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When they arrived on Platform 9 ¾ Harry was still reeling from all the new information he had gained over the last twenty-four hours.
Sirius Black, crazed Death Eater and mass murderer had broken out of Azkaban in search of him. Draco Malfoy was his soulmate.
Somehow, the second one still seemed more bizarre to him. Crazy Voldemort lover trying to kill him, Harry could handle, but even thinking of what Malfoy would say to him when they first lock eyes gave him heart palpitations.
Harry had spent the whole night agonizing. Ron said wizards grew up on stories about soulmates, and Harry did not, but even from what he knew from the Muggle world, he knew soulmates were a big, important thing. Still, he couldn't imagine Malfoy ever accepting this peacefully.
He couldn't imagine himself being bound to Malfoy like this for life. There must be some other explanation.
He still hadn't come to grips with the whole thing, when he inevitably met Malfoy, he didn't know how he would react.
He had managed to delay the meeting until the train had begun its journey, but Harry was under no doubt a confrontation was inevitable.
Maybe Malfoy would curse him for sullying his skin with Harry's name, maybe they would have to duel right there on the train. Malfoy might be appalled that a half-blood like Harry is his soulmate; he might even have a way to remove their names. What Harry wouldn't give for that, he thought mirthfully.
What ended up happening though… was slightly different.
The three of them ended their fruitless search for an empty compartment and settled beside an unknown sleeping Professor.
After checking that the man was truly asleep, Harry relayed the warnings Mr. Weasley had given him about Sirius Black. Hermione and Ron both shared in his shock and horror.
He was just about to try and switch the conversation to something less heavy when who else but Malfoy slammed open their compartment's doors.
The very air seemed to freeze as he appeared. His glinting eyes swept over the compartment before settling on Harry. Harry watched as a steeliness settled into his eyes before he barged his way into the compartment and bullied Hermione and Ron into making space for him opposite Harry.
The Gryffindors could only stare with open-mouthed shock.
Malfoy settled into his seat, and took a deep breath, closing his eyes and seemingly gathering strength.
He perked up then and with a glance at the sleeping professor next to Harry, cast a simple Silencing spell. Harry could feel his heart hammering in his chest, this was it.
"So," Malfoy began, his voice as smooth as silk and his accent as posh as ever, "it seems you and I are linked, Potter."
Harry clenched his jaw, Malfoy's tone gave nothing away, and he had the perfect poker face as he stared right at Harry with his huge silver eyes.
"I don't know what you mean," Harry couldn't help the snappish tone, and he could see Ron and Hermione cringing in his peripheral view.
"You and I are soulmates, Potter, we need to talk about that surely?" Malfoy asked, his infuriatingly calm tone still present. Harry couldn't stand it.
"Do you seriously expect me to kiss your feet because some stupid tattoo says so?" he was being confrontational but he didn't care; he couldn't stand the fake calm that was settled over the normally exuberant boy.
Finally, emotions returned to Malfoy's eyes, his eyes narrowed, glinting with indignation, "It's not a tattoo, Potter! It's our soulmark! You and I are soulmates! Do you really want to disregard that?" Malfoy raged at him, his chest heaving at the end of his passionate rant.
"I don't want anything to do with someone who takes issue with the mere existence of my best friend, Malfoy," Harry spat venom in his words.
He could see Hermione stiffen in her seat next to Malfoy, whose own face twisted into a grimace.
"Listen, I won't deny that my upbringing has caused issues, especially with how I have behaved," the blond paused, taking a shaky breath, and Harry watched his chest move enraptured, "with your friends, but I value the possibility of being with my soulmate more than those ideals. I am willing to learn and be better, I'll apologize once I understand better."
It seemed fake, Harry almost expected a Muggle camera crew to come bursting out and tell him he was being pranked.
Hermione and Ron looked as shocked as he felt, their eyes wide and mouths open.
"You will apologize?" Ron asked incredulously, his tone indicating how ridiculous he found the whole thing.
"Yes, Weasley," Malfoy spat, frustration twisting his features, "I want a relationship with my soulmate, surely you understand?
I am not saying anything now because you and I will both know it won't be genuine, and I don't want that! I want to make an effort and I want to do it right, so if you would wait until I can do that, I'd appreciate it. From both of you."
Ron nodded dumbly, his blue eyes wide with shock, something about Malfoy's speech seemingly pleased him.
Hermione stared Malfoy down with narrowed eyes, but even she seemed contemplative.
Harry couldn't believe this.
Harry's insides twisted, a sickening feeling rising in him, but the git was speaking too much nonsense for Harry to back down.
The anticipation of how Malfoy would react, the pent-up stress of everything he had learned, and the shock at having Malfoy seemingly want to be his soulmate and willing to apologize were all mixing inside his head.
He couldn't process it. He hadn't even fully grasped the concept of soulmates, let alone being able to acknowledge that Draco Malfoy was his soulmate.
He wasn't in his right mind and he wasn't able to handle the situation properly.
The situation was happening, though.
"I don't want to be your soulmate, Malfoy!" Harry raged as he sprang up from his seat and towered over the other boy, who stared up at him in shock,
"You're a shit human being, you're awful! To me, to Ron, to Hermione! You're a filthy blood purist who probably doesn't even know how to love!
Don't make me laugh! You want to apologize? You could get on your knees and beg for forgiveness and it still wouldn't be enough! Do you think you can just learn to be a good person?
No! You're just like your father! You were born rotten, and you will die rotten!"
As Harry's spiel ended, a chill settled over the compartment.
Ron stared at him open-mouthed, his blue eyes blown wide with shock at the vicious vitriol Harry spat out.
Hermione had her hands over her mouth, her disbelief at his behaviour painted over her face. Worst of all was Malfoy, though.
He stared up at Harry with eyes blown wide, the silver of his pupils shimmering with the sheen of tears, his pale skin flushed red with anger (or was it humiliation?) His pink lips were open slightly, and his chest heaved with laboured breaths. He was frozen in place, it seemed, and he looked devastated.
Harry tried to control his heaving breaths, and he watched, completely transfixed, as a single teardrop made its way down his cheeks.
That seemed to break Malfoy from his trance. The blond shifted to stand, his movements oddly stiff. Now face to face, Harry was reminded that the blond was a few frustrating centimetres taller than him. Harry tensed in anticipation of a fight, an argument, or something.
Except, Malfoy did none of that.
He raised his head to look Harry in the eye again, his expression steely once more, Harry's breath caught on its way out.
"As you wish, Potter," the blond said, his tone so soft Harry would've missed it if every atom of his being wasn't focused on him.
And with that, he slid out of their compartment silently and left without a second glance, the line of his shoulders tight.
Harry watched him go and then collapsed back into the seat behind him, his eyes unseeing as his brain frantically tried to process what on earth had happened.
His heart raced in his chest and it felt like he was drowning, he shifted his gaze away from where Malfoy disappeared to Ron and Hermione, who were still staring at him, faces full of shock and horror.
It took Harry a moment to understand what he had done, parsing through the horrified looks directed at him.
Harry had just rejected his soulmate.
"Mate…" Ron began, his voice thin and wavery.
Harry squeezed his eyes shut, trying to pretend they weren't watering.
Somehow, the tiny tinge of disappointment in his voice cut him deeper than anything.
Ron had told him that every wizarding child grew up hearing stories about their soulmate, how they were meant to complete each other. Malfoy had approached him because he thought Harry was his other half. His soulmate; the way his parents were.
And Harry had thrown that away. All Harry had ever wanted was to belong, to a family, to someone. Magic itself had decided that the person meant for him was Malfoy but he still couldn't reconcile it. If he were to believe Malfoy's words, the blond was certainly willing to try.
Was Harry being too hasty throwing this opportunity away?
"Harry, he wanted to apologize, are you sure you don't even want to try ?" Hermione asked the tough question straight up, her bravery never wavering.
Harry swallowed, he had thought.. well he had been resisting even thinking of Malfoy as his soulmate, he had thought the boy would mock him for it.
When confronted with the fact that instead, Malfoy was earnest, willing to try, willing to apologize, Harry couldn't accept it.
He still couldn't wrap his head around it. It hadn't even been a full twenty-four hours since he had learned of soulmates after all.
"I don't want to talk about this," he finally replied.
Before, the three of them could discuss this further the train lurched to a stop. They looked at each other with alarm. It was pitch-black outside and the temperature dropped sharply.
Their breaths came out in white puffs, completely odd for the time of year.
"We can't be there yet," Hermione mused.
"Something's moving out there," Ron whimpered spooked by what he saw.
They couldn't do much else before the door to their compartment was slid open by a black skeletal hand and suddenly all Harry could feel was despair.
He didn't know where he was, his mind floating away from him. He remembered cold winter nights trapped in the closet, going days without sunlight.
He remembered the first time Uncle Vernon had struck him. He remembered the first and last time he had made the mistake of seeking maternal affection from Aunt Petunia.
He remembered being starved, he remembered being berated and insulted for existing. He remembered the horror of seeing Ginny lying on the dirty floor of the Chamber of Secrets.
He remembered Malfoy's teary eyes from minutes ago.
He remembered a green light and a woman screaming, far away, long ago.
Then he remembered nothing.
x.
Learning of the Dementor's existence, fainting due to their mere presence and then being informed that they would be stationed around Hogwarts for the foreseeable future all because of Sirius Black had certainly put a damper on Harry's mood. Even though the chocolate Professor Lupin had given him had helped immensely, he still felt sullen and poked at the mash on his plate listlessly.
Even news of Hagrid's promotion didn't help.
Ron was heartily eating as always, as if he had three stomachs, not one, perhaps that's why he was so tall, Harry mused. Hermione was shooting him concerned glances but Harry purposely didn't meet her eyes. Instead, he was too busy staring across the Hall at Malfoy.
The blond was a little less animated than usual, Harry could tell, but clearly nobody else could. His eyes were pinched and his nose slightly pink even though they were in the warmth of the Great Hall. He carried on holding court as usual with his Slytherin buddies, but his gestures lacked their usual flair. It all seemed perfectly normal.
Except, Malfoy hadn't looked toward him once.
Harry supposed it shouldn't be surprising, considering Harry had taken the olive branch Malfoy had offered him and beat him upside down the head with it. Still, Harry couldn't recall the other boy ever ignoring him before. From the moment they had first met at Madam Malkins, to last year when the entire school thought he was the Heir and unleashed a Baillisk on them, Malfoy had never hesitated to meet Harry's eyes. Except, for now.
Harry clenched his jaw and looked away. He didn't know why he was so bothered really. He said he didn't want the blond as his soulmate hadn't he? So, wasn't it for the best that they stayed away from each other?
His heart gave a strange twist at the thought and annoyed, Harry resolved to stop thinking about soulmates. He had made his decision, hadn't he? So what if that meant that Malfoy would ignore him altogether? It was better for everyone if the blond git wasn't being a nuisance. He didn't indulge Hermione in her quest to speak to him on their way up to the Common Room and ignored Ron's concerned glances as he went up to quickly unpack his invisibility cloak. He thundered back down the stairs, avoided both of their concerned gazes and headed towards the library.
Trying to suppress how much being at the library the first night back made him feel like a cheap Hermione copy, he snuck in and began looking.
There were hundreds of books about soulmates. Harry didn't understand how obtuse he could have been to not realize they were real. He scanned through the various titles, most of which sounded like the titles to a romance rather than anything educational until finally, a book caught his eye; A Guide to Become the Perfect Soulmate. Not thinking any deeper he grabbed it and quickly made his way back to Gryffindor Tower.
He settled into an abandoned corner of the Common Room, most of them busy unpacking their trunks but some groups clustered here, enjoying the last night before term truly began. No sooner had he opened the book, than Ron and Hermione settled beside him.
"Harry, did you steal that from the library!?" Hermione chastised.
"I'll give it back okay, Hermione? I just- I need to know." Harry implored.
He caught Ron shaking his head at her and she acquiesced, "Well, that is a good choice if anything, very informative."
Giving the two of them a tight smile, Harry began reading.
A Guide to Become the Perfect Soulmate
Chapter 1: An Introduction to Soulmate Magic
The first recorded case of Soulmates goes back to the Ancient times of Merlin. It was in fact, the Great Merlin and the Legendary King Arthur themselves who are recorded to be the first known case of soulmate magic.
When the then-Prince, turned thirteen years of age, he discovered the name 'Merlin' scrawled on his wrist. The significance of that name was not immediately realized, and when the King met Merlin later in life, there was animosity between them. However, as the story goes, Merlin and King Arthur went on to accomplish their greatest achievements together. Legend has it, that only once his beloved King began his eternal slumber, Merlin, the Greatest Wizard to have ever lived, realized the significance of the names they bore on their wrists. Magic itself had granted a gift to him, a gift of friendship, a gift of loyalty, a gift of love. A love so enduring that Merlin used it to ensure his lover lived on, waiting for the day his kingdom needed him once again. And in his infinite kindness, Merlin passed that blessing onto all wizard-kind.
Now, over 2000 years later. Soulmate marks and consequently soulmate magic is ingrained in wizarding physiology. Sometime during puberty, between the 13th and 17th birthday of the couple, a witch or wizard will have the name of their soulmate inked onto their wrists.
Once a soulmate bond is properly established, only death can break it.
Soulmates are considered sacred in all wizarding societies. A soulmate grants you a lifelong friend, an everlasting love and a loyal family. A soulmate compels you to grow and be better. To acknowledge your vices and turn them into virtues. To turn your weaknesses into your strengths. A soulmate is your other half, one soul split into two beings, united at last. It is said, that you have not known true contentment until you are with your soulmate.
It is considered a great taboo and is illegal in most wizarding societies to harm one's soulmate. It is often punishable by death.
If properly nurtured a soulmate bond can be one of the most powerful manifestations of magic. It can heal wounds, lengthen lifetimes and according to the Legend of King Arthur and Merlin, triumph over death itself.
Harry sat in stunned silence as he finished reading the chapter.
It was hard to accept that. Accept all that a soulmate was. His soulmate would give him everything Harry had ever wanted. Unconditional love. Unbreakable loyalty. A family. And his soulmate was Draco Malfoy. He tried to reconcile how the cruel bully he was familiar with could give him all of that. Then his mind flashed back to Malfoy on the train, and how he had approached Harry. He had offered Harry his love and companionship and offered Harry's friends an apology . Was it possible that the simple knowledge of Harry being his soulmate had convinced Draco Malfoy to reconsider his prejudices, to turn his vices into virtues? How much did Malfoy truly value a soulmate for him to even consider an apology Harry wondered.
He thought back to the Slytherin's pale teary-eyed face on the train. Was he hurt by what Harry had said? By his rejection?
Harry screwed his eyes shut in frustration. He wished he could ask his parents about this. No more than anything. Ask them if they thought he was losing something irreplaceable if he decided not to approach Malfoy. Did they value their bond like Merlin and King Arthur did? He thought of a green light and a woman screaming, a horror brought on by the dementors.
Surely they must have.
Would they be disappointed Harry was throwing away his soulmate before even giving him a real chance? Not even allowing anything to blossom between them? Not possibly steering Draco Malfoy to his side?
Harry hid his face in his hands with a frustrated groan.
Hermione reached over to gently rub his shoulders and Ron shuffled over to sit next to him. Nobody spoke for a long moment.
"Harry, you need to talk to Malfoy again," Hermione said, a determined glint in her eyes.
"No, Hermione, I can't, not after what I told him," Harry shook his head stubbornly.
He stood up grabbed the book and made his way up to the dormitory before they could stop him. He didn't bother to unpack his trunk merely undressed and climbed into bed, ignoring the calls from Neville and Dean. He closed the curtains sound his bed and slid under the covers. He heard Ron come up and uttered something to assuage Seamus's concern. He could see his best mate's silhouette hovering next to his bed but made no move to reach out or to say something. His mind and heart felt heavy. He didn't know what to think. He didn't know what to do. It felt like the rest of his life could change if he decided to accept this. He wasn't sure if it would be for the better or the worse though.
x.
Harry had been quiet and sullen throughout breakfast and the early morning. He barely had an appetite and abandoned his breakfast halfway through, sipping slowly at his pumpkin juice instead. He tried not to be bothered by the concerned looks Ron and Hermione shared over his head. He tried not to feel hurt when silver eyes still wouldn't glance his way once no matter how long he spent staring at the Slytherin table.
With a sigh, he headed off to class.
Hagrid's first class as Professor had started well. He led them into the Forest, and after seeing Neville get attacked by the Monster Book and a taunt from Malfoy, finally revealed how they could open their books. Speaking of Malfoy, the blond had continued to ignore Harry, choosing to level taunts about Hagrid at Hermione instead. Harry had felt a spike of anger at Hagrid's competence being questioned and another at the fact that the blond was still ignoring him. Ron had pulled the both of them away, a frown twisting his features as he glanced back at Malfoy. They were introduced to Buckbeak, Harry somehow being roped into volunteering and he had taken a remarkable ride around the castle on her. As he landed back on solid ground, he felt immense pride in reassuring Hagrid of how brilliant of a teacher he was.
Of course, then it all went to shit.
Malfoy, who was seemingly insistent on terrorizing Harry without looking him in the eye, sauntered up to Buckbeak, insulting her the whsome other explanation.
He still hadn't come to grips with the whole thing, when he inevitably met Malfoy, he didn't know how he would react. He had managed to delay the meeting until the train had begun its journey, but Harry was under no doubt a confrontation was inevitable. Maybe Malfoy would curse him for sullying his skin with Harry's name, maybe they would have to duel right there on the train. Malfoy might be appalled that a half-blood like Harry is his soulmate; he might even have a way to remove their names. What Harry wouldn't give for that, he thought mirthfully.
What ended up happening though… was slightly different.
The three of them ended their fruitless search for an empty compartment and settled beside an unknown sleeping Professor. After checking that the man was truly asleep, Harry relayed the warnings Mr. Weasley had given him about Sirius Black. Hermione and Ron both shared in his shock and horror.
He was just about to try and switch the conversation to something less heavy when who else but Malfoy slammed open their compartment's doors. The very air seemed to freeze as he appeared. His glinting eyes swept over the compartment before settling on Harry. Harry watched as a steeliness settled into his eyes before he barged his way into the compartment and bullied Hermione and Ron into making space for him opposite Harry. The Gryffindors could only stare with open-mouthed shock.
Malfoy settled into his seat, and took a deep breath, closing his eyes and seemingly gathering strength. He perked up then and with a glance at the sleeping professor next to Harry, cast a simple Silencing spell. Harry could feel his heart hammering in his chest, this was it.
"So," Malfoy began, his voice as smooth as silk and his accent as posh as ever, "it seems you and I are linked, Potter."
Harry clenched his jaw, Malfoy's tone gave nothing away, and he had the perfect poker face as he stared right at Harry with his huge silver eyes.
"I don't know what you mean," Harry couldn't help the snappish tone, and he could see Ron and Hermione cringing in his peripheral view.
"You and I are soulmates, Potter, we need to talk about that surely?" Malfoy asked, his infuriatingly calm tone still present. Harry couldn't stand it.
"Do you seriously expect me to kiss your feet because some stupid tattoo says so?" he was being confrontational but he didn't care; he couldn't stand the fake calm that was settled over the normally exuberant boy.
Finally, emotions returned to Malfoy's eyes, his eyes narrowed, glinting with indignation, "It's not a tattoo, Potter! It's our soulmark! You and I are soulmates! Do you really want to disregard that?" Malfoy raged at him, his chest heaving at the end of his passionate rant.
"I don't want anything to do with someone who takes issue with the mere existence of my best friend, Malfoy," Harry spat venom in his words. He could see Hermione stiffen in her seat next to Malfoy, whose own face twisted into a grimace.
"Listen, I won't deny that my upbringing has caused issues, especially with how I have behaved," the blond paused, taking a shaky breath, and Harry watched his chest move enraptured, "with your friends, but I value the possibility of being with my soulmate more than those ideals. I am willing to learn and be better, I'll apologize once I understand better."
It seemed fake, Harry almost expected a Muggle camera crew to come bursting out and tell him he was being pranked. Hermione and Ron looked as shocked as he felt, their eyes wide and mouths open.
"You will apologize?" Ron asked incredulously, his tone indicating how ridiculous he found the whole thing.
"Yes, Weasley," Malfoy spat, frustration twisting his features, "I want a relationship with my soulmate, surely you understand? I am not saying anything now because you and I will both know it won't be genuine, and I don't want that! I want to make an effort and I want to do it right, so if you would wait until I can do that, I'd appreciate it. From both of you."
Ron nodded dumbly, his blue eyes wide with shock, something about Malfoy's speech seemingly pleased him. Hermione stared Malfoy down with narrowed eyes, but even she seemed contemplative.
Harry couldn't believe this.
Harry's insides twisted, a sickening feeling rising in him, but the git was speaking too much nonsense for Harry to back down. The anticipation of how Malfoy would react, the pent-up stress of everything he had learned, and the shock at having Malfoy seemingly want to be his soulmate and willing to apologize were all mixing inside his head. He couldn't process it. He hadn't even fully grasped the concept of soulmates, let alone being able to acknowledge that Draco Malfoy was his soulmate. He wasn't in his right mind and he wasn't able to handle the situation properly.
The situation was happening, though.
"I don't want to be your soulmate, Malfoy!" Harry raged as he sprang up from his seat and towered over the other boy, who stared up at him in shock, "You're a shit human being, you're awful! To me, to Ron, to Hermione! You're a filthy blood purist who probably doesn't even know how to love! Don't make me laugh! You want to apologize? You could get on your knees and beg for forgiveness and it still wouldn't be enough! Do you think you can just learn to be a good person? No! You're just like your father! You were born rotten, and you will die rotten!"
As Harry's spiel ended, a chill settled over the compartment.
Ron stared at him open-mouthed, his blue eyes blown wide with shock at the vicious vitriol Harry spat out. Hermione had her hands over her mouth, her disbelief at his behaviour painted over her face. Worst of all was Malfoy, though.
He stared up at Harry with eyes blown wide, the silver of his pupils shimmering with the sheen of tears, his pale skin flushed red with anger (or was it humiliation?) His pink lips were open slightly, and his chest heaved with laboured breaths. He was frozen in place, it seemed, and he looked devastated.
Harry tried to control his heaving breaths, and he watched, completely transfixed, as a single teardrop made its way down his cheeks. That seemed to break Malfoy from his trance. The blond shifted to stand, his movements oddly stiff. Now face to face, Harry was reminded that the blond was a few frustrating centimetres taller than him. Harry tensed in anticipation of a fight, an argument, or something.
Except, Malfoy did none of that.
He raised his head to look Harry in the eye again, his expression steely once more, Harry's breath caught on its way out.
"As you wish, Potter," the blond said, his tone so soft Harry would've missed it if every atom of his being wasn't focused on him.
And with that, he slid out of their compartment silently and left without a second glance, the line of his shoulders tight. Harry watched him go and then collapsed back into the seat behind him, his eyes unseeing as his brain frantically tried to process what on earth had happened. His heart raced in his chest and it felt like he was drowning, he shifted his gaze away from where Malfoy disappeared to Ron and Hermione, who were still staring at him, faces full of shock and horror. It took Harry a moment to understand what he had done, parsing through the horrified looks directed at him.
Harry had just rejected his soulmate.
"Mate…" Ron began, his voice thin and wavery.
Harry squeezed his eyes shut, trying to pretend they weren't watering. Somehow, the tiny tinge of disappointment in his voice cut him deeper than anything. Ron had told him that every wizarding child grew up hearing stories about their soulmate, how they were meant to complete each other. Malfoy had approached him because he thought Harry was his other half. His soulmate; the way his parents were. And Harry had thrown that away. All Harry had ever wanted was to belong, to a family, to someone. Magic itself had decided that the person meant for him was Malfoy but he still couldn't reconcile it. If he were to believe Malfoy's words, the blond was certainly willing to try. Was Harry being too hasty throwing this opportunity away?
"Harry, he wanted to apologize, are you sure you don't even want to try ?" Hermione asked the tough question straight up, her bravery never wavering.
Harry swallowed, he had thought.. well he had been resisting even thinking of Malfoy as his soulmate, he had thought the boy would mock him for it. When confronted with the fact that instead, Malfoy was earnest, willing to try, willing to apologize, Harry couldn't accept it. He still couldn't wrap his head around it. It hadn't even been a full twenty-four hours since he had learned of soulmates after all.
"I don't want to talk about this," he finally replied.
Before, the three of them could discuss this further the train lurched to a stop. They looked at each other with alarm. It was pitch-black outside and the temperature dropped sharply. Their breaths came out in white puffs, completely odd for the time of year.
"We can't be there yet," Hermione mused.
"Something's moving out there," Ron whimpered spooked by what he saw.
They couldn't do much else before the door to their compartment was slid open by a black skeletal hand and suddenly all Harry could feel was despair.
He didn't know where he was, his mind floating away from him. He remembered cold winter nights trapped in the closet, going days without sunlight.
He remembered the first time Uncle Vernon had struck him. He remembered the first and last time he had made the mistake of seeking maternal affection from Aunt Petunia.
He remembered being starved, he remembered being berated and insulted for existing. He remembered the horror of seeing Ginny lying on the dirty floor of the Chamber of Secrets.
He remembered Malfoy's teary eyes from minutes ago.
He remembered a green light and a woman screaming, far away, long ago.
Then he remembered nothing.
x.