Draco slumped on his bed, staring at the book he was attempting to read without seeing it at all.
The weasel had made him a slide. A slide. It was preposterous, and undignified, and Draco was disgusted with himself for thinking that it might be... Well, fun. He'd secretly watched the construction with a blend of horrified disbelief and interest, and each day found it harder to resist the temptation to just throw dignity to the wind and try it.
He wouldn't, of course. Probably.
He did wonder, though, why the weasel had done it. He'd thought at first he was mocking him, but that didn't make sense. Why put so much effort into it? And why act so damned cheerful about it? It wasn't like him to turn that cheer toward Draco. It was unnerving.
It almost seemed like an overture of friendship. But, no. Surely not. Except...
Draco sighed and tried to focus on the book. He'd been staring at the same page for half an hour now, and still had no idea what it was about. He slammed it shut in disgust.
He tried stubbornly not to think of the slide, or the weasel — Weasley, he supposed he should call him — but that just made him think of Potter. Stupid, annoying Potter, who had dumped him for his friends.
Except, he did keep trying to get Draco's attention. And he looked terrible. Draco hadn't seen him looking so pale and unhappy since... well, since before they'd started getting along. He was almost tempted to think that Potter missed him. But that didn't make sense. Did it?
Did he have it all wrong? He chewed his lip, thinking back over the past weeks. He'd expected Potter's friends to be disgusted that he was there, to mock him and call him names. But they'd not done that at all. They'd been almost nice.
Maybe Potter really hadn't wanted him to disappear.
Maybe he should apologise.
He groaned and flopped back on his bed, dreading it. Merlin, it would be embarrassing. But overshadowing the embarrassment was a hope he couldn't quite squash.
YOU ARE READING
Only Ash Remains
FanfictionOne year after Harry defeated Voldemort at the Battle of Hogwarts, he still has no idea what to do with his life. He's been living at No. 12 Grimmauld Place with Hermione and Ron, but they've spent the past few months on an extended stay in Australi...
