Title: A Week From Now…Maybe
Season: 1
Round: 1
Prompt: [theme] time
Additional Prompts: Include a popular ship hating each other
Alphabetti Spaghetti: spell out your favourite character's first name- R
Prompt: Room of Requirement
Flower Power: list 3, Gardenia
Prompt: [dialogue] "This can't be happening."
Honeydukes Hoarder: liquorice
Prompt: [dialogue] "How? Just…how?"
Writing club: quotations, number 4; here for the year, number 3; fight club, number 3; nifty & swiftie, number 10; founder says, Godric says, number 5; Hogwarts library, number 9; literary legends, number 17
Prompt: "You know if you cry, I can't enjoy your pain."; write about a day/time that repeats; [character] Draco Malfoy; [dialogue] "It can't last." Bonus prompt: midnight; "Or, and I'm just spit-balling here, we could not do that."; [trope] time travel;[quote] "You have come to trouble my existence."
Gather your party: fighter, number 11
Prompt: [plot point] time-loop
Scamander's Case: niffler, male
Prompt: [time] midnight
Word count: 2351
Betas: Dora, Bea
Warnings: minor gore and some taunting
A/N The end of the war has brought many changes. The wizarding world is better for it but Draco is miserable and then his days start to get stranger.
I choose Drarry as my popular ship hating each other, because writing a story where they both feature but are not together was out of my comfort zone and I wanted to try something I wasn't used to writing. I have further ideas on where this could go so there may be a sequel...
Draco woke up with a start in the Room of Requirement. He had fallen asleep on the sofa in front of the fire in the Room of Requirement before he'd become uncomfortable and moved to the bed. The end of the war had brought many changes and while the rest of his fellow eighth years seemed pleased with this, Draco was less pleased. Not because he wasn't happy that the Dark Lord was gone once and for all, but because he had been forced to return for his eighth year as part of his probation and he was all alone. The rest of the eighth years tended to avoid him, so Draco had retreated more and more often to the Room of Requirement, which he was incredibly pleased to find still worked.
Stiff and sore, he stumbled into the little bathroom and took a shower to mentally prepare himself for another day of being ignored and avoided. He dressed quickly, heaved a deep sigh and stepped out of the Room of Requirement into the corridor. It was raining outside and the rain was lashing at the window in the corridor, the weather perfectly matching Draco's mood.
He trudged down the stairs to the Great Hall and sat down at the eighth-year table. Several of his classmates got up and moved along the table away from him. Draco just sighed and began to eat breakfast. He'd tried his hardest since coming back to Hogwarts not to be the same arrogant, cold and sneering person he'd been throughout the rest of his school career, but it was hard. Despite everything that had happened, he still had his pride and he wouldn't let them see that they had broken him.
He finished his breakfast and made his way down to the potion's dungeon, without seeing where he was going. He rounded the corner to the dungeon and walked straight into Potter, sending him sprawling onto the floor.
"Watch where you're going, Malfoy!" Potter snapped at him from the floor.
"Don't lurk behind corners then!" Draco snapped back.
"I don't lurk, Malfoy! I'm not a Death Eater. I've got no reason to lurk!" Harry snarled as he got up off the floor.
"Harry!" Hermione admonished quietly from behind him.
"At least I'm not a stupid scar head! I'm sure you only survived because of Granger!" Draco sneered.
"You take that back," Ron said, stepping forward.
"And it's both a miracle and a bloody shame that you survived the war, Weasel."
"Apologise, Malfoy," Harry growled, pulling his wand out and pointing it at Draco's throat.
"Why?" Draco demanded. "What difference will it make? You hate me, he hates me, she hates me. Everyone hates me. I've been apologising all year and it's made no difference so why would I humiliate myself by pleading for forgiveness? We hate each other. Let's just accept it and move on, now either curse me or get out of my way, Potter!"
Potter made no further move, so Draco pushed past him and made his way into the potion's classroom.
After a long day of being ignored, Draco made his way back to the Room of Requirement and slumped into the chair beside the fire. He stared morosely into the flames. He was so annoyed with himself. He'd tried so hard all year and he'd been able to keep his insults about the Golden Trio to himself, yet today he'd finally snapped. He guessed everyone had their limit but it still annoyed him to no end. He didn't want to be the person he was before, he didn't even like that person but he should've known better than to think that they would ever have a cordial relationship.
"Never mind, Draco," he told himself. "Once the school year is over you can move away and start a new life. Somewhere where people don't know who you are and what your family did during the war."
Having had his fill of this miserable day that had gone so wrong he decided to just go to bed. Actually to bed this time and not sleeping on the sofa. He got to his feet and crossed over to the four-poster bed in the corner of the room and climbed into bed and fell asleep straight away he was so exhausted. Draco slept fitfully; his sleep punctuated with strange dreams.
He awoke with a start a few hours later. It had felt like he'd been falling in his dream. He glanced at his watch and groaned. One minute past midnight. The last thing he needed was to start having an unrestful night's sleep. Life was bad enough. He snuggled down further under the duvet and drifted back off to sleep.
Draco woke up with a start. He groaned and flopped back against the pillows. He didn't want to get up and face another day of disdain. At least this morning he wasn't stiff and sore from having slept half the night on the sofa. He sighed as he got out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom to take a shower. He was in a very bad mood this morning and the shower had not helped prepare him for the day. When he stepped out into the corridor and saw that it was once again raining outside, his mood did not improve. The rain lashing at the window of the corridor looked as bad as it had been yesterday.
He trudged down to the Great Hall and sat down at the eighth-year table. Once again, several of his classmates got up and moved along the table to get away from him. Draco scowled at them. They wouldn't catch being an ex-Death Eater from him; it was such stupid and childish behaviour and irked him to no end so he got up from the table and headed to Transfiguration early. He met Professor McGonagall outside her classroom.
"Can I help you with something Mr Malfoy?" she asked, looking puzzled.
"Just waiting for the bell to ring for class," he replied with a shrug.
"Then why are you up here?" McGonagall asked, clearly bewildered.
"For Transfiguration with you first thing," Draco replied slowly.
"But you have potions first thing on Tuesdays."
"Yesterday was Tuesday and I had potions. Today is Wednesday."
"No, today is Tuesday, Mr Malfoy. You were in Transfiguration yesterday after lunch."
"No, I had Ancient Runes after lunch yesterday. This is now Wednesday."
"Mr Malfoy, I don't know what you are playing at but I do not have time to stand here and argue with you. I have a class to prepare for. Kindly make your way downstairs to the dungeon for your potions class. Go on," McGonagall said, chivvying him away from her classroom.
Thoroughly confused, Draco made his way back downstairs to the potion's dungeon. He wasn't paying much attention to where he was going in his confusion. He could have sworn that this was Wednesday and he'd had potions yesterday. Maybe he'd finally lost his mind and needed to be sent to St Mungo's. He rounded the corner and walked straight into Potter, sending him sprawling to the floor, again.
"Watch where you're going, Malfoy!" Potter snapped at him from the floor.
"Don't lurk behind corners then!" Draco snapped back.
"I don't lurk, Malfoy! I'm not a Death Eater. I've got no reason to lurk!" Harry snarled as he got up off the floor.
"Harry!" Hermione admonished quietly from behind him.
Draco blinked several times and shook his head. This was some serious déjà vu.
"At least I'm not a stupid scar head! I'm sure you only survived because of Granger!" Draco sneered.
"You take that back," Ron said, stepping forward.
"This can't be happening," Draco muttered to himself.
"What?" Ron said.
"I said, it's both a miracle and a bloody shame that you survived the war, Weasel."
"Apologise, Malfoy," Harry growled, pulling his wand out and pointing it at Draco's throat.
Okay, this was getting seriously weird now, Draco thought.
"We went through this yesterday, Potter," Draco spat. "I'm not apologising when you all hate me and it makes no difference!"
"What are you talking about, Malfoy?" Harry asked, still not lowering his wand. "We never spoke a word yesterday and it was bliss. Now apologise."
"I've been apologising all year and it's made no difference so why would I humiliate myself by pleading for forgiveness? We hate each other. Let's just accept it and move on, now either curse me or get out of my way, Potter!"
Potter made no further move, so Draco pushed past him and made his way into the potion's classroom.
Draco returned to the Room of Requirement that night, extremely bewildered. His entire day had been one giant déjà vu. Utterly exhausted, he collapsed onto the sofa and fell asleep in front of the fire. He slept fitfully once more, his sleep punctuated with strange dreams until he awoke with a start a few hours later. It had felt like he'd been falling in his dream again. He glanced at his watch and groaned. One minute past midnight, again. He groaned once more and snuggled down further under the duvet and drifted back off to sleep.
Draco awoke with a start in the room of requirement. He was extremely comfortable and warm snuggled under the duvet. It took him several minutes to realise that he was in the bed, which was not where he'd fallen asleep.
"This can't be happening," he groaned. He sprang out of bed and rushed to the window. The rain was lashing at the window again. "It can't last. Not this long. Not even in Scotland!" Draco sank to the floor. "How? Just…how? Why am I living this same day on repeat?"
Draco took a quick shower and dressed before heading down to the Great Hall for breakfast. He sat down at the table and several of his classmates got up and moved along the table.
"Oh, come on!" Draco muttered under his breath; now certain he was reliving the same day again. What did he have to do to make it to Wednesday? He trudged his way slowly down to the dungeons for yet another potions lesson. He never thought he'd say it but he was getting sick of the sight of potions. He rounded the corner and collided with Potter once more, not hard enough this time to knock him to the floor but still enough to make Potter call him out.
"Watch where you're going, Malfoy!"
"If I was watching where I was going, Potter, I'd have to look at your ugly mug, so I'll pass on that." Draco sneered.
"At least I don't look like a miniature version of my father!" Harry retorted.
"Erm…Harry," Ron started.
"Yeah, you do! But at least me and my father have decent hair and not that scraggy mop!"
"At least my father doesn't look like my mum's uglier version."
"At least I have both my parents. Your parents disliked you so much they dropped dead!" Draco snapped back. As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew it was a mistake and that he'd gone too far this time. Stupid, Draco, he cursed himself, before a fist contacted his nose. He felt sick with the pain and his eyes were watering. He could taste his own blood; Harry had broken his nose.
"You know if you cry, I can't enjoy your pain," Harry taunted him, to the amusement of the other students.
Furious with himself and humiliated by Potter as their classmates burst out laughing, Draco swung a punch at Harry. The next thing he knew the two of them were rolling around on the floor, swinging punches.
"That's enough!" came the unusually stern voice of Professor Slughorn, as they were both flung backwards away from each other by Slughorn's powerful shield charm. "Fifty points each from Gryffindor and Slytherin for fighting in the corridors. You're supposed to be adults and set an example. And I'll see you both down here tonight after dinner to scrub out the leech tanks for detention."
His eyes still stinging, Draco wiped the back of his sleeve across his face and pulled out his wand to fix his nose.
Draco slowly made his way back down to the potion's dungeon after dinner for his detention with Slughorn. He'd used his solitary time at dinner that night to work out what he was going to say to Potter. He turned the corner to the dungeon and walked into Potter, again. Why must he always lurk behind corners? Didn't he learn his lesson?
"Seriously, Malfoy, can't you ever learn to watch where you're going?"
"Why are you always lurking round corners?" Draco fumed.
"Twice is hardly lurking."
Draco opened his mouth to dispute that when he remembered; he was the only one who realised they were repeating the same day on a loop.
"You have come to trouble my existence," Draco said instead.
"Well, the feeling is mutual!" Harry snapped back.
"So how about we draw a line under all this nonsense now, once and for all?"
"Or, and I'm just spit-balling here, we could not do that."
"Are you that starved for attention now that you're no longer needed to vanquish the Dark Lord that you need to continue this childish feud?"
Harry didn't have any time to answer as the dungeon door swung open and Slughorn gestured for them to enter the classroom.
Draco collapsed on top of his bed in the Room of Requirement at five to midnight, aching and exhausted from scrubbing out Slughorn's leech tanks without magic. He was too tired to think any more about how to break this Curse of the Repeating Day. He was vaguely wondering if he had enough energy left to get under the duvet when he felt a jerking sensation behind his naval, akin to Portkey travelling, before he felt like he was flying very fast backwards through time. With a falling sensation, Draco found himself snuggled up in the bed under the duvet. He checked his watch.
One minute past midnight…
Damn it!