Mystery Account

16.5-The Tower

Arms stinging and itchy. Eyes raked and heavy. Legs aching and numb. Mind splattered and wary. That's how Draco felt, but he trudged on. It was only when his legs gave out on him, he ran into the wall and his nails dug into it to try to keep him standing. Despite that, he fell against it.

In the mist of all this, his phone was left forgotten on the floor, in the crack of his bed. It buzzed so vexingly, though he had no idea.

Breathing hard, Draco closed his eyes. Maybe he could just sleep there. Although he just woke up and walked with purpose to the Astrometry Tower, he was still so exhausted, and closing his eyes and just leaning against the wall sounded amazing.

"DRACO!"

"I WANT MY FUCKING BEAUTY SLEEP, PANSY!"

"BITCH, I'M THE ONLY BEAUTY IN YOUR LIFE, AND YOU ONLY SEE ME WHEN YOUR AWAKE."

"You haunt my dreams."

Despite their fight, both were left laughing softly at each other. Pansy leaned on the wall, towering over Draco as if they hadn't fought just the day before. She sat down beside him and grabbed his hand. He continued to stare off and out the window of the tower.

"Malfoy, I know you might not want to talk to us, but we're here, and you can," Hermione said mindfully, staring down at their hands.

"If I didn't know any better, you'd be jealous of us, Mudblood."

"Very funny, Ferret."

Draco looked down, then over at Pansy, then Blaise, then Hermione, and refused to meet Harry's hard, yet steady and intent gaze. His heart rammed in his chest now, not the best time. All of them knew he liked Harry, except for Harry, but he honestly probably knew, too. After all, he knew who he was on the mystery account, and he mentioned 'fell for you' while apologising.

Harry slowly bent down on one knee, sighing. "You scared the hell out of me. Are you okay?"

"After everything, you're still asking me if I'm okay, Potter?" he replied as cockily as he could muster, which was the words, but not the tone. His voice was blunt and a little quaked, like he was sick. He honestly was of everything.

"Why did you come find me?"

"Why wouldn't we?" Pansy asked, gripping his hand tightly. "Draco, you might have a temper, but you're our friend, and we love you, and we care about you. Even Blaise came after your fight and failed make up."

Draco's eyes flicked to the silent Slytherin, standing there away from the rest. He was never good with feelings, nor was Draco. They were probably the worst at it, and they had a silent conversation. It ended with Draco tearing up and looking down as Blaise rolled his eyes.

"Harry got pretty possessive over you, you know," he said, a smile tugging at his lips.

"He's my friend, I was just doing what a friend who cares for a friend that's just a friend would do!" Harry glared at him as he laughed.

"Sure, you had the audacity to say 'fuck time' and 'fuck you.' You sounded like someone beat some puppies in front of you and rubbed their blood in your face."

"What the fuck, Blaise," Hermione questioned, with the concerned look.

"What? I have very creative metaphors."

"You're not the only one." Harry laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, glancing at Draco.

"Raked eyes. That's all I'm going to say," Draco muttered, a smile turning on his lips. He couldn't help but laugh a bit, despite everything.

"So... you guys don't hate me for all of that?"

They all said their various no's, Hermione just shrugging since she was barely in this. Draco felt stupid and guilty for everything. He pulled his hands away from Pansy's and he hid his face, shaking his head furiously. He hated all the eyes on him. He normally wouldn't mind it, but this atmosphere was different, it made him feel horrible.

"Hey," a soft voice whispered as a hand placed itself on his shoulder. "It's okay to cry."

"Harry," the teary boy mouthed, unable to get the words to come. He just hugged him and hid his face in his chest, catching a whiff of his scent, something comforting, and definitely not like Pansy's but he certainly could get used to.

A lot of time past and Draco's eyes opened. He was about to pull back, but he realised there were more arms wrapping around him and Harry. Pansy, Blaise, Hermione, they all were in a group hug and Draco couldn't help but cringe. Seeing his friends being affectionate, and Harry Potter and Hermione Granger being nice, they seemed like impossibilities, but here it was. But despite this whole soft moment, he had something to do.

He took in a deep breath and pulled away from them, and while they looked expectantly, he stared out the window. There was a quiet around them as Draco prepared himself for it. He had to do it.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. His riled up attempt at courage left him when he opened his mouth, but he managed the quietest apology, hoping they heard.

But they didn't, or they wanted to hear it again.

"What did you say, Draco?" It was Hermione, she called him Draco. She was looking rather genuinely confused, while Pansy was looking bewildered.

"Did—Did you just—!?"

Draco groaned. "Don't make me repeat it!"

Harry smiled, putting his hand on his shoulder again. "We won't, and like I said, it's okay. We've just about all accepted your opposite-meanings. Even before all of this, I've seen you say something, but your eyes were telling a whole different story."

"What a stalker."

"What a raker."

Draco turned pink and wiped his eyes. "Whatever! I don't suppose your lunch is still warm."

They all laughed, just laughed with Draco about his reaction, and just for a moment, it looked like Harry was looking at him like he was him, like he was this great guy, like he was perfect. They all knew he wasn't, but in Harry's eyes, he was in his own complicated way.

  

[epilogue next]