Draco PoV
My eyes darted around the room casually, but inside I was nervous. I still needed to ask Percy to come spend Christmas at the Manor, but I couldn't work up the nerve to. It's not that I was afraid that he'd say no, but rather what would happen during the break if he said yes. The Christmas Party was tonight and I kept telling myself that's when I would ask him. I snorted, Look at that Ladies and Gentlemen, Draco Malfoy is finally losing his cool. I shook my head, 'losing his cool,' I've been hanging around Percy too much. A hand landed on my shoulder and I had to force myself not to jump in fright. Turning my head casually while my heart was racing a mile a minute, I was met with a half bent over Percy, laughter bubbling from his mouth.
"Chill, it's just me, no need to freak." I rolled my eyes and leveled them on him. He snorted. "Anyways, I came to ask if you wanted to help with the decorations." I scoffed, lips settling into a sneer.
"I'm not a maid, Percy. They can slave away pathetically all they want but I'll stay out of it. I have better things to do than to flit around these plebes. It's as if they don't have magic, though half of them don't deserve it." My nose turned up at the sight before me. For Merlin's sake, more than half of them are acting like they don't have wands. Muggle-borns most certainly. I turned to face Percy in his silence only to find him staring at me. His face was blank, but his eyes were cold and unflinching. It was unnerving and my stomach rolled uneasily.
"Draco," was all he said. I sighed and rolled my eyes, trying to hide my guilt at upsetting him.
"Fine, I'll help decorate for the bloody party." Despite my response, Percy was still displeased, I could tell. He nodded, then bent his head and rubbed the back of his neck, shaking his head. Looking back up, he rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, Okay , cool." Percy turned on his heel and walked away, heading for the door.
"Percy! Wait!" He paused without turning around.
"Yes, Malfoy?" He sounded impatient and it offended me. I marched up to him and spun him around, glaring coolly.
"Why are you upset?" I hissed at him. Percy only called me by my last name when he was joking or angry.
"Why am I upset? Maybe because you just horribly insulted a hardworking group of people for no reason! Maybe because you're acting like I don't know you well enough to know you don't really feel that way! And maybe because I'm offended that you don't trust me enough to be yourself around me." I closed my eyes and sighed. If you knew who I was, you wouldn't want me to be myself. Despite the situation, it felt good to know Percy was such a caring friend to me, but at the same time, it hurt that it would feel good so much, that I'm not familiar with having friends who care so much. I opened my mouth to apologize, but stopped myself, knowing that if I continued, it wouldn't have come off as sincere as it actually is. I tried again.
"I'm sorry, I do trust you. I shouldn't have said those things and I should've been more sincere, but old habits die hard. Especially when I'm still like that with everyone else. But, that's no excuse. I apologize for upsetting you and not being honest, but I want you to know, I do trust you." Percy sighed and shook his head, a small smile that hid sadness resting on his face.
"I'm sorry too, I guess I kind of blew up. I accept your apology, but..." His eyes met mine and he gazed at me with narrowed lids. "You don't trust me Draco, not enough, I know you don't." This time, when he walked away I didn't stop him. The certainty that he uttered those words with alarmed me and I thought of all that he could know. It was so much, none of which I was ready to share, if ever, with him, or even to confront myself with. I looked around at those decorating, trying to find a Hufflepuff. Typically, they were the kindest and probably wouldn't slander me for talking to them. Seeing one rifling through a box of decorations, I approached.
"Hello." Startled, the brown haired boy looked up, eyes wide, skeptical once he saw who I was. I tried for a smile and he smiled back uneasily. "I was wondering—no, I want to help with the decorations and Hufflepuffs have a reputation of being merciful, so, can I?" The boy stared at me before blinking owlishly. Hesitantly, he smiled again and rose, holding out a hand.
"James Haughton, 6th year, nice to finally speak to you." I smiled back and shook his hand, Curse Percy and his guilt-tripping ways. Since then, James busied me with organizing all the decorations, giving advice on the placement and position of things, and even helping hang some of the decorations. Throughout all of it, I didn't once use my wand unless to hang decorations in really high places. By the time everything was finished, there was only 30 minutes left till the party. Casually slipping my hands into the pockets of my slacks, I nodded in goodbye to James and headed to the Slytherin commons to freshen up. Upon entering, I was cornered by a temper-flaring Blaise Zabini.
"Malfoy, I don't know what you're playing at, but it doesn't look good on the Slytherins with you doing manual labor like a peasant. They're not very happy right now and neither am I." He sneered unpleasantly. I scoffed.
"As if my life mission is to maintain the approval of my fellow Slytherins." A few of said Slytherins were looking at me curiously while others glared, turning away once they realized I had spotted them. Zabini shook his head disbelievingly.
"What were you thinking? How do you think your father would react if he heard you pulled a stunt like that!" I leveled my gaze on him, narrowing it into a threatening glare.
"And whose going to tell him, you?" Blaise pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head slightly. If he keeps doing that he might just knock his brains loose. Lifting a hand, he placed it on my shoulder, lowering his voice.
"I'm just trying to look out for you, Malfoy. First, you start hanging out with that Jackson nitwit—" My shoulders tensed at his words and I roughly shoved shrugged his hand off my shoulder. Pushing him back, I hissed in a low voice,
"You'd be best if you watched your words and how you speak of whom you speak, Zabini. I'll say this once and once only, ill words spoken regarding Jackson will result in undesired consequences, same with actions." I stepped closer to Zabini, lips settling into a snarl and gray eyes cold and piercing, leaning in so he could hear my words with profound accuracy.
"You do anything to him, and I will personally deal with you myself." I pushed off the wall I had been leaning on and brushed past him, shoving him with my shoulder as I went. Entering the dormitory, I gathered my outfit for the party and slipped into the bathroom. Removing my school robes, I rolled up the sleeve of my sweater to see the mark, the mark covered in marks. I sighed to myself, shaking my head sadly, repeating my earlier thoughts, If you knew who I was, you wouldn't want me to be myself. I shakily dragged my hand down my pale face, bringing it back up to tug roughly at my hair, my other hand clutching the rim of the sink tightly, knuckles turning white from the strain. When I felt tears beginning to prick my closed lids, I slammed my fist on the edge of the sink, pushing away from it. Turning my gaze from my reflection in the mirror, I started the water, getting ready for my shower.
After my shower, I got dressed in my attire and applied a little gel, smearing it thin on my palms before running my hands through my hair. Washing my hands afterwards, I left the bathroom and dumped my dirty clothes into my clothes hamper, ignoring Blaise's persistent gaze. Adjusting my tie and sending a quick glance in the full body mirror, I exited the dormitory and left the commons in search of Percy. First, I headed for the Gryffindor commons, not looking forward to the unpleasant greetings I would receive, especially if Percy was with Potter. As luck would have it, that's exactly who Percy was with, accompanied by Ron and Hermione. There isn't anywhere Potter is that Weasley and Granger aren't. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if when he goes to the bathroom they follow him into the stall. I snorted in disgust at the thought, sure that I was exaggerating. What a thing it would be if I wasn't wrong. Percy smiled in greeting, but the others tensed and glared at the site of me.
"Draco, hey!" The others turned to look at him in surprise. "I was just about to go look for you." He whistled mockingly, pretending to swoon, voice gaining a faux airy quality. "And here you came swooping in, my Prince in dashing armor!" Despite not wanting to, I snorted, nearly beyond amused.
"It's Knight in shining armor," I said, to mockingly dash his humor. Percy rolled his eyes.
"Okay, Sherlock, but you're practically a prince and you're wearing a fancy-shmancy suit." He retorted, flicking my collar. I deadpanned and he pouted, slinging an arm around my shoulder. I tensed slightly before forcefully relaxing my shoulders, hoping he hadn't noticed. I wasn't very touchy. "You're such a buzzkill." Percy whined, much to my amusement and slight annoyance. I patted his back before playfully shoving him off me, leveling him with a pointed stare.
"In correspondence of the conversation, how come you're not dressed? You realize the party is in 10 minutes, don't you?" Percy's eyes widened comically before he turned swiftly on his heel and ran back to his commons, assumingely. I snickered openly. A clearing of a throat remind me that Potter, Weasley, and Granger were still here. Potter stepped forward in what he assumed was a threatening way.
"What are you doing with Percy?" He hissed, angry and untrusting.
"I don't believe that's a matter of your concern, Potter." He bristled, glaring harder.
"I don't know what your game is, Malfoy, but it stops now. Leave Percy alone, he doesn't need a filthy ferret twittering around him." I scoffed, not at all threatened.
"Me, filthy?" I pointed accusingly at Granger. "I'm not the one who's a filthy mu—" I stopped. I didn't want to play the antagonist right now, and Percy's words from earlier made me feel guilty for all the times I'd called Granger a Mudblood, or anyone for that matter. I knew they knew what I was about to say, knew they were coherently surprised that I'd stopped myself. "Whatever, just mind your own business, Potter. It may be hard to believe, but I consider Jackson a friend."
"Draco! You coming?" Percy yelled from where he was down the corridor, standing in front of the open tapestry entrance of the Gryffindor commons. I headed off without a response, not even glancing back to their reaction to my response. When I finally reached Percy, he looked at me worryingly. "They didn't bother you did they? If so, I'll talk to them." He more stated than offered. I shook my head, deciding I didn't care enough about the situation to tell him about it.
"No. What you need to focus on is getting dressed, we now only have 8 minutes." Percy burst into a flurry of motion at my words and rushed into the dormitory, leaving me alone in the thankfully empty commons. Leaning against the wall, I gazed into the fire, 'You don't trust me Draco, not enough, I know you don't.' I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream, because I did trust him, I trust him more than I've ever trusted anyone, but how could I bring myself to tell him something I couldn't even utter to myself when I was alone. How could I bring myself to tell him something that could cost me the one person who truly cares about me besides my mother, the only person I can truly call friend. In a way, Percy was right. I trust him as a person and in every essence of it, but I don't trust him not to leave if I were to tell him who I really am, because who would stay? 'You don't trust me Draco, not enough, I know you don't.' A hand landed on my shoulder, but this time, I didn't startle.
"Hey," Percy said softly. My nose scrunched up at the tone. He smiled and shoved me playfully. "You ready?" I smirked mockingly, ducking out from under his hand.
"Are you ready?" I mocked, glancing at my watch. My face blanched. "Bloody— we have four minutes!" I exclaimed indignantly. We rushed out of the commons and hurried to the Great Hall, making it with just seconds to spare. In all honesty, we weren't running that fast not wanting to work up a sweat. I took in the site of the Hogwarts student body all decked out in the various colorful attires. Percy himself was wearing red, fitted, slim khakis and a navy long sleeve button down, a pair of white shoes on. There was something funny about the colors he wore, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
"Looks like most people came here with a date." Percy turned to me with a mischievous glint in his eye. "Since neither of us have one... care to be my date, Ms. Malfoy." He bent into a flourishing bow, hand outstretched invitingly.
"No." I said it without hesitance, then registered what he said. "Wait, why am I the girl!" I said indignantly. Ignoring my question, Percy pouted.
"You're no fun, Leo would have played along." I blinked owlishly at him. Am I supposed to know who that is?
"Who's Leo?" He shrugged, smiling slightly.
"A friend back in the U.S." Percy seemed to deflate slightly at the mention of home, and though I wanted to sympathize, it hit me like a brick.
"Merlin, it just hit me like a brick, you're a walking flag!" He guffawed uncontrollably, bending over tears coming to his eyes.
"I guess Jason's not the only one who's into bricks." His laughter settled and I decided to ignore him for the time being. All these references to his friends that I don't understand, Merlin! That, however was a bad idea as he started to insistingly poke me.
"What?" I snapped, spinning around to glare at him. He mocked me silently, amused by my anger.
"C'mon, we're at a party, loosen up. Let's go get something to eat, I'm starving." Dragging me to the table filled with food and snacks, we cut ourselves a slice of vanilla brioche. That's how it was for the rest of the party, Percy dragging me to a group of people, then to the snack table, then another group of people, and back to the snack table. Eventually I found myself overwhelmed, knowing I wasn't as welcomed as the people in the groups pretended to be for Percy. Slinking into a corner, I stood and watched Percy flit from group to group, occasionally joining some on the dance floor. My eyes flitted around the room, not really having a destination. After what seemed like forever, I saw Blaise approaching me. Not wanting to acknowledge him, I turned my head and saw that Percy was also approaching me. I secretly wished that Percy would get to me first. Wish granted, Percy reached me first and Blaise huffed before changing his direction.
"Hey, are you okay? You slinked away a while ago." He lowered his head and looked at me concerned. I considered shrugging it off, but I decided to be honest.
"I felt a little overwhelmed and needed a break." I gazed out wistfully. "I'm not as welcomed as they make it seem I am and I felt pressured and unwanted, so I left." Percy nudged me carefully, his brows furrowing.
"You should've told me, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I know not everyone's fond of you, but I wanted to show the side of you that I see." I snorted and scooted away slightly, a little uncomfortable with the level of vulnerability I was exhibiting.
"Percy, I'm not a baby, you don't have to be so... careful with me." He sighed, eyes sweeping the room casually. They came back to rest on me.
"I know, it's just... you remind me of someone, a cousin of mine." He left it at that and I didn't pry. Instead, I took a deep steadying gaze.
"My father wants to meet you and told me to invite you to spend Christmas break at the Manor." Percy's eyes widened. He laughed breathily.
"I mean, yes. To be honest though, your father kind of intimidates me and I've never even met the man." It was official, Percy Jackson was going to spend Christmas at the Manor. Whatever disaster is ahead is sure to happen, it's inevitable. He must of sensed my nervousness— He's so good at that— because he slung an arm around my shoulder, shaking me slightly. He sent me a crooked smile.
"Hey, no worries, I'm great with parents." Trying to loosen up, I decided to mock him.
"No, I'm sure you're the friend that parents tell their kids to not hang out with anymore." He gasped, placing a hand on his heart, turning his face to the side.
"How dare you!" He shrieked playfully in a high-pitched voice. "I am an absolute delight." Rolling my eyes, I gazed outwardly, relaxing in his presence.
"Yeah, you kind of are." Percy nudged me and smiled, leaning against the wall next to me. That's where we stood for the remainder of the party, casually chatting and occasionally commencing playful banter. If you knew who I was, you wouldn't want me to be myself.