Common Ground: A Draco Malfoy Love Story

Chapter 15

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Okay guys - I hope you enjoy this chapter... there's not really much to say apart from 'thanks' to be honest ☺ x
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They awoke the next morning, it must have been rediculously early as mist surrounded where they lay. Draco felt Juina move slightly next to his arm, probably because of the cold. The fire lit the previous night had died and a tinted blue patch of burnt grass was all that was left. She shivered again so Draco pulled her closer to him so her head was nestled into his shoulder, her warm breathe on his neck. Their legs intertwined, Juina kissed his bare skin to silently tell him that she was awake. He rose to his feet, helping her up after and they began to walk back to the castle.

They took one another's hand as they said their goodbyes outside of the entrance hall. The castle was deserted and quiet. Draco felt a stab of guilt as he realised their circumstances. Later, when they leave Hogsmeade station at precisely eleven, they would go to completely seperate lives. One, a little house on a busy city street with muggles - whilst the other, a big manor in the middle of nowhere. Totally different.

Juina managed to get to the Ravenclaw common room without Filch noticing. There was a scary moment however, when she heard a hissing behind her and dreaded that it was Mrs. Norris but thankfully, it wasn't. Her trunk packed, Flint ready to go and her robes folded neatly away, she pulled off her Quidditch uniform and slid into a baggy jumper. Pulling out her braid, she let her hair fall loosely over her shoulders and put the letter addressed to Scarlet from the previous morning on her friends bedside cabinet. Glancing at the ivory parchment for a brief second, her accidental look turned into a disaster as she read;

He wants to see you as soon as possible. The Dark Lord has a job for you Scarlet.

***

The train journey home was awkward for the fist hour or so. Juina was sat next to Trixie and Scarlet was positioned opposite, reading the letter over and over again.

"Are you okay Scarlet? It seems as though you're reading that piece of parchment too much. Do you want to talk to me and Ju about anything?" Trixie looked concerned, oblivious to the situation but Juina felt guilty as she already knew what was going on. To their shock, Scarlet rose quickly and snapped at Trixie in a harsh angered voice.

"Piss off Trixie." With that, she slammed the compartment door behind her.

"Bloody Hell!" Juina blurted out abruptly. Realising that Trixie was about to cry, Ju pulled her into a hug, trying to explain that Scarlet was just suffering from really bad stomach cramps and hormones. The remainder of the ride wasn't too bad. Cho Chang, Padma Patil and Lavender Brown joined them alongside some of Cho's friends that Juina didn't really know too well. The large group of girls, not including Scarlet who was else where, actually began to have a laugh, practicing temporary charms and incantations on each other. Trixie had also cheered up when the plump witch with the food trolly came round to their cabin.

The Hogwarts Express pulled into platform nine and three quarters but Juina was sad that the journey had ended so quickly. Looking out of the window, she saw a blonde girl leave the platform alone before the train had even stopped fully. Scarlet's parents usually picked her up - maybe this was more important than Ju thought. As it was only a two week holiday, she had left most of her belongings at school meaning her trunk was fairly light. This made the unloading process much more easier for everyone, especially when Draco helped Juina.

He kissed her on the cheek, out of sight from the other students, then left the platform with his parents. Juina noticed that they had seen his small movement and were looking at her with the same husky grey eyes she knew too well. Draco's mother was smirking slightly as she turned to follow her son but Lucious Malfoy stayed behind for seconds longer. He was staring at Juina, almost scowling. Ignoring him, as though she hadn't realised, she walked out off the platform to meet her mother outside of Kings Cross. Juina jumped into the car, smiling at her mother.

"Hey honey, how was your first term back?" Mrs Martin asked her daughter.

***

Mid week of the holidays, nothing much had happened. Juina was planning on meeting Ginny Weasley and Trixie at Diagonally during the last few days before returning to school. Unusually, Arthur Weasley, Ginny's dad, had turned up at their semi detached house a couple of days after arriving home. It was quite funny really as he apperated into their living room to Mr Martin's suprise. After introducing himself he asked, to Juina's annoyance, if he could speak to her parents in private. They came out of the room minutes later looking very pale, too shocked to look at their daughter. Mr Weasley said that he would talk to Ju in time but for now she didn't have to worry about anything. To be honest, this just made her worry more.

From what she had gathered by listening through the wooden door, the visit was directed by the Ministry and had something to do with an 'Order'. This meant zilch to Juina - especially when they started talking about a Phoenix. The fact that the Ministry of Magic had sent a representative to her house, well that scared her a little. No spells had been performed and no unlicensed magical creatures had been anywhere near Juina since returning from Hogwarts so their visit made her curious. Students were not allowed to use magic outside of school until they pass their NEWTS. The kids get some leeway if they complete their OWLS with flying colours but to go against the ministry's strict rules... you'd have to be crazy.

Mr Weasley assured her she was not in any trouble but what type of trouble did he mean? Anyway, Juina had to focus on the heaps of homework she'd received from Snape alongside the catch up she had to do for Care Of Magical Creatures and History Of Magic (yawn). In addition to this, her mood dropped even more when she realised that no post had arrived for her. She didn't want to rely on Malfoy or sit in his pocket but Juina was beginning to get pissed with the lack of communication.

The only owl post she received was from Trixie asking if she could meet her but then, coincidentally, Ginny asked the exact same thing. This creeped Juina out. It looked like the Ministry were reading her mail and patrolling her private life to make sure she wasn't going anywhere without a red head weasle following - but of course, this was totally obsurd! She hadn't made up totally with Ron compared to Harry but Ginny had no cold feelings towards Ju so she accepted the offer anyway.

It was the last Friday of the hols and Juina sat outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour with Trixie and Ginny. They were eating their cool desserts in the warm afternoon air after a long day of shopping. At one point, they ventured down Knockturn Alley but soon left the dark cobbled street as it gave them all the heebyjeebies. For some reason, the day was a lot more enjoyable with Ginny rather than Scarlet. Juina headed back home to pack for her return to Hogwarts believing her best friend was a lost cause.

'Poor Scarlet' she thought.