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Theo stopped dead in his tracks as he opened the door to his dorm, a gasp escaping his lips. His frown quickly melted into a fond smile, his shoulders relaxing when he noticed the intruder's blond hair and his stormy eyes.
"Hey," he greeted, kicking the door shut behind him. "I've been looking everywhere for you."
He let his bag fall to the floor and kicked off his shoes before crawling up in bed. He leaned in, lips reaching for his, but Draco moved away in the last minute. He grabbed Theo's shoulder, keeping him at arms length, his face contorted with grief.
"Babe, what's wrong?" Theo murmured, concerned. He touched Draco's cheek, trying to catch his averting eyes. "Talk to me."
Draco closed his eyes, a small sigh escaping his lips as he leaned into Theo's touch. He looked tired. He had always been pale with sharp angles, but now he sported big, purple circles under his beautiful eyes, his skin was ashy and his cheeks were hollowed, his lean body getting lanky from the stress and lost meals.
It broke Theo's heart seeing him like that and not being able to do anything about it.
"Is it your father?" he insisted. "Any news from Azkaban?"
Draco shook his head, but his lips remained sealed.
"Cissa?" Theo asked, a twinge of panic sipping into his tone. He couldn't fathom the thought of something happening to Narcissa. It would break him and Pansy, and most importantly, Draco wouldn't survive it.
"No," Draco rasped out, pulling away. "They're fine." His voice faltered as he spoke, as if he didn't believe his own words. Theo couldn't blame him. "I… I can't do this anymore, Theo."
Theo let out a sigh, swallowing the lump in his throat. He took Draco's hand. It wasn't the first time Draco broke in front of him, the weight of everything happening after his father's imprisonment heavy on his shoulders and conscious.
"Everything's gonna be fine, love. I'm sure Potter's gonna win soon, or at least buy us enough time to run away. You'll see."
"No, Theo." Draco shook his hand off, his tone turning severe. "I'm talking about this," he insisted, gesturing the space between them. "Us."
"Us?" Theo echoed, his voice barely a whisper.
"Look, it was fun at first, and you really helped me get through the worst of it, but it has to stop. It's wrong." He sighed, walking off the bed, putting as much distance between them as possible. "You're my best friend, and I would hate to ruin that over this."
Humorless laughter bubbled out of Theo's chest, charged with an anger and resentment he didn't know he'd been carrying. Weeks of rejections and stood ups finally snapped as he stared at his boyfriend —or whoever he'd be after this.
"I 'really helped me get through the worst of it'?" He echoed with a scoff. "Like I was just a warm body to keep you occupied until you didn't need it anymore? You seriously think we'll still be friends after that?" he spat, jumping off the bed.
"Theo, come on. It's not like that."
"It's not? That's damn well how you made it sound."
"Well, I'm sorry!" Draco said, exasperated. "I just meant that, it was good while it lasted, but…"
"Yeah, yeah. It's wrong. I got that part, too." Theo's laugh was cold, almost cynical. "So wrong, that you were the one approaching me, remember? You kissed me first."
"And it was a mistake," Draco deadpanned. "With everything going on I should've concentrated in protecting my family, looking for an eligible match, thinking about the future."
Theo's eyes burned with unshed tears. He said nothing, he couldn't. His chest felt like an open wound, and Draco was twisting the knife.
"It had to be over at some point. Why delay the inevitable?" Draco insisted as Theo remained silent.
"Right…" Theo's voice sounded dead to his own ears. "Why keep fooling around with pretty distractions? Because that's what all of this was, was it not?"
Draco gave a stiff nod, averting his eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed.
"At least have the balls to look me in the eyes when you're telling I mean nothing to you," Theo exploded, pushing Draco against the wall. "Did you even loved me?"
Draco's head snapped up, his face contorted with pain. He hesitated a moment, battling with himself before finally letting out a tormented groan.
"Of course I do," he admitted, his hand cupping Theo's cheek.
"Then what is it?" He slapped Draco's hand away. "We still have a year in school. Why making us miserable when we can be hidden behind these walls?"
"You don't understand," the other shook his head. "The things at home… my parents had been pressuring me. You know how they are about tradition."
"Don't you dare," Theo snarled. "Don't you fucking dare using the fucked up pure blood family card with me, Draco. You forget who my father is? You think I don't know what it is like living with a piece of shit blood supremacist? I wish the worst he did was bugging me about eligible gals."
"Oh yeah? You know what it's like living with him?" Draco snapped back. "Do you have any idea what it is for him to wander around your home? To host his reunions with his fanatics in your living room? To kill people in your bloody dinner table?!" His voice broke, his eyes gleaming with desperation. "You have no idea. The things I had to do, the things he made me do!" Draco sobbed, yanking his sleeve up.
Theo took a step back, a gasp catching in his throat. The black ink in Draco's forearm stared back at him, it's ominous serpent almost seemed like gloating in his horror.
"When?" He asked in a tiny voice. "Since when do you have that in your arm?"
"Christmas." Draco's response was so quiet that Theo almost missed it.
Theo didn't understand how they could've spent so many nights together and he never noticed it. Then he remembered all those times he ever so subtly would move his arm away from his touch, wrapping it around his shoulders or tucking it under his head; or the silent hisses when he touched it that he justified with a "bad session with aunt Bella"; or how after his duel with Potter he'd refused to take his shirt off all together. Theo had thought it was about his scars, but what if it was a convenient way to hide his mark without using glamorous?
"He gave me a mission, said my family's well being depended on my success," Draco confessed, almost begging for Theo to understand. "I-I'm close to making it, but I can't risk being back on the Dark Lord's bad side. My occlusion is good, but I… I can't risk it. I can't risk you." He gnawed his lip to stop it from trembling. "Something's happening later tonight and I want you as far from me as possible, whatever the outcome."
"What's happening?" Theo's chest felt about to implode. "Draco, what did you do?"
Draco just shook his head.
"How bad is it?" Theo pressed.
"We know what'll happen if I fail, but if I succeed, it's more than possible that the Order and the Ministry are coming after me."
Theo let out a shaky breath, his eyes welling up with tears again, terror coursing freezing through his veins.
"Dray, I need you to tell me what it is so I can help you. We need to do something."
"There's nothing to be done," Draco touched his cheek, offering him a sad smile as he walked past him towards the door. "Just, please, stay away from me, Theo."
"No!" Theo rushed to stand before him. "It has to be something!" He pleaded. "We can go to Dumbledore, even to Potter. Or maybe Severus; you said he was here to protect you. We can beg for protection, offer a deal. Just… please don't leave. You can't leave me like this."
"Theo…"
"Please, my dragon," Theo begged, grabbing Draco's shoulders. "At least stay the night."
He saw Draco's resoluteness crumble under the endearment, his grey eyes turning dark as he cupped his face between his hands.
"My gift," he claimed in a low whisper before crushing their lips together in a fierce, longing kiss.
Theo melted against him as their feet drove them to the bed. Their clothes fell rather quickly after that. Theo's hands roamed down Draco's body, tickling his ribs, reverently tracing the scars on his chest, scratching the soft skin of his belly.
Every kiss was a goodbye, every whisper a plea, every caress a silent vow.
By the end of the night, with his Dragon's head resting against his chest, his hairs tangled between his fingers and his soft snores lulling him to sleep, Theo thought they had a plan, a solid plan that would keep them safe and together. However, when he woke up again, his bed was cold and empty, and the castle was plunged into chaos, with death eaters running wild and a beloved headmaster dead on the ground.