star shopping ✰ d.m.

CHAPTER NINE

It seemed everything was going awry in just a short period of time.

Katie had been transferred from the hospital wing to St. Mungo's, meaning that already, the Gryffindor Quidditch team was missing a Chaser. To make up for this, Harry asked Dean one evening if he was still interested in being on the team. Of course, Dean said yes, making him the replacement Chaser. As a result, however, this caused a slight rift between Seamus and Arabella and Dean, as he was now the only one of their trio that was not on their House team.

Not long after that, Ginny and Ron got in a fight after Ron and Harry walked in on Ginny and Dean snogging. Apparently the two of them had not held back whatsoever in unleashing their anger on one another, resulting in wands being drawn. Harry was able to step in before anyone was hurt, but now both of Arabella's siblings that went to school with her were not speaking to one another and were constantly complaining about one another to her.

"Well, I mean, she wasn't wrong," Arabella said to Ron right after this in the common room after he had ranted about it to her. Somehow, Hermione had come up in the conversation as well; Ron was just now deciding to be upset over her kissing Viktor Krum nearly two years previously.

"Is that right?" Ron replied defensively.

"Yes! Ron, you can't go around yelling at people just because they're snogging whoever they're dating. It's normal."

"It's not that, Bella. I couldn't care less who anyone is snogging, as long as they're not my sister."

"And Hermione."

"Yeah, her too."

"Okay, I guess I can sort of see where you're coming from with Ginny and me, although it is very annoying and I wish you would get over it, but Hermione? She's not your sister, Ron. I don't get it."

"I know she's not my sister."

"Then what's the problem?"

Ron didn't say anything at first until he stood up from his seat on the sofa. "I'm going to bed."

Arabella sighed, removed her glasses, and pinched the bridge of her nose. Of course she knew why Ron was upset at the thought of Hermione kissing someone (though for the life of her she couldn't comprehend why it was happening years after the fact), but he was going about it completely the wrong way. She had been acting clueless in hopes that he would admit it so she could help him, because she knew Hermione felt more or less the same way, though she wouldn't admit it either. Instead of owning up to his feelings and just admitting it, though, Ron was now acting cold towards Hermione as well as Ginny and now apparently Arabella for not siding with him.

On top of this, Draco was becoming increasingly more distant as time went on. Arabella could hardly get him alone for more than a few minutes, as he was always making up some excuse to leave. And even in the times where they were spending a reasonable amount of time together, Draco seemed to have other things on his mind other than talking.

"Draco, come on, love, you've got to talk to me," Arabella said, breaking the kiss that had been going on for much longer than it needed to. "As much as I do enjoy this, I enjoy having conversations as well."

"We have conversations," said Draco.

Arabella laughed. "Yeah, like once a week."

"Okay, then, what do you want to talk about?"

Arabella only thought for a moment about whether asking the question she had on her mind was a good idea or not. "Is there something going on with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've just been acting different this year is all."

Draco grumbled something under his breath that Arabella didn't quite hear.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"I said you sound like Pansy."

"I really don't want to hear about Pansy right now."

"I'm just saying, both of you keep asking if something's wrong just because I'm acting different. Is it a crime to change? I mean, really, am I supposed to act the same exact way all throughout school? You literally broke up with me last year because I was such a git, and now you're complaining now that I'm not a git?"

"Okay, first of all, there is no need to take that tone with me. Second, no, it's not a crime to change and no, I wouldn't expect you to act the exact same way throughout school. Third, I'm not complaining about the way you're acting, although, really, I could if I wanted to, trust me. I'm very glad you're not strutting around the corridors bullying everyone you see anymore, and I'm also very glad you're not insulting my family anymore, which is the whole reason I broke up with you last year, not because you were a git. If I determined whether I wanted to be in a relationship with you depending on how much of a git you can be, we would never have begun dating in the first place. But lucky for you, I like you so much that I couldn't not want to be with you no matter what you did. Now, with all that being said, could you please respectfully answer my question?"

Arabella's rant seemed to humble Draco quite a bit, because when he spoke next, he no longer sounded angry and defensive. "There's nothing happening with me that you need to concern yourself with."

"I-"

"No, Belle, listen to me. I don't want you worrying about me or what I'm doing, all right? I can't have you getting involved. If something happened to you..." He shook his head, trying to rid the thought from his mind.

"How would something happen to me? Draco, what... what have you gotten yourself into?"

"Never mind it, Belle, I'm serious."

"Well, so am I!"

"No, you don't understand. You can't have anything to do with this, because if something happens to you, it will be my fault. I can't have that."

Arabella had found herself at a loss for words, just staring at Draco with a worried expression.

"Oh, um... I'm sorry to interrupt," said Faustus, coming upon the scene, "but it's getting late. It might be best to head back to your common rooms now. You don't want to be caught out at night, especially not in these times."

Arabella and Draco exchanged one last brief look before Arabella got up and walked away back to Gryffindor Tower, feeling very unnerved.

[word count: 1067]
[written: 9/6/20]

[published: 9/6/20]

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