(Drarry) Faking My Own Death

Chapter 56: 'Told You So' by Paramore

(Hope this was clear already from canon, but TW for fire.)

"I know you like
When I admit that I was wrong and you were right
At least I try
To keep my cool when I am thrown into a fire"

Draco didn't particularly like Harry utilising their 'fling' as a ploy to distract Pansy. After all the anxiety Harry displayed over the possibility of Ron and Hermione finding out about them, it felt weird to flaunt it so openly to Hogwarts' biggest homophobes.

Speaking of which, Draco's old 'friends' were being rather tame in their homophobia today. Likely the fact that Draco liked Harry made their brains short circuit. They had no idea which point to ridicule first, the fact Draco was gay or that it was Harry he was fawning over. With Harry being present as an added bonus, there were too many options for bullying the two of them. Apparently the gay thing was least enticing right now.

Still, it felt mean for Harry to do this.

Draco heard Harry's words from the past few hours float around in his mind.

"Draco doesn't follow orders, he's a terrible listener... You're Slytherin through and through... Draco's with us, he's docile... You're a terrible influence..."

Piercing through the echoes, Harry's eyes as he called him 'baby' in front of Pansy and her gang. He stared at Draco, but despite his best acting Draco could feel no emotion from him. It wasn't a real 'baby', it was a sick excuse, a party trick.

Then, he'd tried to claw at Draco's face like he gave a fuck. Like Draco didn't notice he was being weird, taking peeks at the Horcrux.

Before, Harry had made Draco feel bad for getting into a fight with Pansy, but then turned around and did the exact same. Even worse, the way the Horcrux bounded back its power on Pansy was a horrific sight. She looked paralysed, either by fear or pain, her hands twitching, her eyes bawling.

Draco didn't feel like she deserved it. Not this time. Sure, she had taken Draco hostage, but that was barely the worst thing she'd ever done. It didn't warrant this excruciating agony. Everything about her face screamed that she wished to die, the moment the Horcrux flung her into the air.

Harry grabbed the Horcrux and seemed fine doing so, pulling on Draco's hand to get him moving. Draco didn't want to, but there was no other option. Despite pitying her, Draco didn't want to help Pansy, so standing around would do little to diffuse the situation. He followed Harry begrudgingly.

He felt so useless.

If he hadn't suggested to split up, or perhaps if he'd stuck by Harry's side, Draco wouldn't have been alone for Pansy to ambush.

He had heard their chattering before he saw them. In fact, he had distinctly heard either Crabbe or Goyle knock something over, and Pansy had snapped harshly. Draco had tried to silently make a run for it, but some unfortunately well-placed mirrors had revealed he was already closed in.

"Hello again, Draco." Zabini had whispered as Pansy took some ancient medieval weapon and slapped the back of his head. It turned out to be a fake weapon, so the hit wasn't fatal, but it had hurt enough to make Draco drop to his knees.

Earning a few slurs from Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini as he struggled against them, Draco had been grabbed tightly by Pansy.

"Hold still. You know better than to make a fuss, right? You know what we'll do to Harry." She had hissed in his ear.

As far as intimidations go, this was worth about a four out of ten, especially with the dummies Crabbe and Goyle smirking and slapping their fists in their hands, up for a wrestling match. It had looked tired and outdated, had they really not come up with better tactics since Draco left? Something with flair? Creativity, at least? Even Zabini knew to add the dramatic element of a ring on his fist, now that had hurt.