Magic and mystery by Allegory_for_Hatred

Slytherin Loyalty Club

"We trust him now?" Pansy sneered, trying rather actively to wipe the shocked rage from her face. She flailed. "Him?" 

" I, for one, completely trust him." Dazai hummed. He kicked his feet up onto the sofa, only to have them knocked off by a bored-looking Blaise.

About half-an-hour after Draco and Dazai had snuck into the library with Blaise's help, Professor Snape had informed them that the lockdown was over—the troll taken care of. Curious wording for something Dazai knew the staff hadn't actually done.

He had.  Somehow.

The four of them had immediately locked eyes, then not said a word as they trudged down into the dungeons. A silent pact disturbed only by Pansy's glares every few seconds. It wasn't until the Slytherin common room had cleared out that they commandeered the space for themselves and huddled up beside the roaring fireplace.

"You can't vouch for yourself." 

" You can if you're not a coward, Blaise."

"Enough."  Draco snapped. He ran a hand over his face, looking weary but sure.

Dazai grinned lazily. This time when he tried to rest his legs on the sofa, Blaise only sighed. Victorious, he let his feet sit on the other boy's thighs. "Sure thing, Boss."

Most of Blaise's acquiesce, Dazai thought, was concern. Dazai shuffled under the gaze. Now that his nose had stopped bleeding and his thoughts had cleared up, Dazai found all the worried glances were grating on his nerves. He was fine now—none of that doting was necessary in the slightest.

"He's a muggle born,  Draco!" Pansy's voice was near a whisper, but it had all the venom of screaming. "There's nothing he can do  to prove himself loyal to a real wizard!"

Dazai winced at the volume... maybe he wasn't completely fine just yet, then.

"He's Slytherin." 

" We're doing what's best for Slytherin by not trusting him! I still don't know why you even bother with letting him hang around."

Something Pansy said must have struck a nerve, because Draco's mouth locked shut with a snap like his teeth were in protest. Curious. Something to think about later when Dazai's brain wasn't pounding out of his skull. All this bickering wasn't doing anything for his No Longer Human-induced headache.

Dazai sighed, falling back into the sofa and letting his arm cover his eyes. The light hurt. His sleeve was crusted over with dried blood, so he let it fall back to his side with a pout.

"We ran into the troll." He said, dry.

Maybe that would shut them up for a while.

Cue: silence.

Even the ambivalent Blaise tensed up underneath him—and Draco, who shouldn't be surprised at all considering he was literally there. Was he surprised that Dazai had brought it up so casually? It wasn't like that mattered now.

After a moment, Draco cleared his throat.

"He...  did something  to help me run away." He explained, shooting a pointed glare in Dazai's direction. "So I trust him. End of discussion."

"Shit," Blaise breathed. "Facing down a troll... that's certainly one way to prove you're loyal." 

From her seat beside the chess set, Dazai saw Pansy's eyes narrow. He filed that away for later, then turned to grin tiredly at his footrest. "It was pretty cool of me, right?"

"Up until you got a nosebleed, sure." Draco rolled his eyes. 

"You can't just run from a troll." Pansy's frown only deepened. "What did he do, Draco?"