I own nothing but the plot.

Warning. Adult Language. Dark themes.


March 18th, 1998

The wind was rushing around him, and he felt weightless. Draco Malfoy loved his early morning ritual, his extra quidditch training. He didn't care that there was no team with him at this hour, all he cared about was the wind, the broom, and the freedom it offered him. There was a sense of calmness that always filled him when he was on the pitch, and he was even starting to enjoy the biting chill of the crisp mornings against his bare arms. He had started to forgo his quidditch robes when not playing or training properly, a t-shirt and loose sweats his new favourite outfit, the attire something he had discovered over the summer, living in muggle London with his mother in their townhouse, off the magical radar.

He felt his stomach in his throat as he directed his broom, plummeting down to the ground in a steep dive. Clenching his knees around the broom, he carefully released his grip with his hands, one extending out as his stiff fingers reached for the glittering, golden snitch hovering a foot off the mud laden ground. The blood was rushing in his ears as he rolled upside down, trying out a new move, his hair windswept and tousled, fingers finally closing around the snitch. The thrill of pride at capturing the difficult ball filled his chest, his heart racing.

Malfoy was seconds away from landing when he realised that the sounds he was hearing wasn't just the blood rushing through his veins, or the birds chirping in the nearby forest. No, what he was hearing was screams, the likes of which he hadn't heard since the final battle. Turning his body, he swiftly turned his broom, shooting towards the castle, towards the screams, urging the broom on faster, a spike of pure fear running through him. It didn't take him long to find the group of fourth year girls clustered in one of the courtyards, their screams and points all directed up towards the top of the astronomy tower. A figure could be seen on the rampart, still too high for him to clearly make out beyond a mop of mousy brown hair, shrouded in black school robes.

"Shit," Draco muttered under his breath, turning his gaze down to the girls he was now hovering just above, "GO GET MCGONAGALL!" he yelled, making sure they could hear him, needing at least one to get over their hysteria to go and alert the Headmistress, "NOW, GO!" He didn't wait to see if they were doing as he told, directing his broom higher, shooting towards the top of the tower.


"Hermione! Hermione!"Ginny's frantic voice rang out, stopping the Head Girl in her tracks. She was on her way to the library to start drawing up her exam revision table, the library having become her sanctuary most mornings before class, and before lunch on the weekends. It wasn't that she was hiding, she just didn't think she could handle seeing Malfoy come back to their shared dorm every morning after his practice, the sight of the blonde still stirring up a mix of emotions and feelings inside of her.

"What's up, Gin?" Hermione turned to her, the smile fading from her lips when she noticed the terrified look on the 6th year's face.

"I can't find McGonagall, no one saw him after class, I don't know why we didn't look harder, we just thought was doing homework, oh my God I should have looked, I can't believe we didn't look, he's at the astronomy tower, oh my God," Ginny blurted out, her face flushed after her run to find someone, anyone.

"Gin, woah, Gin, calm down. Who's at the tower? What's going on?" Hermione frowned, reaching out and resting her hands on the redhead's shoulders, trying to ground her a bit.

"Dennis, he's on the top of the tower, oh my God Hermione please you have to stop him!" Ginny was frantic, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"He's… what? Oh God," Hermione almost moaned as she realised what was going on, whirling away from Ginny without a second glance, sprinting towards the astronomy tower, not caring if the other witch was following her or not.


"Don't come any closer!" Dennis Creevey croaked, his tear stained eyes locked on the Slytherin hovering ten feet away from him, his wand raised, digging firmly under his own chin.

Draco cursed again but stayed where he was, his plan to swoop on the younger boy thwarted. His sweatpants had twisted under him slightly in his haste, the pocket twisted awkwardly under his leg, trapping his wand out of easy reach, and he wasn't willing to risk that the Gryffindor wouldn't do something stupid in the time it took him to get it free. Dozens of plans and ideas ran through is brain, each one more ridiculous than the last as he tried to come up with a solution. A relieved sigh was all that eventually escaped as the trapdoor was lifted, slamming against the bricks, a bushy head appearing.

Hermione's face was bright red and she was completely out of breath having sprinted through the castle and up countless stairs.

"Dennis! You don't have to do this!" even her voice was breathless, chest heaving as she took a few steps towards the young Gryffindor, legs trembling.

Dennis flinched as Hermione approached him, his feet shuffling on the rampart, getting closer to the edge.

"Stay back!" Dennis's voice cracked again, tears streaming down his cheeks, his free hand coming up to yank at his school tie, tugging the red and golden scrap of fabric until it came free, tossing it aside, watching the bold Gryffindor colours float down to the gathering crowd hundreds of feet below.

"Dennis, what would Colin think?" Hermione took another step closer, her hand outstretched.

"Colin is DEAD!" Dennis screamed the last word, "HE'S DEAD! This school was supposed to be SAFE!" he shuffled forwards again, his toes edging off the rampart.

Draco cursed again, edging a few feet closer. He wasn't close enough to grab the boy yet.

"HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN 17 TODAY!" Dennis didn't care that he was screaming. He didn't care about anything anymore. The war had destroyed his entire family. His parents hadn't coped with the loss of their oldest son to a world that they never knew before him, arguments and fights ensuing as they struggled to keep up the ruse that he had ran away and died of a drug overdose. It was the only story that had been able to make sense in the muggle world, the one that they had been instructed on by the Ministry of Magic after the final battle. They had to tell those who knew the family something, but it had started to paint Colin as a truant, as a delinquent. His parents had argued, and divorced not long after, now barely speaking to each other. Neither wanted him to return to school this year, and his mother thought he had moved in with his father; his father thought he was still living with his mother.

"They took EVERYTHING! Those STUPID FUCKING COINS burned, and HE CAME RUNNING! WE ALL CAME FUCKING RUNNING! AND THEY TOOK EVERYTHING!" Dennis shifted again, tears streaming down his cheeks, toes passed the rampart.

Draco shared a look with Hermione, the witch trying to keep her own sobs quiet, tears rolling down her face as well. She looked completely lost, and it fractured something in Draco's chest.

"I get it," Draco's voice cut through the screams, even and full of a level of empathy that caught both Gryffindor's off guard. "I get it, Creevey, I really do. Dennis. I get it. It fucking sucks," Draco edged closer, taking advantage of the boy's shock to narrow the gap between them.

"It hurts. It hurts and it won't fucking stop hurting, and some days you probably can't get out of bed, because it doesn't feel worth it anymore," Draco continued, his piercing silver gaze locked firmly on the teenager. "It was a war, and we were fucking kids, and it's been taken from us. We had to grow up, and now we have to grow up with shadows and fears and nightmares."

Dennis shifted on his feet, but didn't move any closer to the edge, the hand holding his wand starting to tremble.

"We all did things, saw things, and have to live with the pain of it, and it fucking sucks," Draco shifted on his broom, taking advantage of the trembling wand and now closed eyes of the teenager to change his position, his hands letting go of the handle, putting to use a skill he had only started practicing, but something he knew Potter had managed to pull off years before. Pushing himself to stand, he kept his arms outstretched for balance on his broom, not daring to look down, and not wanting to look away from the Gryffindor boy either. "We've been forced into this shit place, and it hurts every time you breath sometimes, doesn't it? It's like you're drowning. Drowning in this fucking shitstorm of a life we now have to live, having to go on like it's all fucking normal again. Like no one is looking, with disgust, or pity, or fear or hatred. Like we weren't all forced to see things we didn't want, to do things we didn't want to. Forget unforgivable curses, how do we forgive ourselves?"

Hermione raised a hand to her mouth, forcing back a sob as she listened to Draco, his words completely raw and honest. She felt a firm hand on her shoulder, McGonagall having appeared behind her, the Headmistress not making a sound yet. Far below on the ground, Slughorn was trying to get the large crowd to push back, Flitwick already working his magic, cushioning the ground in case things went wrong.

"I get it, Dennis. I fucking get it. It hurts, and it feels impossible to keep moving forwards. And I don't doubt that it's a hundred times worse for you because now you have to move forwards alone, and you didn't deserve that, no one does. But there's no choice anymore, because we're what's left behind, and now we have to take this world and make it ours. They put us through a war, and stole our innocence, and now it's up to us to make it a better place. It's up to us to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Dennis's hand trembled, his wand lowering a fraction of an inch as sobs shook his body, and Draco took that as his cue. Edging towards the handle of his broom, he prayed that it wouldn't tip, that he wouldn't slip, balancing himself on the very end before making the leap. His body sailed through the air, suspended in space for a heartbeat with nothing stopping him plummeting to the Earth so very, very far below. His arms reached out before wrapping around the teenage boy, pulling him into a bear hug as he tackled him off of the ramparts, the pair tumbling to the ground.

Draco's entire body ached with the collision, his teeth rattling as his head knocked against the bricks. Stars flashed behind his eyes and his heart pounded in his chest, but he didn't care, not knowing that he had the boy safe in his grip.

"We need people like you, Dennis, to stand up and say what happened, and what went on. We need people like you to lead the change. We'll get you some help. I promise. Things will get better, I promise. It won't be today, it won't be tomorrow, it probably won't even be next year. But one day, I swear to you, it will be better," Draco whispered roughly against the sobbing boy's ear, knowing it had been heard as Dennis's fingers dug at his t-shirt, stretching the fabric as he clung to the Head Boy.

He didn't know how long they were on the ground for before McGonagall rushed forwards, tugging both boys to their feet. Draco didn't release his grip yet, letting Dennis sob against his chest, but he did lock eyes with the Head Girl. They had no words for each other, and both just nodded. A few minutes passed again before McGonagall guided Dennis from Draco's strong grip, Madam Pomfrey having reached the tower as well, the mediwitch bustling in and taking over instantly, fussing over the distraught boy before whisking him away, no doubt to the hospital wing.

"Well done, Mr Malfoy. Just… well done. Get that head looked at soon, please," McGonagall nodded to Draco before shooting Hermione a glance, "make sure he checks out." Without another word, the Headmistress swept back to the stairs, following the mediwitch, needing to ensure the safety and wellbeing of Dennis.

Draco blinked, suddenly aware of a throbbing pain in the back of his head. Reaching up, he gingerly touched the base of his skull, hand coming away sticky with blood. Frowning as he inspected his fingers, he missed the Head Girl approaching him, his names on her lips the last thing he heard before his eyes rolled back into his head and he crashed to the ground.

"Draco!"


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