Author's note: So, this is a quick little drabble. I got the inspiration cuz it's a game we play in class to "get to know each other better".
Summary: Poor Draco… his life is so messed up… Seamus has a muggle game that the school plays one day in the great hall… See where this is going?
Disclaimer: As much as I would love to, I do not own any of the characters, places or objects used in this fic. Do enjoy and please review.
'They may as well just start calling me the Slut of Slytherin' Draco thought bitterly as he walked through the corridors. Throughout Hogwarts, students had started claiming that they had slept with him, and to be perfectly honest… It pissed Draco off! 'I bet I know who started it, too…' He shot an icy glance over to Pansy, who was busy tormenting a first year Hufflepuff.
'I want to set the record straight, but I don't want to have to repeat myself a thousand times… and I don't want to completely embarrass myself by yelling it in the Great Hall for no apparent reason. Besides, everyone would think I was lying anyway…' Draco was debating his options all through potions and didn't notice when Pansy put the wrong amount of deadly nightshade into their cauldron. He was startled out of his trance when the potion blew up in her face and turned her skin a sickly shade of green, causing her to shriek. When Draco asked what she did, Snape deducted ten points from Slytherin for Draco's lack of attention to the lesson. His thoughts continued to press to the front of his brain all day. He needed a plan. If he was going to do this, he was going to do it right.
At lunch, Dumbledore stepped up to give an announcement. "Attention students! Tonight, we are going to try something new. After dinner, we are going to try a muggle game that Mr. Finnegan learned when he took a trip to the United States. He will teach us the game tonight, and then we'll give it a shot. That's all, back to your meals."
'A muggle game? Interesting…" Draco thought with a smirk. Despite popular belief, Draco was actually quite fascinated with muggles. He just acted like he hated them so that he wouldn't have to face his father… The last time he did something his father didn't approve of, he had been left bleeding and very bruised after being beaten with a cane. Draco didn't mind so much anymore. Now if he got beaten, he had done it on purpose to redirect Lucius' anger at him rather than his mother. She tried to hide it, but Draco caught glimpses of the bruises and scars on Narcissa's arms every now and then. The injuries he got were easy enough to hide with a long-sleeved shirt. He had scars on his arms and his back, so he always wore them. That's why he always acted the way his father wanted him to: he was tired of being beaten up and torn down.
He snapped out of his unpleasant flashbacks when Blaise shook his shoulder. "Draco! What's with you, mate? I said your name, like, six times. Why are you so spaced out lately?"
"I know… I'm sorry," Draco said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I've just got a lot on my mind, that's all…"
"Do you want to talk about it?" Blaise was Draco's best friend. Blaise would always listen and not go blabbing, but he was also there to give Draco a good slap in the face when he needed it.
"It's complicated…" Draco said after a moment's pause. "I want to, but I can't. Not yet, at least…"
"Ok, but when you CAN, come find me. I'm here for you, mate."
"I know. And I really appreciate it." With that, they parted ways: Blaise going to find his girlfriend and Draco to Snape's office to request a floo call home, to check up on his mother.
Snape left Draco in the office, called away by Professor Trelawny. Apparently, something was filling her room with smoke. It could mean a cracked crystal ball, which could be extremely dangerous. "You know how to make the call, Mr. Malfoy. I'll leave you to it." With that, Snape rushed out of the dungeons, his cloak billowing behind him.
Draco tossed the powder into the fire, said "call Malfoy Manor", and stuck his head into the blaze. He was quickly greeted by a house-elf named Daisy. She then proceeded to scurry off to fetch Narcissa. "Draco, how are you? How are classes going?"
"I'm fine, mum. There was a little, erm, mishap in Potions today, but nothing too serious. How are you?"
"Oh, I'm fine…"
Draco noticed the hesitation in her voice. "Did father hurt you again?" His voice sounded more irritated now.
"What do you –" she began
"I've seen the scars and bruises, mum. I know that he's hurt you before, and I think that he's done it again but you're trying to protect him," Draco cut her off.
Narcissa was staring at her son, a tiny bit shocked. "How long have you known?" she finally asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Since the end of second year. Right before he beat me for asking him about it. Repeatedly."
"So, that's why he did it…" She was speaking more to herself than to her son.
Just then, Lucius stormed into the room, a wrinkled piece of parchment in his hand. He moved Narcissa out of the way and held it up so Draco could see it. "What is the meaning of this?!" he demanded.
"Pansy and I agreed to end the betrothal between us. We just don't fancy each other like that."
"That is NOT your decision to make!" Lucius shouted, furious that his son had acted in such a manner.
"It's MY life! What gives YOU the right to run it!?" Draco retorted.
"And another thing," Lucius said, trying to ignore his son's point, "What's this I hear about you sleeping with nearly every student in Slytherin? My father didn't tolerate anything of the sort and neither –"
"Didn't seem to stop you, though," Draco cut him off, knowing he'd get hell from his comment later.
"What did you say to me!?" Lucius was becoming very red in the face.
"You heard me! You know what? I'm SICK of having to be who you want me to be. You've never just let me be myself, you always wanted me to be like you and I can't take it anymore!" Draco yelled at his father with only hatred in his eyes. 'It's time I stand up for myself…' Draco thought. "I'll never be your ideal son," he continued, "I don't want to be a death eater, I don't want to help Voldemort rise to power, I'm actually quite interested in muggles and I really don't think I fancy girls all that much. None of that is acceptable to you, but you know what? I don't give a damn anymore! This is who I am, and either you accept it or you don't."
Lucius looked like he was ready to jump through the fire and murder Draco with his own two hands. And he very well might've tried if Narcissa hadn't shot him with a stunning spell. She walked over to his immobilized form, whispered something in his ear that Draco couldn't hear and slapped him hard across the face, leaving behind a perfect, solid, red hand print. "I'll send you an owl," she said to her confused son before ending the call.
Draco felt like a giant boulder had been lifted off of his chest. He glanced at the clock and realized he was late for Transfiguration. McGonagall asked why he was so late and he said "family issues". This seemed to be an acceptable answer, because she just said, "Then take your seat and open your book to page 394."
Before he knew it, it was time to get ready for dinner. The Great Hall was loud as usual, everyone talking about the upcoming quidditch match between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw and plans for the weekend trip to Hogsmeade. "Well, you appear to be in a better mood," Blaise said when Draco came in with a real, although small, smile on his face.
"You have no idea…" Draco replied, shaking his head slightly. The two boys went to stand by the double doors, and Draco told Blaise everything that had happened.
"Bloody Hell… That's intense." Blaise said, amazed.
"Attention students!" Dumbledore's voice interrupted their conversations, "It is time for Mr. Finnegan to teach us our game for this evening."
Seamus walked up to a small table that he'd set up earlier for the game. "Alright," he said, clapping his hands together. "The name of the game is 'Two truths and a lie'. It's simple enough to understand. You say three things about yourself, two of them are true and one of them is a lie. Then I have to guess which one is the lie. Got it?"People murmured their understanding and Seamus said, "Alright, then! Who wants to go first?"
He correctly guessed the lies of everyone that had volunteered. "C'mon!" he mocked, "Isn't there anyone who can stump me?" It was silent in the hall.
'This could fix the little rumor problem I've got… now's my chance…' Draco thought. "My favorite color is black, this is my natural hair color and I'm a virgin. Which is the lie, Finnegan?" Draco's voice rang out clearly and all eyes in the hall darted between the two boys.
Seamus scoffed and rolled his eyes in disgust. "I bet this is just some twisted way for you to boast, isn't it… You're not a virgin." A smirk crept across Draco's elegant mouth as he leaned against the door frame. Seamus went to speak, but found himself being cut off by Draco.
"Wrong."
"What did you say?" Seamus asked, not believing his ears.
"I said, you guessed wrong, Finnegan," Draco made sure everyone could hear. "I said I was a virgin and you said it was a lie. That makes you wrong."
"What's the lie, then?" Seamus asked.
"My favorite color is green, not black."
"But you wear black all the time!" Seamus protested.
"Doesn't mean it's my favorite color."
"Well then…" Dumbledore sounded cheery as always, "It seems as though the game has come to an end. Well done Mr. Malfoy for stumping Mr. Finnegan. Now, I do believe it's time for everyone to head off to bed." The corridors were buzzing with excitement and conversations about what had happened that night.
"Feel better?" Blaise rested his arm on Draco's shoulder.
"Loads. Actually, I feel rather light-headed."
"Cuz your brain lost 50 pounds of "what you've had on your mind lately" within, say, 4 hours."
"Guess you're right." Draco chuckled. They went straight to bed when they reached the dormitories, and, for the first time in a long time, Draco slept in peace.
Note: I know, it doesn't really flow all that well, but it's one of the first ones I wrote down in a notebook. So *TA-DA* here it is. Please review and let me know what you think.