sweetener; drarry

2; guilty

TRACK 2
i'm sorry
brenda lee

🍓

"i always thought he was just a wuss," ron began, feigning an expression of anguish as best he could considering he didn't believe that what harry was telling him about the boggart-banishing lesson excused how draco often spoke to hermione and himself, "what with the way he always flinches whenever you two argue and get in each other's faces."

harry turned to the ginger with flushed cheeks and raw emotion in his eyes. he looked utterly distraught, clearly bearing a lot of weight on his shoulders and thoughts in his mind.

"all this time i thought he was a nasty person just for the sake of it — and i always said that right to his face — but seeing how his father treats him...i have this-this pit in my stomach and i feel so...bad." the brunet pinched the bridge of his nose.
"you're taking it way too personally, harry. his dad might not even treat him like that, that could just be what he's afraid his dad will do if he misbehaves. or maybe he made it all up for attention's sake. there's absolutely no way you can know for sure what happens in his stupid little head." ron shrugged his shoulders, unaware of how to help albeit trying his best either way.
"not even draco malfoy would fake something like this for attention!" the green-eyed boy cracked his knuckles to calm his flustered self — though his attempts proved futile. "it's like he gets a new welt or-or a new bruise every day, i swear. remember when he limped into lesson a few weeks ago with a massive purple mark on the side of his face? and when the teacher asked what happened he said he got pushed down the stairs and everyone laughed? because we all thought he was having us on?" harry conspired, delving deep into the situation. "he's so good at hiding things because everyone thinks he's mocking this or making fun of that...maybe his bullying is just an elaborate setup, or a cry for help."

"maybe you need to have a lie-down." ron sighed, shooting the other boy a reassuring smile.

"what's a sign of emotional abuse?" harry began, to which ron simply shook his head in defeat, "behavioural outbursts. how many times has draco blown up about the tiniest things, how many times has he acted out without properly thinking something through? too many bloody times, that's what." the brunet glared up at the ceiling, no longer speaking directly to his friend but more so to himself.
"or, you know, that's just his personality." ron sighed.

"i googled it and-"
"what the hell is a google?" ron's features creased in complete confusion.
"it doesn't matter, just listen. both emotional and physical abuse is directly linked to eating disorders, now, i don't know about you, but i have never seen draco eat more than half a handful of anything at segregated eating times."

"sucks to be him."

"ron!" harry spat, face distorted with hurt. "i'm being serious, someone's life is in danger!"
"since when did you care so much about malfoy? y'know, the same nasty pillock who called hermione a 'filthy mudblood'? you can't forget all the shit he's dragged us through just because his dad's an arsehole." ron grumbled, growing more and more agitated as harry droned on. "you were abused by the dursley's and you're one of the nicest people i've ever met. you're nothing like him so what's his excuse?"

harry gritted his teeth and jumped out of his bunk, clasping his shaking hands together as if stopping them from hitting something — or someone. his face burned an even deeper red than before and he began growling to himself, brimming with rage.
"i was neglected, not abused. they are very different things, ron." harry threw as much spite as he could into the final word of his statement. "and i sure as hell have issues because of what i endured, but the neglect stopped as soon as i came here three and a half years ago! draco's torment is still ongoing. his family is very highly thought of and i can assure you he is put under a shit ton of pressure to live up to those expectations. he gets beat with a bloody cane, for god's sake." harry shot an unsympathetic glare at his best friend, fists still clenched excruciatingly tight.

"if you're so head over heels for that spoiled brat, why don't you go and tell him about your little conspiracy theories?"
"because nobody's seen him since that lesson!" harry cried, and for a split second, it looked as if ron bore an expression of concern for the missing blond before he snapped back to reality and retaliated.
"its only been a few hours, he's probably off crying in his room." the ginger rolled his eyes, a twinge of guilt evident on his face when harry's features alternated from obliviously angry to certainly hurt. "hey, why don't you check the marauder's map? i'm not coming with you but if it'll give you some piece of mind to know where he is then..." ron's words dwindled to a hushed whisper as he sighed and shot harry a weary smile to which the brunet returned with a toothy grin.

"ronald-bloody-weasley, you're a genius!" the green-eyed boy roared, wrestling a drawer open and hastily snatching a piece of parchment entitled 'marauder's map'. he then stuffed the paper into his pant pockets before grabbing his gryffindor robe for warmth and racing out of the dorm.

as he bolted down stone hallways which echoed every time his shoes hit the floor, harry carelessly shoved both arms into his robes without stopping once. although he refused to properly analyse each corridor to ensure he was going the correct way, he could almost sense which direction to turn. it was kind of like a presence was telling him to turn left now and keep heading forward then.

once he had brashly thundered down winding halls and not-so-discretely made his presence known in pin-drop quiet rooms, harry skidded to a halt when he had found a deserted bathroom. not a single person or entity was in sight. perfect. the brunet fingered the map in his pocket until it had sleekly slipped out, almost shifting out of his hands entirely as he fumbled to open it. his face brightened immensely when he spotted in huge lettering the surname 'MALFOY'. he let out a short breath before pounding his feet across the floor, chasing the name on the map.

it didn't take long before the map signalled that harry was two corners away from the boy he so desperately wanted to see, but then it dawned on him. why? why did he want to come face to face with a bully he purposely chose to avoid in past confrontations? he pushed the thought aside, the answer would be revealed once he began talking, and so he charged on.

one corner down, one more to go-

harry stared wide-eyed and blinked disbelievingly. he slipped behind a statue that connected one wall to another creating a corner in which the brunet could perfectly hide behind. his entire body went rigid with icy fear as a sense of profound, abhorrent dread filled him and comprehension of the entire situation filtered through his rattled mind.

the malfoy on the map wasn't draco. the malfoy on the map was lucius.