Trust Me (Drarry)

Chapter 21 - Fourth Year

A/N - Hey guys! Pretty quick chapter this time, is it bad that I'm really proud of myself? :') trigger warning for this one, marked with an asterisk so you can skip it if you want. Apologies for this, I hope it doesn't make you too sad... Hope you enjoy :-)

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Fourth year

DRACO POV

I winced as I lifted my suitcase off of the train, passing it to one of the guards. Blaise looked at me, concerned, but I shook my head and led the way as quickly as possible away from the station and towards to horseless carriages. We travelled up to the castle in silence, but Pansy and Blaise kept glancing at each other and then at me, catching on that something was wrong.

My eyes subconsciously moved along the Gryffindor table at the feast, and I immediately regretted it when I locked eyes with Harry. He looked terrified to even make eye contact with me, and it made me feel so sick that I looked straight back down at my plate.

"Alright, Potter?" I grinned, and he returned it immediately, leaning against a tree. "I didn't think you were coming."
He rolled his eyes. "The Weasleys took forever to go to bed. Too much post-match excitement."
"You were probably the most excited out of everyone!" All Harry had talked about in his letters over the summer was the World Cup. It was his first experience of professional Quidditch and I could tell that he hadn't been disappointed.

He opened his mouth, but then shook his head. "I'm actually speechless. That was the best experience of my life."
"Me too. Krum, I mean-"
"He's so amazing! If I could be anyone in the world..." he sighed wistfully.
I laughed. "You're such a fanboy. Cute."
He paused and looked at me for a second, and I blushed. That slipped out.

I blushed now, guilty about avoiding Harry. He hadn't done anything wrong. I didn't look at him again for the rest of the feast, and as soon as Dumbledore finished speaking I stood up and headed for the door, not waiting for my friends. Unfortunately, they caught up to me on the staircase leading down to the common room.

"Draco! What the hell is wrong?" Blaise asked, putting a hand on my shoulder in an attempt to turn me around.
I didn't look at either of them, I simply kept walking. "Nothing."
"Don't give us that crap, you've barely said a word all day!" Pansy snapped.
I shook my head. "Guys, I'm fine. Just leave it. Please."
They dropped the subject, albeit reluctantly, and Pansy started talking about her summer in France. I sat across from her in the common room and pretended to be completely engrossed in the subject, but I could feel Blaise's eyes on me the entire time.

A couple of Pansy's girlfriends called her over, leaving Blaise and I awkwardly on the sofa. He was still staring at me, and I picked up an Elf Care magazine so that I didn't have to meet his eyes.

"Did something happen with Harry?" He asked suddenly, and I looked up, startled. Luckily, no one was paying attention to us. "Did you fall out over the summer?"
"No! Not everything is about him, you idiot." Well that was a lie.

Harry and I carried on talking about the Quidditch match for a while, before the conversation turned to school.
"Are you excited about this year?"
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Is that a trick question? The only time I feel like a person is when I'm at school."
My heart broke for him, and I shook my head. "That's disgusting."
He shrugged. "I'm used to it."

"Anyway," I continued, trying to lighten the mood again. "I meant specifically this year!" Harry stared at me quizzically, and I smirked. "You don't know what's happening, do you?"
"I would if you stopped being an ass and just told me!"
I leant back against the tree and folded my arms behind my head. "Never."
Harry glared at me for a second, but then leapt forward suddenly, tickling me and poking me everywhere.

I gasped for breath through my laughter, yelling for him to stop and attempting to grab hold of his hands.
"Tell me what's happening!" He said between pokes, but I just shook my head vigorously. "I can do this all night!"
I smirked and grabbed his arms, twisting him around so he was lying on the ground. I hovered above him, my hands gripping his wrists tightly as he struggled.

"Are you sure about that?" I asked, and he stopped moving, looking up at me intensely. I shrank slightly under his gaze, but couldn't tear my eyes away from his face. His eyes still held a playful glint, but there was another emotion there that I couldn't identify. The corners of my mouth twitched when I saw countless pieces of tape around the middle of his glasses, holding them together. I was surprised but not particularly uncomfortable when his eyes flickered down towards my lips. He also smiled and then laughed quietly, and it was only the feeling of his breath tickling my nose that I realised how close we were. If I just leant forwards slightly...

"Something happened!" Blaise insisted, pointing at me. "Your cheeks have gone red!"
I shook my head, trying not to think about it. "Leave me alone, Blaise!" I was shaking angrily as I stood up and walked towards the dormitories. I hated that he was poking his nose into my business, but I hated it more that he had made me think about what happened. I got butterflies in my stomach every time I thought about what COULD have happened if... Well.

"Draco!" I leapt up from the forest floor, dragging Harry with me, and searched for the source of the voice. I knew it well, and it made my stomach churn.
"Get out of here!" I whispered to Harry, who turned and sprinted in the direction of the campsite. A loud thump sounded almost immediately, and my heart dropped when I saw my father appear among the trees, dragging Harry along by his shirt.
"What is the meaning of this?" He hissed, throwing Harry onto the floor and pointing at him. "What the hell are you doing with this... Half-blood scum?"
"Shut your mouth!" Harry snapped. "He wasn't with me, we just happened to bump into each other!"
"At half past 1 in the morning?" Father hissed doubtfully. "Funny how you both thought now would be a nice time to go for a moonlit stroll!"

My feet were rooted to the spot and my mouth was hanging open, but no words were coming out. Harry looked up at me fearfully, his eyes begging me to get us out of this mess. But I had nothing.

"If there weren't so many Ministry officials and security guards around, well," Father laughed emptily. "You certainly wouldn't be seeing the light of day again, Potter. Go back to your blood traitor friends and stay away from my son, or you'll be going the same way as your parents. And speak a word of this to anyone and your friends will be too," he snarled, his face getting gradually closer to Harry's. I watched in horror as he picked him up by his shirt and practically threw him into the woods. Harry barely glanced back before taking off as fast as he could.

Father didn't look at me; he just pushed me roughly through the trees, concentrating on not ripping his long dark robes. We went in silence, but I could practically feel his fury radiating around us. We walked for a while until we came to a clearing where there was a group of people. All of them were wearing robes like Father's and they looked up in surprise when they saw me.

"I'll deal with you later," Father hissed into my ear. He dismissed me in the direction of the campsite after making me promise not to say a word of this to anyone. I was so terrified that I wouldn't have dreamed of it. Instead, I sprinted back to our tent, tucking myself tightly in my bed and waiting in sheer terror for what was going to happen.

*It was worse than I thought. When I pulled my shirt off in the deserted dormitory, I winced at the dark bruises on my torso. My back was even worse, the pale skin broken by the wounds. I quickly pulled on my pyjama shirt before climbing gingerly into bed. As I began to drift off into a painful sleep, Harry's terrified face swam before my eyes.*