Underwater Calls

Draco loved flying. Had so since he had been a toddler, when his father had been more affectionate about his only child and son and his mother happier. Flying on a broom, carefree and without boundaries, reminded him that he can achieve what he wanted to.
That he could forget about everything and just simply exist.
He flew around the stands, pushing himself even more after each lap. He saw Blaise step out through the gates and onto the pitch, his broom in his hand. But he didn’t stop and wait for his best friend. He knew the routine as well as he knew Blaise. They would try outdoing each other, and since he had the lead at the moment, he braced his body and pushed himself and his broom as he felt Blaise kick into the air as well.
Was anything better than having a best friend equal enough to match you in just about anything? To Draco Malfoy, there wasn’t. Blaise had been his best friend since he could practically remember memories, and though it hadn’t been an easy ride with some of their conflicting views and opinion, they had been by each other’s side no matter what. To have one person in his life that he could depend on and trust was refreshing. And gave him hope, even when he had thought he was hopeless. Blaise wasn’t above him, or any less. They met each other with the same stubbornness, same determination and equal strength.
That’s why Draco wasn’t surprised as he felt Blaise behind him, catching up. Smirking to himself, he didn’t give into the need to look behind him and see exactly where his friend was pinpointed. That would be like looking down from a height and realising just high you were. And he wasn’t going to lose by looking behind him. Gripping his broom harder, he clenched his teeth as he pushed himself upon his broom even more. He heard Blaise’s laughter as the wind carried it over to them. Angling his broom slightly, he turned the corner without losing any speed or momentum. They wouldn’t cut corners, hadn’t done so since first year. And as he looked towards his left, he saw Blaise right next to him, face set in concentration.
“Can’t outdo me, lover boy,” Draco mocked, angling his shoulders again to brace the wind and give himself a better chance.
“Well, you can hardly talk, Moon lover,” Blaise shot back, laughing as his friend stared murder at him. They both caught round the hoops at the same time, and aimed to the ground at the same time. Draco angled his broom a full 180 as he came in contact with the ground at the same time with Blaise. Shaking his white blond hair back, he smirked at Blaise, who was in the process off stretching.
“Still living up to my standards on the broom I see, though the same cannot be said about the bedroom,” he teased, moving over to the chest which proudly carried the Quaffle, Bludgers and the Golden snitch. Blaise stood by his broom as Draco retrieved the Quaffle from its position and made his way back over.
“So, are you trying to tell me that you’ve finally scored it with Laura moon in the bedroom department?” he asked, mounting his broom again. Draco raised an eyebrow cynically at his best friend, who then laughed.
“Guess not,” he murmured, a smirk evident on his face.
“She’s not exactly what I’d call co-operative,” Draco said, anger obviously etched in his voice as he launched the Quaffle at his friend with ease, who caught it with effortless grace and sharp moves. Draco watched him as he tested the Quaffle, giving it a slight toss in his hand before launching it back at him.
“I can clearly see that, after leaving you without a kiss the other night. I mean, even Rosabella is shocked with her behaviour. What?” Blaise asked as he watched his best friend’s face take on a shocked looked, “I do happen to have conversation with her. Though, truth be told, she really isn’t a dumb girl, so it’s refreshing to have an intelligent conversation most of the time with a girl now.”
“Well, never thought I’d see the day when Blaise Zabini would want to settle down with a nerdy chick. Though I must say, she is a very nice looking nerdy chick,” he said, and that earned him a glare for Blaise. The guy was a goner; Draco thought with emotions that he couldn’t really comprehend. He was a goner on the best friend of the girl he was currently stuck on.
At least, he hoped it was just for now.
Because the last thing he wanted was to deal with a female for the rest of his life.
“Anyway, as we’re on the topic of these certain girls, they seem to be quite in a conflict with Laura’s behaviour. Rosabella isn’t so much interested than worried, but she feels that Siobhan’s pestering is just going to cause a rift between them,” Blaise relayed to his best friend as they chucked the Quaffle back and forth, trying to stage each other up.
“And Siobhan told me that it wasn’t a pretty sight when Laura found out that she’d been talking to me. Not that it stops Siobhan from doing so, but nevertheless I don’t want to cause their friendship any tension,” Draco said, throwing the Quaffle at Blaise with all the strength he could master. He hadn’t been part of the Quidditch team last year, due to his task, but it was the only thing he loved from Hogwarts. He would win back his position on the team again and finally be the teenage boy he never got to be.
But as he rubbed his left arm against his stomach, he knew that he’d never be just a man. He’d always have a mark from the side he was forced upon believing was the most beneficial, from when he only wanted to please and bring pride to his family. He’d always have the mark of failure, of darkness.
And Draco Malfoy didn’t accept failure easily.