seventeen
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"harry! harry, are you alright?" hermione fussed, scanning him for any sign of injury or pain.

he mumbled distracted reassurances, eyes still locked on draco's quivering form.

hermione hugged him tightly, surveying the scene with wide eyes and furrowed brows.

"what happened?" she exhaled, turning to harry with a thousand questions in her eyes.

he spared her a glance, noticing her questioning gaze, and walked over to draco, mumbling a "go ask ron," as he went.

hermione huffed softly, turning around to bombard ron—who was already hovering   at the edge of the scene—with questions.

harry hesitantly stood near draco and the small cluster of crying slytherins surrounding him. soft, comforting words fell from his candy lips in an attempt to stop their anguished wails.

harry was sure he had never seen him look like that. so caring. stifling the depths of his own fear and pain in order to be strong for those he cared for. and the other students cried and leaned towards him, desperate for his comfort. harry wondered if draco had always been this beloved among slytherins. draco had been a prat before, but that was only the side of him harry saw. thinking of it now, he remembered that slytherins were often loyal to their own kind. especially slytherins like draco malfoy, who had grown up in a cold home with a thousand expectations upon his shoulders, a thousand wrong lessons imprinted into his young mind, and fated for a dark destiny he never asked for.

harry knew he loved those kids. and he probably always had.

he wanted to speak, to say something. draco was so terrified, but trying to hide it. harry wanted to offer him something, just as he was giving so much to his friends. but he was interrupted when the teachers that arrived with hermione approached them in order to gauge a more accurate description of the incident than what they'd gathered from surrounding students.

"goodness...what on earth happened here?" professor sprout gasped.

blaise stepped up, one arm gently holding the small sixth year girl with the bob and hazel eyes to his chest.

"i would love to give you a full summary professor, but i don't think this is the right environment for that kind of conversation." he said politely, glancing at the room of watchful eyes.

a few of the teachers nodded in understanding and led blaise away to a more private place while some stayed behind to calm the trembling students.

in his window of opportunity, harry lunged forward and grasped onto draco's quivering hand.

draco startled and whisked his head around to face him with glossy eyes.

"harry..." he breathed shakily. "hi."

harry tried to offer a reassuring smile, but it ached on his lips. "hi."

draco bit his trembling bottom lip, and with the turn of his head, unknowingly gave harry a better look at the reddened skin of his snowy cheek, still stinging from the impact of that hateful slap.

"thank you, harry," draco mumbled softly. "for helping me, and for helping them. the golden boy strikes again. should i snap a picture of your latest victory and send it to the daily prophet? they'd have a field day with that one. chosen one defends evil deatheaters? what a scandal!"

draco attempted to joke, forcing back his usual smirk. but his tone was wrought with tremors and his fingers squeezed the arm bearing that faded mark with an uncomfortable harshness.

harry frowned.

"you're not a deatheater." he whispered, his heart sinking in his chest.

draco choked out a static bubble of aching laughter, avoiding his gaze. "nice one potter. you amuse me."

the pain in his silver eyes was too much.

in a swift motion, harry grabbed draco's hand and pulled him out of the great hall.

he pressed them against a wall, tucking them into the slight shade beneath a glowing torch.

draco watched the small clusters of people in the hall around them with round, anxiety ridden eyes, but harry payed them no mind, frowning at draco's swelling cheek.

"draco—"he started, green eyes filled with concern and the lingering traces of anger.

"i'm fine, i just need to go back and—" he reassured weakly, eyes flitting to the door of the great hall.

"draco."

the stern tone of voice paired with the blazing determination in his eyes crumbled the rest of draco's resolve, and he slumped against the stone wall and accepted his fate.

"let's go somewhere else." he mumbled, droopy eyes lingering on the gossiping students in the hallway.

he could just barely hear their whispers;

"isn't that harry potter?"

"what is harry potter doing with malfoy? aren't they like arch enemies?"

"yeah, and malfoy's a deatheater."

"they hate each other."

"so why did harry defend him? and why is he touching him?"

"something's strange about those two."

draco pursed his lips and trained his eyes on the hard floor, letting harry lead his shrinking figure to the room of requirement.

once they got to the door, draco's steps slowed and he pulled back in reluctance. harry noticed the gentle tug of draco's hand out of his grip and turned to face him, all questions dying on his tongue when he saw draco's expression; his eyes clouded with worry, brows twisted in apprehension, and teeth piercing the soft skin of his lips hard enough to turn the rose skin to aching scarlet.

it took harry little more than a second to realize what far away land draco's mind had wandered to, and he reached out with comforting fingers, brushing them against draco's pale skin with a reassuring warmth.

"draco." harry murmured gently. "it's okay. blaise, and pansy, and the teachers, and hermione, and ron, they're all taking care of them. you can relax now."

draco looked up into harry's eyes, finding nothing more than sincerity and truth in the deep green pools, and sighed, letting his anxiety lower to a barely perceptible nagging in the back of his head.

he tried to offer harry a grateful smile, but it was weak, not even reaching his cheekbones before falling back into an exhausted, drooping frown.

harry tenderly led him into the room of requirement, which had adjusted to fit their needs. it was a smallish room with a soft cream-colored sofa sitting in front of a crackling fireplace. there was a fluffy white carpet on the floor that felt like cotton candy under their feet, and several strings of warm fairy lights strung around the ceiling.

draco sank into the couch next to harry, wrapping a soft emerald blanket around his shoulders.

harry looked at him, and that contrast of achingly blooming red against the snowy paleness of his seamless cheek once again struck him. it was awful scarlet bending across draco's cheekbone in the shape of lightly curled fingers, and a surge of scorching anger rose within him.

he sighed, shifting on top of the sofa cushion so that he was hovering above draco a bit. his fingers skimmed the slope of draco's jaw, and though he felt the blond startle under the unexpected contact, he could hardly register the action through the heavy haze of worry. he felt draco's warm breaths skimming his palm as he tilted his head forward and up, emerald gaze observing the severity of his wound.

staring at it more carefully, he could see the indentation of sharp nails in his smooth skin, and along the crescent shaped marks were fine beads of crimson blood where the flesh had been pierced. harry's heart constricted painfully.

he was so caught up in the heart breaking sight that he almost didn't notice when draco's trembles began to grow violent, or when his breathing started to stumble and choke itself in the air between them. but then he heard the beginnings of a strained whimper, and he looked up.

and he realized draco was crying.

it was subtle at first, just a faint dampness on harry's fingers. but it soon escalated into a bout of heaving sobs, suffocated and quivering. a hurting waterfall of azure misery poured from glossy silver irises and colored harry's caring hands in cobalt dye. and harry stared at him, watching him with an immeasurable pain in his chest as draco wept.

"sorry," he choked out, pulling away from harry's touch. he wiped furiously at his cheek, but only succeeded in smearing blood and salty tears together and aggravating his cuts. the tears didn't stop. "sorry harry...m' being stupid—"

harry shook his head. "you're not." he said firmly.

draco's shoulders shuddered. "i am, i am. you don't need to lie to make me feel better harry. i know i deserve this. i saw it coming. and if it was just me they were hurting, there wouldn't be a problem, but it's the kids...they don't need any more of this, and i'm being stupid. because i can handle this, i expected this. i really do deserve it."

harry despised every awful word on draco's trembling lips. he despised the people that made him think this way, and wished draco's beautiful mind would treat him kindly.

he remembered draco's comfort under the greenhouse room, both of their bodies glowing in the moonlight as ivory fingers worked through dark curls. he remembered draco guiding him to the kitchens, and his arms as he carried him to his dorms, and the scent of him lingering on harry's robes once he'd left. and he thought of draco's pretty flower crown resting on his head.

he lifted a hand, drawing his soothing touch through draco's shock of white blond hair.

"you don't deserve this though." he whispered, and another terrible heave forced its way from draco's mouth. his thin body curled into itself, shivering and shuddering, and harry wrapped his arms around his shoulders, pulled him close.

"harry."

"draco, you aren't a deatheater. you're just a boy. you're just a terrified boy. and you don't deserve this."

harry spoke firmly, passionately against the crook of his neck, and the words seemed to be the breaking point for draco.

he dissolved into harry's embrace, sobbing into harry's shoulder until he felt the warmth of his tears soaking through the fabric of his cloak and down to the surface of his skin. he bundled draco up and held him tight against him as best as he could, and he felt the pounding beat of his wild heart.

he needed to calm draco down. his pain was so horrible and it did things to harry's tender heart, and he couldn't stand to see draco so miserable. so he rocked them back and forth in a slow, steady pattern, drawing butterflies over draco's upper back and whispering soft words against his soaked cheek.

reassurances left his lips, brushing at draco's cold skin as harry's arms swayed them. he felt simultaneously warm and frigid with sunken sadness. it felt nice to have draco in his embrace, but the ache that came with knowing why the blond was in such need of comfort turned them both chilled gray. he found himself running fingers through his silky locks and pressing gently upon the back of his head, until draco's cheek was resting heavily upon his shoulder, his wet lashes dancing across his neck whenever he blinked.

occasionally, he would mumble incoherent sentences—some of them wrought with fear and others trembling with sorrow—and harry would hush him in a fond tone that he was unaware he possessed. he remembered back in their earlier years, when he was sure draco malfoy couldn't possibly have real feelings. he once thought that sneers and insults were all he was capable of. him and his entire family. but that had only been because he hadn't bothered to look for more.

no one had bothered to look for more, because draco was skilled at pretending there was nothing more. hiding behind his name, spewing slurs, and threatening kids with the mention of his father. draco was undeniably a prat before. but a prat hadn't been his only defining feature. and though draco was still draco, the draco crying against him was so different. somehow both guarded and vulnerable. and harry wanted to protect him from the world.

eventually, draco's sobs quieted into soft hiccups and his wild shaking lulled itself into a dull quiver. by then, a few tears had escaped harry's eyes, quietly slipping down his face. he softly pulled away from draco's desperate grip in order to wipe them away.

draco's face was dusted in scattered teardrops, his skin drenched and his eyes spilling with storms. sensing his needs, the room summoned a tissue box to harry's side, and harry grasped a few in one hand and dabbed tenderly at draco's flushed cheeks. he was careful to avoid the slap mark and its accompanying wounds. and for some reason, the strangely intense gleam in harry's eyes coaxed a bubble of broken laughter from draco's mouth.

harry's lips pursed in confusion for a moment, but upon seeing the wobbly amusement on draco's face, they melted into a careful smile.

"it's almost strange seeing you look so serious," draco explained just beneath his breath. his whispers were timid and unsure of themselves. "you're wearing my flower crown."

harry giggled weakly. "i like your flower crown."

the blond's tragic eyes squinted with soft affection. "i'm glad."

harry hummed, scrunching his nose cutely, and draco laughed again.

he searched his robes for his wand, letting out a soft puff of warm air when his thin fingers closed around it.

cautiously, he pointed it at draco's crimson cheek, watching the blond's expression for any signs of discomfort or fear. after all, your former enemy pointing a wand in your face isn't the most comforting thought.

but draco did not flinch or recoil when harry swished his wand and muttered the simple incantation. he just bit back a shudder when he felt the tingling sensation of his skin mending back together and the swelling going down. by the time the spell subsided, the harsh red blemish had dimmed to a soft rosiness.

"okay?" harry whispered.

draco nodded slightly, biting his bottom lip.

"okay."

A/N: IM ALIVE :D (and updating at 2 am)
i'm so sorry i haven't updated in two weeks! forgive me （ﾉ'д｀）

last week i had a TON of deadlines and projects, and on top of that i was SICK and missed like 3 days of school. i was super stressed and tired 😓
but now i'm on break again so i'm going to try to update this again before the week is over, as well as write the first few chapters of my other stories :3

thank you so much for being patient and reading my story 🥺 i love you 💕❤️
(*¯ ³¯*)♡