Summary: Draco's heart broke the day he learned Harry was dating Ginny Weasley, and his world fell apart.

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(Rating: T)

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It was raining when Draco saw the news. The raindrops were rattling against the window and Draco felt shivers running down his spine even when all the doors were closed. It was dark in the room except for the small lamp next to him. He couldn't be bothered to do anything else.

The phone rang, again, it must have been the third time in the last five minutes. Draco took a drag from his cigarette, scowling at the flavour. He didn't like it, but the taste was numbing his senses, and that was all he wished to do tonight, to not feel anything at all.

Draco looked up at the dark ceiling, exhaling softly. He didn't even care that he was lying on the carpet of his bedroom, it felt better than any other places right now. The phone rang once more, and this time, Draco decided to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Draco, why didn't you answer my calls?" Pansy's voice was filled with concerns through the phone, and Draco knew why she was calling. When he stayed quiet, she continued, "Are you okay?" Her voice was gentle, like a mother somehow, as if she was afraid Draco would break any moment now.

Draco turned his head and glanced at the Daily Prophet on the carpet next to him, with its latest headline printed boldly on the front page.

Harry Potter And Ginny Weasley Are Dating

His heart throbbed at the title and he shuddered a sharp breath. "Yeah, I'm okay, Pans," he said, his voice seemed weak, and Pansy picked his tone up too.

"Do you need me to come over? I can," Pansy said, her breathing steady through the line. Draco shook his head, taking another drag of his cigarette and exhaling the smoke out.

"No, you don't have to," he said, a half smile on his face. He must look pathetic right now. Getting gloomy over something like this, he was the worst. "I can deal with it myself. And, it isn't like I've never seen it coming. They have always been a thing. I think...I think they look good together."

"No, you don't."

Draco huffed out a dry laugh, amused by how much Pansy understood him. "No, I don't." He placed the cigarette down on the ashtray and breathed a sombre sigh. "What can I do? I thought...I thought watching him from afar alone would do," he said, his voice broke when he tried to form the right word, "It doesn't, it never really did."

"Honey," Pansy cooed, her voice soothing to him, it helped him, just a little bit. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry? I'm the pathetic loser that fell for the world's saviour, I should feel sorry for myself." Draco laughed, bitterly. He clutched at his shirt that was covering the scars on his chest and felt tears rolling down his cheeks. He was crying now, that was even more horrible, to shed a tear for someone like Potter, because he'd never get him anyway. "I guess this is the punishment I get for being on the wrong side."

"Draco, don't be silly," Pansy said, and he could practically see the glare she was giving him if she was here. "Maybe the news is fake, no one believes the Daily Prophet anymore."

"The picture of the two of them in Diagon Alley doesn't seem fake to me, Pansy," Draco said, a sigh escaping his throat, "It's all right. You don't have to comfort me, I should have expected this. Besides, even if they aren't together, what are the chances that Potter will ever have romantic feelings for me?" He chuckled, imagining a scenario where Potter confessed to him. It was utterly ridiculous. "I'm a Death Eater, I barely escaped my death sentence in Azkaban-"

"Because Potter saved you, he-"

"He was probably just pitying me, that's all it was." Draco looked at the burning cigarette and it almost felt like it was him. Burning, slowly dying, soon to return to ashes. "How could he ever think differently of me? Someone who's tormented him for years? It'd be a surprise if he even spared me a glance in Eighth Year."

"You can never say anything, Draco, your ability to predict the future is horrible," Pansy said, earning a laugh from Draco. "Are you still attending Eighth Year then?"

"Yeah, it's what mother wants me to do," he said. It hadn't been his idea to enter another year looking at Potter, but his mother had insisted, strongly. "Are you attending too?"

"Of course, who else is going to be there for you when you cry about Potter again?"

Draco's lips curved into a smile and he wiped the tears on his face with the back of his hand. "Thank you, Pansy."

"Don't say that, we're best friends, don't thank me for stupid things like this, I'll obviously follow you." Her voice hinted a smile, "Are you sure you don't need me tonight? I can come over right away."

"No, I'm okay," he said, "I promise."

Pansy was quiet for a while, like she was checking whether he was lying or not. "Okay, okay, talk to you later, darling."

"Goodnight, Pansy," he said, hanging up the phone with a loud breath.

Outside, the rain hadn't stopped, it only got harder after each hour. The lightnings would occasionally struck and shone through the window, brightening up the room for merely a second, like a glimmer of hope in his heart, that somehow the news was wrong, that he still had a chance. But the thunders had followed, like the sounds of drums pounding in his mind, seemed to remind him that he needed to be realistic right now, not hopeful. Never hopeful.

Draco was startled by the knockings on his door. He stood up, fixing his clothes, thinking it might be his mother checking on him.

"Pansy," he said, surprised to see Pansy with a smile on her face and a pillow in her arm, standing on the other side of the door. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I know that my best friend is terribly heartbroken right now, and he sucks at lying, so, here I am," Pansy said, "I'm here for you, whenever you need me, or when you don't, I'll still be here. That's a package deal when you're my friend."

Draco smiled at her, his chest ached and he let himself melt in her embrace when she opened her arms to take him in. She hugged him tightly, and Draco buried his face in the crook of her neck. She smelled like perfume, of roses and citrus. He didn't realise he was crying until she had soothed him with her hands rubbing his back.

"It's okay, we'll get through this together, things will turn out all right soon," Pansy said into his hair, and it seemed to be just what it took to make Draco cry more. He wept, tears soaking through the collar of her shirt, but she wasn't complaining, just silently comforting him, and Draco was glad that Pansy had come here anyway. He could do it, he could forget Potter, it was no big deal.

*

September 1st, 1998

Being back in Hogwarts had brought back many memories and feelings for Draco, but it was nothing compared to the sight of seeing Potter, once again, sitting across the hall from him. The Headmistress was talking about something, but Draco couldn't bring himself to listen. His eyes were fixated on Potter, who was sitting next to Weasley and Granger, at their usual place, and his smile was brighter than anything Draco had ever seen.

When Potter looked up abruptly and met Draco's eyes, the blond flinched, yet their gaze remained locked with each other, and he could not escape. Potter's eyes were piercing, staring through him, and Draco felt seen, exposed, fragile. It felt like they were the only two people in the Great Hall, and nothing else mattered. Potter's eyes were a source of energy, and Draco felt like it was soothing him, bringing a smile to his face.

Draco swallowed the invisible lump in his throat, ignoring the way his heart was thrumming, and breaking the gaze first when he saw students standing up. He cleared his throat and turned to Pansy, who was also grabbing her bag.

"What are you waiting for, honey? Let's go," Pansy said, pulling Draco up by the elbow as they exited the Great Hall.

"Go? Where are we going?" Draco followed Pansy's pace, blending in the crowd of students as they walked up the staircase.

"To our new rooms, of course. Didn't you hear?"

"What? New room? We're not going to stay in the Dungeon anymore?" he asked, clueless to what was happening but still kept up with Pansy in her tracks. She was fast for someone who was wearing heels.

"No, there aren't that many students attending Eighth Year, so we're all put in a floor together," Pansy said, pursing her red lips as she thought, "I hope I don't end up with a Gryffindor."

"What?"

"Draco, you did not listen to the Headmistress at all, did you?" Pansy lifted her sharp eyebrow and Draco grinned, guiltily. "Well, we're getting a random dormmate, the Headmistress planned it all out. Said it'd strengthen house unity and all."

Pansy gestured with her hands in the air as Draco's jaws went slack. Being in the same room with a random student for a year? That was not possible. He was rendered speechless until Pansy stopped, letting out a gasp.

"What? Are we staying here?" he asked, looking at the hallway with many doors on either sides. Pansy gave him a curt nod and tugged at his sleeve, dragging him with her.

"Let's see, the boys are on the left, the girls are on the right," Pansy said, her eyes roaming around the space to look for her room. All the other students were doing the same thing, checking the names on each door until they found their designated room. "Oh! Here it is!" Pansy squealed, pointing at her room until she squinted her eyes and read the name of her dormmate. "Oh, fuck."

"What? Who are you staying with?"

"Granger," Pansy said, rubbing her temples, "oh, okay, I should not fret. Maybe she isn't that bad. Maybe she won't study all day and night and talk to me about elves."

"Maybe," he said, reassuring her with a cheeky smile, "it probably won't be that bad."

"Yeah, okay," Pansy nodded, her hands planted on her hips with a smile. "Oh, you should go find your room. Go now, honey!"

She spun him around and pushed him into the crowd again. Draco glanced around, seeing his friend Blaise standing in front of a room with Weasley already rambling in front of him. They were dormmates then. He walked past a room, seeing his friend Theodore was already inside a room, with Longbottom next to him, showing him a plant. Draco kept walking until he saw a door with his name on it. His heart jumped, fluttering when he saw the name next to his.

Harry Potter

Potter was his dormmate. This couldn't be. It could not. What were the odds of this happening? He stood there, unable to push the door open. He had to live with Potter in the same room for a year now. He could not endure that. The summer had been hard enough, and it wasn't as bad since he didn't have to see Potter, but this, this was nothing like it.

Perhaps he could ask to switch rooms, he could beg for the Headmistress to let him stay with someone else, even though it seemed impossible. Draco worried his lower lip, his hands trembling, unsure whether to enter the room or just flee right now.

When the door opened, Draco almost jumped back. Potter was on the other side, just as surprised as him, but he didn't look disgusted, that was...nice.

"Malfoy," Potter said, looking at him with his emerald eyes that made Draco look away. "Why are you standing out here? I thought you got lost or something."

"No, no," he finally uttered out the words, gulping as Potter opened the door wider for him. "I'm just...I'm just wondering why we are...here."

"Oh, yeah," Potter said, scratching the back of his nape, "I don't know how that works too. The Headmistress might have just picked us randomly." He bared a toothy smile, making Draco's knee wobble slightly. "You should come in, Malfoy."

"Right, okay," he said, nodding and stepping into the room. It wasn't big, and there were only two beds that were only separated by a small table in between them. There were a long and big table near the corner of the room, for studying, he assumed. And another wooden door in front of the beds, it must be the bathroom then.

He settled for the bed on the left, near the door, since Potter had already left his bag on the other one. He sat on the edge of it, feeling tingly all over for some reason.

"Er, so, how are you, Malfoy?" Potter said, and Draco stared at him with a puzzled look. It appeared that he was trying to make small talk, it wasn't a good attempt, but Draco appreciated the fact that he'd tried.

"I'm fine," Draco said, watching as Potter open his trunk and pull out his clothes. When Potter looked at him again, he felt the need to strike a conversation as well. "How...how are you? I heard you and the Weasley girl got together. I...I'm sure congratulations are in order."

"Oh, no," Potter said with a chuckle and closed his trunk. When Draco looked at him, bewildered, Potter continued, "well, er, we tried to pick things up after the war, but, it didn't feel...right, somehow. So, yeah, no, we're no longer together."

"Oh," Draco said, and there it was again. A glimmer of hope, fluttering in his chest and making him feel like there was a chance again. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, we're actually fine with it," Potter said, waving his hand as he smiled at Draco. The blond swallowed, forcing the warm feeling in his stomach to stop, it was no use.

"Hey!" Draco jolted, turning to look at Pansy, who was standing with her head poked in the room. "Did you hear the news?"

"No, what news?" Draco asked, and Pansy gave him a mischievous smile, she looked far too thrilled so it couldn't be bad news.

"Headmistress just announced it. All the assigned dormmates are now becoming partners in classes too," Pansy said, grinning ear to ear as Draco's eyes blown wide in shock. "House unity and all. Spending quality time with each other. I think it'll be fun." She sent him a wink before rushing away, leaving the room to the two of them again.

Draco looked back at Potter, who huffed out a laugh, and he didn't seem like he mind it at all. "Well, I guess we'll be together from now on, Malfoy."

Maybe it wasn't so bad after all, and Pansy was right again, it'd all turn out well. He smiled at Potter, warmth spreading from his head to his toes as he spoke, "Yeah, I think we will."

The End