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The last Quidditch game of the season was surprisingly the last thing on Harry's mind that evening. Ron was so distraught with nerves that even though the match was still a few days away, the Gryffindor had rushed off to a random bathroom to throw up. Ron's anxiety kept the Weasley out of commission for the moment, with his soulmate Hermione right there to comfort him. Harry sighed as he walked down to dinner alone. It's not that he was mad at Ron exactly, he knew the Weasley's anxiety was something he couldn't stop. But still, even after six years, Harry still couldn't help feeling lonely whenever his two best friends were off together. Sure, he's the Chosen One or whatever, but he's had to watch his two best friends love saga for so long now, while he's not even sure if he even has a soulmate. Over the years Harry had ultimately come to the conclusion that the universe was just expecting Voldemort to kill him, so why give him a soulmate? Of course, part of Harry was still hoping he was dead wrong. After all, he "has the power which The Dark Lord knows not," and supposedly that power is love, but Harry couldn't help but doubt that... often. He loved his friends dearly, but it still hurt to watch Ron and Hermione hold hands, witnessing Ron's handprint ever so slowly fade from Hermione's skin after the two had pulled apart. See with soulmates, any time physical contact occurred, an imprint from the contact would linger on each other's skin. Ron and Hermione had figured out they were soulmates almost immediately in their first year. Harry, on the other hand, had never had such luck. Typically, Harry was a jovial, fairly affectionate person with people. But his fingers had never once made a mark on anyone's skin. The one with the power of love just wanted someone to love him back.
Harry sighed once more attempting to shake the thought from his mind. He had other more pressing things to worry about. Since he was now alone, the Gryffindor figured he could skip dinner without being missed. He quickly redirected his course to the seventh floor. With a free hour to kill, he could finally focus on the most important task of all: stalking Draco Malfoy. But not in like a weird way per se, more of in a "this boy is definitely a Death Eater who needs to be watched carefully at all times, and he is fucking up to some shit" way. Harry carefully began to pull out the Marauder's Map. This time, he would finally figure out what Draco Malfoy has been up to in the Room of Requirement. Tapping his wand to the blank parchment he spoke, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."
…
Draco flung open the door to the boys’ bathroom. By this point, every other Hogwarts student would down at dinner or spending time in their respective common rooms. No one would be on the sixth floor during this hour. No one except Draco Malfoy. The blonde boy desperately ran to sink, gripping the edge of it like his life depended on it. His breathing was ragged, desperate. White knuckling the sink he gasped for air and let out a sob. In an instant tears seemed to pour from the Slytherin's face. He heaved, his whole body shaking as he cried, tears falling into the grimy basin below. It hadn't even been a week, yet Draco found himself once again bawling his eyes out in the empty bathroom. He hung his head as the tears fell. The fact that Draco now found himself here regularly is something he would have scoffed at others for doing. But in reality, Draco’s harsh, mean demeanor was nothing but a cruel façade. If the Malfoys were good at one thing, it was repression. From a young age, Draco had realized his parents weren’t soulmates. When his mother would kiss his father’s cheek no mark would be left upon his skin. Simply put, Malfoy Manor was a home without love. Everything his parents did was simply for the sake of continuing the pureblood line. Kisses on cheeks were merely robotic required motions meant only to keep up appearances. The tears continued to flow from Draco’s eyes. He screamed, a broken, hollow, guttural scream. His fingertips still desperately latched themselves to the basin below him as the tears began flowing faster. Screams were almost comforting to Draco, in a sad sort of way. Too many nights of his childhood were spent falling asleep to the angry screams of his parents on the floor below him. It was the only way Draco had learned to deal with his emotions: continuously burying it all down until eventually he was forced to let it all out, all at once. His scream morphed into another sob as his body continued to shake.
A familiar splash sounded from one of the nearby toilets and suddenly Draco felt a frozen hand on his shoulder. Still, he merely continued to sob into the basin. “Oh, don’t,” Moaning Myrtle crooned, her hand reassuringly stroking Draco’s back, “don’t… please, tell me what’s wrong Draco….” The young Malfoy only gave another sob in response.
…
Harry stood just around the corner from where the Room of Requirement would be. Frantically he scanned the map, expecting to see Crabbe and Goyle patrolling the corridor, but they were nowhere to be found! Puzzled, the Gryffindor searched the map for any sign of Malfoy. Low and behold the Slytherin appeared on the map on the floor below him, accompanied by… “Myrtle?” Harry said, astonished. Double checking what he saw, the Gryffindor tapped his wand to the parchment, “Mischief managed.” Harry stuffed the now blank piece of parchment into his pocket as descended the stairs to the sixth floor.
As quickly and quietly as possible, the Chosen One made his way to the door of the boys' bathroom. He attempted to quiet his breathing as he strained his ears, attempting to listen through the door. Everything was muffled and unintelligible; so Harry made the brave Gryffindor decision to crack open the door.
A sob of desperation. That was the first thing Harry heard. A broken, choked, sorrowful sob. With one eye Harry peered through the small opening he had made with the door, his hand still clutching the handle. Draco Malfoy’s back was to the door, his hands gripping either side of the sink as his head hung low above it. Myrtle drifted in the air just next to Draco as the blonde’s tears cascaded into the basin below him. As he let out another whimper, Harry’s heart lurched in his chest. Utterly shocked by the scene before him, he stood, frozen in place, his hand still glued to the handle. Draco’s whole body shook, but his hands still hopelessly clung to the basin.
“Please Draco… tell me what’s wrong. I can help you…” Myrtle softly spoke. She reached her hand out to touch Malfoy’s back, but the boy lurched forward as he gave a guttural sob, his head nearly hitting the faucet. The boy continued to cry for a few moments before he finally spoke up. “N-no one can help me,” he choked out, his body still shaking as the tears fell, “I just can’t do it… I can’t… it just won’t work… and unless I do this for him…he-he says he’ll kill me….” Draco’s elbows hit the sink as he promptly let out another sob. His breathing was frantic like the boy simply couldn’t get any oxygen into his lungs. Harry’s hand subconsciously began to slowly push the door further open. “H-he’ll kill me, Myrtle,” Draco choked out, tears still flowing, “...I can’t stop it… but I can’t fulfill his plan.” The Slytherin’s hands finally let go of the basin as he poorly attempted to stop the onslaught of tears. Distressed, the blonde repeatedly rubbed his hands under his eyes, his fingertips quickly becoming slick with his own tears. His palms cupped his eyes for a moment as Draco feebly stood upright. Placing his hands at his sides the boy attempted to blink away the last of his tears, staring forwards into the broken mirror before him. As his own gray eyes slowly came into focus, Draco scanned him sad form. Dark bags seemed to be constantly laid underneath his eyes in contrast to his pale physique. Constant sleepless nights had taken their toll on the boy. His eyes drifted down to marking on his arm; the eyes of the skull seemed to taunt him and Draco felt a tear escape from his eye. But a slight movement in the corner of the mirror distracted the blonde for a moment. He whirled around, instinctively grabbing his wand from his back pocket as he did so. The Slytherin grabbed the hilt firmly as his gray eyes came face to face with the piercing green eyes of the Chosen One.
As Draco drew his wand Harry naturally drew his in return. Another tear slowly dripped from the blonde boy’s eye. Draco swiftly raised his wand and Myrtle shrieked, quickly diving into the nearest toilet. Water sloshed onto the floor as Harry cast a nonverbal Protego. But Malfoy’s attack never came. Harry felt his shield remain, but the boy before him made no movement. Instead, the blonde before him ever so slowly began to lower his wand arm. Once more, Harry’s green eyes locked with Draco’s gray ones. Tears began to silently drip from them once more. The blonde’s arm dropped to his side as he quickly turned his eyes to the floor. Harry watched as one of the boy’s tears fell into the puddle before him creating brief concentric circles. A light thud sounded as the Slytherin’s wand dropped to the floor and rolled off to the side. Harry’s heart tugged once more. He couldn’t explain why but seeing Malfoy like this shook him to the very core. This was the boy he was supposed to hate, the boy he had held a rivalry with for so long. Malfoy was supposed to be the arrogant pureblood who made jokes at the expense of others and only called him “Potter.” Draco Malfoy doesn’t show emotion, Draco Malfoy doesn’t seek comfort from Moaning Myrtle, and Draco Malfoy doesn’t cry. But seeing him now, seeing him at his lowest point, Harry’s mind began to click things into place. In an instant he knew, no one has ever known the real Draco Malfoy. The broken boy before him was everything Draco truly was; it was the raw, real parts of him that had laid dormant under his hardened exterior for so long. As soon as gray had met green, Harry knew what he had to do. The Chosen One does what he does best: he saves people.
Quickly Harry dropped his wand and rushed over to the blonde before him. He wrapped his arms around the boy as Draco’s head instantly sunk into the crook of his neck. The Slytherin let out a whimper as his tears began to stain the Gryffindor’s robes. Gingerly, the brown-haired boy comfortingly caressed his back. Draco let out a sob, burying his head further.
Harry stood there with his arms around the blonde for several minutes before the boy spoke up. “I-I can’t take it anymore Harry… I just can’t do all of this anymore…” the boys words faded into another whimper. The Chosen One was now rubbing small circles into the boy’s back, lovingly holding him. He just couldn’t stand seeing Draco like this; comfortingly he squeezed Draco in his arms. Harry’s head rested on top of the blonde’s, “It’s okay,” he said, “I’m here for you now, it’s okay.” Draco’s tears slowly dripped down the front of Harry’s robes as he spoke again. “...he’ll kill me for this you know… it was all because of my stupid parents and their stupid elitist agenda.” Draco wrapped his arms around the brunette as he let out a whimper. “They’re just so mean Harry, why does everyone always have to be so cruel,” his arms squeezed the Gryffindor tightly, “...you at least have people… you get to have friends and have a wonderful life e-even though the universe gave you a s-shit destiny…. But I get nothing. You’re the Chosen One, the savior, and I…” the tears continued to fall, “I get to be the one who has no choice…. I get to be the villain, I’m forced to be the bad guy, just because the universe decided to give me a shit hand to play….” The Gryffindor continued the comforting rhythmic movements into Draco’s spine. The Slytherin’s head nuzzled against Harry’s cheek and his heart lurched in his chest once more. “Draco I’m so so sorry, you don’t deserve any of this.” “But I do…” the blonde in his arms responded, “I do, don’t you get it? The world is f-fucking chaos, and if I don’t bear the weight of it, then who will?” He sighed and continued, “I would h-have never chosen for any of this to happen… but I just had to be born ready to obey. T-the Dark Lord h-hates them. He’s punishing my parents through me…. And I shouldn’t care because they made my life a-a living f-fucking nightmare…. But he’ll kill me… Voldemort… if I don’t obey he’ll k-kill me.” The boy in Harry’s arms shook, but Harry held him firmly. He shifted his hand protectively to Draco’s soft hair and he began to run his fingers through it. The blonde’s shaking eased and he continued to speak, “M-my whole life I had to fulfill the every wish of my parents… because… if they couldn’t make each other happy I thought I could. They’re n-not even soulmates, they fucking hate each other…. But I thought I c-could fix things. So I did everything they asked of me… acted like I was better than everyone to cover up what was going on behind the scenes…. So when He rose again, when He got His body and His powers back… my dad figured I’d be just as loyal to the Dark Lord as I was to him…. But my d-dad fucked up… he just never got things right when trying to carry out His plans… and now, I-I still have to fulfill His wishes or-or he’ll k-kill me just to punish my parents further….” The Slytherin whimpered as the tears began to fall rampantly again. Harry continued to hold the broken boy in his arms, his heart aching with every syllable the blonde spoke. “I-I can’t stop it Harry I’m s-s-so s-s-sorry,” the boy choked out, “I-I’ve always wanted you to win, because… maybe then I could b-be free of all of this… But instead, I just continue to do the same cruel things I’ve always done to stay face, I continue to obey and act b-because I have to…. I d-don’t want to die Harry… the universe has been so cruel to me b-but I just don’t want to die….”
It felt like Harry’s heart was breaking. Tears began to slip from Harry’s eyes as he pulled the Slytherin even closer to him. “I-I’m s-so scared, Harry….” “It’s okay, Draco, it’s okay,” he said, “We’ll get through this okay? I’m here now, I’m here for you. I’m scared too, but we can be stronger together, okay?” Harry heard a quiet whimper from the Slytherin as he felt Draco lightly nod into his neck. Harry finally released the blonde and instead lovingly gripped his shoulders. Draco’s head was still downcast, his hands now at his sides. “Draco,” Harry spoke up, “please look at me.” Ever so slowly the blonde raised his head, a few silent tears still dripping from his gray eyes. Is was like everything else in the world didn’t exist as green met gray once more. Marks covered Draco’s face, but Harry was too focused on those sullen eyes to take notice of anything else. Overcome with emotion, Harry cupped a hand to Draco’s cheek. “Listen to me,” the Chosen One spoke, “Draco Malfoy you are beautiful. You don’t deserve any of this, you never have. And I am so so sorry you had to get stuck in a situation like this because you deserve so much better. You have an incredibly kind heart and I am so sorry it lead you here. But I am here for you, and you’ve always had a choice, it was just a choice you should have never been forced to make. I get it Draco, they’re your parents and you would do anything for them. Despite everything, you still want to give them the world. But look at everything they’ve put you through. Look at everything you’ve had to endure because of them. Draco, real parents don’t do that to their kids. They don’t deserve you Draco.”
The Slytherin tried to pull his gaze away from the Gryffindor but he couldn’t. “H-harry, I-I…” but the brunette interrupted him, “ It’s okay Draco, I’m here for you now. I get it, I understand…. You don’t have to hide anymore.”
The Chosen One beamed at him and Draco’s heart melted. Both boys smiled back at one another. Harry returned his hand to Draco’s shoulder and opened his mouth to speak. But the Gryffindor was caught off guard. As soon as his mouth opened he quickly closed it once more. The blonde watched as Harry’s eyes fixated on Draco’s cheek. “W-what, do I have something on my face?” Draco said with a light chuckle. “Y-yeah,” the Gryffindor responded, still mesmerized. Now Draco was caught off guard, “Well, what is it?” Finally, the brunette spoke up, “It’s my handprint.”
Coming free of Harry’s grasp Draco rushed to the nearest mirror. Gazing at his reflection sure enough, right where Harry’s hand had cupped his face was the imprint of the Chosen One’s hand slowly fading from his skin. Draco whirled around. “Oh my god,” he said, “H-harry, y-your’e my soulmate.”
Before Draco could register what was happening his arms were once again entangled with Harry Potter. Longingly, Harry’s lips found their way to Draco’s as the perfect pieces finally fit together. Harry’s lips felt so soft flushed against Draco’s. Passionately they kissed for several moments, fireworks erupting in both their heads. Their noses brushed together and the two finally pulled away for air. The two boys clung to each other still. Harry leaned down and softly whispered in the blonde’s ear, “After all this time… I finally found you.” And Draco couldn’t help but kiss him once again.
…
The two boys walked hand-in-hand together out of the boy’s bathroom on the sixth floor. At this hour, every other Hogwarts student would down at dinner or spending time in their respective common rooms. That is, everyone but Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. The newly found soulmates made their way down to the Great Hall, hoping to at least get some pudding for dessert. And Quidditch? Well, Quidditch was the last thing on Harry’s mind.