I Never Promised You A Rose Garden

I Never Promised You A Rose Garden

"Bloody hell..." Draco moaned as the bright sun crept through a crack in the curtains beside his bed and shined directly in his eyes. He rolled onto his side, and tried to go back to sleep, but it was no use. Perhaps it was Goyle (who lay two beds away) and his loud snoring, or the annoyingly bright sun that he couldn't seem to evade...But Draco couldn't will himself to sleep any longer.

He slid out of his four poster, and dressed slowly, wishing he could remember what he had dreamt about the night before that had made him wake this morning with a grin on his face. Shrugging his cloak on, Draco walked out of his dormitory, and past the Great Hall, neglecting his breakfast. For whatever reason, he hadn't been able to eat much of anything in the past month. He suspected it had something to do with the dreams he had been having, but he could never remember any of them, so he remained clueless and without an answer.

As he casually strolled the grounds, Draco noticed someone else, just ahead of him, coming from Hagrid's hut. Even without a second glance, he knew instantly who it must be, and changed his course immediately. Since the end of their fourth year, Draco had made it a point to strategically avoid Harry. He had awoken the day after the events of the Tri-Wizard Tournament to find himself wishing he was in the infirmary with Harry, holding him and comforting him. He wished he could be the one to reassure Harry that Cedric's death wasn't his fault...That he had acted so bravely...But then, no one had expected anything less of the great Harry Potter.

Draco gritted his teeth, and quickened his pace. He wished he could erase his mind of the hateful feelings he sometimes felt toward Harry, but he couldn't help himself. To him, the Boy Who Lived was just that...a boy that had lived. To everyone else, however, Harry Potter was nothing short of a modern-day saint. Draco couldn't help but feel slightly jealous when everyone praised Harry to no end and constantly set him on a pedestal for his never-ending bravery...but then, his bravery was a quality about him that Draco so admired.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even hear a voice calling after him. He did, however, feel the tap on his shoulder, and was shocked to see Harry behind him.

"Malfoy. I called you ten times, what's going on?"

"Christ, Potter, can't you take a hint? I was ignoring you, or trying to anyway..." Draco wanted to slap himself for being such a prick, but he followed through with his hateful words and turned on his heel to walk away.

"Fuck off Malfoy, I just wanted to ask you a question. Didn't know you would be such a bitch about it."

"Potter, I'm sorry..." Draco began, but as he turned to talk to Harry, he realized he was gone.

Draco sighed heavily. None of this made sense, but he was going to have to explain it eventually.