Unmasked

The rest of their classes passed smoothly, although Draco never returned to class. When Pansy returned, she isolated herself, sitting alone with her head down at her desk. Hermione frowned at her over her shoulder, hoping she wasn’t being too harsh on herself. It wasn’t her fault.

Ron stayed with Harry and Hermione the rest of the day, but he stayed quiet. He took fleeting glances at his friends, praying that one of them would speak up and say something. That one of them would explain.Of course, he wasn’t stupid. He witnessed what happened—saw the horrible marks covering the Slytherin’s skin… but he still couldn’t understand how Harry and Hermione had anything to do with this. Harry had his saving people thing, but Hermione, too? Ron groaned, rubbing both hands through his hair. What was he missing?

“Are you alright there, mate?”

Ron turned his attention to Harry. “I just don’t get it.” Harry pursed his lips. “What did I miss? How did you and Hermione even get involved?”

Harry took a breath. “It’s only been a couple days, Ron. I’ll explain at dinner, okay?”

“Fine.”

“It’s not his fault, Ron.”

“I know.”

As the trio headed for the Great Hall, stares and whispers followed them. They rounded the corner into the hall, eyes set on the Gryffindor table. Harry and Hermione’s voices could be heard within the chatter, however, not nearly as often as they heard Draco’s. His name was everywhere, used both with sympathy and with malice. Harry and Hermione couldn’t help but to listen in, catching snippets of many different conversations.

“Did you hear about Draco Malfoy?”

“Deserves it, he does.”

“Harry Potter helped him you know, isn’t that crazy?”

“Hermione Granger, too! The muggle-born…. I know!”

“Do you think it’s true?”

“I was there, saw it myself. Looks ugly, it does.”

“How can anyone do that to their kid?”

“I know he’s been a jerk, but I feel bad for him!”

“Potter was right up there with ‘im. I reckon they’re together.”

“Granger and Parkinson… no way! Those two hate each other!”

“Well, if his dad can’t get to him again, I certainly will!”

Hermione grabbed his arm and he looked at her, biting his lip. She squeezed, then dropped her hand, taking the last few steps to the table. As soon as they sat down, a confused looking Ginny bounced her way over.

She took a seat beside Hermione and leant in. “Is it true, then? What they’re saying about Malfoy?”

Hermione nodded, and Harry cleared his throat. “Yeah, yeah it’s all true.”

“All of it?”

“Yep.”

“How did you two… you know?”

Hermione sighed, looking to Harry. “Harry knew something was wrong, and at first I thought he was crazy.”

“I noticed some cuts on him in class one day, but I didn’t want to say anything too loudly… so I just whispered it to Hermione. That was only a few days ago.”

“We went to see McGonagall,” Hermione continued. “She said she’d keep an eye on him, and asked us too as well. She was worried.”

“Very worried,” Harry added. “So were we. No one has marks like that from Quidditch… you guys know that. Even Pansy knew that when he used that as an excuse.”

Ron looked back and forth between Harry and Hermione. “Why did you go up to him?”

Harry dropped his gaze. “I found him crying in an empty classroom a few nights ago… we talked a little bit. When I saw him start to panic today, it was just instinct.” He looked back up at Ron and Ginny. “I couldn’t just leave him like that. I know what it’s like.”

Ron’s face softened. “You know what, Harry?”

“What?”

“I thought I’d be mad, or weirded out, or something… but, I’m not. You’re a good person. I mean it.”

Harry smiled. “Thanks, Ron.”

The smile quickly fell from his face, however, as the hall went nearly silent. Heads turn rapidly as a familiar face entered the room, head down and making a beeline for the Slytherins. His concealment had returned, yet his stony face was more of a mask than ever. He pulled his robes tighter to his slim body, not making eye contact until he reached the table. Being almost out of view, most people returned to their food and conversations. But the Slytherins didn’t. Their stares turned to glares, and a few of them stood up.

“Where do you think you’re going?” One of them jeered.

“I just want to eat.”

The other boy turned to one of his friends. “Just want to eat, huh?” He spit at Draco’s feet. “Don’t think so. You’re too weak to be seen with us.”

“Just let me sit.”

The boy shoved Draco’s shoulders and the blond stumbled back a few steps. Harry rose from his seat.

“Get out of here, Malfoy. And take your daddy issues with you.” Draco stood staring at them with wide eyes, searching their faces as if suddenly they’d change their minds. They didn’t. “I said get out of here, wuss! Who do you think you are?”

A light touch caused Draco to flinch, head whipping around, wand instinctively withdrawn from his robes. There was some laughter from the Slytherins. Harry cringed. “Sorry to startle you.”

Draco looked down, shrugging. “You didn’t mean to.”

“No.” Harry sighed as Draco looked around him, taking a deep breath. “Come sit with me. Well, me, Ron, and Hermione.” Draco only nodded.

Harry led him to the table, and the blond sat wordlessly beside him. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were engrossed in a conversation about Ron’s latest quidditch adventure, to which the two girls were making fun of him. Harry joined in, biting a piece of chicken off of his fork as he jeered at Ron about the goal he missed in practice.

“Oh yeah? How about you almost hitting the goal post going for the snitch, mate?” Ron said.

“Ron!” Harry chortled. “That was supposed to be a secret!”

The Gryffindor’s laughed. Ginny calmed down slightly, adding, “Or the time when you got the front of your broomstick caught in the dirt when you dove down.”

“Ginny!”

The Gryffindors continued to laugh; Draco stared down at his lap. Ron glanced across the table at the empty plate in front of the blond, then over at the dwindling platters of food. He lifted his own and scraped some pasta and chicken onto Draco’s. Draco looked up with curiosity. Ron smiled slightly, “Eat.”

Across the hall, dark eyes watch the Slytherin. Pansy pushes food around her plate, none of it making it to her mouth. She slouches, watching him through the hair that falls in her face. Shaking her head at herself, she wonders how she could have missed it. How could she not have known that her best friend was in so much pain? How could she have missed the fading of the concealment? The flinching? The sadness he wore when no one was watching? How could she have been so oblivious to everything going on with him, and just let it continue. And to be the one to reveal it to the school… she dropped her gaze, focusing on a piece of chicken at the bottom edge of the plate. She stabs it a little too forcefully with her fork, drops of sauce finding their way into her hair and onto her robes. She sighed, glancing back over at her best friend with the group of Gryffindors. With the people who noticed when she failed to.

Almost finished his pasta, Draco decided to join the conversation. Hermione had struck a conversation about charms, to which the others were rolling their eyes at how quickly shed mastered the spell they’d been practicing.

“Seriously, guys. It’s not that hard!” Hermione laughed.

Harry rolled his eyes. “Says you! You’re top of the class! I can barely make the thing twitch, let alone half the things you can do with it.”

“I turned it purple the other day,” Draco added.

All heads at the table turned to him. Hermione raised her eyebrows. “How’d you do that? I only made it to a light blue colour.”

“Twist your wrist more as you say the incantation. I had that problem at first, too.”

“Huh.”

As the hall started to clear, more and more people started to pass their end of the table. Students from other houses seemed to make detours to walk past him. To say something. To get a look at him. A Ravenclaw boy in the year ahead slapped him on the back as he passed. Draco flinched, eyes widening like saucers. “Hang in there, Malfoy,” the boy called over his shoulder.

Draco stared at the table, swallowing thickly. He drew in a shuddering breath, although he was trying to play it off like he hardly noticed…like nothing was bothering him. Harry turned to him, placing a hand gently on his midback. “Breathe, Draco,” he whispered.

The blond took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Harry caught his eyes and nodded. Draco nodded back.

**

Saturday morning starts like any other. The trio wake up around 9, courtesy of Hermione, and head down to breakfast. Their footsteps are the only sounds to be heard for many minutes, until they reach the ground floor. The smell of blueberry muffins and bacon floated from the room, quiet chatter making its way out into the corridor.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione took a seat in the middle of the long table, each immediately reaching for food. Hermione grabbed some oatmeal, a muffin, and some berries. Harry opted for toast and a banana instead. Ron, being typical Ron, took some eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, and an apple. The three Gryffindors took their time, munching lazily on their food. Hermione, as always, flipped the pages of the Daily Prophet with interest. About twenty minutes into their meal, a dark haired girl appeared behind Harry.

Hermione started. “Oh! Hi, Pansy.”

“Hi,” she said meekly. “Uh… can I sit here?”

The three of them take her in curiously for a minute before Hermione speaks again. “Yeah. Sure.”

“Thanks.” She sits down beside Harry, silently taking a plate and adding some strawberries and a muffin to it. She glances up at Hermione. “I didn’t know.”

Harry turns to her. “We know, Pansy. It’s not your fault.”

“You keep saying that, but it stills feels like it is.”

Hermione reached across to touch the girl’s arm. “Pansy. It’s not your fault. You didn’t know he had a concealment on.”

“I know… I know! I just… I feel bad. I just wanted to practice the spell, but I figured nothing would happen. I’m not that great at dueling, but if I can make my opponent weaker, it’s easier for me. I didn’t think anything would happen to him, other than maybe he’d be tired or something… I swear.”

Ron spoke up this time. “Even I could tell you didn’t mean to, and I wasn’t even involved. You can’t fake that kind of shock, Parkinson. I’m tellin’ ya.”

Pansy pursed her lips, but nodded. “I feel bad. I should’ve known, you know? I’m around him all the time. How could I not tell he’s been in pain?”

“He’s been doing a good job at hiding it,” Harry said. “At least until lately. Probably because now it’s too much for him to handle at all anymore. How is he by the way? How’d last night go?”

Pansy smiled a little. “I stayed with him until he went to bed last night. Me and Blaise. Blaise didn’t talk much, but I kept him distracted. No one really did anything once we were all back in the dorms. Stupid prats think it’s funny to be that way in front of the whole school but not show their faces afterwards… pathetic.”

“That’s good,” said Hermione. “Where is he now?”

Pansy chuckled. “Still sleeping. I don’t think he will be up for a while. No need to be anyways.” She shrugged, picking at her muffin. “Thanks for being there for him. You know, when I wasn’t.”

Harry nodded. “Now that you know, you can check in with him, too.”

She nodded. “Yeah. I will.”

**

It was late morning before anything else interesting happened. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were sitting in the common room with mugs of hot cocoa and Bertie Bots when a portrait on the nearest wall called Harry’s name. Harry threw his legs over the arm of the couch and pushed himself up, meandering over to it. “What is it?”

“There’s someone asking for you.”

Harry furrowed his brows, walking over to the portrait hole. He pushed it and it swung outwards, revealing the slim, uncharacteristically dressed Draco Malfoy. He was wearing cotton pants and a long sleeved green sweatshirt with an open collar, revealing his damaged skin. His hair was dishevelled, his eyes groggy. Harry backed away, sweeping his arm to signal Draco to come in. He did, eyes sweeping over the cozy room. He spotted the other three on the couch and the floor and waved to them. “Morning, Hermione. Ron. Ginny.” He nodded at them. Ron and Ginny’s jaws dropped, and Hermione laughed. Draco turned to Harry. “Can we talk?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, of course. Come with me.” Draco followed Harry across the room to two armchairs in the corner by a window. Harry sunk into one, and Draco perched on the edge of the other. “So… what did you want to talk to me about?”

Draco paused, not meeting Harry’s eyes. “Everything. Just…” He looked up at Harry who blinked at him. “Everything.”

Harry chuckled. “Okay… how about we start with this. What made you come find me this morning?”

“I needed someone to talk to.”

“What about Pansy?”

“I needed to talk to you.”

“Why?”

“You know why.”

Harry nodded. “Because I know what it’s like.”

“Precisely. I just want to know more about you, that’s all. What happened to you, and why you want to help me. Why you care.”

“We can definitely talk about that. But first, since everyone is staring at you, do you want to move this upstairs where it’s more private?”

Draco nodded. “Yeah, I’d appreciate that.”

The two boys hurried up the stairs to Harry’s dorm. Harry sat against his headboard and Draco sat cross-legged at the end of the bed. “So, what do you want to know?” Harry asked.

“What happened to you? When did it start?”

“I’ve lived with my muggle Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin since my parent died. They’ve never been particularly nice to me, but they’ve been abusing me physically since I was about eight or nine. Since I was ‘old enough to take it’.”

“That’s awful. What would they do to you?”

“It was my Uncle, mainly. He’d, er…”

“You don’t have to tell me, Harry.”

“No, no. It’s okay. He’d hit me a lot. With his fists. In the face, the stomach, the back of the head… He’d kick me in the ribs and in the head if I was down. Other places, too… I’d go days without food and they’d lock me in my cupboard for up to a week in the dark. What?”

Draco was staring at him in horror. “Did you just say, in your cupboard?”

Harry winced. “Yeah… my bedroom for the longest time was the cupboard under the stairs. Or, should I say my prison. That’s more like it.”

Draco shook his head in disbelief. “Wow, just… What about your Aunt?”

“She never hit me or anything, but she never stopped it either. She’d only yell at me if I messed up cooking their breakfast or cleaning the kitchen or something. But my Cousin was a real bully. Was I ever afraid of him as a kid.”

“I’m sorry, Harry. That’s truly awful.”

“I made it through it. I’m just so glad to be here, even though it does suck sometimes with everything going on at the moment out there… but this is my home.”

The two boys sat in silence for a minute, regarding each other with curiosity. Draco dropped his gaze. “My Father takes his anger out on me. And sometimes I think he rather enjoys it.”

“Draco—”

Silver eyes met Harry’s. “He thinks my pain is funny, I guess. Likes to use spells when he can’t reach me, slice and dice me when he can. It’s all fun and games for him. He looks all menacing and angry, but the truth is he knows I deserve it and won’t stop at anything until he gets his point across. Fists, feet, wand, knives, you name it, he’s probably used it.” Draco slapped a hand to his mouth, eyes wide. Harry pursed his lips, maintaining eye contact. Draco dropped his shaking hand from his mouth. “Why haven’t you kicked me out yet?”

It was Harry’s turn to flinch. “I’m not going to.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re finally talking to me. To someone about the trauma you’ve been subjected to.”

“I shouldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“It makes me look weak.”

Harry shook his head slowly. “No, Draco. It’s good to talk about it. It’s healthy.”

“I didn’t mean to say that much.”

“My lips are sealed.”

“Thanks.” Draco sighed. “Why, all of the sudden, do you seem to care about you?”

Harry chuckles. “It’s not that I didn’t before, I just couldn’t show you that I did. We were supposed to hate each other, and yeah, we were both dicks. But you were always on my radar—especially this year. Something has seemed off all year… it’s just that I’m just now finding out what. But if you had come to me three years ago, or if I had found out something was wrong I would’ve said something. I would’ve come talked to you, because that’s just who I am.”

Draco smiled. “It’s good to know that was mutual. I did genuinely want to be your friend, but I blew my shot… I was an egotistical eleven-year-old who didn’t know how to face rejection. So I acted ‘cool’ about it and decided to be a prick instead. And I’m sorry.”

Harry nodded. “I forgive you. And I’m sorry, too.”

“I forgive you.” Harry smiled at him, and Draco smiled back. Draco held out his hand, “Take two?”

Harry shook it. “Of course.”

Draco let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. “It’s nice to just sit and have a conversation with you.”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, it is.”

A figure appeared in the doorway, distracting Harry. Draco turned to look at the figure as well.

It was Neville, who’s eyes widened considerably at the sight in front of him. He flicked his head back slightly, pointing his thumb behind him. “Er, Harry… Ron and Hermione want to know if you guys want to head down for some lunch now?”

Harry smiled at him. “Yeah, thanks for passing on the message, Neville. We will be right down.”

Neville watched awkwardly as the two boys clambered down off of the bed and made their way to the door. Harry passed through, but Draco asked him to wait a moment, so Harry waited at the bottom of the stairs. Draco turned to Neville. “Hey,” he said, scratching the back of his neck. “I just wanted to apologize… for all of the stuff I’ve said over the years. It was really cruel of me to pick on you and I’m sorry.”

Neville, once again taken aback, could only stare. After a few seconds he regained his composure and smiled. “I appreciate that. We were children. And kids can be mean and say stupid stuff. But we’ve grown up a lot since we first met, and we’re older now. You’ve layed off a lot in the last two years and honestly, I don’t want to add more stress of your back. I forgive you.”

Draco smiled and nodded, then turned on his heel and ran down the stairs. “Ready to go?”

The group of three in front of him smiled. “Yeah,” said Hermione.

“You’re gunna sit with us, right?” Ron asked.

Draco nodded, chuckling. “On one condition.” The trio eyed him. “Pansy can sit with us, too.”

The four of them laughed as Harry, Ron, and Hermione nodded. They no longer had a problem with Pansy either, and were beginning to rather like her.

Lunch went smoothly.