Empty Spaces

Chapter 60

Draco prided himself on his ability to be an excellent student; it was quite possibly the only aspect of his life that didn't make him feel like a complete failure as a Malfoy. His expulsion from school only fueled the fire, and he'd spent practically every available moment that spring studying or practicing or both. Nobody told Draco Malfoy that there was something he couldn't do.

To his secret relief, the written exam wasn't any more difficult than he'd been anticipating and Draco indulged in a bit of well-deserved smugness before making a mental note to thoroughly thank Hermione (and Harry– but mostly Hermione) for keeping him so well caught up that spring. He was pretty sure there weren't many others who could pull off what he'd done; on the other hand, he also hadn't done it alone and he knew it. It was the exact opposite of what Lucius always advised: A Malfoy lives and operates alone.

Fuck off, Lucius . I have NEWTs to pass.

"Draco Malfoy to Fen Hemlock," Flitwick announced, reading off the parchment and gesturing Draco to a middle-aged wizard whose facial expression told Draco everything he needed to know about how the practical portion of the exam would go.

"Mister... Malfoy," Hemlock greeted Draco, barely bothering to disguise the dislike dripping from his voice. "Bit of a surprise to see you here. I thought all the Malfoys were tried after the war."

"Aren't you supposed to be proctoring my exam right now?" Draco drawled, holding his head high and assuming a nonchalant stance while his insides burned with fury.

"Aren't you supposed to be in prison with the rest of your family?" Hemlock replied coldly. "Alright then, Mister Malfoy, please demonstrate the charm one might use to clear the early stages of a Doxy infestation."

Draco's fury temporarily morphed into a wicked satisfaction as he realized what this fucking self-proclaimed vigilante was about to do: Give him the most absurd tasks in order to try and fail him as punishment for bearing the Malfoy surname. Only this idiot clearly didn't know what Draco had been doing for the past six months or so. Draco cast his Knockback charm with a haughty superiority that only a Malfoy could deliver. You want to play? Game on.

It was a short lived victory as Draco realized just how much Hemlock held the upper hand. Draco hadn't been able to attend classes for months and despite his friends' best efforts to keep him caught up, there is only so much you can learn from a book or a handful of other teenagers. But Draco kept his face and put on an excellent show, steadfast and determined to win on at least one front: This fucker would never know just how much Draco was struggling. There were several times when he had absolutely no clue what spell to cast, so he just chose something that seemed like it could conceivably accomplish whatever task he was supposed to be doing, keeping his cool and acting as if the whole thing was below him. He'd had plenty of practice with that at least.

Hemlock kept him far longer than anyone else; Draco was vaguely aware that Harry had come and gone with another examiner while the crowd of people waiting grew thinner and thinner. Finally, Draco was dismissed with a look that told him all he needed to know about the fate of his NEWTs. After all that work and preparation, one fucking idiot had the power to rip it all away just for fucks and giggles and maybe a good bit of revenge. Draco wondered what Lucius had done to the poor fucker, and almost felt sorry for Hemlock before remembering that he probably just failed his NEWTs because of it and then the anger resurfaced once more.

"We did it, hey come here!" Harry caught Draco and pulled him into an embrace, "Come on, how'd it go? ...Holy shit, what's wrong?"

Draco immediately felt bad for killing his boyfriend's mood, and quickly offered a brief explanation of Hemlock's biased exam– if you could even call it that– while Hermione listened in with a look of outrage.