Draco Malfoy, Broken

Chapter 36 - Marked

Chapter 36 - Marked

Published: 1/3/2019

TRIGGER WARNING: for self-harm and bullying

Happy New Year!  Hang in there... it's a long, painful one.

Draco woke up exhausted. He had been too tired to even dream. He had had a difficult time finishing his homework and stayed up until near three. Blaise tried to stay awake, but he fell asleep near one. Theo didn't even try to stay up, but he woke up a few times crying. It was Defense Against the Dark Arts day. It hurt Theo almost more than him.

"You finish?" Blaise asked when he sat up in bed.

"Yeah. Barely."

"Sucks... man I wish I could..." Blaise started with some anger.

"Don't he's not worth it," Draco said.

Blaise practically spat as he let out a tirade of swear words. Draco figured that was all he would do, after he promised the headmistress to stay his wand. He grumbled all the way to the bathroom and slammed the door. Draco sighed and slowly got out of bed. Theo was pulling on his socks, tears coming out, again.

"Theo," Draco called.

But he didn't answer. He wiped his tears away and set on slipping his shoes on. Draco didn't push any further. He knew exactly how he felt. Sometimes, you just want peace and quiet to sort out hard feelings. Blaise appeared after a few moments, still swearing under his breath.

"Are you going to shower?" Blaise asked.

"No, I will tonight," Draco muttered. Blaise hit him with a cleaning spell. "Was that necessary?"

"Yes. You may have dipped in your standards of personal hygiene, but I won't have you looking sloppy... sloppier."

"I'm not sloppy!" he growled, even Theo gave him a patronizing look.

"Sure... I remember when you showered every morning and night," Blaise muttered.

"And spent another hair fixing your hair," Theo chuckled.

"Shut up. I have other things to worry about now."

"Like Potter? And that he's sloppy and likes your h-"

"Hey!"

"You know he just picks up a shirt off the floor and throws it on, whenever I go to wake him up. Does he even wash his clothes?" Blaise pointed out.

"Yes, he does. He just grabs whatever..." Draco started, but sensed he was digging himself into a hole.

"Yeah... sure," Blaise said, giving him a wide smirk.

They met Daphne in the common room, and stopped to get Draco's last nutrient potion. Madam Pomfrey still requested that he come every week so she could reassess him. Draco thanked her and they went to breakfast, claiming their usual spot. Daphne sat next to him, today, and Blaise and Theo sat across from him. They were halfway through the meal when the morning delivery packages arrived. None of them took out a Daily Prophet subscription anymore. Draco especially didn't, but when there were cries of alarm throughout the hall, they knew it was something bad.

"Accio paper!" Blaise said, Summoning a newspaper out of a hapless third-year Hufflepuff's hands. "Shit."

"What?" Draco asked, staring at him. It had to be about him.

Blaise exchanged a look with Theo, who nodded. He handed the paper to Draco, who saw a Dark Mark cast above a home and read the article in some amount of shock.