Broken|| A Draco Malfoy Story

Year Three: Arrival Chats

Draco and I left the train together, almost in complete silence. There was no sign of Tracey or Blaise; even as we reached the castle. Draco, I could sense, was growing really quite concerned, jumping at every noise and a permanent expression of pensiveness prominent on his face.

"It won't be what you think," I insisted, catching his eye as we descended the stairs to the Slytherin common room. "They'll be fine."

"You don't know that."

"I can guess."

He looked down at me, our eyes meeting. Immediately, I knew exactly what he was thinking. Where else would they be? Why else would Tracey and Blaise not be in the crowd right now, heading down the stairs?

When we were expected to enter our dorms, I realised there was an issue. Considering Draco's father hadn't pulled any strings, we were in the same rooms as last year. That also meant that I'd be rooming with Tracey. Or, as it now seemed, nobody.

It was extremely lonely entering the room alone, and I found myself more than once glancing over at Tracey's empty bed. It wasn't right. None of this was right. We were thirteen, why were we parts of evil schemes and murders? Why couldn't we have just had a normal Hogwarts experience?

I skipped the feast, instead opting to sleep. As I changed and climbed into bed, I tried to think of a reason Tracey and Blaise wouldn't have shown up. The only valid reason I could imagine is that they were tipped off about Lucius, which I did know they had been. Maybe they'd laughed Draco off in front of him, but heeded the warning? The thought helped me doze off.

I was interrupted by a knock at my door, approximately 1 second later. Obviously, it hadn't actually been one second, though it felt that way. Tutting, I clambered out of bed and opened my door.

"Draco?" I frowned, making eye contact with the man I'd just been thinking about. He looked slightly more worn than before, as if he'd been overly fretting.

Not waiting for an invitation, he pushed into my room, sitting down on Tracey's-not Tracey's- bed. "What if they're dead?"

"They won't be," I reassured him, though I was potentially reassuring myself. "You need to calm down. Worrying with no information won't help you."

"Right," he nodded, running his hands over his perfectly-former face. "No worrying."

Knowing that he wouldn't stick to it, I knelt down in front of him, taking his hands in mine. "It's going to be alright."

"You don't know," he shook his head violently, clutching my hands tighter than I'd expected. His rings dug in, but I didn't care. "You can't be sure."

"We can't be sure of anything," I pointed out, smiling slightly up at him. "You'll worry yourself to death."

"It's what I do," he mumbled, biting the inside of his lip. "It's just what I do."

"Don't," I persisted, squeezing his hands. "Everything will work out."

"It might not."

"You can't think that way."

His face was only inches from mine now, his breath hot on my face. I got the sudden and strange urge to kiss him, though I definitely did not. Of all the best people to share a first kiss with, Draco Malfoy wasn't one of them. Though, I found myself unable to tell my desires that.

"You're extraordinarily collected," he whispered, clearly also aware of our proximity. "It's actually quite calming."

Huh. In all my life, calming had never been the way I'd imagined myself. Pig-headed, rude, hard done to... never calming. Maybe Draco calmed me down. Maybe he was exactly what I needed.

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow, glad that he seemed to now be far less stressed. My hands stayed in his, though I was now aware the reassurance wasn't needed. Was I enjoying this? Was I enjoying being around Draco Malfoy?

"Mmm," he hummed, our faces now so close that they were almost distorted in the eyes of the other.

Then, like a switch, he put the shields back up. My hands were released, though not as maliciously as usual, and he leaned away from me. Getting the message, I stood up, straightening my pyjama top.

"I'd better be going," he announced, standing up and combing a slender hand through his now-ruffled hair.

"You don't have to," I said meekly, almost afraid to oppose him. Vulnerable Draco, I liked. Scaring emotionally-detached Draco, not so much.

"I should," he smiled a bit, to let me know that I'd not upset him. It was a different kind of smile, though; out of obligation rather than emotion.

I thought for a moment, before responding. "Who are you rooming with?"

"It's a long story," he responded vaguely, clearly quite touchy about such an easy subject.

"You're not in your room?"

"Blaise's room," he corrected, not fiddling with his rings, "I couldn't stand it. My bags are in with Theodore."

I frowned, "Just your bags?"

"I spend most of my time on the sofa anyway," he laughed, "May as well sleep there."

"That's absurd," I practically exclaimed, "You need a bed."

"I don't want the ones on offer," he said bluntly, practically shrugging it off. "I'm not that bothered."

Then, the thought of offering him Tracey's bed crossed my mind. Would it be inappropriate? Nobody would really care, considering the lack of monitoring, but did I care? We were friends, why would it be strange? It was Tracey's bed, though. Would she come back?

As I wrestled with my thoughts, Draco headed for the door. The sound of the handle brought me back to reality and I dashed over to him, blocking the exit. "Stay here."

"What?" He seemed positively baffled by the idea, which honestly put me off.

"Stay in Tracey's bed."

"You..." His voice trailed off, replaced by a set of raised eyebrows. Now, I no longer needed to block his exit, as he'd taken a step into the room to consider the idea. "You're offering to share a room with me?"

"Yeah."

He blinked.

"It's not like it's a bed, Draco. It's just a room," I rolled my eyes, sitting down on my bed.

"Right," he nodded, as if trying to convince himself, "I don't know. Will it not be strange?"

"Only one way to find out," I shrugged, gesturing to the bed, "It's in perfect condition."

He laughed, shaking his head. "That's not what I'm worried about."

"It's only weird if we make it weird."

He nodded at that, seeming to be fully on board. "Yeah, okay. It's only weird if we make it weird."