Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The crowded hallways smelled of sweat, the humidity didn't help either. It was so hot, Draco was surprised he didn't faint from the heat alone. Oh, and by crowded hallways, I mean crowded, people were bumping into each other, and multiple limbs had pressed against his back, at different times.

All in all he was one wrong step from tripping and being crushed under the weight of a gazillion people. Draco didn't even know where he was going for fuck's sake, this school should have signs with directions on them, it's a maze at this point.

He sighed and squeezed his way through the crowd, into a random class room to, hopefully, get some air.

Big mistake.

Inside was three people, one girl, two boys. The boys were tall, one was leaner, while the other looked like he could snap Draco's skinny arse in half.The leaner one had glasses and black hair, the other had a weird sense of style and red-like orange hair. The girl's hair was big and bushy, like undefined curls, her hair was put up in a bun, but even then you could tell how tangled her hair must be.

They were all glaring at him like he had personally offended their grandmothers, which Draco would never do!

"Who the fuck are you?" The raven haired boy spat out. His face pulled into a frown, which made Draco realize the boy had a sometimes on his forehead, a scar maybe.

"Uh, sorry to... Interrupt, but could any of you show me to the headmasters office?" Draco asked nervously, wringing his hands, painfully aware of how clammy they'd become.

"Fuck no." The girl said, then she proceeded to push Draco out of the room and into the crowded halls once more. The boy scoffed and continued his search for the headmasters office, brushing off imaginary lint off of his shoulder.

Eventually, he did find the headmasters office. It was at the end of a corridor in the main building, next to a mural of some sort of sports game. Draco wasn't sure what it was but, it looked fun. Not that he'd ever play, he was horrible at anything physical, and definitely the type of person to die first in a horror movie.

He knocked on the door and a voice from inside called out, "Come in!" the voice was muffled but he could still decipher the words, so, he gripped the door handle and took a deep breath before entering the room.

"Oh, you must be a new student. Come, come, sit" The man insisted, who Draco was assuming to be the headmaster. He nodded politely and sat down, he did so while looking around the office, taking note of multiple certificates, trophies, and pictures of the sort.

"Uh, it's Draco, Draco Malfoy, sir." Draco answered, his voice light and even as he eyed the man's long, long beard. 

The man sat down in his own chair and adjusted his glasses, which Draco thought were ridiculously small.

"So, Draco, what brings you here, to my office?" The man asked, and if the small metal plate that sat on his desk was right, the mans name would be Dumbledore, or his last name at least, his first name started with an A according to the metal plate.

"Uh, my schedule?" Draco deadpanned, like it was very obvious as to why he was here in the middle of the school day.

"Draco... You have missed three periods, it is now lunch" Dumbledore explained, his hand slowly giving Draco his schedule.

"Oh, I'm aware" Draco stated, smiling awkwardly as he took his schedule and swiftly left the room.

The trio talked about the interaction about the strange boy who'd barged into their classroom. Hermione on Ron's left, like always, walking slightly to the right, due to her annoying inability to walk straight, making Ron and Hermione's shoulders press against each other.

Ron trying to steer her forward, and Hermione being clueless to her drunken like steps. Harry walked alongside them, on Ron's right, his hands mimicking how Hermione had pushed him out, then slammed the door in the blonde boys face.

"I swear, I saw people behind him wince at how loud you slammed the door, Mione!" Harry exclaimed, laughing loudly, gaining stares from people.

"It was kinda his fault. He barged in there like a lost puppy and expected us, to help him." Ron muttered, still slightly bothered by the boy's annoying disruption.

"Yeah, but he was kinda cute, no?" Hermione asked, wiggling her eyebrows. Her body leaned forward to face Harry. 

"Oh, shut it." He scoffed, pushing his glasses up, adjusting them to sit in his face more comfortably.

"Oh my fuck, can we just get to the canteen? I'm starving over here!" The ginger protested, stretching his arms out in front of him, as if to insinuate how hungry he is. 

Chapter Text

Draco stood in the archway of the entry to the canteen, nerves like a loud ticking clock. Obnoxious and guaranteed to be at the function, and they never even let his brain stop thinking about the worst possible outcome of this short trip to get a sustainable substance to keep his untimely survival. 

Sorry, Draco tends to get ‘poetic’ in times of stress. 

He sighed, trying to calm his growing nerves and convince himself that, in fact, no one would stop and stare at him, no one would clock his ass and accuse him of manslaughter, that’s oddly specific, and no, no one will notice he’s sweating balls. Actually, maybe they will; it's very apparent that he's sweating from his choice of clothing.

He sighs once more before moving his stiff legs forward to begin walking. He glanced at his surroundings, people, all he saw were people, well, figuratively, not literally. Literally, he could see chairs, tables, the unsettling shade of cream they’d used to paint the walls, making the canteen look more like a prison cell than somewhere you’d want to sit down and eat at. 

Where the fuck is Neville? 

The boy was freakishly tall; it shouldn’t be this hard to spot the giant in a crowd of people. Although knowing Neville, he’s probably hunched over somewhere, talking with Luna. Luna wasn’t even short; she was average height for a woman. Neville just needed to fucking shrink. 

Draco’s eyes darted left and right, searching for the awkward boy who should’ve arrived before him and showed him around, and yet the bastard left him stranded as he looked for his best friend, Luna. Honestly, was Draco chopped liver?

Eventually, Draco spotted a head of bleach blonde hair, next to the next big foot. Neville and Luna. He rushed in their direction, bumping and shoving people away, until he shoved the wrong fucking person. The boy, the tanned one with the scar, the boy who is currently staring him down with a look that could kill.

Oh, and their current position? Draco, on the floor, his chest heaving with scar boy on top of him, anger gracing his pretty face- 

Wait, no-

Draco’s face flushed, red spreading down his face to his neck. Harry scoffed and pushed up, dusting off, as if Draco had a contagious disease or something, he glared at the white haired boy, muttering profanities under his breath. Hermione and Ron pulled him away before he could do the stupid boy to a pulp. 

Draco stood up for himself, mumbling a quiet ‘sorry’ before leaving, his face hot and sweaty. Or that could’ve been from before the interaction, he wasn’t sure. All he knew was that he was sweating profusely, and if he didn’t get it under control, Neville and Luna might notice. Which was arguably worse than other people finding out about his little mishap with the scar boy. 

He reached his friends, who were busy debating on another stupid topic that they always did, even in middle school. They barely noticed Draco’s presence, instead focusing on their argument, which was apparently on whether or not brown went better with white or grey. Draco rolled his eyes.

Why didn’t I choose better friends? 

That truly was the biggest mystery surrounding him. 

Hermione’s boisterous laugh was heard by everyone in a one-mile radius from them, well, at least it felt like it. Ron smacked Hermione’s arm, shushing her to stop being so loud. She didn't listen. Eventually, Ron joined Hermione, chuckling lightly, of course, he did. Ron rarely ever let Hermione do things alone. How Harry hated being the designated third wheel. 

“Come on, Harry! Loosen up.” Ron exclaimed, trying to get Harry to join them. All he got was a glare from the chosen boy. “I will not fucking loosen up.” He replied, his voice tight, holding back from cursing Ron’s entire bloodline, considering how nice they were to them. 

“Why not?” Hermione’s voice chimed in, still giggly, which was weird to hear, because Hermione was so far from being giggly and bubbly. “The boy from earlier just bodyslammed into me! Did you not see the very clear altercation?” Harry exclaimed, exasperated. 

“Oh come on, it wasn’t that big a deal, plus running into a cute boy isn’t all that bad,” Hermione stated, her laughter subduing as Ron glanced at her, “oy!” Harry rolled his eyes as they started bickering. 

God, I hate their bickering; seriously, they’re both the healthiest couple I know, and yet the most toxic. 

Draco’s mind drifted back to the boy with white hair, his anger bubbling just beneath the surface, well, almost; the vein on his forehead indicated he was more than angry. The two beside him were still arguing, though the topic had since changed; it was now about whether or not Ron was cheating. 

God.