Wounds can be shared, you know? |Draco x Reader FF

14

"Just tonight, act like he doesn't exist" whispers Blaise as he puts his hands on your shoulders. You loosen up a little and brush through your hair in front of the mirror, then you turn to take his hand. "Let's go" you say and the both of you arrive at the party.
Slughorn pulls Harry away immediately to take a picture with him. You inspect the layout and decor, drapes hanging from the ceiling in a beige, greenish color. It made a wonderful lighting, but the amount of guests weren't to your liking. Too many of them you'd never seen before, it made you uncomfortable to squeeze through them. "Drink?" "Thank you, Longbottom" you say and take two, handing one to Blaise. "Oh, Good evening, professor Snape!" "Good evening" he answers whilst passing through the crowd smoothly like a shadow. "How much are you drinking this time" asks Blaise, pinching your side playfully. "Stop it! Just this one, I don't want a repetition of last time either" you laugh and take a sip of your alcoholic beverage, swiftly putting it on a tray of one of the caterers walking by.
Blaise licked his lips awkwardly, then started to speak: "So, about-"
"Take your hands off me, you filthy Squib!" someone shouted, being dragged in by Filch.
It was no other than Draco, who immediately looks at you, loosing all the color in his face as he sees Blaise, whose hand was on your waist the whole time. Desperately you want to tell him it's not what he thinks it is, but you couldn't. Not here, not now.
"Professor Slughorn, sir. I just discovered this boy lurking in an upstairs corridor" Filch said, grabbing onto Draco so tight his jacket spreads open along his chest. "He claims to have been invited to your party."
"Okay, okay. I was gatecrashing! Happy?" Draco says, finally taking his eyes off you and Blaise as the crowd got bigger and professor Snape joined in, stating he'll escort Draco out.
"Certainly, Professor" says Draco, staring Snape up and down like he wants to provoke him before they leave. Slughorn tries to lighten the mood again, quickly urging everyone to go on. But now the mood was ruined anyway, the party quickly dissolves and you leave with Blaise, still hand-in-hand.

"Hey, can we start this conversation again?" asks Blaise. You stop in your tracks. "Again?" you echoed and gulped. "If you need to before we go on Christmas holidays."
"I just need you to answer one question."
"That is?"
"Do you love Draco Malfoy?"
"I said I don't know."
"You do, it's a yes or no question."
Ruffling your hair you turn in your step, then go back full of frustration.
"So what if I say yes? It won't change anything."
"It will for me. I have a last request now that you've answered-"
"I did not."
"You did. My request is a last kiss from you, please. After the kiss I'll forget my feelings and still be your best friend. I just- need to have something to actually cut them off."
You fidget your fingers as you eye the ceiling, a mistletoe growing out and above you and Blaise.
"I guess I can't deny it" you sigh and feel Blaise pulling you into a hug.
Then, he kissed your forehead.
"Thank you" he said and grabbed your hand again.
"Wait, that was it?" you ask, dumbfounded.
"What, you want more?"
"No, I- I'm just surprised, I expected you to like actually-"
"I wouldn't ever force someone to kiss me if they like someone else, Idiot" Blaise laughs and pulls you further down the hallway, where no one else except the two of you and Peeves were wandering around. This night, Peeves left you alone as you passed into the common room and he continued around the castle.

"Mom! Dad!" you shout and hug your parents at the train station. "We're so happy to see you" your mom laughed and your dad grabbed your luggage as you went home.
That night you went to bed with a thousands thoughts swirling your head.
You found yourself in Hogwarts again, wandering the halls in a pretty, flowing dress that felt like it had no weight at all. When you enter the corner to your left you're met with a sky of pink, the hallway filled with balloons and draping of all the shades of red you could imagine. The decorations flee to the walls on the sides, opening up to an enlightened revenue. The white podium was covered in different shades of pink and white, two men on each of the sides standing, like they're waiting. You walk up to them as you recognize their faces, one blonde and one dark-haired, both looking at you in anticipation. "Who do you choose?" they ask at the same time. "Me?" asks Draco. "Or me?" asks Blaise.
The longer you take to choose, the more their outstretched hands close inwards and smiles drop. "You can't wait forever. You have a decision to make" says Blaise, before the colors dropped to a dark red, filling up the sky, walls, flooring and their suits. It started dripping from the sky, the stench filling your nose. You scream as you realize that its blood they're drowning in, but you can only save one. You reach out your hand, grabbing-

"Hey! It's time for you to wake up and open your presents" your mom smiles as she shakes you awake gently.
"I'll be downstairs in a few minutes" you yawn and get out of your sheets, then pick out a comfortable hoodie and sweatpants to wear before following your mom downstairs.
The first present you opened was a new jacket, a very comfy one. It has your favorite color, inside is an imprint of your mom and dad's names, with a little writing that states the date of their marriage and your birth. "Thank you" you say as you hug your mom and your dad, who show you outside.
"You're 16 now, so we thought it was time for you to get more involved in your mothers business" explains your father as he opens up the gate to the garden. On the way you stop at a tree and let the bowtruckles run along into your vest, seeking for the warmth of your body.
"We also see how good you come along with the magical creatures we're already taking care of, though we've always let you meet small ones only. Open up the door to the stalls and see for yourself."
Like your father told you to you follow the path along your garden until you reach the stalls, then slowly open it. You haven't taken care of any big creatures yet, so you are excited to see which one would be waiting for you. To your knowledge there is one stall with your name on it, which is where you're headed.
As you arrive, you peek over the huge gate with a stool to take a look and at back at you looked a Zouwu.
Your eyes widened as you quickly ran back out to look at your parents.
"A Zouwu? I thought you meant Griffin big, not Zouwu big! How did it even get here, they usually live in China!" you shout in excitement but also disbelief.
"You handled Hippogriffs in school already, and Zouwu's are incredibly playful. This one was injured and transported here from a friend of your mom, raised in captivity for nearly all it's life" your dad explains. "We think you are able to give it the best of time here, then we can let it decide wether to stay or not when it's fully healed. Here, we also bought some toys for it" your mom says and goes over to you, handing you some toys. During this, your dad is shushing all the pixy's and fairy's into their homes, whilst the bowtruckles in your vest jump out to hide in their tree again. Then your mom creates a shield around your garden, so nothing could escape.
Lastly, the roof of the stalls open and the Zouwu get's out, immediately running to you as your parents leave.
It eyes the toys, turning its head which shimmers in different shades of orange. As you slowly put them down, the yellow eyes switch to you.
"You really are just a big kitten, aren't you?" you ask and stretch out your hand slowly, the Zouwu immediately snugging it's face against it. The fur of it was so soft. "So... are you a boy?" Like you offended it, the Zouwu jumps back and turns around, the big tail almost hitting you. "Guess not" you laugh and think. "A good name... since you came from there, would you like a chinese one?" Immediately the Zouwu jumps back with a grin, showing off the four big fangs she has. "Good... how about- Bai Ze? It's a mythical beast. No? Okay... something cute? Yes! Mao? It means cat! That's great" you laugh as Mao comes up to cuddle you, pressing it's nose into your side. "I personally think Qiang would've fit well too, seeing how energetic you are!" With that, Mao throws you over and you land on her back, laughing out loud. "Okay, okay! I'm sorry. We'll spent more time together during the break, yeah? Now I have to eat something, I'm really hungry."

With those words you bring Mao back into the stall and close it off, then say goodbye to all the creatures as you go inside to have breakfast with your family.
"I gave her the name Mao" you state and sip on your juice. "Cat? That's a good one!" your dad smiles as he throws on his jacket. "I have to go to work today, Christmas duty. Too many people in the ministry are going missing or quitting out of fear, it's a wonder I could pick you up yesterday!" "Be careful" your mom says and you nod, eyeing the Daily Prophet on the table that reports another disappearance of a Ministry worker.