Aftermath (Drarry)

Chapter 7: "In True Idiotic Gryffindor Fashion"

DRACO:

It was a cold Saturday and Draco was sitting in the common room with Pansy. He was trying to help her with her Potions essay, but she wasn't concentrating on Potions. What she was concentrating on, however, was trying to make him as uncomfortable as humanly possible - although probably not intentionally. They were sat together on one of the green sofas in the common room and she kept shuffling closer and closer to him.

"Make sure you mention that you have to stir anti-clockwise there," Draco reminded her. Her arm was already pressed entirely against his and she somehow managed to move even closer, without acknowledging that he had said anything. "You're not even listening to me, Pansy. I thought you wanted my help."

"I do. I am listening." She batted her eyelashes at him.

"Then why haven't you written down anything that I just said?" Draco was getting angry now. He pushed her away and stood up. Pansy looked shocked and slightly hurt; she had finally got rid of that stupid coquettish look off her face. Rendered speechless, she opened and closed her mouth a few times. "I'm going to go and entertain myself elsewhere since you can't even be bothered to take part in something you asked to do."

"Draco-" Pansy started to speak but stopped as Draco turned and left the common room.

He didn't know where he was going to go. He knew that Saturday was Potter's day to be in the Room of Requirement, so that wasn't an option. He walked up the stairs out of the dungeons and eventually decided to go to the library.

Due to the weather not being great and it being a Saturday, the library was fairly busy. Draco passed lots of groups of people huddled together around tables as he made his way to the back of the library. As he got further away from the entrance, there were fewer people crowding the tables and near the back, he noticed Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger sat together whispering with books and parchment spread out in front of them. He walked past them quickly and chose a table as far away as he could find. As far as he could tell they didn't notice him. He wondered briefly if Potter had told them about their encounter in the Room of Requirement as he sat down and pulled a book out of his bag.

The book was one he had found in the Room of Requirement and had thought looked really interesting: it was about the ingredients used in various healing potions. He began to read but found that Weasley and Granger's presence just a few bookcases away from him was very distracting. He thought about what Potter might have said to them about him. Probably something about how I got so defensive when he mentioned mother or how I'm such an arsehole for not apologising back, he thought.

Draco became conscious of the fact that he hadn't written in his journal since the encounter the previous day. He also hadn't removed it from his bag, where he had safely shoved it, so he rummaged around and brought it out. He considered for a second whether or not it was safe to write in it in public but decided that because there was no one around him, no one would see it anyway. He got out his quill and ink pot from his bag and began to write.

On Thursday, I ran into Potter outside the Room of Requirement. It turns out he has been going there too. For months I've been scared of seeing him just in case he tried to talk to me, but two days ago I had no choice but to talk to him. I was terrified at first. I was so scared that he was going to mention my life debt to him and say that I would probably be in debt forever because the war's over now so how would I save his life, and besides, he's the Boy Who Lived anyway, he doesn't need saving. He didn't mention it, though, and I was going to just leave and let him go in, but he said he wanted to talk to me. I actually thought I was going to be sick then. I'm glad I didn't, that would've been embarrassing.