“Well, yes,” Draco admits. The arse of his trousers is soaked through from sitting on the wet pavement. “I suppose you’re having a rough go of it, Potter, aren’t you.”
Harry laughs humorlessly, his head in his hands and his shoulders slumped. “There’s an understatement.”
“It’s not as though you don’t…” Draco trails off, then tries again. “You have every right to be miserable, how’s that?”
“No—what? What do you mean?”
“Let’s see, where to start?” Draco arches an eyebrow and pretends to consider. “How about with your abusive childhood that you’ve entirely ignored, as far as I can tell, followed by decades of terrifying trauma and combat while being strategically lied to by all the adults you were supposed to trust? Then, when you were still practically a child, you got into a codependent relationship that kept you and Ginevra repressed and unhappy for years, before capping the whole thing off with an extremely public and humiliating media frenzy that dragged you out of the closet with blurry photos and positively salacious interviews with men who claimed they’d shagged you. That’s all! How could you possibly have the nerve to be a bit unhappy?”
Draco finds he’s got to stop and catch his breath, and Potter cracks a weak smile. “Didn’t know you’d been paying attention, Malfoy.”
_______________________________
Captivated by @doubleappled
part of HD-Remix 2021