08_
@ppansy changed the name of the groupchat from ‘We’re too old for this’ to ‘F.R.I.E.N.D.S.’
Groupchat F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
ppansy hello fellow humans, I am throwing a party most 7th and 8th years are invited to and you are on my list of important guests, so make sure to be there.
Friday, 8pm, ror
bestweasley what the hell does ror mean?
goldenboi room of requirement
loonytunes room of requirement
blaiseit room of requirement
hannabbott room of requirement
gin.weasley I appreciate how this chat exposes ron’s stupidity, might wanna change your username, ayy
draco_malfoy damn the weaslette served you with that burn
mixnegranger how did you attend this school for multiple years and have literally never heard of the ror when nobody calls it anything else
bestweasley wow okay, even my own girlfriend
goldenboi back to the party, I’ll be there
ppansy great the slytherins of the group are in anyways
draco_malfoy do I get a say in this
ppansy no
blaiseit should have known
cho_chang I’d love to come, should I bring anything
ppansy we are kinda low on sweet snacks
cho_chang ohh I’ll make brownies okay?
hannabbott omg cho’s brownies are heavenly, I’d kill for that stuff
ppansy you are an angel, that would be great
loonytunes I’ll be there, don’t know bout drinking tho
gin.weasley same
mixnegranger ron and I will be there granted he knows how to make his way to the ror
bestweasley hermione!!
plantboi.neville I am totally coming, also I and Hannah will be bringing the greens
hannabbott what he said
blaiseit sweet
mixnegranger Neville!
plantboi.neville oh come on hermione, not everyone is trying to uphold their health here and you know it.
I’m here for a good time, not a long time.
draco_malfoy I’m not even having a good time
goldenboi I feel that
loonytunes damn shit went dark real quick, but like I agree
ppansy okay so I’ll completely dismiss every comment past Neville telling the gc that him and Hannah will be there as well, so see you Friday
goldenboi see you
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Liked by @ppansy , @hannabbott and 4525 others
cho_chang party fit going hard rn
View all 105 comments
goldenboi damn cho that is one stunning outfit
mixnegranger you literally have the body of a model, bye
cho_chang@mixnegranger why thank you fellow beauty icon
mixnegranger@cho_chang stop I’m blushing
ppansy schmoking hawt
draco_malfoy damn chang
…
@ppansy added to their story
text: let’s get pissed
tagged: @draco_malfoy, @blaiseit, @mixnegranger, @bestweasley, @ginweasley, @goldenboi, @loonytunes, @plantboi.neville, @hannabbott @cho_chang
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@loonytunes added to their story
text: came across these wee little things
tagged: @ginweasley
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@blaiseit added to their story
text: taking this bloke out for a spin
tagged: @plantboi.neville
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@hannabbott added to their story
text: just placing this here so I won’t forget this adorable occurrence
tagged: @mixnegranger, @bestweasley
…
Harry was enjoying the party. It had been quite a while since he got to let loose and had fun without worrying about the consequences. Yet he couldn’t quite get rid of the feeling that something was going to go wrong. It just always had been the case. Every time it seemed like things were getting better or going well some catastrophe always seemed to hit. Harry scanned the room for his friends. He could spot them easily as the couples of the group seemed to stick with their significant others for most of the evening and Cho had no problems fending off the guys and girls hitting on her throughout the night. She was currently enjoying herself singing in the karaoke corner of the room with a few of her Ravenclaw friends.
Harry’s eyes then rested on Draco, who was visibly intoxicated but not necessarily more than any other teen enjoying themselves in the room of requirement. Just as Harry contemplated tearing his gaze away from Draco, he noticed a small shift in the atmosphere around Draco and the students he was talking to. The students standing around him appeared to be a group of Gryffindors from a year below them. Harry couldn’t quite tell if they were 7th or 6th-year students. Draco appeared less comfortable around the group and most of the Gryffindors were frowning, seemingly mad. Harry decided to move closer to the situation in hopes of overhearing the issue. Before he could even attempt to push through the people crowded around the room. The small brunette girl standing in front of Draco had already dumped her drink over the boy. Other bystanders seemed to be yelling things into the face of the blond hoping to provoke a reaction. Harry pushed through the crowd in a rather aggressive manner hoping to prevent any escalation of the conflict.
Harry could see Draco struggling to contain his rage but surprisingly after a moment, the anger seemed to blend into something else, something more resigned. Before he could even reach the commotion Draco simply turned away from the group and left.
Harry decided to follow him.
Though he slipped out of the common room only a moment after Draco, Harry stood no chance of finding him. If he had apparated back to his flat there was nothing for Harry to do anyway.
…
Groupchat ‘The golden trio’
mixnegranger Where did you run of to last night Harry
bestweasley Yeah mate, all of a sudden you disappeared
goldenboi oh, there was just a bit too much attention on me and you know how I get and I didn’t want to bother you lovebirds so I decided to head out for a walk
bestweasley okay just come to us next time, it’s no problem
mixnegranger yeah…
goldenboi okay cool thanks
…
Groupchat F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
ppansy happy hangover everyone, I hope you enjoyed yourself yesterday I know I did
cho_chang we definitely have to do something like this again
mixnegranger I totally agree, also thank you Hannah for the great picture you took of Ron and I
hannabbott You’re welcome. That reminds me I found a few mor questionable pictures this morning
picture attachments sent
goldenboi are we ment to question how and why ginny got up there
loonytunes nope
I didn’t see much of you yesterday Harry, what did you get up to?
goldenboi nothing much, I left early wasn’t feeling it
blaiseit did you happen to see Draco, I think he left early too but he hasn’t responded to my texts
goldenboi I saw him briefly at the party but I didn’t see him after I left the ror
why do you think something might have happened to him?
blaiseit nahh he gets the worst hangovers ever, he is probably not up yet no need to worry
bestweasley oi why is there a traffic cone in the Gryffindor common room?
…
“Hey Pansy”, Harry yelled across the hall, “Have you heard from Draco, he suddenly disappeared Friday night and I haven’t seen him in classes today.”
Pansy denied. She hadn’t seen him or heard from him either. It was evident that she already seemed worried so Harry didn’t want to trouble her further.
But still he had to know if what he had witnessed that night was a common occurrence for the Slytherins.
“Pansy, if there were some tossers picking fights with you Slytherins you would tell us, right?”
“Yeah, if it was something we couldn’t handle for sure but there have only been a few insults. I suppose it’s worse for the boys. Blaise has gotten into a fight or two but nothing too bad.
Why did something happen?”
Harry knew if he simply denied Pansy would harbor her suspicions, so he quickly answered that he wasn’t sure everyone at the party was in a good mood and socializing outside of their houses.
Pansy seemed at peace with that answer but the two agreed it would be a good idea to contact Draco and find out why he was missing classes.
…
Private chat with @ppansy
ppansy hei Draco you didn’t show up to potions today, what’s up with that? You never miss a lesson.
Are you okay?
draco_malfoy yeah I have been under the weather, I don’t know if it’s the hangover or just having picked up something in a crowded space but there was no chance I’d be productive today with the headache I got.
ppansy Oh well that’s not a problem, should I maybe get you something (other than your homework)?
draco_malfoy Nahh I think I got everything I need, probably just going to sleep it off
ppansy okay but you can tell me if something is going on, okay?
draco_malfoy you know I would, but I am fine, really
Pansy let Harry read the exchange over her shoulder. She seemed satisfied with her inquiry, but Harry had a gut feeling that there was more to the story.
He decided to look for Draco and something told him that Draco had in fact come to school that day.
He looked in the library and around the quidditch pitch but finally decides to try the room of requirement. To no surprise, he is right to search for Draco there. The layout is the same as it had been when they last encountered each other in the room. This already gave Harry a bad feeling about the Slytherin’s mood. It did however not prepare him for what he was about to come face to face with. Draco sitting in the open space with a bruised face and a busted lip.
Harry could barely contain the rage he felt toward whoever must have done that to Draco and toward Draco for not telling anyone, for not telling him. He thought they were becoming friends, why wouldn’t he confide in him that Gryffindors were troubling him?
He wanted to have a go at Draco but just as he was about to voice his anger the Slytherin noticed his presence in the room, and they locked eyes for a brief moment. Draco pulled his eyes away quickly, turning his head away, hiding the bruising on his face. Something about his eyes made Harry change his mind about telling him off. The eyes that usually challenge in a cold and confident manner held a vulnerability that Harry had seen only few times, a vulnerability that Harry knew Draco was scared to show. He walked over and sat beside him.
“What happened?” He asked. His voice sounded strained, and his words came out more hostile than he meant to word them.
“Nothing much just a misunderstanding,” Draco replied keeping his eyes trained straight forward.
“Doesn’t look it though. Looks like someone wanted to hurt you and did exactly that.”
“What does it matter to you anyway?”
This sentence was what made Harry lose sight of all reasons to keep calm.
“What does it matter?! We survived a war; we survived the worst thing possible happening to us and yet still there are people short-sighted enough to want to cause more hurt and you are the one on the receiving end.”
He all but yelled the words at the boy sitting next to him.
After a moment of silence. The words of Harry lay heavy and filled the air around them Draco finally turned to look at him.
Harry couldn’t help but notice that he looked awfully tired.
“Why are you getting angry about this, it doesn’t concern you?”
“I‘m angry that you aren’t more mad about this, I‘m mad that you always feel like you have to take the problems of the world onto your shoulders without asking for help, I‘m angry that I care about you and you think it doesn’t concern me.”
“There is no point in getting angry, I can’t do anything, and I deserve the shit coming my way anyways,” Draco replies only addressing the first of Harry’s statements.
“You think you deserve this?” Harry couldn’t hide the wobble in his voice as he asked the question. “Is that the reason you haven’t healed yourself?”
“I‘d be stupid not to think I deserve their disapproval and their hate. I hurt many, many people and it is only fair that they want to get even. And not that it matters but I can’t heal myself. The inflicted spells have a 48h protective charm placed on them.”
“You have hurt enough. How can they not see that, how can you not see that?!”
A stray tear left Harry’s eye. He brushed it off, standing up quickly and telling Draco to stay where he was. He left the room of requirements, leaving Draco with only the words that had just been spoken. What Harry had voiced earlier seemed to hit Draco all at once. He couldn’t help but remember his father’s or the dark lord’s punishments endured by him when he wouldn’t act or succeed according to their expectations. He couldn’t help but remember the pain he felt hurting his peers, hurting his headmaster. Suddenly the numbness was replaced with old pain that Draco couldn’t shake. Absentmindedly he brushed a hand over his face. It was only then he noticed the tears pooling from his own eyes. All this mess just because of stupid Potter.
It was then that Harry decided to return with a muggle first aid kit. Merlin only knew where he had summoned it from.
Neither of them dared to say anything.
Draco couldn’t help but feel that the last few tears he shed in presence of Harry should have bothered him significantly more.
So, they sat across from each other, HP inspecting Draco’s face, treating cuts, and frowning at bruises.
Draco was the one to break the silence. “Why do you care?”
He elaborated before Harry could ask him to specify.
“Earlier you said you were angry that you cared… about me. Why do you? You know, care.”
“Before answering that I want to clarify that I am not angry about the fact that I care for you. I was and am angry about you being oblivious to it and not caring about yourself as much.
To answer the question why there is not simply one reason. We are alike in many ways even though we like to pretend we’re each other’s nemesis. We’ve been through a lot together and even though many people think differently, you proved through your actions that you are a kind-hearted person that cares about others. Too much for your own good I’d say, thinking of the life that was chosen for you.
There are many reasons to care, and I don’t know which specific reasoning you are asking of me right now, but I want you to know you have many qualities worth caring for.”
Before Harry could continue trying his best to reassure Draco of his worth, he was stopped by the simple action of Draco leaning in. It was such a small movement, yet it left Harry with no train of thought at all. His eyes flickered to Draco‘s lips. They were really close.
Before he even registered that he had been leaning in as well, he felt a tug on his shirt. As he felt those lips, he had been watching earlier on his own his eyes fell shut.
To say he was shocked would have been an understatement. He had neither the time to sort his thoughts nor the time to appreciate the feeling the kiss sent through his entire body before the sensation was taken from him. Reluctantly he opened his eyes gazing directly into Draco‘s.
“I shouldn’t have done that.”
An increasingly panicked Draco said.
“I‘m sorry, I wasn’t thinking and I didn’t mean to make this weird. I don’t…”
Before he could think of how to finish his sentence he was pulled in by Harry’s hand that had sneaked its way around the back of Draco‘s neck, resting in his nape.
There were many emotions spoken through the action. Desperation, Relief, Pain, Caring, and Need put together a set of passion that made the kiss feel incredibly intimate.
They were scared of losing the intimacy newly found in each other and rested their lips on the other’s for longer than their lungs appreciated. When they finally broke apart, they were both panting. None of them were sure if the kiss or the emotions behind it had made them breathless.
“Well, it seems you are not as clueless as I thought you to be after all.
But on a serious note, please do tell me when something like this happens again. You shouldn’t have to deal with shit like this on your own. And I personally would like to think you can somewhat rely on me, especially after today’s events. You ought to trust me a little with your troubles regarding Gryffindors in the future, don’t you think?”
“I know I am sorry, promise not to tell the others? About any of this.
I don’t mean to put you in a weird position I just haven’t told anyone yet.”
“Draco you have nothing to worry about, they won’t hear anything from me. Take your time.”
And with that they sat in silent comfort, knowing they could rely on one another.