Tropetober Drarry one shots

Hand of Fate

((General Audiences *trigger warning* there's one part where Harry has an anxiety attack triggered by people touching him. It's very short, but I still felt the need for a warning.))

     Harry watched as his friends soul marks activated. He'd been watching since school started. Quite frankly, he was tired of it. 

     Seamus and Dean's marks started dancing just after the final battle last year. They had hugged and the touch had activated the marks. Pansy had tripped on the main stairs. When Ron caught her, theirs started pulsing. Hermione had not been pleased, but she got over it rather quickly when Theo Nott asked to borrow a book. Their hands brushed together and their marks started humming. 

     Everyone described it differently. Dancing, pulsing, humming. Harry just wished his would do something other than sit there. He worried that it would be dormant forever. 

     The biggest problem with not having a soulmate was that he was The Harry Potter. Every student he passed attempted to touch him. Even the new defense professor had tried, much to Harry's chagrin. 

     The smaller problem was that he was lonely. It seemed that everyone had someone. Everyone except him. Well, him and Malfoy. 

     Draco Malfoy had gone to extremes to keep people from touching him. He maintained a protego while moving through the halls. Occasionally a student would bounce off of it if they got too close. McGonagall had frowned upon it as first until she saw that younger students were shoving their friends into Malfoy as a cruel joke. 

     Harry had mostly avoided Malfoy since returning to school. The two were polite when necessary and had even worked together in a few classes with positive results. Most of the older students had the same attitude. They were tired of fighting. 

     Harry was lost in thought as he moved through the halls avoiding his happily coupled friends. He was happy for them, but when you're alone, it's hard to be around happy couples for too long. It made his heart ache. He was missing a person that he probably didn't even know. 

     He was headed to the Room of Requirement. He just needed some space to clear his head. He passed a few students, but didn't pay them any mind. He should have as they had noticed him. The whispers started as he kept moving. Then they were grabbing and touching him. Trying to see if they were his match. Hands seemed to be everywhere. His hands, arms and face. He couldn't breathe. They wouldn't stop even though he was yelling. 

     "Hey, get off of him," a familiar voice yelled. Harry heard a couple of thumps against the wall across from him. "Go on then. Before I call McGonagall." The person knelt down in front of Harry. He didn't try to touch him or comfort him, he just stayed. 

     "You're safe now, Potter. I won't let anyone touch you." When he said Potter, Harry knew exactly who he was. "Breathe, Potter. In. One, two, three. Out. One, two, three." He repeated this several times and Harry found that he could breathe easier. His steady, sure voice calming Harry. "What's one thing you can see?"

     Harry was puzzled, but he answered, "Your sweater matches your eyes." He didn't know why he said that, but he was happy that he did when Malfoy smiled. 

     "Are you ready to get up?" He stood in a fluid, graceful movement. His hand held out for Harry. He didn't make any demands, he just left it so that Harry could choose for himself. 

     Harry took the proffered hand and felt a tingling in his arm. Malfoy had an odd look on his face. They both rolled their right sleeves up. Their soul marks were swirling in identical patterns, looking like twin snakes trailing across their skin. 

     "I should have known it would be you, Potter," Malfoy said, shaking his head as he lead Harry down the hall.  

     Harry smiled at their joined hands. Fate might choose who moves your mark, but it had been his choice to take the hand of fate.