No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Six: The Remains of Hogwarts

Draco could feel the eyes of the other students on him. His arm throbbed painfully, but he didn't dare complain. Not when there was work to be done to clear up his biggest fuck up of all time.

Staying nearby Harry, he helped moving rubble out of parts of the building, the sharp rocks leaving cuts and scrapes all over his arms and covering him in a layer of grime he'd never in his life been accustomed to. 

Surprisingly, he liked it. It felt good just to be mindlessly helping, not having to think about what anyone else was thinking or doing.

Glancing to Harry, he couldn't help but smile just slightly. The bespectacled wizard was talking with Luna and Neville, his words so foolishly optimistic that Draco couldn't help but chuckle to himself. When Harry glanced back at him, he jumped a little.

"What are you laughing at Draco?"

Picking his words carefully, the blonde evaded the question altogether, instead saying: "You're incredible, y'know that? Even surrounded by all this, you're completely optimistic...a-and the way you talk, it makes your hopefulness pretty contagious..."

He'd stuttered because he was embarrassed. Neville and Luna were both giving him the strangest looks and he wasn't quite sure what to think about it. But, after a moment, Neville grinned.

"I never thought I'd hear the day when you said something completely nice to anyone, Draco," Neville said. Draco was about to say that he never thought he'd hear it either but Luna piped up.

"I knew we would, once he got around people who actually cared about him," She said, offering a smile to Draco. He knew what she meant by that. She'd known about the beatings his father used to regularly give him, as she'd witnessed one the first year she was at Hogwarts. 

He'd made her promise to keep it secret, and she'd said she would, but that he really should tell someone what was going on. Part of him wished he had, long ago, as it probably would have made his life a hell of a lot easier than it was right now. But another part of him was glad he hadn't. He wanted people to forgive him, not pity him.

Standing amongst the remains of Hogwarts, he looked around, his eyes stinging. This place had always been an escape for him, and now here he was, one of the people who'd helped destroy it. Sure, he was also trying to fix it, but still.

"Are you alright, Draco?" Neville asked, making him drunk. Face flushing with embarrassment, he scrubbed the tears off his face on the collar of his shirt, nodding.

"Yeah...better than I have been in a while, actually..." He said.

Harry squeezed his shoulder as Luna gave him a knowing smile. Neville nodded and after a moment, they all went back to work.