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That evening, the sun was nearly setting on the western horizon, filling the large windows of Malfoy Manor with its light. The sound of footsteps echoed loudly in the corridor, indicating that the wearer was walking briskly. The cold air lingering along the hallway explained who the mysterious man was.
"Dray, come on. We still have a backup plan. We're lucky Riddle didn't take any casualties," Harry panted, his steps trying to catch up with the blonde. This time, he was fortunate that Draco was still willing to walk instead of teleporting. If he had chosen the latter, Harry would have been in a panic searching for him.
Draco turned into one of the corridors, heading towards his room. The door slammed shut behind him after he and Harry entered, causing Harry's brow to furrow momentarily.
"Dray? Hey, listen to me! Don't run off like this, you know the whole team is waiting for your decision."
Harry followed as Draco deftly removed his cloak and hung it on the rack. His gloves followed suit, as did the outer layer of his Sovereign special combat attire, which had some burns and had a purplish hue around them. Similar to the tears in Harry's clothes, but less frequent.
The atmosphere in Draco's room had never felt colder than today. The owner had installed a large chandelier made of his anger, hanging in the center of the room with ice crystals sharp enough to kill anyone pierced by them. Occasionally, soft flakes fell, making the air even colder, almost making Harry wish he had worn a warm wool jacket.
"It's easy for you to say that. You didn't even feel it," Draco gritted his teeth, his hands unconsciously clenched tightly on his clothes before throwing them into the laundry basket.
Harry stepped closer to Draco from behind, his eyes glancing at his digital watch, monitoring Draco's vital signs. "But I'm sure we can get through it. We'll be okay."
"Okay?" Draco's anger seemed ready to explode at any moment. His tone had become as sharp as a razor, a sign that the bomb was about to be dropped.
Harry held his breath in silence. He didn't know what he had said wrong to trigger such a response from the esper. In anticipation, he bit his tongue.
"Do you even know what I've been through for the past three years? Do you know what your powers have caused? Oh yeah, you'll never know," the back of Draco's ears had turned red, a sign of his emotions that were already struggling to be released. The wand with a carved serpent that he always held in his hand was tightly gripped, so tightly that Harry feared it would split in two at any moment.
Draco walked with frustration to the end of the room, trying to distance himself from Harry. His quick steps showed panic and nervousness in his heart. "You're the blessed child."
The word 'you' was emphasized with a tone of disgust. But somehow, not entirely disgusted. If Harry listened carefully, something else also emanated from the esper's mouth. Something that had been in his heart long before their first agreement began.
Something that had been buried deep within Draco's heart, and locked in the guise of his elegant demeanor. Which had been swallowed whole.
"We promised not to bring that up again." Harry's voice began to sharpen. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and furrowed his brow. Why did Draco bring up something irrelevant like this?
Draco threw his wand haphazardly onto the bed, regardless of whether his throw was accurate or not. Harry caught it, then gently placed it on the small table beside the bed.
"Oh yeah? Or is it just because you want to be humble? The blessed child, truly humble of you," Draco's words were filled with poisonous sarcasm. It seemed Harry had never heard such an intense tone of hatred before.
"But you're blessed too, aren't you? That's why you're still here."
Harry knew those words wouldn't impact Draco, let alone calm him down. But why did he still try? Harry stepped closer to him in doubt.
For a moment, Harry's eyes swept over the frames on the table, catching a glimpse of a photo of Draco shaking hands with him. Just as he was about to ask further, a burst of ice was sent past him and knocked the frame down, freezing it. Draco glanced at Harry dangerously.
"Blessed? Me?" Draco stepped forward, now closing the distance with Harry. His high-heeled boots highlighted the height difference between him and the bespectacled man. Draco felt Harry tense, anticipating what would happen.
Draco's lips trembled as he wanted to respond. "You're blessed by the light, while I'm blessed by darkness. You'll never feel what I feel."
After that, Draco bowed slightly until he was level with Harry. His sharp gray eyes now forced weak green eyes to meet them.
"My life has been cursed from the beginning, and you can't help anything." The esper looked at Harry woundedly. Harry almost swore he saw teardrops about to fall from the corners of Draco's eyes.
Harry sighed deeply before turning around. He considered leaving and leaving Draco alone, but he swallowed that thought back. He chose to sit on the bed.
"We shouldn't have met from the start."
The 'esper in critical condition' notification had been flashing for over a minute on his digital watch. Harry had caught a glimpse of Draco's neck earlier, and he could see that the pendant he had given had shattered in two.
"Draco?" Harry tried to call out. A piece of ice fell on his head, making him bite his lip in the cold.
"Hey, Draco. Don't be like this. You know I'm always here to help and be by your side."
"Dray, is this about your necklace?"
Apparently, the question caught Draco's attention, making him walk to the bed and sit beside Harry. All of it was done without a sound, of course. Draco's mouth corners had been constantly wrinkled since earlier, as an effort to hold back tears.
The piercing silence lasted for a few moments before being broken by Draco's mutter.
"Sorry."
Even as he said that, Draco turned his face away from Harry. His voice was so weak and hoarse.
Harry looked at Draco sadly. It was the first time the esper let his tears be seen by someone else. And that someone was the golden boy, Harry Potter.
[Esper in critical condition!]
Harry watched as Draco's heart rate skyrocketed. When a massive wave of power erupted from his body, almost freezing his hands. His whole body slowly turned pale, almost matching his still neatly buttoned shirt.
He watched very clearly as Draco's body trembled violently. The mouth that usually uttered light sarcasm now emitted silent screams, making his eyes and ears reddened. His hands clenched so tightly that Harry feared his palms would be injured by his nails.
Without saying anything, Harry pulled Draco into his embrace. He didn't care if when Draco felt better, he would hate himself. He didn't care about the protests and endless grumbling Draco would give when he was better.
"Harry, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Forgive me," Draco sobbed. His voice was so soft, almost like a whisper. His irregular breathing felt very warm, contrasting with his cold body like a corpse.
Harry held the esper tightly in his arms, his palms gently stroking Draco's back. The wave of power showed no sign of stopping anytime soon.
"I beg you, calm down. I'm not going anywhere." Harry let the white-haired head lean fully on him. Draco's heartbeat felt so fast in this position.
[Esper in critical condition!]
The notification had been flashing in a dangerous frequency, and Harry didn't want to imagine what would happen if he couldn't calm Draco down.
It's not helping, his mind said. He stopped his stroking for a moment, then pressed and opened the details of the flashing notification.
[Esper in critical condition!
Survival probability: 60%
Causes:
- Unknown poison
- Exceeding limits of power usage]
Harry's eyes widened in shock as he read the details. It couldn't be, was Draco poisoned by Riddle? When? Then what did the survival probability mean?
He had never encountered such an event in his five years as a guide. Not even once. Even in the worst conditions he had ever dealt with, never once did details of survival probability like this appear.
"Draco?"
There was no response from him. Harry released his embrace and checked Draco's pulse. It seemed he had passed out.
[Esper in critical condition!
Survival probability-]
Harry closed the notification before it even fully appeared.