The Last Black.

Chapter 3: finding Black.

When Draco woke up, he was in the infirmary. On one side was his group of friends- Pansy, Blaise, Theo and Crabbe, and on the other was Harry-bloody-Potter and his two besties. On his left side, in front of the golden trio, was Toby. He was sat in a seat by Draco's head and he was chatting quietly with Daniel. Draco looked behind all the people to see Madame Pomfrey speaking to the portraits of Sev and Dumbledore, who were both looking over to check on the group every once in a while. He even noticed that Headmistress McGonnagal was walking briskly into the infirmary, her stern face twisted in worry. He groaned quietly and covered his eyes with his left arm, not realising that once again, his sleeve had rolled up, showing everyone in the room the mutilated flesh. All eyes were immediately drawn to the movement and he heard a collective gasp from all except his four friends who had already seen his arm.
"oh for gods sake. Yes. My arm is disgusting. I am vile. You don't understand how the deatheater scum could possibly stoop so low as to hurt himself?"
He sneered, pulling his sleeve back down viciously. They all opened their mouth to say something but he interrupted, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.
"Oh save it. I don't want to hear about how you pity waste like me. I'm done. I've been here for one. Night. And I'm already being attacked in corridors. I'm going ho-ack!"
His legs buckled beneath him and before he hit the ground Harry rushed over and caught him, setting him back down on the bed. They all watched as he hung his head, glaring at his thighs in frustration.

Madame Pomfrey wondered over and explained what she had done to him to help with his wounds, what was happening to Corner and Boot and what Draco had to do to recover. He turned out to have 5 broke ribs, a broken bone in his wrist, a black eye and bruised cheekbone, a swollen nose and a mild concussion. She had managed to heal most of it over night however the concussion and 3 of the broken bones (his wrist and 2 ribs) still remained. They all stayed silent throughout her mini speech but what she said next had everyone's glances back on Draco again.
"Mr Malfoy"- his hands twitched-"it has come to mine and others attention, that you have been harming yourself. We want to know why and how we can help you not to do it again.."
She trailed off, looking at Draco uncertainly, waiting for an answer. He simply shook his head and laughed, the sound had no happiness or humour in it however, and as he looked up she saw glassy tears running down his face. He shrugged and smiled sadly at her.
"You can't help me Madame. I don't deserve or want it. I'm sorry."
He got up again, steadier this time, and walked out of the infirmary. As he went 13 pairs of concerned and sad eyes followed.

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Three days later left Draco in bad, maybe worse condition. His mother had written to him, having been told about his injuries, and they had been writing back and forth since. She thankfully hadn't been told about his habit, however she had been told about his cowardly flinching whenever someone called him by his last name. This has proceeded to turn to a conversation about the Blacks. How Sirius Black was his uncle of a sort, and how Tonks was his cousin. When and why her family had outcasted his aunt Andromeda, and all about their family legacy. They had come to an agreement that they would no longer be Malfoys, they were through with that name, instead they would continue to be Blacks. In the mean time, Draco started to think about the fact that he had helped to kill members of his family, his very own flesh and blood. The thought brought a fresh wave of tears to his eyes and he sat, up in the astronomy tower, crying. Apologising to everyone who died because of his stupidity: Fred Weasley, Lavender Brown, Tonks, Severus, Dumbledore and many many more. His sobs ricocheting around the lonely tower. He held his wand to his arm in the darkness of the night and whispered the cutting hex, time and time again. He ripped up his skin using 'sectumsempra' until he could no longer see blank space. And when he couldn't do that anymore he lifted his arm to his mouth and bit. He ripped his arm to shreds and sat, howling in pain and mourning. He did that until morning, when he would fall asleep in the tower and wake up back in his bed. This continued every night. He never thought anything of it, just thought that he must have dreamed it up. The only proof that it wasn't a figment on Draco's imagination was the hundreds of cuts and bloody bite marks running across his arms. He didn't eat, hardly slept and couldn't find the energy to pay attention in class. He kept his head down but still got cornered almost 10 times a day, called names and turned into a personal punching bag to almost everyone in 7th and 8th year.

He found that every day at meal time, he would feel a piercing gaze on the back of his head. He would turn and look directly into the eyes of Potter, the anger and sadness present through all the other mixed up emotions in his emerald green eyes. Draco would always stare back, and after 5 seconds of staring he would break the bond and look back at his full plate, leaving a set of sad yet determined eyes following him.