flower crowns | drarry

seventeen

seventeen
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"harry! harry, are you alright?" hermione fussed, scanning him for any sign of injury or pain.

he mumbled distracted reassurances, eyes still locked on draco's quivering form.

hermione hugged him tightly, surveying the scene with wide eyes and furrowed brows.

"what happened?" she exhaled, turning to harry with a thousand questions in her eyes.

he spared her a glance, noticing her questioning gaze, and walked over to draco, mumbling a "go ask ron," as he went.

hermione huffed softly, turning around to bombard ron—who was already hovering   at the edge of the scene—with questions.

harry hesitantly stood near draco and the small cluster of crying slytherins surrounding him. soft, comforting words fell from his candy lips in an attempt to stop their anguished wails.

harry was sure he had never seen him look like that. so caring. stifling the depths of his own fear and pain in order to be strong for those he cared for. and the other students cried and leaned towards him, desperate for his comfort. harry wondered if draco had always been this beloved among slytherins. draco had been a prat before, but that was only the side of him harry saw. thinking of it now, he remembered that slytherins were often loyal to their own kind. especially slytherins like draco malfoy, who had grown up in a cold home with a thousand expectations upon his shoulders, a thousand wrong lessons imprinted into his young mind, and fated for a dark destiny he never asked for.

harry knew he loved those kids. and he probably always had.

he wanted to speak, to say something. draco was so terrified, but trying to hide it. harry wanted to offer him something, just as he was giving so much to his friends. but he was interrupted when the teachers that arrived with hermione approached them in order to gauge a more accurate description of the incident than what they'd gathered from surrounding students.

"goodness...what on earth happened here?" professor sprout gasped.

blaise stepped up, one arm gently holding the small sixth year girl with the bob and hazel eyes to his chest.

"i would love to give you a full summary professor, but i don't think this is the right environment for that kind of conversation." he said politely, glancing at the room of watchful eyes.

a few of the teachers nodded in understanding and led blaise away to a more private place while some stayed behind to calm the trembling students.

in his window of opportunity, harry lunged forward and grasped onto draco's quivering hand.

draco startled and whisked his head around to face him with glossy eyes.

"harry..." he breathed shakily. "hi."

harry tried to offer a reassuring smile, but it ached on his lips. "hi."

draco bit his trembling bottom lip, and with the turn of his head, unknowingly gave harry a better look at the reddened skin of his snowy cheek, still stinging from the impact of that hateful slap.

"thank you, harry," draco mumbled softly. "for helping me, and for helping them. the golden boy strikes again. should i snap a picture of your latest victory and send it to the daily prophet? they'd have a field day with that one. chosen one defends evil deatheaters? what a scandal!"