Broken Pieces Chapter 1

He leaned back in the seat, running a hand through his hair, closing his eyes to try and block everything out. Every glare, every whispered conversation, every accusing pointed finger, every feeling of a pair of eyes fixed on him, every judgmental look, every conversation hushed as he walked past and every mother pulling her child close to keep them away from the evil that he now represented. He tried to ignore it, as his left forearm itched under his black sleeves. He didn't want to be here, but he knew it was his duty. He was doing this for his mother, for no one else, he was here to drag himself away from the reclusive life he had slunk into over the last year and a half.

He sighed. This was a huge mistake. He had tried to destroy this school, and now he was returning as if nothing had happened. But he knew, that whatever excuse he used, he knew that it was his fault, and he couldn't pass the blame on to anyone else.

A year and a half. That was how long it took for them to fix up the castle after the battle. As soon as the castle was restored, they had invited all of the seventh years back to complete their education. He knew it was for the best, but he didn't want to be here staying in the same building as the very people he fought against.

Now he sat alone, once he would have been surrounded by his best friends by now, but they were all but gone now. Pansy would be returning in a few days, Blaise would be the only other of his original group that would join him for the train journey, and he hadn't appeared yet. The rest? Some had been killed during the fight, some had fled the country with their parents and siblings in an effort to avoid the war altogether, while others had gone into hiding. He knew then, that he would never see all of his friends back together smiling and laughing like they had once. They were gone, and it was his fault.

The compartment door slid open, and Draco's eyes snapped open, as the noise of the crowds of other people on the train flooded in like a tsunami, before being blocked out as Blaise shut the door again, pulling the blinds to prevent nosy young children peering through the glass at the broken man, like he was an animal in a zoo. Blaise shook his head as he looked at Draco, no, he wasn't a man anymore, he was fragile like a young child, who just wanted to run away and hide. He worried about Draco, he knew that his best friend blamed himself, and he knew how badly he had been damaged by the war. At that point, sitting opposite the once proud Malfoy heir, he promised himself that he would do everything he could to protect Draco from the hatred that he would be facing back at Hogwarts.

Draco slunk into the back of the great hall, taking his seat at the Slytherin table, trying his hardest to blend into the shadows. It worked as the attention of the hall was pulled to the nervous children standing ready to be sorted. He looked up and down the long tables. Every house had suffered losses, but the table of snakes was greatly depleted, a large number of their students having been on the losing side of the war.

He rubbed at his arm, the material of his sleeve slightly raising to show the very edge of the horrifying mark that had been branded into his skin. God he just wanted the year to be over already. Professor McGonagall stood, moving to the lectern at the front of the hall, beginning her first speech as headmistress.

"Now, I would like to welcome all those of you starting your first year at Hogwarts, and I would also like to welcome back last year's seventh years, who have returned to complete their education. Of course, all of you remember the last thing that occurred at this school, we lost many fine students and professors to that battle, and I would like to remind you that many of the older students sitting here now fought bravely that night. I would also like to say one more thing on that topic, we may have fought against each other then, but now we must respect our fellow students. The battle is finished, and while we respect those we lost, we must join together, whether we fought with or against the person seated next to us, it doesn't matter, and now, now we must join together to build a better future for everyone instead of continuing arguments that need to be put to rest now. So, we must all be respectful of one another and work together. Now I will cease rambling, and let you enjoy the feast," She sat back down, and the food appeared on the gold plates, as it had every time before.

But Draco didn't touch anything, he stayed still, as if he had been frozen solid, his grey eyes betraying not even a flicker of emotion. Blaise looked up worried, as his friend continued not to eat.

"Draco, you need to eat something, you can't just waste away, hey" he said waving a hand in his face, moving some food onto Draco's plate. Before sighing and going back to his own meal.

At the end of the feast, he rushed round to his friend and shielded him from the curious looks from the other students, as they made their way back towards the Slytherin dungeons. Seeing as they were the only Slytherin buys who had returned for their eighth year, they had shared a dormitory, and both went straight to their beds when they arrived in the room. But Draco stayed awake late into the night, just staring up at the canopy over the bed, thinking about everything until he finally drifted off to sleep.

When Blaise woke the room was empty, they had been back at Hogwarts for a few weeks now, and Draco had barely said more than a few words. Blaise sighed, as he got dressed, he doubted Draco would ever be the same again. He made his way down to the common room, where he was surprised to see Draco, his thin form folded into an armchair by the fire, reading a book. Normally, in the mornings, Blaise would see little to nothing of Draco, who would have disappeared off into some hidden corner off the castle, but today was different.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked slowly, Draco shook his head,

"I can't, I just can't" he mumbled, never looking up from his book. Blaise took this as a sign that the boy needed space and so he started making his way up to the great hall.

As he sat down in his seat, he was interrupted from his thoughts by a group of first and second years, one boy was shoved forwards, and he seemed to be shaking ever so slightly as he looked up at the older student.

"Can I help you?" Blaise asked curiously, the boy seemed to be growing more and more nervous by the second, and looked as though he was going to back out of the conversation until one of his friends poked him in the ribs

"Er, is it true? Are you really friends with," he paused, Blaise knew immediately where this was headed, "you know… him?" the boy finished lamely, and Blaise sighed inwardly before nodding.

"What's he like?" the boy asked, excitedly, his nervousness evaporating, "Is he like they say he is? Did he really do all those awful things that they say he did? And does he actually have…." The boy trailed off gesturing wildly at his arm.

"Here's a suggestion for you," Blaise sighed, "leave Draco alone, and don't listen to those awful rumours" he finished before standing up and storming off towards his first lesson, feeling great pity towards his friend. Would anyone ever be able to fix the poor boy before he went insane?