Across any Divide

Chapter 3

"Have you looked yet?"

Draco huffed, turning to look behind him at Matteo jogging to catch up to him. He tamped his frustration down, running a hand through his normally slicked by hair. "No. I told you - I don't want a soulmate."

"That doesn't mean you haven't looked," Matteo contradicted, pulling a cigarette out from his pocket and lighting it in the hallway as they walked to their next class.

"Put that shit away - you know McGonagall will have a coniption if she sees you smoking it in the corridors," Draco smacked the cigarette from his hand, stomping on it to put it out. Matteo glared at him, the hate in his gaze so much like the Dark Lord's that Draco nearly faltered for a second. The hate was gone as quickly as it appeared, a resentful look rolling through them a moment later as Matteo huffed and turned his attention forwards and down the hallway.

"I don't give a fuck anymore."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Then why are you bugging me about the god damned mirrors?"

"Because I looked in mine."

Draco came to a dead halt, raising a brow. "And?"

"And all I saw was an empty room."

Draco's brow scrunched, "An empty room? Not a person?"

"Nope," Matteo pulled another cigarette from his pocket, lighting it and stepping out of arms reach of Draco as he puffed it. "Not a girl, not a person in sight. I saw movement - she might have been leaving, but I didn't see her."

Draco stayed silent, watching Matteo's face closely, trying to decipher why the boy could possibly be giving him this information. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I thought it might encourage you."

"Encourage me?" Draco snorted, "I don't give a damn about those blasted mirrors - even if I see someone, I won't be -"

"Encourage you to destroy them," Matteo interrupted, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, Malfoy, did Azkaban muddle your brains like it did your aunt? I already told you I don't want this anymore than you do."

Draco scowled at the mention of his deranged Aunt, cutting Matteo a sharp glance, "And I already told you I haven't found a way to destroy them. If you want out so badly why don't you put your mind to it yourself and figure it out?"

Matteo rolled his eyes and turned away. "Just figure it out, Malfoy, before both of us end up with a bitch neither of us want."

Draco caught himself before he shouted something rude after the boy. He tried to remind himself that out of all the child death eaters, Matteo had had it the worst. He was the Dark Lord's son, the heir to the dark legacy, and the one who had taken the brunt of the punishments meant for the others. Draco sauntered down the hallway, his hands absentmindedly wandering to the mirror he kept in his pocket.

He couldn't explain it, but he'd been loathe to leave it lying around his room in case his case overseer stopped by and saw he was neglecting it. He also found that if he tossed it in the trash - or the Black Lake - it would simply reappear back on his dresser in pristine condition as if he'd never tossed it out to begin with. Draco glanced up at the clock, knowing he was already running late for arithmetic, but he detoured to the nearest prefects bathroom.

Draco locked himself in a stall, his fingers running over the oval shape in his pocket. He weighed his options for a moment; keep ignoring it, and eventually have his Ministry case manager on his ass, or look and possibly get lucky and see someone who already had someone else. Azkaban, or possible freedom.

He'd always been a gambler.

With a huff, Draco pulled the mirror out of his pocket, squeezing his eyes shut before he looked down at it. For a moment, all he saw was himself. A short shot of relief coursed through him - if he could only be so lucky as to get himself as his soulmate - and then the image wavered like a ripple in water. The image changed, and suddenly he was looking at a bathroom. He squinted; the image was blurry, like the connection was quite complete. There was no one there, just an empty room. He stared at it for several seconds before rolling his eyes and shoving the damned mirror back in his pocket.