I'm really not sure what brought this on, most likely high school angst, but maybe it makes a strange amount of sense.
Disclaimer: No so much with the owning.
Draco Malfoy loved the snow. This fact should be noted and stowed away, you should never forget. He loved its white simplicity. The way it quickly and quietly blanketed the ground. Hiding dangers and providing wonder. Plus it tasted simply divine if he did say so himself.
Draco Malfoy loved the snow. Which would explain why he was standing amongst the gently falling flakes on top of the Astronomy tower with his eyes closed and head upturned. Which also explains why her was particularly annoyed when he heard footsteps climbing the stairs. He slipped into the shadowsn and out of his beloved snow to watch as the door cracked open and a cloaked figure appeared. Without hesitation the figure walked to the edge of the tower and climbed to its lip.
"What are you doing?" Curiosity got the better of Draco.
"Jumping."
Draco was shocked by how clam the person was, "Why?"
The figure was silent as the snow fell in increasingly bigger flakes around them then, as if making up its mind, shrugged, "Why should I tell you?"
"Does it matter so little to you? Have you lived so little that you've decided not to live at all?" Draco found himself angry at the thought of someone throwing their life away, "Just decided, 'Oh, today looks like a fun day to die.'"
There was a pause as the figure shifted slightly then spoke again, "Why do you care?"
"I don't know," Draco replied honestly, "I just can't see why someone would want to kill themselves."
"Not everyone lives in a perfect world, does the things they want to do. Some people are forced to live in a way that they desire," the figure's voice had grown cold, filled with fury, a brush of bitterness, and just a touch of sadness.
"Perfect? Hell, nobody has that. We all do what we don't want to do. That's part of life," Draco stepped out into his beloved snow once more, but he found no joy now in the gently falling water crystals.
"Live that way and hold the fate of many lives in your hands."
"That weight of the world rests on your shoulders? Everyone feels that way sometimes," Draco stepped a little closer.
"Do these people have other dying because of them?" the figure spat out the words in an angry tone that Draco finally recognized.
"Potter?"
"What of it? Going to throw it in my face? Maybe even give me a push? Why prolong what you've wanted, what your father and Voldemort wanted, by asking questions?" Harry began creeping closer to the edge.
"You shouldn't jump."
"What?" Harry froze.
"You shouldn't jump. All you think of now is the bad things, the pressures, the expectations. What about the fun you have with your friends? The freedom of flying in a game of quidditch? Why give Voldemort the easy pass and do his job for him?" His words brought Draco only a step away.
"Why?"
"Why do I care?" Draco shrugged forgetting that the other boy couldn't see him. "Maybe because I always meant what I said to you our first day here. Maybe I've realized that my way isn't my father's. And maybe, maybe I'm depending on you too."
Harry turned, confusion scribbled across his face, "You're depending on me?"
"If you live Voldemort must die."
"Where did you hear that?" Harry asked sharply.
"Does it matter? Does any of it matter? Live or die, I'm getting out of this cold. I'm going to bed and dreaming about breakfast. I'm choosing to live." Draco turned his back on Harry and walked away leaving the other boy alone in the dark and snow with his thoughts.
The next morning Draco walked into the great hall and couldn't help glancing over at the Gryffindor table. A coldness filled him when he saw a nervous and worried Granger harassing a redder than usual Weasley. He decided to take the long way to the Slytherin table selecting a path that lead right by the arguing pair.
"What do you mean you haven't seen him Ronald. You share a dorm." Granger snapped out.
"He wasn't there when I woke up, he wasn't in the common room, and he isn't here." Weasley retorted.
"Who's missing?"
"Harry!" Granger jumped up, "We've been looking for you!"
"Draco, satisfied that his words had done something picked up his pace.
"Where you been mate?" Weasley asked.
"Oh, just reflecting on life with a friend." Draco looked back and emerald eyes met his. "Anyway, let's eat, we've got practice later."
Not the most uplifting thing in the world but it seems like a moment that could have happened, in an alternate reality.
~Ke