Though perhaps it is a bit cowardly, I look him in the eyes as though it isn't and reply coolly, "Truth."
He pauses a moment at that, as though he had expected me to rise to the bait, like we're still children. Like we haven't faced the terrors of the war, like I didn't run screaming from them. "Alright then," he murmurs, clearly still thinking far too much about my choice.
"Ah hurry up, mate," Ron groans, though his face holds the grin of a secret. Is something happening here I don't know about? But we're not children anymore, I remind myself, attempting to remain calm, There are no plots to make me appear foolish. Harry flushes and shoots a look his direction that I don't quite manage to interpret before it is gone. Damn this Firewhiskey.
Harry's eyes soften a bit as he studies my face. His question spoken so gently I almost miss it, "Are you happy, Draco?" For a moment, it seems Harry and I are the only two in the world, playing something much more dangerous than a muggle party game. I begin to lose reality to his emerald eyes, overwhelmed with a strange desire to spell the truth across his skin. 'No, Harry', I want to say, 'Not without you Harry.' But my silence drags several well- timed glances from the rest of our group, saving me just before I could utter the words that would destroy me.
Instead I allow my Ice Prince façade, as Pansy calls it, to dictate the words from my mouth, "Quite, Potter."
Despite my snappy tone Harry only shakes his head and grins, "Tsk, tsk, Malfoy. Truth only."
The group has given up feigning disinterest and I merely shrug off the remark and curious looks with a cold, "Whatever prat," barely able to pretend I had won the game of nerves. "My turn then?"
I make every effort to avoid Harry's eye and manage to make it the night without any more slips, though Pansy sulked tremendously at my withdrawal. By the time we return to our rooms, Pansy has nearly tugged my arm from its socket. "Why can't you just play nice?" She implores again.
My patience with her is wearing thin but I still manage to keep much of the venom from my voice as I pull my arm from her grasp. "Because, I am a Malfoy." My name no longer carries the contemptuous tone of before and is instilled instead with the faintest trace of disgust.
Because Pansy is Pansy, she catches the undertone and falls silent.
Also, because Pansy is Pansy, the silence lasts only a few seconds before she breaks it, "It's not a dirty word, you can still be proud of it." She surprisingly holds her tongue as I contemplate the thought. I stare out the window which faces the lake, surprised when I return my gaze to the eighth year Slytherin rooms to find Pansy has disappeared. I whisper my question instead to the empty room, the silence haunting, "Can I though?"
Author's note: Again this update has taken entirely too long, and I am sorry. However, I hope you will accept this unfortunately short chapter, as it is going to act as a bridge from the one shot idea I held before to a bit longer fic. Hopefully, updates will not take nearly as long since I have rededicated myself to my writing.
Also, my s key is slightly broken for now so if I am missing one somewhere, please let me know I will try to fix it. I think I caught them all, this time.
