The Red String of Fate
Prompt: Soulmate AU Familiar with Japanese’s folklore about the red rope of fate? Yeah, it’s real. (Warning OOC Draco)
The first time Draco Malfoy asked Narcissa Malfoy about the red rope in her pinky finger, she can only tell him that there’s no red rope on her fingers. He kept seeing those long red ropes on people fingers though. The first time he asked Lucius was when he was 8 years old. Lucius had narrowed his eyes and punished him for saying nonsense. Draco Malfoy stopped asking.
*
The first time he stumbled over the story was when he was 10. He was reading about magical myth inside the Manor’s library. The red rope is supposed to connect two people over a soulmate. He learned that his father and mother’s red rope doesn’t connect with each other. He doesn’t have any red ropes on his finger.
*
When he woke up on his birthday, there was a loop of red ropes on his pinky finger. He smiled so big that day. On July 31st, he found the end of his rope, and it felt like his heart was wrenching for a split second because his rope doesn’t connect with anyone. It ended on a loose end, it still does. That day he understood that he doesn’t have any soulmate.
*
Draco Malfoy does not meddle with people’s business, but he understands that even sometimes fate needs a little push and time to work. He maybe doesn’t have any soulmate, but others have rights to be happy with people that they belong to. He does that little nudge and push in secret as long as he’s in Hogwarts. He plays Cupid because he also learns that when he touches people’s red string, it gives him the exact time they supposed to meet their soulmate. He helps because once you miss that time you may have no other chance to meet them.
*
Draco is not a good person, at least for the Wizarding World, he’s not. He is jealous with Harry Potter, the Golden Boy, the Chosen One, and the Boy Who Lived. And then he made the greatest mistake in his life; he let the Dark Lord marked him so that he can feel to be the Chosen One. He bears that vile tattoo on his left arm. He has to kill his Headmaster. He’s wrong, being the Chosen One is not a good thing; being the chosen one means losing his sanity. He sympathizes with Harry Potter. He pities himself. He’s not strong enough, but he needs to be or else his parents’ lives will be gone.
He cries that evening. He cries like a lost pathetic boy inside a girl bathroom that evening because his only friend is a ghost. His glamour is off. His cheeks are sunken and his eyes have bags for not having any sleep. He hates himself for letting himself be something like this; someone that is not even in control of his life. He hates the Dark Mark. He sees the loose red string in his finger and sobs even harder. Maybe this is why he has no soulmate; he’ll die anyway because he has no intention to kill his headmaster. Then he sees the unruly jet black hair from his mirror. He hates Harry Potter. He hates that Potter rejected his hand that first day in Madam Malkin’s. He hates that Potter won’t be friend with him. He hates that Potter cannot trust him as a person –not that he has done anything trustworthy. He hates that Potter keeps stalking him since the start of the year. He hates that he will never be a better person than Harry Potter. He hates him so much; he makes the second big mistakes in his life. He almost Crucio-ed Potter. Thank Merlin he misses, but then pain lances through him, and in the next second he’s bleeding on the bathroom floor, seconds away from his death.
He hates Potter for not actually killing him.
*
Draco is standing in front of Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, and Harry Potter inside the Malfoy Manor. Father was just asking him, if the swollen face boy in front of him is Harry Potter. Yes, yes of course, it’s Harry Potter, whom else has eyes with those shade of green.
“Come on, Draco, look at him. LOOK AT HIM!” Bellatrix yells at him, his knees have almost given up from fear.
“Is it? Is it him, Draco?” Lucius asks him eagerly.
“No… I don’t know… I’m not sure.” Draco decides to answer with uncertainty; it will help more than clear answer. At least all of them will be afraid that it might not be him and none will call Voldemort. Right at that moment Draco decides that he’s certain of one thing. Harry Potter needs to get out of here alive or else there will be no Wizarding World. He will not stand on the side as people fight a lunatic with great power only to lose their lives if he could fight with them. He’s done being controlled by a mad man, at least this time he’ll die with a control over his life. He fixates his eyes on the floor before seeing at his pinky finger. His string glows and elongates, he is transfixed as he witness his string connects itself with the string on Harry Potter’s finger. It solidifies before his own eyes, and when he touches the string, it vibrates and the quiver ends on Harry Potter’s loop.
Of course, fate must bond him with the only Harry Potter. How can he be surprised when he knows that fate hates him?
*
He cries silently that night, thinking of what has happened, of what will happen if there’s no Voldemort in his life. He regrets the thing that will be lost before it even begins; things like Harry Potter and the lost cause of their soulmate bond. Well, at least he’s on the right side of the war now, he has made a different –or at least his wand is making a difference.
*
Huh, he’s gonna die, that is not even a little bit surprising. It’s okay at least this time he’ll actually die. He finally knew whose he belongs to in life. It’s better this way. He’ll die in peace.
The next thing he knows, Harry Potter is holding his hand, pulls him up to his broom, and save his life. He is not gonna die today. Harry Potter comes back and saves Draco Malfoy. He holds Potter very tightly; it might be his last chance to actually hold his soulmate, right? He heart is beating a tattoo on his chest and Draco won’t forget how nice that feels.
*
Sometimes he really needs to stop his mouth before anyone granted his wish. He feels it. He is just helping inside the Great Hall, when suddenly something snaps and breaks inside of him. No. Fuck no! Not like this! He stops whatever he’s doing and goes outside. He waits for all Voldemort’s camaraderie to arrive. He’s crying; he knows he’s crying. His eyes won’t stop producing tears. Then he sees Hagrid with a very lifeless Harry on his hands, as limp as a rag doll. He wants to screams in sorrow because his heart wrenches oh so painfully, but he stays silent as Voldemort laughs and talks. Then Neville starts talking and Draco is just having enough of all this pain, so he moves forward and cuts Neville fiery long talks.
“Longbottom, do shut up.” He bites sarcastically, and surprisingly he does shut up only to gauge at Draco’s hand on his shoulder.
“Ah, Draco, dear boy, you know where you belong. Come here, boy.” Voldemort smiles widely. Disgusting. He does walk closer though. Nagini slithers around his master freely coming towards him. He hates snakes. He stops two steps before the Dark Lord himself, and in less than one second he casts Avada Kedavra towards the snake. He doesn’t miss. He never misses, precision is his strongest suit. The Horcrux dies, and Voldemort falls to his knees in front of Draco, screaming in pain.
“That’s for killing my soulmate.” He says towards Voldemort. After that all chaos breaks lose as suddenly Harry Potter is up and very much alive.
Harry Potter is alive.
*
After the war is finished, Hogwarts is being rebuilt. The next year almost all of us go back to finish our study and to take our NEWT. Draco avoids many people, in fact Draco avoids everyone. They live their lives, he lives his. Harry Potter is safe and sound, back inside Hogwarts, trying to finish one finally normal school year. Draco doesn’t see him. He sets his timetable to be in different class with the Boy Who Lived Twice. He also doesn’t show up in the Great Hall. He basically close himself inside an invisible wall; it’s lonely but at least it’s safe. He finally has the control he longed for.
He still plays Cupid sometimes. Draco often plays with his own string, elongates it and lets it go just to see it quivers, imagining that the quivers will ends on Harry’s loop; imagining that one day he’ll feel it and search for Draco. He knows how stupid he’s being; fool old Draco. Harry Potter hates Draco Malfoy; that fact won’t change just because he killed Nagini, just because Harry saved him, or just because Draco didn’t admit that it was Harry Potter in his Manor.
*
NEWT is done. Eight Years is almost done. They all will go back to the outside world in three days. It’s time for breakfast and Draco is lounging inside the library, eating an apple as he looks at the Quidditch pitch. He misses Quidditch. This year is calm, very very calm and peaceful, domestic even. Surprisingly, Draco kind of likes it. That’s when a weak quiver is suddenly being reverberated into his being. He feels it again; stronger this time. Draco sets his eyes on the red string looping his finger. Oh Merlin, it is a quiver! But the other end is… so how could he possibly– The train of thoughts stop when it is no longer a quiver but a tug, a strong tug at that. The string is being pulled strongly and so does Draco’s body. He reluctantly follows the pull just so that he doesn’t dislodge any shoulder. Draco freezes when he ends up inside the Great Hall. Everyone is there, some eating, some blatantly witnessing what is currently happening. He fixes his eyes toward the victim, blatantly glaring at Potter, but Potter only grins and keeps tugging until the tips of their shoes are bumping. Fuck, this is a very close proximity. The air gets stuck in Draco’s throat. Harry Potter is grinning wildly in the middle of the Great Hall, standing two centimeters before his very own soulmate.
“What are you doing, Potter?” Draco says confusedly, no sneer, no bite, just blatant confusedness. He tries to step back, but Harry doesn’t let him.
“That’s for killing my soulmate?” he repeats my statement that day incredulously. Draco nods, confirming the statement with certainty. Grey eyes are challenging the green orbs, but those orbs suddenly reveal a huge amount of sorrow “Where have you been this whole year, Draco?” he asks with raw pain in his eyes.
“Harry Potter hates Draco Malfoy, does he not?” Draco shrugs, playing the nonchalant feature. “Second rejection doesn’t seem too appealing for me. Anyway, how do you even manage to do this?” he move his hand between their close proximity, motioning to the string like it’s the most incredulous thing he has ever witness.
“Later… It took me an entire year to do this perfectly.” Harry says earnestly. “You’re my soulmate?” he asks again, voice tinges with hope.
“You’re the one holding the string.”
“You’re not ashamed of me?” he has lost his mind, hasn’t he?
“I would have stepped back and run out if I am, wouldn’t I?” that brings a soft smile on Harry’s lips.
“No, Harry Potter doesn’t hate Draco Malfoy.” He says certainly and leans in. “Kiss me?” Only then Draco allows himself to grin, to hope.
“With pleasure.”