one in this situation.
“Daphne. Shit, shit, shit!” Theo yanked on his hair with both hands, pulling out tiny globs of it. “Where is she?! Draco! WHERE IS SHE?!” He shook Draco’s shoulders as he frantically looked around the emptying commonroom. The blonde just motioned to the girls' dorms, and Theo took off down their hallway.
Happy birthday to me…
…
The train ride home was very awkward. The boys all sat together, and the girls sat in their own compartment, but Pansy and Theo were being held at a distance by their friends. No one wanted to get involved with the drama. Daphne had been unable to ignore the fact that Pansy just sat there while Theo had kissed her, and was therefore not her friend, according to Theo who had been Pansy’s new crutch as he was one of the few people who would even make eye contact with her. Girls are so fucking weird. It wasn’t Pansy’s fault…
Blaise was giving Theo the cold shoulder. He wasn’t mean or dismissive, but he certainly didn’t strike up a conversation either. Blaise naturally avoided showing emotion, so it wasn’t much different than before, except that Theo knew he had messed up that night, and was continuously trying to atone for it. Blaise had also ended things with Pansy “for now” stating it was merely so he could work on his friendships more.
The boys sat mostly in silence, and it seemed that the girls did as well. Just when Draco couldn’t take the awkward quiet anymore, the first glimpses of London appeared outside their window, and a sigh of relief flooded him. Their compartment was one of the first to scramble off the train, giving weak farewells and see-you-next-years.
Draco spotted his mother in a pristine, satin, ice-blue dress and short, white heels. Her pale pastel coloring stuck out against the vibrant jewel tones surrounding her on the platform. He hadn’t realized just how much he missed her when he was away, and it took all of his self-control to keep his composure and not to run to her.
She gave him a poised smile and softly embraced her only son, giving a peck on the cheek as they separated. Draco enjoyed the moment, but knew when they got home, away from public eyes, she would be more than happy to give him a real, proper hug as long as his father wasn’t around to scold them about affection and weakness.
“Hello, darling,” she said softly.
“Mum,” he said back with a bright smile.
“Would you care to join me for some Fortescue’s before heading back home, it is your birthday after all,” She asked politely, with a hint of rebellion in her eyes. Narcissa loved ice cream, but rarely was able to indulge in sweets, always being conscious of keeping her figure.
Draco took her hand happily, and she led him toward the Floo, calling out “Florean Fortescue’s,” before they disappeared into the bright green flames. Maybe this summer won’t be so bad.
…
Shock flooded his system when Draco came through the front door. Father said lessons would start a week after I got home. It’s been barely two hours—
“Professor Snape?” Draco’s voice trembled slightly, following his mother into the Manor after their indulgent ice cream trip. They had shared a flight of their three favorite scoops—apple crumble, chocolate & raspberry, and earl grey & lavender, taking their time to savor each frozen bite.
The professor was standing in the drawing room next to his father. Both men looked furious, glaring daggers at both Draco and Narcissa. While Draco wilted under their states, his mother stood taller and ignored them both completely as if boring paintings on the wall.
“Draco and I went for a treat,” she stated plainly, as if acknowledging the weather. Lucius’s eyes burned holes in the side of Draco’s face, and the boy felt like he would combust any second from the heat.
“I see,” was all Lucius said. He grabbed Narcissa’s dainty elbow and began to drag her out of the room. She freed herself with a sharp yank, straightened her already immaculate dress, and walked herself away from her fuming husband much the same way Daphne had that night in the commonroom. Both women had conducted themselves with a strong, yet graceful dignity. Draco admired them.
The moment the door closed behind his parents, Snape closed in, “Legilimens!”
Draco’s hands closed over his temples, and he squeezed his eyes shut tightly. Pain radiated across his forehead and circled around to the base of his skull. He tried to focus on clearing his mind—on his library, but Snape’s invasion was excruciating and made it impossible to grab onto anything. Every time he felt like was getting a grip, the black eel-like presence wormed its way deeper into his brain causing incrementally more pain. It was like claws ripping and shredding through every book he had carefully placed. The shadow paused to flit through a book here and there, not focusing on the bright or shiny volumes, but the small, drab, unsuspecting titles. Draco could feel his control slowly slipping through his fingers, as Snape thoroughly destroyed his occlusion walls.
When Snape finally left his mind, Draco was seizing violently on the rug of the drawing room, limbs splayed about, sweat running down his temples. A single thin stream of crimson blood dripped from a nostril, and a matching one from the corner of his lips. Draco’s eyes rolled back and the room went dark.
The Potions Master stormed out of the room without another sound—supremely dissatisfied with his pupil’s progress. As the door he left through closed, another door to the room was flung open in haste, and Narcissa Malfoy ran to her son. She dropped to her knees, casting complicated diagnostic spells over his head and neck. Bright red flashes were popping up across her charms to indicate critical damage, and she set to work casting the intricate mind-healing charms. She started with the largest and brightest areas, working consistently until the lights faded to a golden yellow before moving on to the next one.
She had decided the previous summer that if there was one thing she was going to learn to protect her son from what she went through, it was going to be mind-healing. While very touchy and difficult to master, Narcissa had never met a charm she couldn’t excel at, and healing charms proved no different. When Lucius had thought she was having meetings for philanthropy with St. Mungo’s, she was paying one of the top Mind Healers from the Janus Thickney Ward to privately tutor her in as many charms as they could master before Draco was to return for the summer holiday.
Hands shaking, the small, framed woman held back her own sobs, letting only silent tears fall as she repaired the damage done. Lucius, however, stood in the doorway keeping his distance. If someone had been looking, they would have seen a look of utter terror on his face. It was clear, Lucius had never gone through what he had offered his son up for. He also had no skills to undo it. So, there he stood, helpless—something a Malfoy would never dream of feeling.
Outside, Draco twitched against the rug, his pure blood dribbling down his cheek and neck, intertwining with the pattern below him—staining it. Inside, a small boy sat curled on his mother’s lap in a large wooden rocking chair, begging for a bedtime story.
“Mummy, story?” A small voice pleaded, tugging on her nightgown from behind.
“Of course, my love,” she scooped the little boy into her arms and gracefully settled them into a nearby wingback chair. “What shall we have tonight, then?”
The boy's smile was barely contained on his face as he snuggled into his mother’s lap.
“Dragons!” he replied gleefully, it was his favorite after all.
The mother chuckled quietly and began the nightly tale…
“There once was a dragon, fearsome and strong. He could conquer any battle and protect his home and treasure from any danger. He breathed fire and flew high into the Heavens. He lived among the snakes, and they were his family.
Happy birthday to me.