a/n: hi, here's part 2. i hope you enjoyed part 1. follow me on tumblr for more snitches-at-dawn

"nope. nope nope nope nope nope," you said repeatedly to yourself as you continued pacing up and down your room, as if the combination of the words and actions could change the name on your left wrist. a soft knock on the door made you stop your pacing. you heard hermione's excited voice float across, "(y/n), have you got a name yet?"

"fuck me," you groaned and put your head in your hands wondering how harry would take this news. your best friend had a hard enough time adjusting to draco when you were dating, you had no idea how he'd take the news of having to deal with him for the rest of your lives. you remembered his reaction when you told him that draco had asked you out in your fourth year before the triwizard tournament.

~flashback~

"erm...harry?" you said nervously as you entered his dorm.

"i know, (y/n), i just need five minutes then we can go for dinner," he replied as he rummaged through his trunk for something.

"not that," you said, "can we talk?"

"sure," he said distractedly, waving towards the foot of his bed indicating that you should take a seat, where you dutifully perched yourself.

"so erm, draco malfoy asked me out," you rushed out, fiddling with the sleeve of your sweater.

"bit early for a hallowe'en prank isn't it?" he laughed.

"harry. i'm not kidding. he asked me out," you said more confidently this time.

harry stilled and then swivelled around to face you, "say that again."

"draco asked me out."

"are you having me on?" his voice was suspicious.

you shook your head, tucking your hair behind your ears so harry could look into your eyes and see that you weren't joking and you repeated, "draco asked me out."

"draco?" harry asked incredulously, "since when do we call malfoy 'draco'? and what d'you mean he asked you out? why would he ask you out? you've never even spoken!"

"erm well actually, remember how last year you couldn't come to hogsmeade," you paused as he nodded, "well at some point it started snowing really hard i lost ron and hermione, so i went into madam puddifoot's to find someone else to walk back with because the three broomsticks was empty, but draco was the only other student there. everyone else had left by then, i guess.

"well, we ended up walking back together and he told me he had been stood up by daphne greengrass. it was a bit awkward at first- i didn't know how to comfort him really. he changed the topic soon enough to quidditch and he turned out to be nice and we got along well enough. then i started seeing him everywhere. he was talking to me at every party, sitting next to me in potions once in a while, walking down to care of magical creatures, that sort of thing. we sort of became... friends," you trailed off as you saw harry wanted to speak.

"and how come neither of ron, hermione or i realised? i think we would have known if you were talking to someone we all hate- or hated in your case."

"hermione did. she and i started spending alot of time together because of her fight with ron- that's when we got close. she's known about us since the first day we spoke actually- she's been... surprisingly supportive. you were so preoccupied with the whole sirius situation you didn't notice which was totally understandable of course and she agreed that telling you would only wind you up. ron... well- ron's just always been a bit oblivious," you answered.

harry grunted.

"right well, we just ended up spending alot of time together last year and wrote to each other a fair bit over the summer. at some point we started liking each other i guess," you shrugged.

harry looked at you sharply, "you fancy him then?" to which you nodded.

"hang on- is that where you snuck off as soon as we got to the world cup campsite? when you showed up near the bulgarian's site? the three of us reckoned you had got lost or something."

"yeah, we had planned to meet up in front of his tent weeks before." you said fondly, "that's where he told me he fancies me and-"

"alright i don't need to know if you snogged there," he interrupted you hastily but your blush gave you away, "oh c'mon (y/n), you snogged him?"

"no," you heatedly replied, "we just kissed."

"you couldn't have found any other boy, (y/n)? you have a line of boys who'd line up to date you. merlin's sake you don't even have to look outside my dorm- seamus and neville would kill for a shot at you."

you scoffed, "they only like me because i play quidditch. draco," you voice softened, "draco likes me for the music i listen to, my sarcasm, my horrid jokes and all the stuff that annoys most people."

he sat down wearily next to you, "and you really like him?"

once again you nodded.

seeing he looked just as bewildered by your choice you said, "look it won't be long. i'm a half blood. there's no way his parents will let us date long once they find out."

harry considered this for a moment. he sighed, "well, that's true. go on then. he'd better treat you alright, (y/n). i'm not having him screwing with my best friend," and he slung his arm around your shoulder.

"with any luck he'll be screwing your best friend rather than screwing wit-"

"yeah just don't tell me about your sex life alright?" he interrupted you again.

you hugged him hard, "thank you for understanding, harry. i know you can't be too happy with your best friend crushing on someone you hate."

he awkwardly patted your head in acknowledgment.

hermione walked in to see you laughing at the pathetic irony of your situation. looking at you confused, "(y/n)? who is it?"

"draco fucking malfoy," you mumbled from between your hands which covered your face.

"come again?"

you sighed and put your hands on the bed on either side of you.

"it's draco," you exhaled

hermione laughed too, "no really, who is it?"

resignedly you showed her your wrist. her face fell, "no."

"my thoughts exactly. it's like some kind of cosmic joke."

"what are you going to do?" she asked.

"commit murder possibly," you said marching out of your dorm and to harry's ignoring her calling your name, presumably trying to talk some sense into you.

"the map. give me the map," you snapped at harry once you had barged into his dorm, ignoring the other boys crowding around you asking who your soulmate was.

"why? who's your soulmate?" harry asked.

you shoved your wrist under his nose. he stared in shock, "i don't know whether to feel bad for you or laugh at you."

"you'll give me the fucking map unless you want me to hex you into next year."

he produced the marauders' map from the depths of his trunk which you snatched and proceeded to exit the room once again to the sound of your name.

"oi! (y/n)!)" harry called again jogging after you.

"what?"

"why d'you want the map?"

"i need to talk to him," you replied.

harry nodded, understandingly but called after you when you had turned around.

"what?" you asked more irately this time.

he hesitated, "(y/n) don't- don't do anything stupid. as much as i'd love for you to hex him till his mum couldn't recognise him- he is your soulmate whether you like it or not. even though we all hate him, he's who you'll spend your life with. don't say anything you'll regret in the future."

a small smile tugged at your lips, "i thought i was supposed to get wiser when i got older."

turning you attention back to the map, you saw the little dot labelled 'draco malfoy' in the girl's lavatory on the second floor and purposefully stalked out of the gryffindor tower to moaning myrtle's bathroom, not even wondering why he was in the girl's lavatory.

you didn't even remember the walk down, just how blindingly angry you felt. angry at the universe. angry at harry for not stopping you from dating him two years ago. angry at draco for not telling you why he broke things off. angry at draco for being your soulmate. angry at... you weren't angry at draco for being your soulmate.

you saw a flash of platinum blonde hair in the mirror you stood in front of, and whirled around.

he was leaning against the wall behind you, watching you with calculating eyes as he tried to predict your next move.

your rage re-surfaced as you walked across the bathroom to him, shoes squelching and robes dragging in the standing water until you stood so close to him your noses were almost touching.

"you," you said with as much disgust as you could muster in your voice.

"yes?" draco asked pleasantly as though you had said his name to get his attention.

"fix it."

"fix what, darling?"

you stabbed your wand into his chest, "don't you call me darling you prick."

"alright. what d'you want me to fix?"

you had started to walk away from him but spun around at that question, "what d'you mean 'what d'you want me to fix'?" for the third time that hour, you shoved your wrist under someone's nose.

"this," you hissed, "fix this."

"and how can i fix this?" he asked, baring his own wrist to you.

something about seeing your name on his wrist made your anger concentrate into a tiny ball in the center of your chest, rather than the disorganised feeling you had earlier, and you felt your head clear a bit.

"there's some kind of mistake. we'll go to mcgonagall tomorrow and have her arrange for us to get to the ministry so we can get this sorted out," you said in that same low voice you had used that night on the astronomy tower. your mind was racing as you muttered under your breath, trying to think of ways to break the bond you had forced on you.

"(y/n)."

your attention shifted to draco who was standing right next to you.

"(y/n), do you really think this is a mistake? i mean really? we were amazing together. yeah our parents didn't like it, yeah we had alot of people talking about us, but that didn't affect us," he said. when you didn't respond he continued, "we were good for each other. i calmed you down when your temper flared up. you'd keep me in check if i started bullying someone. we worked together to get better in our classes and it worked well. we made each other better in every way."

"yeah we did work well, until you dumped me for no reason. it's been three months and i still have no idea why you up and left. if things were as peachy as you make them sound, then why the fuck would you get out of the relationship?"

you didn't know how to address him. 'draco' was too familiar and 'malfoy' was too distant.

he shrugged and returned to the wall he had been leaning against.

with the moonlight bouncing off his white hair, the water just covering the soles of his shoes and the way his robes were draped around him, he looked like some kind of ethereal spirit floating an inch above the ground.

you hated that.

draco seemed lost in his own thoughts, so you jerked him back to focus on you by snapping your fingers, "well?"

he laughed lowly, "you wouldn't believe me if i told you, my darling."

"try me."

as he looked at you, you could see the cogs turning in his brain, considering your words and the ramifications of telling you whatever the reason was.

the right cog must have clicked in place.

"promise me you won't judge me."

"no."

"(y/n), i'm not kidding," he said wearily.

"nor am i."

in response to his silence you continued, " i reserve the right to judge you after how you dumped me."

his face contorted in anger. "fine," he snapped, "fine."

he moved towards you and wrenched up his left sleeve for you to see his arm. the dark mark. the dark mark ruining his alabaster skin.

"there. that's why i broke up with you," he spat.

his voice was deadly quiet and shaking.

"no," you whispered, all the anger seeping out of your body. your hands grabbed his arm of your own volition and made as though they were trying to wipe off the mark as though it were drawn on.

it wasn't.

"no, you're just sixteen you aren't even of age. there's no way this is real," the last sentence was posed more like a question which you looked at him to confirm.

he nodded, "it's real."

"did... were you forced?"

he extricated his arm from your grip and let his sleeve fall back down, silently watched you, gauging your reaction.

"draco..." your voice trailed off. you had no idea what to say. or what you wanted to say.

after a few moments of silence he said, "i have to kill dumbledore." his voice was quivering again.

you looked at him in abject horror.

"what?"

he nodded and leaned over the sink, choking out through sobs, "with dad in azkaban... he would have killed mum if i hadn't take the mark when i did. i did what i had to. now i have to finish off the job and he'll... he might spare mum."

your mouth was agape, your brain sluggish.

"that's why i broke up with you. i knew i'd have to take it over the summer. it was easier to have you hate me than love me; it wouldn't make you a target."

everything made sense now- why he looked so sleep deprived the week leading up to your break up, why he was so evasive and jumpy after the article in the daily prophet publicising his dad's arrest.

you tentatively turned him around and when he didn't resist, you reached out to touch his face. he leaned into the touch and you pulled him into you. your arms around his neck with his face buried in the crook of yours, this situation felt comfortingly familiar- at least it would have been if his shoulders weren't shaking with silent sobs.

you couldn't seem to feel any of the resentment that you had felt towards him for the last three months anymore as you stroked the nape of his neck in an attempt to calm him down. you just wanted to protect him. hide him from the cruel world and to let him breathe.

you guided him to the corner of the bathroom, drying the floor with a murmured incantation before sitting the both of you down.

"there's going to be a war, (y/n)," draco said into your neck with his arms wrapped around your waist as you held him protectively.

"i know," you whispered back.

"your side will lose, darling, he's too strong. if you're it for me, you're the one i'm to be with, i need you alive after this war. hell, even if you weren't it for me, i'd still ask you to come to his side."

"draco," you exhaled softly looking at him, "you know that isn't possible. harry-" your voice trailed off.

what would you tell harry? would you tell him about draco's mission? you shook your head. harry was a problem for later. right now, draco needed you.

"leave him," he said hoarsely, gripping your wrists, "i know he's your best friend but (y/n), you can't die on me. i refuse to let that happen."

"oh darling," your voice broke as your stroked his face.

the both of you sat there, intertwined for a few silent seconds before you pulled draco against your front as you leaned against the wall.

"doesn't this feel familiar?"

draco laughed softly, "i couldn't count the number of nights we spent like this on the astronomy tower if i tried."

"let's be there then. let's forget all the prophecy bullshit and who's going to win the war. let's be a couple of fifteen year olds again, yeah? fill me in on the last few months, sweetheart."

"i don't want to be fifteen again."

you smiled internally that he was playing along with your ploy to distract him.

"alright," you stroked his hair, "we can be sixteen in an alternate universe. we're still together and we haven't got our soulmate marks yet. how's that?"

his nose wrinkled, "is that from the crap muggle book you tried getting me to read last year?"

"so you were listening to me!" you laughed.

"i always listened to you."

"i'll listen to you now. let's be sixteen in an alternate universe with no war. tell me about your last three months, love."

draco filled you in on the time you had spent apart, all the light and happy things- not the significant and dark stuff.

you were only half listening. your mind was in overdrive as you thought about how to extricate him from the mess he had been thrust into by his father's incompetence to keep himself from getting caught by the ministry.

maybe you'd convince draco to defect and to go to dumbledore for help. dumbledore wouldn't turn him away.

if that didn't work, you'd force him into hiding somewhere, somehow. if it meant using the imperius curse on him, so be it. he wasn't having his soul ripped to pieces at sixteen.

how had this happened? an hour ago you would have jumped at a chance to ridicule him, harm him - anything to make him feel the hurt you felt for three months. you had marched to him with the intent of somehow getting your soulmate changed, consequences be damned. now all you could think about was how cruel the world had been to the boy in your arms, how unfair it had been. how you were hell bent on being his safe haven and hopefully the answer to his problems.

"let me in, (y/n)," he said knocking on your temporal bone lightly, calling on an old inside joke you had of letting each other into your thoughts when lost in them.

"it's nothing important," you dropped a kiss on his head, laughing at the irony of how a week ago in a conversation with harry, 'nothing important' referred to him.

you pulled him closer to you and asked, "so what did narcissa say after that?"

as he continued his narration of a painful dinner he had had to sit through, you pushed every thought to the back of your mind.

reality was a problem for tomorrow.

right now was about draco.

draco fucking malfoy.