Chapter Text
“Is this the last time?” Draco avoided Harry’s green eyes, instead opting to nuzzle the constellation of freckles just behind Harry’s ear. A hiss of pleasure escaped from Harry as Draco bit and suckled his neck.
“It has to be.” Draco finally responded, voice rough and deep, before capturing Harry’s lips with his and pushing him down against the seat of the train compartment.
* * *
Harry felt tears gathering in his eyes, threatening to fall. He’d given in, wanting one last time. Merlin, he was so stupid for losing his heart to Draco Malfoy of all people. Draco–Malfoy–had long since left the train and caught the last carriage to the castle. But Harry couldn’t bring himself to do anything more than sit with his back against the very seat Malfoy had taken him on, trying not to cry.
Some savior I am, he thought, heartbroken over a teenage Death Eater. Malfoy had made no attempts to hide the Dark Mark on his forearm. He’d seen it during their Diagon Alley rendez-vous, when he’d managed to evade Ron and Hermione. Malfoy hadn’t said anything about it and Harry hadn’t wanted to ruin the fragile peace that their classroom trysts or alley escapades had brought.
Harry wiped his eyes, breathing in deeply. He slowly got to his feet, legs still unsteady and back radiating a familiar ache. The train jolted suddenly. The boy, feet tangled in the invisibility cloak he’d been sitting on, careened face first towards the floor.
Crunch!
Sharp pain flared up in Harry’s nose. Warm blood gushed out, dripping past his swollen lips as he pushed himself up from the floor. The tears he’d almost successfully prevented returned with vengeance, flowing like a waterfall down his face. A sob worked its way up Harry’s throat, his chest tight and his heart squeezed by the icy hand of loss. Harry clawed at his chest as he gave into the sobs. He collapsed back to the floor, curling up on his side.
His tears finally ran dry around the time the sky started darkening outside. Harry rolled onto his back. The dried tears and blood made his face stiff. He stared at the ceiling of the train compartment, unable to muster the energy to stand up and walk to the castle. Distantly, he heard people yelling. Harry couldn’t care less.
The compartment door rattled, sliding open.
“Harry?” He ignored them. “Lumos.”
The compartment brightened painfully in the wandlight. Harry squinted against the harsh light. The aching pressure in his head and the nagging pain in his nose seemed to grow exponentially because of the intruder’s spell.
“Cor! Harry, you’re covered in blood!” A face appeared in his line of sight. Brilliant. The glowing wand tip quickly obscured his sight as the person poked his face with it. “Episkey!”
“Ow! What’d you do that for?” Harry sat up, hand on his nose.
The lavender-haired person sat down next to him and gave his face a searching look. “It was broken, kiddo. Now, where are your glasses?”
He shrugged. Dra–Malfoy had taken them off earlier and Harry hadn’t exactly cared to find them.
The other person swung their wand around, searching. They must have spotted something, because the clumsily crawled over to the far corner of the compartment, before returning and shoving something metal onto his face.
Harry blinked a few times, rewarded with an identity for the purple-haired blob that had interrupted his wallowing. “Tonks?”
“Who’d you think I was?”
“I don’t know. I couldn’t see you.”
“Oh.” Harry rolled his eyes. Tonks’ expression seemed unnaturally pinched and serious. “Harry, are you doing okay?”
“Oh, yes, I was lying here with a broken nose and blood on my face because my life is fantastic!” The sarcastic retort escaped before Harry could stop it.
“Did someone do this to you? I can help you report it to the professors… Oh shit! I forgot to let them know I found you. We were searching for you.”
“No one did this to me, Tonks. I did it to myself. I tripped and fell. And I didn’t want to see anyone in the Great Hall.” Harry watched as Tonks cast the Patronus charm, sending her wolf to the professors, alerting them that Harry’d been found and was safe.
“Is it because of Sirius’ death? Do you want to talk about it? We can–”
“No,” Harry cut her off. “And I want to talk about it as much as you probably want to talk about your little relationship with Remus.”
Harry stood up, gathering up his invisibility cloak without falling this time, and pushed past Tonks into the train corridor. He heard Tonks scrambling to get up behind him as he stormed toward the exit to the Hogsmeade platform.
“Harry! Wait!”
Harry pretended he didn’t hear her. A hand came down on his shoulder and his whole body flinched as he froze on instinct.
“There are no more carriages. Due to the increased security, I have to escort you to the front gates.” Harry eyed her, she didn’t appear to be lying. He must have hurt her though, as Tonks’ hair now hung limp and dark. “I won’t push and I won’t force you to talk, okay?”
Harry nodded. He’d take this broken heart to his grave.