new beginnings
January 4 2022 / Prompt: New Beginnings
G / No Warnings Apply
Malfoy’s so quiet and still, Harry doesn’t notice him at first. He sits alone at the Slytherin table, doesn’t raise his hand in class, and slips through the halls like a ghost. Harry almost wonders if he is, with the way no one pays him any attention.
The thought fills him with a cold dread. Draco Malfoy, a ghost, wandering Hogwarts forever. The Room of Requirement, a tomb, for another who Harry couldn’t save.
It creeps up Harry’s spine whenever someone’s eyes glide off Malfoy’s silhouette, stark and pale against the castle walls. Do they see him too? He wants to ask, but he doesn’t know if he wants the answer.
Draco Malfoy haunts him until Harry approaches him one day, alone in the corridor. He steps over slowly, watching Malfoy warily as though he’ll fade away in front of his eyes.
“Hi,” he whispers into the silence, soft and careful, and extends a hand. “Harry Potter.”
Wide, grey eyes stare back before he reaches out too.
Then, a clear voice cutting through the quiet in answer, “Draco Malfoy.”
Harry smiles. The hand in his is solid and warm.