Malfoy's Moon

bitter blossoms

The weather warms up as May inundates the Hogwarts grounds with fresh showers and blossoms. The air is warm and sweet, heavy with the fragrant scent of flowers, especially near Greenhouse 2.

Upon all the regular notices and information, a large dark purple poster adorns the bulletin board in the Slytherin common room. 

The castle becomes saturated with the thought of a near end-of-school party, and Astra is grateful. Grateful that the whispers, or at least part of them, are focused on something else other than her and Draco. 

She hasn't seen him for another two days since their meeting in the library. He had fallen asleep to the pounding rain and the warmth of her tight hold, and she had woken up to an empty chair and the shout of Madam Pince. 

She can't help it; it stings. She expects he was busy. Perhaps he wanted to leave the library in early hours for whatever he was doing, and didn't want to wake her. 

Or he wanted to be alone, thought that waking early would prevent anyone from seeing them together. 

Whatever it was, she tries to brush it off, to keep it of unimportance. She lets her thoughts consume something uplifting as she walks to class; the dance coming soon.

Her path is obstructed as someone tall darts from an empty classroom and turns into the corridor without seeing her. 

"Draco!" She says loudly, quickening her pace towards him. 

He turns, and she starts a little. Was it just the trick of the light or had the circles underneath his eyes grown darker? Like an impending shadow. 

"Yeah?"

"Where have you been the last two days?" She says, walking in line with him. She keeps her voice casual, straining against any mention of the library. 

"Sorry I just - it's nothing..."

"How come - "

"You've heard of the end of year dance?" He interrupts, his voice falsely sincere. 

She frowns, annoyed at the change in subject. "Yeah... Draco - "

"You know," he begins, his tone bitter, "Sometimes I wish you'd just go back to pulling your wand or knife on me." 

His voice is piercing into her skin. He stops walking suddenly, eyes fixated on her as he realizes what he'd said. 

"Oh, right," she says spitefully. "I may of changed since then, but you've been exactly the same. Same coldness, same shutting me out - "

"I didn't mean it, Astra, you know that," he says, voice tired. 

"I find that hard to believe," she says quietly, "Malfoy."

His jaw tenses. "Back to last name terms, are we now? Hawkings?"

She scoffs, turning away. "It appears so - "

"Do you know," Draco says icily. "I can tell you regret it. Turning your wand away from me. Sending the letter to that Crouch oaf. All of it."

"What are you - "

"I suppose you wish you just finished me off, killed me why you had the chance. To make your family wealthy again," he says. "It would've been easy, wouldn't it? So easy when I was right there, trusting you the entire time and completely falling for - "

"I cannot believe you right now," she says, her heart drumming in her ears. "Do you know all I've given up for you?" She turns away, intent on leaving, but he grabs her arm. 

Her wand is hurled out of her bag and she picks it up as he whirls her around to face him. In a flash, without her meaning to, her wand turns on him with a burst of silver light. 

He leans into her with a grunt of pain and she desperately clutches at his shoulders. 

"Draco! Can you - are you okay?" She makes him sit against the wall, where he collapses. Her heart shudders to a near stop as a velvety flower of red blooms right above his pants, painting his white buttoned shirt. "Oh, God - I didn't mean to - I don't know how - "

"Don't - " he mutters. "Don't try to - "

Her shaking fingers fumble over his shirt, unbuttoning it quickly. She chokes back a gasp at the sight of the dark drops of scarlet. "I don't know what spell that was - I didn't - "

"Don't do anything - "

She takes out her wand and he flinches. She can't help the tears that collect in her eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you - let me just - "

"Don't - "

She places her wand over the blood-stained skin, and moves the tip of it as she whispers something incoherent. 

He leans his head back on the wall, eyes shutting in pain, and fist curling. 

The blood sinks, leaving the expanse of his skin pale, but no longer bleeding. When it's over, the corridor is merely filled with their heavy breathing. 

"Draco," she says quietly, "What's that - on your arm?"

With surprising strength, he whips his arm out of her reach, muttering, "Nothing. It's nothing."

"Please - is that..." Her tone drops to above a whisper. A deathly chill lifts her hair up, threateningly. "...the Dark Mark?"

"You don't know what you're saying - " he begins harshly, shaking his white sleeve over his arm. 

"I know what I saw, Draco!" She says forcefully. "You've become - one of them?"

He leans his head back onto the wall, swearing under his breath. 

a/n: what do you think of this chapter?