Short stories

What he saw

                                                           ! Major spoilers for Harry Potter book 6!

Draco was crouched in the corner of the room, shuddering. Tears ran down his face but he didn't even try to wipe them off, knowing more tears would replace them. "Dumbledore was dead" he thought in anguish. He kept repeating it over and over, hoping after a while the words would be numb to him. But they didn't. If anything, it just cut deeper and made it even more agonizing. Yeah, sure, he always acted cold around Dumbledore. But still... the look on his face when he fell. When Snape killed him. His body as it-! He clamped a hand over his mouth, gagging. It would've been so much better if Dumbledore had fought back. But he hadn't. Instead, he just stood there, ruefully smiling, arms open as if he had been welcoming death. Draco shivered. He was in Snape's office, where he had told Draco to wait until he got back from managing Hogwart's after Dumbledore's dea- no, not death. Death was when someone quietly slipped away from the world, when they died surrounded by their family, the people they loved. No, this was murder. He was a murderer. Sure, he hadn't been the one to say the forbidden curse, but... he could've stopped it. He could've told Dumbledore beforehand. He could've taken the hit instead. As these thoughts, what ifs, stormed through his head, he eventually got too tired to do anything. Snape hadn't come back yet. His tears had ran out, and his shirt was salty from his dried ones. So when sleep slipped into his consciousness, he didn't fight it, eyelids drooping. And then he dreamed.

He was standing in the kitchen of the Malfoy Manor. He instantly recognized the memory. A younger version of him, maybe 5 or 6, was standing at the sink. He remembered it so clearly. That day his mother had been sick. He had wanted to please her, to have her accept him, or maybe, just maybe, a good job from her. That would've been nice. So he had decided to make tea. He had already finished making it in the dream, a cup of piping hot tea in his tiny hands. He had been so excited, so hopeful, that his mother would finally see him as worthy of love. Current Draco winced, already knowing what would happen, and yet still wishing to stop it. He watched as his younger self began to run to his mothers room, only to trip over his wobbly 5 year old legs and spill the piping hot coffee all over himself. Watched as he had collapsed, cradling his left arm, where the majority of coffee had spilled, and cried. Waiting for someone to come and help. But... no one had. And as the pain got worse and worse, he had finally stumbled to the sink and ran cold water over the already blistering burn. And he watched as his younger self finally realized what he had known for a long time. No one was going to help him. He was completely and utterly alone.

And with that, he startled awake, sweating. It was nearly dawn now. Snape still wasn't back. He was still curled in the corner. He slowly stood, sore and achy from sleeping in such a awkward position on the floor. He stumbled to the bathroom, head spinning from dehydration, and drank from the faucet, not bothering with a cup. He washed his face and looked in the mirror. He looked ragged and tired. How accurate, he thought with snort. He had finally calmed down some. That's when it hit him. The reason why he was so distressed about Dumbledore was because... he was the first person that had ever reached out to him. And with that thought, another wave of grief washed over him, ripping him in half. 

After a long time, he peeled off his sweaty clothes and took a cold shower. He stepped out and put on new clothes, feeling a bit better. But he still didn't know how he was going to get through this. But then he looked in the mirror. And what he saw wasn't a murderer. They weren't worthless. They weren't a failure. He saw a little boy, in pain. In need of help, not knowing how to ask. Feeling ashamed. And at that moment, he realized that this was what Dumbledore had seen as well.

A/N: Hey! Noura here. Sorry for the angsty chapter. I wrote this for my Harry Potter obsessed friend. I have a few more ideas for this. Should I make another chapter? Thanks for reading! Appreciate comments and votes!