Aftermath (Drarry)

Chapter 2: "Keeping The Peace"

DRACO:

The common room was mostly empty as Draco made his way through it. There were a few younger students playing chess in the corner of the room who, when they saw him, quickly averted their eyes. This was a common occurrence now. Everyone knew that he had been a death eater and not everyone thought he should be back at Hogwarts this year. In fact, there had been a lot of students protesting to McGonagall when they found out he was coming back. McGonagall, however, was having none of it.

"You haven't lost your right to an education just because of one small mistake," she had said to him. "And, Draco," she'd said as he was leaving her office, "if you ever need someone to talk to you know where to find me."

Small was an understatement. The mistake he had made was immense and had cost a lot of people their lives, but for some reason, he wasn't being punished for it. Honestly, he thought it was annoying how forgiving she was being. It reminded him of Dumbledore - and he did not want to be reminded of Dumbledore. He knew he didn't deserve forgiveness after everything he had done so why was she giving it to him? Urgh, it's sickening, he thought as he exited the common room.

He walked stiffly through the deserted corridors, constantly on edge in case he crossed paths with anyone. The corridors were riddled with reminders of the war - reminders of what he did. He couldn't help but feel responsible for everything. If he hadn't brought the death eaters into the school that night, Dumbledore wouldn't be dead, and so many people - reporters, ministry officials, and theorists alike - were saying how that was the catalyst for the Battle of Hogwarts.

He was relieved when he made it outside without seeing anyone, and although most of the school seemed to be sat outside in the sun, there were fewer reminders of all the pain he had caused out here. He made his way over to the lake and sat down next to it, hoping nobody would notice him. The surface of the lake was shimmering in the sunlight but underneath the water was dark and gloomy. He stared down into the lake and soon got lost in his thoughts.

Not long after he had sat down, movement nearby caught his eye. He looked up to see Harry Potter sit down on the edge of the lake not so far away from him. He looked preoccupied and didn't seem to notice Draco. Draco unconsciously stared at Potter, watching him glare down into the water, and thought about how he had saved his life. Thinking about his life debt to Potter (of all people) made him feel humiliated. It was something he tried never to think about. He had spent a lot of time over the summer wondering why Potter had saved him from the burning Room of Requirement. He supposed it was a Gryffindor thing, or maybe a Chosen One thing, or maybe it was just something good people did. He had no doubt that if the roles were reversed he wouldn't have thought twice about saving his own arse and leaving Potter to die, though he might have regretted it afterwards.

When Draco realised he was staring, he quickly looked back down at the water, his face heating up slightly. The last thing he wanted was Potter to notice him and he definitely didn't want him to try to talk to him, although he had a feeling the Gryffindor would try to eventually (probably about the life debt that Draco was trying so desperately not to think about). He wasn't sure how Potter felt about him coming back to Hogwarts and he wasn't desperate to find out.

Draco wasn't sure how much time he had spent staring into the water, lost in his thoughts, when he felt a pair of eyes on him. Looking up, he locked gaze with Potter, who was stood facing him. Why is he looking at me? Now that he was looking directly at him, Draco noticed something he hadn't before: Potter looked tired. His green eyes had large bags underneath and his shoulders were slightly slumped. Draco looked away quickly, a blush rising to his cheeks again, and stood up. He couldn't stay there now that Potter had noticed him. I'll go to the library, he thought as he hurried towards the castle, he won't follow me there.