Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Written for: Hogwarts, Assignment 10: Robotics: Task #2: Line Following Robot - Write about someone adamant in following the rules.

Other challenges listed at the bottom.

Word Count: 2013

Beta'd by: Amber and Liza

AN: Set in a Voldemort!Wins Post War future.

Written for the lovely Elizabeth. I hope you like it, m'love.

Savour The Moment

Draco sneered at the barebones of the cabin. Never had he seen something so pitifully empty in his life, and he was expected to stay there overnight without complaining about it.

Not likely.

The door was pushed open, and Draco jumped, one hand flying to his wand as he spun around. He blinked.

"What are you doing here?"

Percy Weasley arched his eyebrow. "The same thing you are, I expect."

"I thought this was only mandatory for people under twenty one?" Draco asked, frowning. "You're… older?"

"Twenty three," Percy confirmed with a sigh as he put his bag down on one of the two bed in the small cabin. "But being a Weasley doesn't exactly come with perks, these days."

Draco nodded, because he supposed that made sense. He himself shouldn't have been pushed into this—despite his being nineteen and technically eligible—and yet, here he was.

"I didn't expect to see you here, either," Percy commented, apparently reading Draco's mind.

Draco shrugged. "Being a Malfoy isn't much of an advantage either."

He watched for a moment as the realisation sunk in, and then turned to the second bed, wrinkling his nose at the faded cotton sheets.

"Not exactly refined, is it?" he muttered, not expecting a reply.

Across the cabin, Percy snorted.

Draco flopped down on the bed, trying to ignore the slightly musty smell of the sheets. He really didn't want to be here.

It was a dumb practice, he thought, though admittedly when he didn't think he'd have to take part, he'd found a strange sort of amusement in the idea. He didn't even know how the Dark Lord had come up with it.

When he'd taken over, Draco hadn't expected that much to change, but oh, he'd been so wrong. Suddenly, people were being broken up into small groups, each of them put to work in a different industry.

There was some kind of test in letting people spend the night in a rundown cabin and letting some super special brand of monster roam the land around it.

If you get eaten, sucks to be you.

If you survived, you were placed wherever you were best suited to serve.

It made Draco feel sick now that he was part of it. Even in his own mind, he found himself cringing at his selfishness. He'd always been that way though. He wanted to blame it on the way he was brought up—his father had always instilled in him that looking after yourself should always be your top priority—but he knew he couldn't.

Not really.

It was just who he was, and he wanted to do better.

Not that it really mattered now. His father had lost favour with the Dark Lord, and Draco thought he'd had too many chances now to ever be graced with it again. His name didn't matter anymore.

To the Dark Lord, Draco was just another toy to control and mold into whatever he wanted, and Draco could do nothing to change that.

…

Draco snacked on dried fruit pieces, more for something to do than because he was hungry. It was cold—freezing, in fact—and the covers weren't worth the cotton they were made out of.

It was getting dark out now. Thankfully, there were plenty of candles in the room that had self-lit when the light started to fade. They cast eerie shadows around the room though, and Draco wasn't really a fan of that.

Semi-darkness and being freezing cold were not great for improving his mood.

He pulled his wand from his pocket, struggling with the way he'd cocooned himself to try and warm up, and lifted it high. Before he could even open his mouth to say the warming charm incantation, he was rudely interrupted by the other occupant of the cabin.

"You can't," Percy shouted, putting his hands up in a 'stop' gesture. "The monsters, they can sense magic. They feed on it, you can't use it!"

Draco lowered his wand slightly. "What? How in the hell do you know that?"

Percy stared at him for a long moment. "You didn't even bother to read up on any of this?"

"I didn't know I was coming!" Draco defended. "I never… I thought, being who I am, that I wouldn't be forced to take part in the farce."

Deflating, Percy slumped down on the bed and nodded. "Just… the rules are important. You can't use magic, you can't leave the cabin, and you have to stay awake."

Draco frowned. "Why do you have to stay awake?"

Percy returned the frown. "I can't imagine being eaten in your sleep would be any more pleasant than being eaten while you're awake. At least if you're awake, you have a fighting chance if they do find you."

Draco slumped on his bed and pulled the thin blankets closer around him. "Merlin, this is the most ridiculous thing. How does any of this tell him if I'll be better at being a Healer or an unspeakable or forced to work in some crappy dead end job like fruit farming? You stay awake for a night and don't get eaten and what? You're suddenly worthy of reaching adulthood and being given a job? It's the stupidest thing I ever heard."

Settling slightly, Percy chuckled darkly. "I think it's a way to get rid of the weak. He's got no need for people who can't even last through the night against a few monsters, right?"

"That still doesn't explain how they choose our jobs from it," Draco argued. "I mean, I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm just—"

He cut off suddenly, listening hard. "Did you hear that?"

There was a noise just outside the cabin. It sounded like snuffling, but Draco wasn't sure if he was just being paranoid.

He tried to tell himself that he wasn't scared, but fear was practically clawing up his throat, making his heart beat painfully fast in his chest, and he knew that lying to himself wouldn't work.

"I think we need to leave," he said quietly. "I don't… I don't think we should stay here."

"We have to," Percy said, shaking his head firmly. "I've heard stories of people who broke the rules and tried to run, and it… it didn't end well for them."

Draco bit his lip. He didn't want to admit to Percy that he'd rather take his chances with leaving.

"Why do you want to leave?" Percy asked, shifting slightly beneath his own covers.

"Because we're going to freeze to death," Draco replied, hiding his fear as best he could. He didn't think he succeeded, and that was confirmed when Percy replied.

"You didn't strike me as the type to scare easily. It's not even midnight, Draco. The monsters only come out in the dead of night."

"Then why the hell can't I cast a warming charm?"

Percy looked away. "There's no point tempting fate, is there?"

It was the redness around his ears that gave him away, and it slowly dawned on Draco that Percy was trying to be strong for him. Why, Draco had no idea, it wasn't like they really knew each other.

In fact, given Draco's history with Percy's little brother, Percy shouldn't even want to comfort him. He should probably be more interested in sacrificing Draco to the monsters to make sure he survived the night himself.

It was then that he realised something else. "You called me Draco."

The flush only appeared more pronounced, and Percy seemed to hesitate for a moment. "My apologies," he said eventually. "It won't happen again."

Draco found that he didn't like the prospect of that. "I don't… mind it. I was just surprised. After everything with, uh, Ron, I thought you'd probably be one to curse my name."

"I think we're all a bit beyond high school grudges, now, no?"

…

"Are you sure I can't convince you to leave?" Draco asked, checking his watch. It was almost midnight, and the hands seemed to be moving faster than they should have been.

"If you want to leave I can't stop you," Percy admitted. His teeth were chattering, Draco realised. "But I'm staying here. I told you, people who leave don't make it far. If they get off the grounds, He doesn't take kindly to cowards."

Draco nodded. He hadn't really expected any other answer. He shivered viciously as it seemed to get even colder in the cabin. A huff from the other bed told Draco that he wasn't the only one to feel the chill in his bones.

"Come over here," Percy said eventually.

"Hmm?"

"Come over here. Fetch your blankets."

It took a moment for Draco to understand, and when he did, he was suddenly glad that it was too cold for his cheeks to flush. He swallowed hard but nodded because even though he'd never really thought about survival, even he knew that shared body heat was a thing.

Hating that he had to move at all, Draco forced himself out from under the blanket and quickly moved over to Percy's bed, climbing beneath the covers. He helped Percy spread the extra sheet over the two of them, and then tucked the corners of his own side as Percy did the same.

Percy tugged him closer, wrapping his arms around Draco as he did. It was comfortable until he pressed his cold feet to Draco's calves.

Draco yelped and shifted as much as he could while Percy chuckled. Mercifully, he moved his feet away.

Draco scrunched his nose in distaste. "You're a menace, Weasley."

"Probably," Percy agreed quietly. "Getting warmer?"

And he was, Draco realised. He nodded, and shifted just a little bit closer to Percy until they were pressed together, Draco's face pressed against Percy's shoulder.

They lay in an oddly comfortable silence for a while as they slowly heated up. Draco's eyes were growing heavy, and his blinks seemed to be passing more seconds each time he did it.

"Draco, stay awake," Percy murmured, sounding sleepy himself.

"I—" he cut himself off with a yawn. "I'm awake."

"We can't sleep. If we sleep and the monster's come…"

Draco nodded. "I know. I know, I'm awake, I promise."

…

Draco woke with a panicked gasp. He was alone in the bed, but he could hear Percy in the bathroom, whistling to himself. Sunlight shone through the window. Draco got up, rubbing sleep from his eyes as he stepped closer to the window and peered out.

Snow layered the ground, giving it a fresh look, and in the morning brightness, it looked beautiful.

"Morning, sleeping beauty," Percy said, as he stepped out of the bathroom.

Draco glanced at him, feeling immeasurable guilty. Percy looked tired.

"It's fine," Percy assured him, clearly reading the guilt on his face. "I stayed awake, we were safe, Draco."

"I'm sorry."

Percy shook his head and smiled softly. "Really, it's fine. You should probably freshen up and get dressed, we'll be leaving soon."

Draco silently did as he was told, still feeling guilty for falling asleep on Percy. It would have been his fault if anything had happened to them. When he was ready, Percy opened the door to the cabin and Draco followed him out, closing the door behind them.

"It's… it could have been worse," Percy said with a wry grin. "I'm oddly glad it was you in there with me."

"Even though I fell asleep?"

Percy nodded. "You're cute when you're asleep."

Draco's brain stalled for a moment because he wasn't cute.

Chuckling, Percy reached out to squeeze Draco's arm. "You should owl me sometime."

Percy apparated away, and Draco could only blink at the space he left behind. He knew he should follow suit, should go and find out where he was being placed, but he just… wanted a moment.

Even though his future was uncertain in a way it had never been before, there was a bright spark on the horizon now in the form of a red-headed, cold-toed menace with a really nice smile.

He just wanted to savour it. Just for a moment.

Written for:

QL Pokedex: Starter Prompt: Candle / 293. Whismur: Write about someone being easily frightened.

Character Appreciation: 16. "Because we're going to freeze to death."

Elizabeth's Empire: 1. PercyDraco

Film Festival: 1. Snow

Game Of Life: Children Stage: Menace

Geek Pride: Minecraft: Write about monsters that come out at night.

Say It With Flowers: Orchid: Refined