𝐀 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐨𝐲 || 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐨𝐲 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

82.

hi bubsss!! happy veterans day :) I was contemplating whether to post a chapter today or not because idk if it'd be disrespectful but here i am. make sure to try and pay your respects to all the people who have lost loved ones in service <3 we greatly appreciate you.

enjoy :)

(also make sure to answer the question at the end of the chapter, it'll help me with posting chapters more often!)

It was never discussed between Draco and I on who would take which prefect watches, though I had no trust in him to show up.

That was until he did.

"You're here-" He practically asks after noticing me outside the entrance of the Slytherin dormitories.

"No I'm actually in my bed, getting a good night sleep before school tomorrow." I fake smile at him before leaning against the wall, my arms crossed over my chest.

He huffs humorously at my sarcasm, nodding his head slowly. "You don't trust me to take the shift."

"You should really go into some sort of detective work." I roll my eyes, staring at the ground.

He inhales deeply, some sort of impatience radiating off of him. "Why? Why are you doing this?"

My brows furrow as I look up at him to see his hair slightly messy, the one piece laying above his forehead only adding to the angry attitude.

"What-" I begin in a quiet tone, though am soon interrupted.

"You were the one who asked to be friends- you can't just be all mad now that I'm following the agreement." He raises his voice, taking a step closer to me.

My brows only furrow further as I try to process everything he's telling me.

He stares at me in silence for a moment, his breathing slightly heavy.

"Do-" He begins again, his voice in almost a whisper. "Do you regret it?"

I avoid his eyes at the question, and begin playing anxiously with the rings on my fingers.

"Regret what?" I whisper as he slowly raises his arm so he can tower over me.

I felt weak and powerless when he did shit like this. The towering over me. The sly and flirty smirk. The perfect words in perfect situations.

"Y/n," He whispers only inches away from me, though I continue to look at the ground. "Do you regret asking to be friends?"

I glance up, immediately met with his grey eyes that were filled with such need and want.

"No-" I mumble before clearing my throat and standing up a little straighter. "No... I don't regret, I only move on," I say before avoiding his eyes again.

He sighs quietly, watching me play with my rings. "Y/n-"

"We need to start on prefect duty," I say quickly, ducking under his arm before walking to the stairs that lead out of the dungeons.

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I had searched corridors and classrooms for about an hour before I find Harry sitting on the ground near the Gryffindor dormitories entrance. I wasn't necessarily supposed to be near the Gryffindor dormitories, but having all this power as a prefect made me want to explore the castle even more.

"Well that explains a lot." I huff with disbelief once Harry finishes telling me everything that had happened over his summer.

"Hm?" He hums in questioning, turning his head to look at me.

"Why Umbridge is here. The ministry is scared of you, really." I lean my head back, shaking it slowly.

He chuckles quietly. "I'm flattered."

"Harry-" I clear my throat, sitting up straighter to look at him. "What happened in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class? I've heard rumors about it but I'd like to hear from you what happened."

He inhales sharply, shifting uncomfortably. "Umbridge was just saying untrue things about-" He pauses for a moment, his gaze slowly falling to the ground. "him..."

A small frown forms on my lips as I hear him say a word instead of the name. Its understandable though, relatable even.

"She said-" Harry begins again, though pauses as he scoffs quietly. "She said that his death was a 'tragic accident' and that Voldemort being back is just some sort of rumor or something."

My jaw drops slightly as I process all of the news.

"You're joking- Merlin what the hell is wrong with her?" I scoff, crossing my arms angrily over my chest.

Harry just shakes his head slowly, clearly angry and disappointed with what happened.

"Well... I heard you fought her about it," I look at him for an answer.

"I couldn't not. What she was saying was the most idiotic things I've ever heard in my life." He shakes his head slowly, his jaw tense as his anger rises.

"I bet," I mumble under my breath before leaning my head back against the wall.

I chew on the inside of my cheek with not only worry about what this year will be like with Umbridge but also about Harry. I could tell he was hurt, and the pain was bringing him anger. He had gotten over the depression, and is now dealing with the anger.

"I'm sorry." I whisper, slowly leaning my head on his shoulder.

He exhales deeply, leaning his jaw against my head. "Just- just you can't-" He pauses for a moment, trying to think of the right words. "You can't leave me. And I don't mean physically I just mean-"

"Hey- we go through shit together and we make it out of shit together. I'm not leaving." I reassure him, moving my head to meet his eyes.

A comforting feeling fills me as I watch a genuine smile grow on his lips. Just the thought of knowing I could possibly help the person who had been through what I had been through, and so much worse, was a rewarding feeling.

I rest my head back on his shoulder, a new thought entering my brain.

"Harry-" I whisper, hesitant on asking the question I so badly wanted to.

"Yeah?"

"Were you-" I inhale sharply. "Were you and Cedric a thing? Like... dating?"

His body tenses up immediately and he raises his head up so its not leaning on mine. I raise my head and search his eyes for some kind of reaction to my words.

There's a moment of silence between us before he finally meets my eyes, and I know the answer within seconds.

His tear filled eyes just look at me, as I process the silent answer I had gotten.

Yes. The answer was yes. A painful, painful yes.

I wrap my arms around his shoulders and bring him into a hug. I wasn't going to say I was sorry. I wasn't going to tell him everything will be okay. I wasn't going to show him the pity I knew he had already seen given to him by many others.

Too much pity turns into thinking its fake. Thinking its fake turns into trust issues.

"I'm here, I'm here." Is all I whisper, as my sweater absorbs his tears.

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heyyyy;)

kind of a crazy chapter lmao, i apologize for the sadness in it.

anyways quick question (yes ik ive asked this before lol) what kind of chapters are your favorite? honestly if you just say "happy" thats an acceptable answer, because i can relate. but if you also wanna get super detailed with your answer that'll be greatly appreciated too :) i just wanna write what yall wanna read <3

i love you so so sossosososo SOO much, have a wonderful weekend and thank you for 88k reads!! (literally screamed in a pillow when i realized) bye byeee mwahh!