I couldn't even start to express how Malfoy made me feel. We weren't even friends, but we definitely weren't rivals anymore. I'd never have thought that his smile would be an anchor in times of sadness. I mean I still disliked him a lot, but...his smile had been so angelic. I sighed, Draco Malfoy was the opposite of an angel.

The fact that he was hurting himself like that was understandable, the war had an effect on us all, but judging by the number of scars he'd been harming himself from way before the war. It made me empathize with him. He was a bit like me in that way, he was just a boy back then. I had been there too, maybe I could help him? Rivals or whatever we were at least, I was going to keep helping people, that included Draco Malfoy.

That was also the reason that I felt my blood boil when I saw him enter the great hall in that state, he should've gone to the infirmary! "Bloody Hell, look what happened to Malfoy!", Ron whispered to us. He didn't look too good, with blood on his face and shirt. He was limping, clutching his side, and leaning on Parkinson. "Good for him.", Ginny chuckled, but I could see she was slightly worried about what happened as well. "What do you guys think happened?", Neville asked. We were all watching them as they walked over to their table and sat down. "I heard Malfoy got his ass kicked by some of the lower year kids.", Seamus commented, joining our conversation. "Woah, that's intense. I mean he does kind off deserve it, but still.", Hermione said, frowning. "Nobody deserves that. The bloody war is over, when are people going to realize that?", I scowled.

My friends all watched me, surprised, as I stood up and walked over to the Slytherin table, sitting beside Parkinson. "We don't need any of your snarky remarks Potter.", she angrily said, but I ignored her. Instead, I turned my attention to Malfoy. "What happened?", I calmly asked him as he looked up at me. He stayed quiet for a moment, then he muttered: "I tripped.". Parkinson looked at him intensely, "You didn't fucking trip Draco, stop lying.", she sighed, hiding her head in her hands. I looked back at my former rival, he tried avoiding my gaze, but there was no use. "Look, I know it's some group of kids that did this to you. Just tell me who it is and I'll take care of it.", I answered. I tried to give him a small smile, but he sniggered at me. "When are you going to realize I don't need someone to save me, Potter! I'm not some project you can fix!", he angrily exclaimed. He tried to stand up and leave, but he didn't have the strength to.

I sighed, "I'm not trying to save you Malfoy. I'm trying to help, you need help. Look at it this way, I'm the golden boy, the chosen one, if I were, say, an ally of yours. I'm sure those Gryffindor kids wouldn't bother you anymore.", I proposed. When he didn't answer I decided it was my queue to leave. Parkinson however had seemed interested in my proposal.

"What the Hell Harry! Why'd you go talk to him?", Ron whispered as I said back down. "Because I'm not a bad person and I'd like for everyone to just bloody get along.", I said, taking a drink. "Do you just expect us to forgive him for everything he did? He's a bloody death eater Harry! He... he... He hurt people!", Ginny loudly said, clutching her fists. "He's not saying to be friends with him. Look at it from his point of view, he just wants people to stop hurting each other.", Hermione calmly said.

Nobody seemed to have a counterargument to that, so the conversation was simply dropped although I knew this would bother Ginny.

***

My first night with Malfoy. Was I scared he'd kill me in my sleep? Yes. Except I knew I couldn't sleep. He'd locked himself in the bathroom of our room as soon as we both arrived. I hadn't seen him since, but I'd heard him slip under his sheets while I pretended to be asleep. My nights were still nightmare-less, I was still awake. There was a moment when I almost dozed off until I heard a whimper. And another one. And then a sob. And a groan. And then all of a sudden a scream. I sat up, it was coming from opposite me.

I walked over to Malfoy's bed. It seemed he had the complete opposite of what I had. Nightmares. He was tangled up inside of his own bed sheets struggling to break free. He seemed to be crying or at least something that resembled it. I sighed, remembering what Blaise had said on our first day of school. "Just hold him.", he'd said. I pulled the sheets off the bed and laid down next to him. I pulled him closer to my chest and tried to help him calm down. After a while he did, he opened his eyes, turned around, and looked at me. I avoided his gaze. It was comfortable, but I knew I wasn't supposed to stay there. He had tears in his eyes, I knew that because I felt them drop onto my shirt as he started sobbing for what might've been the first time in years.

I held him close to me, stroking his hair softly as he cried into my shoulder. As his tears had dried a bit, he looked up at me. I looked back at him and smiled. "Don't hesitate to ask me for help, Malfoy.", I whispered as I got out of his bed. I had done so because I'd felt him become slightly uncomfortable, as a person who'd been in a lot of uncomfortable situations, I was very familiar with the feeling.

I went to the bathroom. There was no point in going back to bed, I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep. So I took a shower and dressed myself in my uniform, grabbed my school bag, and left for the Kitchens. It was too early for breakfast in the Great Hall so I figured I would just grab myself an apple and a sandwich from there. I tickled the pear on the painting and walked in. I was immediately greeted by House-elves. They were preparing the banquet. They didn't even pay attention to me while I was there, it felt good honestly. No stares, no whispers.

***

Walking around the school, early in the morning, was quite peaceful indeed. Peace and quiet at last. As I walked outside, I saw Hagrid's hut and spontaneously decided to pay him a visit. Before knocking on his door, I looked at his pumpkin patch. They'd be huge by the time it was Halloween!

Hagrid opened the door and greeted me with a big hug, and I mean a big hug, physically big. Inside his hut, I was greeted by another professor of mine, Minerva McGonagall. "Oh hello Headmaster!", I said. She had insisted on not being called the Headmistress. She walked towards me and pulled me into a quick hug as well. We hadn't really had much time to chat during the summer except for when we were both at the death eater trials. "Lovely to see you, Potter! How come you're awake so early, I believe breakfast doesn't start until a couple of hours from now?", she asked, sipping at her cup of tea. Hagrid poured me one as well. I explained that I hadn't been able to sleep lately. I felt like McGonagall and Hagrid would understand me better than my own friends. They felt more... family-like.

They listened to me talking and offered help which I politely declined. No one could be able to help me sleep, I'd given up on that a while ago. "R' ye' sure, 'Arry? Fang's been havin' that same problem! I know me business quite well ye know!", Hagrid said, patting Fang's black coat. He was getting old, the youth had faded from his eyes and instead, he was drooling onto the floor. "I'm sure Hagrid, but thanks.", I answered. "Have you gotten any breakfast yet, Potter?", McGonagall asked me, staring at Hagrid's weird snacks. She as well as I knew that if we tried to bite into them, we'd break a tooth. "I stole an apple and a sandwich from the Kitchens.", I said, showing her the food inside my bag. She shot me a disapproving look but didn't mention it again.

I'd spent longer than I thought in Hagrid's hut because when I walked back to the castle, students were starting to roam the corridors. I walked past a large group of Gryffindors, taking a big bite out of my apple when I overheard their conversation. "That ferret is going to pay! I swear I'll punch him harder than that chick punched me which wasn't that hard for reference. He shouldn't have launched me into the air. Next time we'll take his wand first.", the tallest one said. I wondered who they were talking about, I'd keep an eye on them to make sure they didn't hurt anyone as badly as Malfoy was hurt.

I passed by Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and stepped inside to be met with a girl. Or, well, a ghost girl. "Hello Harry!", she giggled, "Haven't seen you for a while! You've grown so much!". I sighed, how was I supposed to write secret notes if she was going to be looking over my shoulder? "Hello Myrtle. Haven't heard from you in a while. Where have you been?", I asked, genuinely curious, but also wishing she was still gone. "Oh, I've been roaming another bathroom, explore how they felt. None are as good as mine!", the ghost giggled, floating closer to me. That felt so strange to say...

"Well, I've been coming here regularly actually and talking to someone here.", I admitted to her as she raised her eyebrows. "Oh, I know! I've seen him come and go like you! You'd never guess who it is!", she said, giving me a cheeky smile. Bloody Hell, she knew who it was. I was desperate to know who it was, but I didn't want to invade their privacy. As if she'd read my mind, she said: "I won't tell you who it is. Where's the fun in that?", then she backed up and dunked into a toilet. I sighed as I flipped through the pages of the diary. No answer? Did something happen? I scribbled down a question, simply wondering if they were okay. Well, if he was okay, Myrtle had kind of spoiled the gender. I mean, of course, he wasn't okay, but maybe something worse happened.

I left the bathroom, checking that no one saw me, and walked down the corridor. As I was about to turn the corner, I was met with my favorite living Slytherin; Malfoy. His eyes widened as he walked past me hurriedly. I wondered where he was going so I turned the corner but stayed there to watch. He walked, and walked, his books in his arms and his heels clacking against the floor. Suddenly he looked around, so I ducked behind the wall, hoping he hadn't seen me. Then I looked back, he was entering the girl's bathroom.