Pawns | A Draco Malfoy Love Story

Sectumsempra

A whole week had passed and I had probably only slept for a total of 8 hours. I was exhausted constantly and my body ached with protest. But no matter how hard I tried, every time I shut my eyes, I saw the crushed and betrayed expression on Harry's face before walking away from the fight, and I heard Ginny's voice ring in my ears as clear as if she were across from me again. 

I was cold and shivering all the time, and I had a persistent headache that wouldn't go away no matter what I did. I'm sure I looked as bad as I felt but I could barely stand to look at myself in the mirror.

Draco did his best to mend the cut on my temple, but I'd had a hard time sitting still. It left a faint mark that he told me would go away in time but I couldn't even care.

Word of what had happened on Saturday morning got around, and rumours that tried to fill in the story's gaps started to spread rapidly. I got stares from virtually everyone, and scowls from Gryffindors and Slytherins alike. Anyone close to Harry avoided me like the plague, and the Slytherin girls name-called me in the washrooms, Parkinson usually leading them. 

None of my friends sat with me in class, in the Great Hall, or in the common room. Hermione looked like she wanted to speak with me, maybe to hear me out, but she never approached me. She sat with Ron and Harry, the latter of which never made eye-contact, while the former looked like he was trying to curse me nonverbally. 

Colin said hello to me in our last Herbology class, taking a seat next to me, but the other students yelled at him aggressively. I moved away from him to spare him a hard time, and so I sat alone in every class. 

Luna didn't mind sitting with me on one lunch occasion. She said she gets yelled at anyway so she might as well do whatever she wants. She didn't ask ask questions so I'm not sure how much she truly knew. But she did say in a soft voice when I looked like I was getting teary eyed, "Everyone should really calm down. There's worse things people can do than whatever it is that you've done." 

I tried to smile for her sake but I still feel horrible. I forced my lunch down, barely eating half of it, and it was effortful to keep it down. 

My friendship with Ginny was entirely ruined. I thought maybe she'd listen to my explanation, but between her silent treatment and glares, it didn't look like she was ready to do that. Maybe she'd never be ready to do that and I couldn't even blame her. Harry was important to her and I had stabbed him in the back. 

Harry also looked like he was short on sleep. He had bloodshot eyes every time I saw him. When he wasn't with his friends, he completely cleared the room whenever I was there. We hadn't officially broken up as I'd wanted to, but such a formal ending wasn't necessary - it was perfectly clear that we were over. 

Today I was walking through the halls, alone as usual, when I saw Harry far ahead of me. I thought I might be able to take him by surprise, and he'd be forced to talk it out with me while no one was around to interrupt. I walked a little quicker, trying to catch up but I didn't call out for him otherwise he might just run. 

I could see that his head was bowed down and I thought maybe he was looking at something in front of him, a parchment maybe, or it was possible that he was just tired. 

I continued following him, trying to get quietly closer as he took a corner. He walked straight into the bathroom and I hurried. I could talk to him in there if I was lucky to find it empty with just the two of us.

But as I got closer, I heard yelling. I could hear two male voices, one of which was probably Harry's, and also a girl who had a shrill, piercing voice. So much for being alone. I still had hope to speak with him though and so I poked my head into he room, looking around. 

I was surprised to see Draco standing in front of the sink with a wet and teary face, and I watched the remnants of his sad expression become overtaken by his now angry one. He glared at Harry before seeing me behind him, still standing by the door.

I was about to call his name, wondering what was wrong. But before I could, jets of wand light were now bouncing off the walls and echoing at a deafening volume. A mirror exploded and shards went everywhere. A spell came shooting at Harry but he dodged it and it rebounded off the wall, adding to the mess. I'd ducked, shielding my face but not daring to leave altogether.

I could still hear the female voice I'd heard from outside. I looked up and around, trying to spot who else was here when I realized the girl was Moaning Myrtle. She was screaming for them to stop fighting. 

I tried to make my way through the rebounding spells and almost slipped on the water that had now soaked the floor from an exploded sink. 

"Draco!" I called when I was in his line of sight, "just stop!" 

He was distracted by my presence and he got hit in the shoulder and slammed into the wall. I saw his eyes glaze for a second and I ran to him. He shook his head, trying to snap back to normal and he had his arm out so that I wouldn't approach him.

"Harry!" I turned around, "Stop, please!" I begged, growing tired of another fight where I could do nothing to help. 

Harry still had his wand raised and wasn't listening to me. His next jet of light went right for Draco again and I instinctively pulled out my wand and yelled "protego," casting a shield over Draco. 

With the moment of protection, the blond ran towards me, pushing me to go around the stalls and out of the bathroom. 

"No!" I grit my teeth, not wanting to leave the two of them alone. 

As we stared into each others eyes, I could see just how panicked and exasperated he was, yet he blocked another spell that came straight for him without even looking at it. I'd gasped and ducked as the sparks hit the shield he casted.

Draco looked furious that Harry was still fighting him while I stood right there, and he pushed me out of the way, hard this time. 

I was thrown into an open stall and Draco used his wand, making the door slam shut so that I was enclosed within the small, protected, space. 

"You've got to be kidding me," I mumbled, feeling ridiculous. But it wasn't locked and so I reached forward to open it. 

Suddenly I heard Harry's rough voice reverberate through the bathroom. "Sectumsempra!" he bellowed. 

Everything grew silent after that. 

The suddenness of it all made me freeze in my spot and I stayed standing in the stall. I heard a body hit the floor with a loud thud and small splash. Then, surprisingly, I heard Harry start to mumble, "No, no, no," over and over again, sounding more alarmed each time.

I was frozen still, too scared to exit and see what had happened.

Myrtle screamed the loudest. "MURDER!" she cried, over and over again. 

My heart missed a beat and I let out a feeble gasp, covering my mouth with trembling hands. The ghost screamed it over and over again and then I heard her leave the room, yelling the same word out into the echoing hall. 

I thought I was about to faint as soon as I saw blood beginning to seep into the stall, carried in by the water that covered the ground. I felt physically ill and it took every bit of strength I had to open the stall door and face the scene outside. 

I stepped out, my shoes splashing against the flooded tiles. I was breathing heavy and turned my head slowly. 

I cried out when I saw Draco, lying strewn on the wet floor, in a puddle of deep red blood.