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He and his friends were all in the library, working on a ridiculous DADA essay that was supposed to be handed over by the end of the week. The assignment was far harder and more complex than anything Draco had ever worked on before, but he supposed it made sense… They were all adults now, only returning to the partially-destroyed Hogwarts’ grounds to finish their schooling in an impromptu Eighth-Year – not to mention that all of them were fresh out of a brutal war.
Naturally, they were as ready as they could be to move on to more complicated spellwork. If the students managed to keep themselves alive after everything they had gone through, then surely they could deal with pretty much anything else that came their way, right?
Well… Not quite.
After all, it was impossible to concentrate and apply themselves on even the simplest tasks due to all the stress and sleep deprivation that consumed the minds of all the older students.
Not that it mattered how much Draco applied himself in his essays anyway.
The professors rarely gave him the fair marks he knew he deserved as they were too busy sneering at him and snapping in anger whenever he opened his mouth (which made the fact that he needed to graduate with good marks all the more challenging for him).
All in all, it had been a difficult year for all of them, but for obvious reasons, it had been particularly hellish for the Slytherins as a whole – as they were now shunned for the roles their families took during the war. They were now considered to be the ‘enemies’ even though most of them hadn’t even had a choice in the first bloody place.
They were nothing more than scapegoats by that point. The professors and students of other Houses alike needed someone to blame for all the mess that happened and it was too easy to point their fingers to the most isolated House in Hogwarts, promptly ignoring the fact that they, too, had had their own losses to deal with.
Thank the Gods school was almost over for good!
He honestly wasn’t sure if he’d be able to survive for much longer in a place like this.
All of this felt like a bloody waste of his time. If he had a choice, he wouldn’t have returned at all, in fact! Nothing good could possibly result from going back to this buggering haunted castle!
And that wasn’t even mentioning how he hated –
"Uh-oh," suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted as he heard Blaise laughing by his side – followed by a couple of nudges on his ribs until he finally raised his head from the book he was reading to look at his friend. And after catching his attention, he continued in a mocking whisper. "I think someone has a crush!"
Draco raised an eyebrow at him, looking over to his other side to see if maybe Theo would know what the hell he was talking about – but as he turned, he immediately understood what the other meant:
Theo's big hazel eyes were fixed on the desk right across from theirs – looking absolutely distracted (downright bewitched, he’d even dare to say) by whoever was sitting there. There was a faint flushing of red taking over his cheeks, creeping to the tips of his ears and down the nape of his neck and his mouth had fallen slightly agape and the sugar quill he was nibbling on almost dropped down to the open book that had been promptly forgotten.
In a flash, all the bitterness and sour mood Draco was feeling seconds earlier dissolved into a small smile as he watched his friend under the dim library’s candle lights.
Gods! The poor bloke was so lost in his own lovesick world he hadn’t even realised that his friends were now sniggering at him. He really was too enthralled by his crush – whoever that was.
He looked back at Blaise, sharing a knowing smirk of two friends that were already silently plotting together a bit of harmless teasing (just like old times).
Maybe this is what he needed to feel young again – to feel like his age, for once.
And as curiosity got a hold of his senses he diverged his gaze towards where Theo was looking – just to see who had captured his interest so suddenly. Which had to be quite an impressive someone, considering that in all these years since he had known Theo (befriending him when they were mere children in their nappies, really) he had never once seen his friend showing any romantic interest at anyone at all.
So of course Draco had to be curious about it!
But that turned out to be a terrible mistake, as the feeling of bitter dread sank down in his stomach and threatened to drown him.
The small upwards curve he had on his lips died down to morph into a nauseated grimace.
He blinked and rubbed his eyes – as if not trusting them – and when the image remained the same, he looked around to see if maybe his friend was looking somewhere else and he was getting the tables mixed up, but no one else was hanging around the library other than the two occupied desks (well… There was also Madam Pince, he supposed – But she was hidden away by the corner and there was no way in hell Theo would have a crush on her).
Which meant that there was no mistake about who he was looking at.
Oh, Theo – You absolute idiot.
Right across from them – minding their own business as they joked around and studied together – was the Golden Trio themselves. Flashing their usual carefree wide smiles that only heroes, saints and role models could have, working on their probably flawless essays and completely unaware that one student from a ‘tainted’ house was suddenly enamoured by their presence.
Surely, this was a tragedy waiting to happen. Though, that wasn't to say that the trio themselves were all that bad.
Of all returning students, those three had been by far the most welcoming ones – especially after he and some of the other Slytherins took upon themselves to publicly apologise to them (something that hadn't been easy, but completely necessary) and they had graciously accepted the apology with a smile and a promise of trying for new beginnings.
In fact, the only reason Draco hadn't been outright tossed inside an Azkaban cell to rot like his father was because Potter and his friends had taken it upon themselves to speak up in his favour during the trials. He owed them his freedom and their forgiveness, even when he clearly didn’t deserve it.
But still... They were the Golden Trio.
Their names were celebrated everywhere in the Wizarding World nowadays: The papers loved to sing praises about them and to narrate time and time again on all of their accomplishments. The Ministry had already offered them the best positions in the Auror Department even before they graduated. The masses worshipped the ground they walked on. They had earned their Order of Merlin.
Everyone loved them. And rightfully so!
But the Slytherins as a whole?
Well... They were the power-hungry traitors, weren't they? The scourge of the Wizarding World as far as everyone was concerned. Too preoccupied with blood and old-fashioned traditions to actually realise that the times had changed to see that the Sacred 28 were now as obsolete as their failed Dark Lord.
It’d be a little funny how quick the public’s opinion could switch around when wars were involved, if it wasn’t so tragic.
And now he had to watch poor Theo foolishly falling in love with one of the untouchable heroes and his heart wept in pity for him and his about-to-be broken heart.
A movement suddenly called for his attention as Granger's nose scrunched up a little while her eyes narrowed and her lips pressed into a line as she fought off a laugh that threatened to bubble out of her – looking utterly adorable, if he could be honest with himself for a second.
Then, she flicked her wand up to point out a mistake in Potter's writing (something probably silly or rather obvious as the man reddened up with a grimace and hurried himself to fix it while Weasley laughed his arse off) and finally, she flashed her teeth in a delighted smile – giving Potter a playful shove to his sides and saying something that Draco couldn't quite make out.
He did, however, hear Theo's small gasp loud and clear.
Bugger it all! He really was in love with Hermione Granger of all people, wasn’t he!?
Not that he could really blame him, though. Only a blind fool would ignore how gorgeous Granger had gotten since the end of the war and how clever, kind, brave and powerful she had always been – she had filled up and grown into her curves quite nicely now that she wasn’t worrying over her life all the time and her eyes carried a certain edge of wisdom and confidence that only heightened her beauty.
Frankly, he knew well how terrible it was for his friend to have a crush on the Golden Girl. And how much of a recipe for disaster it was to fall for the one witch that would never return her feelings for someone like… Them.
And that’s because Draco himself had one – a harbouring sentiment that had started back in the Fourth Year and had only matured and grown over the years. It was a limerence that was completely misguided. A nuisance in his day-to-day life, really.
Something doomed to fail.
Draco was a Pureblood (for as little as he status mattered nowadays, it still felt important to spell it out) – he was the heir of two of the oldest, most traditional and bigoted families England had to offer – he had the family duty of marrying an equally pureblooded witch to make some senseless pureblood heirs together to carry on with their cursed bloodline to the end of times.
And Granger was a war Hero – a witch of incredible virtue that should never be ruined by a Death Eater like him. She deserved someone better than him at any rate. (Hell! Theo might as well have a chance to woo her. At least his father never forced him to take the Dark Mark when he was a kid).
Unfortunately, even when he knew that he’d never have her and that his heart was being illogical with his emotions, he still felt the sharp anguish of jealousy taking over his senses when he realised that someone else shared the same fascination with Granger as he did.
And this someone else was his best friend (who didn't even know about Draco’s infatuation), to make matters worse.
“So –” Blaise spoke up with a flippant smirk in his lips as he wrapped an arm around Theo’s neck, as the man snapped back to reality and turned to look at his friends. “Our little snake has fallen in love with a lion?”
“Wh – What?” He choked on his own tongue as his eyes widened in shock. His infatuation was as clear as day. “How did… Erh – No I don’t! What the hell are you talking about?”
Merlin! He had to be the worst liar on the planet!
“Come on, Theo,” their friend laughed as the shade of red from the other’s face deepened even further. “Don’t deny it – You’re our friend! We know you!”
“You… Know me?” He let out a bit of a huff, sounding almost unconvinced as he narrowed his eyes to the pair.
“Of course we do! And there’s nothing to be ashamed of! Chin up, lad – Having a crush is not a crime, you know?”
Theo seemed too shocked to respond for a solid minute or two, merely looking at his friend as if he expected them to take back their own words and laugh at him. But when Draco and Blaise just kept flashing him encouraging smiles, he readily crossed his arms, with a flush even deeper than before.
“Well!” He groaned. “Given who I’m in love with… It might as well be!”
“Don’t be ridiculous –”
“Seriously!” He protested with a click of his tongue as he motioned to the trio right across them – thankfully, the Golden Trio were all too engrossed in their own work to notice the three squabbling Slytherins in the library. “I mean… Look at me!”
“We are looking!” Blaise laughed with a shrug. “I don’t see anything wrong with you, mate!”
“Nothing wrong?” He parroted with a choked gasp. “Are you sure?”
Poor bloke – Draco pressed his lips to a thin line as he thought to himself – clearly the war had damaged his ego quite a bit. The Theo he used to know was far more confident in himself back in their earlier Hogwarts days.
Merlin, how he wished he could just take his friend’s doubts away… He didn’t need to feel that insecure about himself, no matter who he was in love with. (Even if it was a girl that Draco himself wished he could have!)
“And you guys aren’t… Mad at me?” His voice sounded suddenly so small, they had to lean in closer to be able to hear him at all.
For a second, Draco raised an eyebrow at him staring at the way his friend fidgeted in his seat and looked almost guilty as he admitted his crush with a whisper.
But then, as recognition dawned on him, he felt the blood in his veins running cold.
Why did he think they’d be mad? They’d be mad for what, exactly?
For liking someone from the Golden Trio? Someone that was a Gryffindor?
Or was it because he liked someone with a… Muggle heritage?
Did he think that they didn’t change at all after the war? Did he seriously think they still held those stupid backwards views their parents had?
“Theo, please –” Draco spoke up with a smile that was strained and a bit too wry for his tastes. But as he raised his Occlumency walls and fortified his broken heart to mask his jealousy, he continued with a smooth drawl and a friendly pat on his back. “You think we care about that? Gods! We just want you to be happy, mate!”
It pained him how sincere he was. He really hoped for his friends’ happiness every day, after all. He just wished Theo wasn’t in love with Granger but other than that, he was thrilled for him to have found someone he fancied!
“But…” He insisted with a sigh. “What would my father say?”
His mind went back to Theodore Nott senior – A stout man that used to smoke just about the worst smelling cigars every time he visited the Manor when he and Theo were kids – he and Lucius were great friends even before the war and to no one’s surprise, the man was just as much of a stuck-up prejudiced prick as most of the Purebloods Lords were.
And watching Theo fearing over his reaction (even though he was away in a jail cell never to be let out again) made his expression morph into an angry scowl even with all the training Draco had done to hide his feelings with magic.
“Fuck him! Hasn't our parents ruined our lives enough?” He snarled while Blaise nodded by their side. “If there’s one thing the war has taught me is that you never know what tomorrow will be like, mate! So why not take a chance at your own happiness? This is your life, Theo – Only you get to choose who you spend it with!”
“Oh, Draco,” his hazel eyes glinted with emotion as he met Draco’s cold mercurial gaze. “I… I suppose you’re right.”
“Of course he’s right!” Blaise sniggered, nudging him a little until his lips lifted upwards. “Draco may be an arsehole most of the time, but he’s a smart arsehole! He knows what he’s talking about!”
“Thanks, I guess… Wanker.”
“So!” Blaise chirped, ignoring the insult hurled at him. “What are you waiting for?”
“What do you mean?” Theo blurted out, looking like he was about to pass out. “Waiting for what?”
“You know what I mean! Go shoot your shot, mate!”
“But – I can’t! I mean… That Weasley bloke alone would kill me if I even took a step close to their desk!”
Draco’s eyes narrowed as he looked across the room, glancing over to the red-headed oaf in question – who was now asking Granger something about the proper wand movement he should be doing for a charm – and he refrained from downright sneering at him.
With the end of the war and their return to Hogwarts, the Weasel had taken upon himself to act as a guard dog and ‘protect’ his friends all the bloody time. Wherever Potter and Granger were, he was walking right behind – shooting nasty glares and moving for his wand any time anyone even looked at his friends.
(Which, to be fair… Draco was pretty much as protective of his own friends and acted pretty much the same. But that didn’t make it any less annoying!)
And with Weasley’s already well-known jealous tendencies, his prone nature to act before thinking and the ever-growing ego that came with being a war hero it was safe to say that he was an obstacle that needed to be dealt with.
But as he shared a quick look with Blaise, it was clear that this wasn’t something that would stop them.
“I’ve already told you, Theo,” he winked at his friend, coaxing him to lift his chin up high. “Sod what other people think – Be it your father, the Weasel or any other wanker that might feel the need to share their two cents on something that has nothing to do with them – those people don’t matter!”
“Exactly!” Blaise chuckled, urging his friend to square up his shoulders. “The only person that does matter in all of this is your crush – Which is why you’re going to go to that fancy Golden Trio desk and show them what you got!”
“But –”
“No buts!” Draco nudged him further until he got off his seat and when he realised that his friend was still looking unsure, he squared off his shoulders and chuckled. “And don’t worry! If the Weasley idiot kicks up a fuss we’ll be right beside you in a flash! With the two of us here, there’s no way he’ll harm even a single hair from your head, mate”
With his words, he finally seemed to gather enough confidence in himself to go for it. And even as his face was still painted with a deep red hue, his lips morphed into a cocky smirk as he bit down on the rest of his sugar quill. “Okay – Thanks, guys! Wish me luck!”
“You don’t need luck – Just use your charms!” Blaise nodded with a cheeky wink, watching their friend marching up to where the Golden Trio was standing – as they also watched, curious to see what the hell was a Slytherin plotting to do next.
Secretly, his heart wept as he watched his chances with Granger quickly dissipate in the air (not that they were that considerable in the first place) with every step his friend took to reach their desk – but it was a feeling that was quickly amended by the excited grin Theo was now sporting in his face.
“Look at him – He looks completely bewitched!” His friend pointed out as he had finally reached the other desk.
And truly, there was no better word to describe their friend at that moment. There was a glint in his eyes that just translated the purest form of love a person could ever feel – and for that, Draco couldn’t help himself but feel a little jealous of him.
He had to wonder if someday he’d ever find himself in the same position as Theo: Spewing his heart out in the hopes of getting together with the person he fancied so purely. And yet he refused to think of this scenario for too long given how it sounded impossible now that his family name was as dirty as mud.
“Look, mate!” Blaise whistled lowly, while he shook his head and banished those negative thoughts away from his mind. “He’s doing it!”
There was a rather substantial part inside of his mind that begged Draco not to look at the scene, but the other more reasonable half of him eventually won out as he reasoned that he shouldn’t ignore his friend getting himself the happiness he deserved.
He and Blaise couldn’t quite make out what was happening, exactly, but they could see that Theo was leaning against a bookshelf nearby and talking (probably stuttering his heart out as he was a little shy when dealing with people outside his group of friends) while the Gryffindor trio all shared shocked expressions as they exchanged looks among one another.
For a second, he was almost afraid that things weren’t going to go well – that Weasel prick had formed an ugly scowl in his crimson face and Potter truly looked like the embodiment of his Patronus (a deer caught in headlights, that is). Apart from Granger (who looked gorgeous as always, with her bright amber eyes shining with the candlefire and her plump lips curled to a look of amusement), neither of her friends looked too happy with his presence there.
But then, Theo pointed to a darker corner of the library, as if inviting a grinning Granger to a more private conversation and Draco got to watch as she clapped in glee and nodded eagerly at him.
Ouch.
“Granger’s a lucky girl,” Blaise muttered and he suddenly had to muster every single molecule of the magic pulsing in his core to use his Occlumency shields again and smile when Theo looked back at his friends with a wink.
“She is – I… I think they’ll make a good pair.”
“Really? You truly think so?” He scoffed with a brow arching upwards. “Come on, Draco!”
“What?”
“You are an idiot, you know? I know you have a crush on Granger too.”
“No, I don’t!” He hissed as his heart sank to his stomach. Was he that obvious? “What makes you think that?”
“I’m not blind, wanker! You’ve been obsessed with her for years now! I just can’t believe you didn’t try anything after the war was over!”
He pressed his lips to a thin line as he glanced over to where Theo was still sweet-talking his way into Granger’s pants. But he quickly averted his gaze as he felt his throat closing up with the sour taste in his mouth. Why watch someone else getting the girl of his dreams anyway? “It doesn’t matter anyway. It would’ve never worked.”
“Or maybe it would,” Blaise shrugged with a bit of a disappointed shake of his head. “You’ll never know now, will you? For someone that keeps reminding us that we need to be happy… You sure like to wallow in your misery!”
“Well! What was I supposed to do? Tell Theo not to go for the girl he likes? I’m not a monster – contrary to popular fucking belief –”
“Oh, please! This isn’t what I meant! You could have tried earlier, if you weren’t so caught up with whining about your –”
“My what?” He huffed, clutching his left arm as if it burned. “My Dark Mark? My family’s role in the war? My rotten blood? Or my downright abysmal attitude back when we were kids? Be realistic, Blaise! I never had a chance in the first place.”
For the first time in years, he saw his friend hesitate, being left speechless by his words. His own throat constricted painfully with a choked sob that threatened to escape him, but he refused to acknowledge the fact that he had blurted out everything that he had spent years bottling up inside his heart.
He was just grateful that neither Theo nor the Golden Trio were close enough to them to hear him make a bloody fool of himself.
“Actually, please forget everything that I just –”
“Wh- Wait! Draco – Look!” Blaise suddenly called as his eyes fixed across the room and though he wasn’t feeling like it, he still moved his eyes to see what Blaise was pointing at.
Amazingly, they saw Theo heading over to the private corner he had alluded to (as they expected) – but instead of Granger… It was Potter that was the one following right behind, with his hand clasped in their friend’s and a shy smile accompanying a flushed face.
What the fuck.
“Let’s go check it out!”
“Check what out? We can’t just eavesdrop –” Draco asked with a strangled gasp, but Blaise didn’t even care to stay and hear his input as he was already sneaking over to the bookshelves – just like a wide-eyed Weasley and a smirking Granger were doing – to listen to what Theo and Potter might be… Discussing.
Buggering Hell – What a bunch of nosey people!
Naturally, he followed them.
Draco practically wedged himself between Blaise and Weasley, after a bit of a struggle as they all battled for a viewing point from the bookshelves and with Granger ending up tactfully tucked underneath his chin, whilst doing her best to stand on the tip of her toes to peek through in between the books.
The witch probably hadn’t realised how close she was to him – how he could feel her warmth and the softness of her hair as her back pressed against his front and allowed him to take in the scent of lavender from her perfume – Or perhaps she just chose not to comment on the way his heart was hammering away inside his broad chest.
Given their tight space, one of his arms had to curl around her petite waist, but it didn’t look as if she minded too much as she kept on burying herself further and further into him.
Thank Merlin his mind had other things to occupy itself with – lest he made a fool of himself – as he watched Theo taking Potter’s hand and looking him intensely in the eyes.
And from the way his hands trembled slightly, Draco could tell that his friend was extremely nervous, but there was a certain fire in his eyes that showed that he wasn’t going to back away from whatever he was planning to say next.
He opened his mouth to speak (with a light flush growing on his face followed by a sigh), but no sounds came from him as he started to talk – which meant that his friend had the foresight of silencing the space around him for the privacy he wanted.
Smart bugger.
"What the Hell – I can't hear a word!" Weasley whined for a second before Granger kicked him in the shin for him to keep quiet.
"Whatever it is, it looks like it's a good thing," Blaise pointed out with a low whistle. “They’re certainly getting along!”
Sure enough, they could now see Potter starting to speak with a softness in his eyes that was something completely novel to him while the other man let out something that looked like a breathless laugh.
Even without knowing what words were being exchanged between them, their friends could still tell that something important was taking place at that moment. And more importantly: something positive, for a change.
From underneath him, he could feel Granger’s soft breath hitching in her throat as Potter stepped in to get closer to Theo – with their noses inches apart and eyes shutting close as they slowly moved in for a sweet kiss.
Somehow, he was both surprised and already expecting it all at the same time.
He supposed that they were just a couple that made sense, even if he had never really considered them together before.
And from the way Blaise cheered along with Weasley while Granger smugly claimed that she ‘had seen it coming from a mile away’, he could guess that it was a sentiment shared by all of their friends.
Suddenly, Draco felt all the burning tension that had been building up all year roll off his shoulders and for the first time in possibly years he felt something akin to hope. After almost an entire year of being ostracised (and so many years of being terrorised by the war), the Slytherins certainly needed at least that little bit of respite.
“We should go,” Granger whispered as she gently tugged at his sleeve while Blaise and Weasley followed them. “Let’s give them some space.”
“Yeah… You’re probably right,” he cleared his throat just as Theo shoved Potter into one of the bookshelves behind them to deepen the kiss. It was rather obvious by now that they had no business spying on their friends and they could all be hexed to oblivion if they lingered any longer there.
As the three of them returned to a desk, there was a bit of an awkward air hanging between them – especially now that the situation at hand and the possible ramifications of it finally dawned on their minds.
Oh dear. Theo and Potter were dating now, weren’t they?
“So… I’m guessing we’re all going to hang out a lot more together now?” Granger hummed with a bit of a grin on her lips.
“Damn –” Weasley clicked his fingers as if finally coming up with a great revelation. And though he was mumbling by this point, he still had a cheeky smile on his lips. “No wonder why he and Ginny didn’t work out.”
“Yep,” Blaise laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “And that also explains why Theo was so worried about his father, I guess… I can’t imagine Nott Senior being the most open-minded man out there.”
Yes – that certainly made sense. But that also didn’t change the fact that Theo would always have Draco and his friend to support him, no matter who he fell in love with.
“Well… I'm just glad he managed to find someone that makes him happy… Even if it’s bloody Potter.”
Honestly, it felt a little surreal even spelling it out loud. But as he stared at the flushed faces and delighted smile shared between those two lovesick fools, it was impossible to really be miffed over who Theo fancied.
“Ugh –” that mildly annoying red-head stuck out his tongue. “Can't believe Harry fell for a Slytherin, of all people.”
“Come on, Ron!” Granger laughed by his side, giving her friend a small nudge to his ribs while also winking in Draco’s direction (something that just about made his heart malfunction entirely). “I happen to think that they aren’t that bad. Maybe we really should give them a chance.”
Sweet Merlin and Morgana – was he dreaming?
He felt her snaking a hand to grab his arm with a gentle motion that made his legs feel suddenly weak – with her touch being far warmer and far more satisfying than anything he had ever imagined – and she motioned to another dark corner at the library, away from the lovebirds and the pair of gawking friends. “Hey, Malfoy – Can I talk to you for a second? In private?”
“‘Mione! Not you too!”
“Lead the way, Granger –” Draco smirked, not even paying attention to Weasley’s loud protests or Blaise’s tittering. He did, however, hear his friend’s lingering voice just as he turned the corner followed by an exasperated groan.
“So, Weasley… Is your sister still single, then?”