A new story which isn't finished yet but I wanted to post it in order to give me the motivation to write more. It's set during Sixth/Seventh year and is pretty much canon to the books/movies (more-so the books) and centres around Draco Malfoy, who I believe is the best character, but also the most misunderstood character:) I hope you enjoy it to all you who read it:)

He didn't know what to do.

Only that he had to run.

Draco stumbled back a couple of steps, watching as Harry Potter's head turned from Katie Bell to him. He looked around the hall frantically as Potter's glare deepened, searching for assistance from any of his Slytherin acquaintances. They were hardly his friends now since he barely spent any time with them anymore. Pansy had lost interest in him and was now chasing after Blaise Zabini. Zabini, with the help of Nott, was constantly trying to get away from and turn down Pansy's advances which crossed them off his list. As for Crabbe and Goyle, they barely ever spoke but now that they were, all they did was shout insults as Draco because they were seemingly jealous of the task The Dark Lord had placed on his shoulders. He didn't truly understand their envy. If he was in their position he would be overjoyed. Of course, they didn't know what he was currently going through or even why he was going through with it, and they never would. He spotted Daphne Greengrass glancing at him but when he opened his mouth to say something she whipped her head back around, starting up a conversation with Pansy.

Potter was now looking at him in utter loathing and contempt. He had thought various times about telling Dumbledore or Potter what he was supposed to complete this year, hoping that after many apologies they would forgive him and offer his family safety and protection, but he had yet to do so and the look on Potter's face now made him think that even if he did pluck up the courage to talk to him, the boy who lived wouldn't believe a word of what he said.

He peered at Potter's two best friends, Weasley and Granger. Weasley was tucking into his breakfast whilst Granger had her head stuck in yet another book she had most likely read fifty times before. Both were completely oblivious to the way their best friend was glaring at their arch enemy. And for the first time in his life, Draco wished this wasn't the situation. He wanted Granger to look up from her book to see Potter sprinting after him, he wanted her to yell at Potter to stop and he wanted her to fire a stunning spell at the pair of them if he didn't stop. He wanted Weasley to swallow his overloaded mouthful of food and tell Potter that Draco wasn't worth it. Anything would be better than the situation he was in at the minute.

He staggered back a bit as Potter stalked towards him; slowly at first but then picking up speed until he was jogging towards him. Draco's breathing speeded up before he turned on his heel and bolted out of the main doors he had just entered through, ignoring the angry remarks that were spurting from the group of students he had just pushed out of the way. Luckily for him, they returned to their group just as Potter left the hall. He whipped his head around just in time to see Potter escape the, once again agitated, crowd of students and look left then right before spotting him and picking up speed again. Draco did the same. Deciding it would be better to stay as far away from Potter as possible at the moment.

As he rounded a corner he could still sense Potter behind him. He looked around for anything that could help him. The corridor he was in was silent, pretty much everyone being at breakfast, so blasting a hole in the wall, jumping into the room and then sealing the wall back up wouldn't be noticed by a passerby. He was just aiming his wand at a gap between two suits of armour when a thought crossed his mind. He shot a charm at the identical suits before sprinting off, he glanced back and was shocked to see the raven haired boy blast the suits of armour, which had just tried to grab onto his upper arms and force him into a nearby broom cupboard, into the wall next to him. They crashed to the floor with a loud clatter of metal on stone and Draco began to panic. In his shock he fired a Reducto as the bookshelves he had just passed; the books inside toppled slightly before falling to the ground, the shelves swiftly followed, blocking the path through and causing Potter trouble as he slipped on a stray book.

Draco didn't have time to praise himself since he knew that even Potter could accomplish a Reparo charm and soon the bookshelves would be back to their original position.

He sped up the moving staircases, nearly losing his balance as it jerked to change just as he stepped on. He ran up them two at a time and when he reached they had stopped, barged through the first door he laid eyes on. Not even realising what floor he was on until he saw the familiar view of the sixth floor boys' bathroom. Tears were now threatening to pour out of his eyes as he flung himself at one of the sink, gripping the rim under his hands so hard that his knuckles turn white. Then he let it out.

He couldn't hold it in any longer, the suspense, the anger he felt for The Dark Lord, the sorrow he felt for his family–his mother–who would be suffering alongside him if he didn't complete this task. He couldn't bear to look at himself and kept his head bowed; he ripped off his grey uniform jumper and threw it to the side. He gulped and sobbed, not bothering to be worried about whether they were loud or not. He clutched at his hair, tearing it out in large clumps as fat tears ran down his face. He turned the tap on so that it was pushing out the water full blast; the crashing of the water soothed him slightly, making him forget about what he was going through.

That Katie girl had lived and now whenever he saw her he would just feel guilt. He wished none of this had happened and he wished that his father had never gotten involved with The Dark Lord's insane ideas. He wished that he had been different during his first year and had made friends that weren't the sons or daughters of Death Eaters and he wished that this year he had plucked up the courage to talk to Dumbledore about the issue he was going through alone. He wished that he had accepted Snape's offer of assistance at the beginning of the year.

And he wished that when he first came to Hogwarts, Harry Potter had accepted his hand in friendship before the sorting. Everything would be different then and he wouldn't be stuck in this bathroom now, crying his eyes out because he had done something beyond evil.

"I WISH I WAS DEAD," he screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing off the walls of the bathroom. To his surprise, the words were followed by a small shriek.

A ghost flew from the cubicle furthest to his left. She was young and dressed in what looked like Ravenclaw robes. Her glasses were round and her hair was straight and black, she wore it in bunches. Her facial shape and glasses made Draco think she had an uncanny resemblance to Potter. She wailed loudly, her hands covering her tiny ears.

"Must you shriek so much," she wailed and Draco's wet eyes crinkled into a glare, she said that he shrieked a lot? What about her?

"Leave me alone," he managed to spit out, running a hand yet again through his already messy hair. His voice was almost venomous yet the ghost ignored his angered tone and flew closer.

"I was here first," she sulked, sitting down on the sink two away from him and crossing one leg over the other. She ran a hand through her bunches, still wailing. Draco sneered at her.

"But this is the boys' bathroom so get out!" he snapped looking up at her. She gasped at his pale face and wet eyes, still leaking from the residue of his tears. She cocked her head to one side.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Her voice still had a trace of annoyingness but now sounded more sympathetic. He shot her a glare that said 'do I look okay?'

She reached over and patted him on the shoulder, her hand sometimes slipped through him instead of landing on top which made him shudder. "It's okay, I'm here," she said but Draco continued to ignore her, tears starting to leak again. When he started balling she looked worried and started shushing in his ear, as if she was talking to a baby.

"Shush, shush, don't cry. It will be okay,"

"…No…No it…it…won't…" he let out between sobs, gasping and gulping for air as his crying overtook him.

"Don't… Just tell me what's wrong… I can help you…" crooned the ghost.

"No one can help me…" Draco replied, his body shaking with how much he was crying. He spluttered as the ghost continued to pat his shoulder, still sometimes missing. He carried on. "I can't do it… And Unless I do he'll… He'll kill me…"

Tears streamed down his face before hitting the greying basin with a silent clunk, silent to everyone but him. It was like a drum, the bang of a door opening and…

He lifted his head to look into the cracked mirror, gulping when he saw the reflection of Harry Potter staring at him from across his shoulder. The clunk must have been the door opening but he must have missed it. He spun round, drawing his wand and sending a jinx Potter's way. The other wizard blocked it easily with a swipe of his own wand before rushing behind a nearby cubicle for protection as Draco sent another curse his way. It missed and instead hit the door of the cubicle. The wood blasted into smithereens as the ghost started screaming.

"No! No! Stop fighting! Stop it!" But her words were drowned out as Potter flung a spell at Draco which he dodged easily. The curse bounced of the sink beneath the ghost, making her wail again as she flew off it into the air. A shard of china flew off the wall and skimmed Draco's arm, creating a deep cut from the force. He yelled out in pain and dived underneath a cubicle door, hiding himself from view.

There was silence for a few minutes whilst the two boys hid themselves. Draco, wanting to see what Potter was up to, climbed up onto the toilet seat. He put one knee on the cistern to balance himself before peering over the top of the cubicle. He ducked down seconds after as he saw the bright red flash of a stunning spell heading his way. It crashed into a mirror behind him and the ghost screeched again. He shot out of the cubicle, sending endless Reducto's at the pipes beneath the sinks. Water sprayed and splashed out of them, coating in the floor in a glistening layer of the clear liquid. Potter peered around the side of the cubicle, his eyes widening at the fast flowing water whilst Draco backed into the wall behind him. The ghost above him cried out as the water began to seep out under the bathroom door and into the corridor outside. Draco shot another spell at Potter which he narrowly missed but only by diving into the water below. The curse bounced around the room, smashing various mirrors. Potter flailed on the wet ground, trying to get up but always slipping back down again. His robes were now sopping and his glasses were smudged from where he had landed face down. Draco took his chance and angrily raised his wand, his face contorted, and cried. "Cruci–"

"SECTUMSEMPRA," Potter roared, his wand waving wildly from his spot on the floor.

Before Draco could even think about where he had heard that spell before, or even what it was, sharp pains shot through his abdomen as if a hundred daggers were stabbing him all at once. He cried out in pain and clutched at his face as the same searing pains travelled around the rest of his limbs. He collapsed onto the waterlogged floor with a splash, his wand slipping from between his limp fingers.

"No–" he heard Potter gasp but couldn't say anything. The pains had stopped now but he knew he had lost a lot of blood. His breathing quickened and turned to gasping as he tried to take in oxygen. He heard a splash next to him and turned his shaking head towards the noise, through his blurred vision he could make out the faint outline of Potter knelt beside him, his face stunned and his wand moving over Draco's body, as if trying to put the blood back inside his body.

"MURDER! MURDER IN THE BATHROOM! MURDER!"

Draco could only hear it faintly but he knew it was the ghost wailing again. His eyes were drooping and the edges of his vision kept changing from black to white.

A dull bang echoed in his ringing ears and the next minute Potter was pushed to the side. A bat-like figure took his place, chanting incantations from beside him whilst he continued to cough and splutter, from the looks of his crooked nose and long black hair, it was Snape.

Draco knew it; he knew he was going to die. His gasping for air was growing ever slower and the darkness in his eyes was spreading so that he could only see what was directly above him.

He deserved this, despite his mother's calming words over the summer when The Dark Lord had given him his task. She had told him that the task was wrong and that nobody deserved to die like this. Draco did. He had done so much wrong with his life and nothing was going to make it right. When someone, whether it was him or another Death Eater, carried out the task he was assigned to do; the wizarding world would be in grave danger and Voldemort would surely win.

Snape was still chanting, his voice sounding more and more determined. He could faintly hear Potter's heavy breathing and remembered his wish from earlier.

'If only Harry Potter had accepted his hand in friendship before the sorting.'

He could feel himself being lifted, he felt weak and his knees were knocking. He didn't feel as if he had any life in him at all, in fact, he felt as if he was already dead. That was until he heard Snape talking in his ear.

"You need to get to the hospital wing. You may have scarring but if you take dittany immediately we might even avoid that."

"Professor…"

"Silence Potter," Snape spat as he dragged Draco towards the door, struggling with the weight of a fully grown sixteen year old boy. "Stay here and I will deal with you later," he said in a voice that made the remains of Draco's blood run cold. He knew they were out of the bathroom when he heard the heavy door slam shut again, the dull thud drumming in his ears.

Snape half-carried half-dragged him towards the Hospital Wing yet Draco still couldn't see anything. It was as though as the blood vessels had rushed from his eyes and were now travelling to his heart so that they could continue to keep him alive. Many times he slumped against Snape as his legs gave way and to his surprise, Snape always managed to pick him back up again.

When they finally got to the Hospital Wing, Draco heard Madame Pomfrey squeal in horror at Draco's stance and sopping wet, coated in blood shirt. His matted platinum blonde hair also caked in his own blood.

"Get the dittany! NOW!" Snape urged as he set Draco down on the nearest bed. A clatter of heels told him that Madame Pomfrey had agreed and was now rushing to get the dittany. She returned shortly after and began to talk to Snape about what had happened.

"…But how did he get like this?" she asked for about the fourth time, and for the fourth time, Snape turned her questions down.

"I've told you before and I will tell you again Poppy, you do not need to know."

"But…"

"Enough! I have to go talk to someone now but I will come back shortly to see how he is getting on."

"Okay Severus," the matron whispered, her voice choked as Snape swept from the room, his cloak billowing out behind him.

A sharp stinging feeling flowed through the entire length of his body and a hiss escaped his dry lips.

"Just relax Mr Malfoy, relax and it will be okay," the matron said soothingly as she continued to pour dittany into each of his many wounds.

Snape returned about an hour after Draco had arrived in the Hospital Wing. He spoke in hushed words to Madame Pomfrey before leaving the room once again.

That night Draco lay in his bed, his heart banging against his chest and his heard whirring as he thought about what the Dark Lord would do to him when he found out about this. Everything Draco had done, witnessed or experienced today marked how pathetic he was and The Dark Lord would not be happy to hear that Harry Potter had nearly killed yet another of his followers again. He would probably take it upon himself to torture Draco with every spell he knew in front of his parents and even after that, might result to killing him.

He tossed and turned, wincing every time he crashed down on a bandaged up wound. His heart was pounding and his head was throbbing and every time he winced, he thought about what could have happened if Harry Potter had accepted his hand in friendship before the sorting in first year.

Thank you for reading:) Hoping to write more soon and will post the next chapter next week:) Happy reading!