Draco Black Chapter 1 : The Shock
Draco woke up that day with a strange feeling, a sort of lump in his throat. He didn't pay attention to it at the time, thinking that he had probably caught a cold, after all, it was winter so it wasn't impossible. In any case, he didn't think to tell his friends about his condition and pretended that everything was fine.
So he got up, went to the Slytherin bathroom and washed as usual. At the end of this one, while passing in front of the mirror, he took the time to look at himself; he who put a point of honor to always be perfect, he had to realize that he had changed a lot. Not that he didn't take care of himself anymore, that was out of the question, hygiene was something extremely important to him, but he had for example dark circles that he couldn't get rid of, he was also thinner than before, having lost muscles and his hair had thinned out a lot, going from blond to almost white.
Since the lord had been at Malfoy Manor, it was true that he had undergone some physical changes, certainly due to stress. The blond really didn't like the fact that Voldemort had returned and even less that he had decided to stay in his manor. In fact, the older he got, the less he agreed with his father's and the dark lord's ideas, he finally realised that some of them were absurd. He had stopped saying the insult "Mudblood" for example. In fact, he had stopped calling names and doing all the dirty work. Indeed, since the Dark Lord had returned and his father had gone back to work for him, Draco was less popular and less liked, so he knew better than to make a fuss.
But anyway, the point is that he had changed physically and he didn't like it. He sighed and finally took his eyes off the mirror, wiped himself off and dressed in one of his trusty black turtleneck jumpers, chino trousers and elegant shoes, both in the same colour as the jumper. He ran a hand through his hair and simply brushed it to the side without dwelling on it further before leaving the bathroom, ready at last. He glanced casually around the room to see who was up and who was not and was not surprised to see that Blaise Zabini - one of his best friends - was up and doing his morning workout while waiting for the bathroom to become available, to see that Theodore Nott - a faithful friend - was still dozing, sitting on his bed, still shocked to see Blaise so energetic in the morning, or to see that Gregory Goyle and Vincent Grabbe - his pooches - were still sleeping, snoring loudly. The blond had this scene every morning without exception.
After everyone was up and dressed, they went down to the common room to join Pansy Parkinson, who was waiting for them, already ready. Pansy was Draco's best friend and Draco loved her very much, but strangely enough, everyone thought that they were a couple when they were not and certainly never will be for the simple reason that Pansy was attracted to women and only to women. Draco and Blaise were the only ones who knew this information about the girl. At the time, following this revelation, Blaise had also taken the opportunity to reveal his preference for men. Draco hadn't judged them on their orientation and didn't even care, they liked who they wanted after all, but it's true that all this had made him think about his own sexuality. Since then, even if he was still not sure, he was saying more and more that he could see himself going out with both genders, women being impressive and beautiful and men being sexy and sweet; everything he liked.
The blonde came out of his thoughts when Pansy called out to him, he tilted his head slightly to listen.
Yes?" he asked simply.
- Are you alright, Draco? You look paler than usual... she repeated, looking genuinely concerned for her friend.
- Is that so? I don't even notice it anymore...
- It's true that you're really white, man. added the dark-haired man.
The blond shrugged, not wanting to talk about this subject so as not to worry them further before starting to leave without really waiting for them. His two best friends looked at each other blankly, understanding this, before simply following him.
On their way to the Great Hall, they discussed their future classes and the various rumours that could be heard about them, openly enjoying themselves. When they arrived, the hall was full, as if they were the only ones missing to make it truly complete. Of course, as always, everyone watched as they went to their seats to have breakfast.
At the opposite end of the room, at the Gryffindors' table, there was a dark-haired man with glasses who was staring at them as the other students sat down. Harry had been watching his nemesis carefully but secretly for some time and he had to admit that the latter had changed a lot, and that worried him slightly. It burned his throat to admit it, but yes, Harry did have a form of concern for his enemy. Not specifically for himself, after all the years of being teased about his looks and those of his friends, he deserved what he got! But he thought that if he was in this state, it was potentially because of Voldemort. And if Voldemort managed to put the Malfoy's in this physical state, it meant that he was certainly cruel and abominable, and that's what worried him most.
[.....]
After a few minutes, all the owls of the students who had just received a letter or a gift made their appearance and dropped the various things in front of their recipients. Draco received two letters, one from his father and the other from St. Mungotistis Hospital. This worried him as his father never wrote to him, it was always his mother; and not for nothing did St. Mungo's send letters. He opened one of the two first, somewhat randomly - it was the one from the hospital - and then read it with pumpkin juice in hand.
"Dear Mr. Draco Lucius Malfoy,
We regret to inform you that your mother, Narcissa Malfoy, née Black, died yesterday, September 12, 1996, at 8:05 pm due to a complication of an illness.
Burial will take place on September 15, 1996 in Godric's Hollow Cemetery.
We are very sorry for your loss,
Sincerely.
St. Mungotistis Hospital."
Draco dropped his glass, shattering on the table, spilling juice everywhere. The noise caused everyone to turn towards him, but he didn't care. His eyes returned again and again to the phrase 'Your mother, Narcissa Malfoy, née Black, has passed away'. He couldn't believe it. Without even realising it, he dropped his famous mask of coldness, revealing his panicked and hurt expression for all to see. He quickly opened his father's letter to read it.
"Draco,
Narcissa has passed away.
You must have received the letter from the hospital anyway. She had an accident, she died instantly. Doctors say she didn't suffer.
I've already sent a request to Dumbledore for permission for you to come to the funeral on the 15th.
Lucius."
The blond man had a second of absence, the world was crumbling around him. His stomach hurt, his head hurt, his eyes hurt. He wanted to cry, to cry like a calf. He could only see her fatal words in those letters, the sound around him was muffled and his ears were ringing, as if a bomb had exploded too close to him. He came back to reality violently when he felt a soft hand on him. It was Pansy.
"- Draco?... Are you alright?..." She asked with extreme gentleness as she saw the state of her friend.
Draco felt like throwing up, he dropped the pieces of paper he had crumpled up without realizing it and got up quickly to leave the Great Hall just as fast. Blaise quickly took the letters so that no one else would read them and got up with the brunette to try to catch up with the blond.
2/?
