𝑆𝐴𝑉𝐼𝑁𝐺 𝐷𝑅𝐴𝐶𝑂 𝑀𝐴𝐿𝐹𝑂𝑌

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟒 - 𝐧𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥

╭────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──────╮

𝐃

And just as I thought my worries would have lifted me the curse of thinking about insignificant things, such as romances and girls and love stories and Van Gogh portraits, Ophelia popped into my head at the most inappropriate time. The image of her eyes came into my mind at the most vulnerable moment. It was a fragment of my imagination, for her eyes might have been intriguing from time to time but they were never promiscuous. But at that moment of release, it was just me and that girl I was bound to hate.

"Well, fuck," I whispered when I realized what had just happened.

I scoffed and closed my eyes, embarrassed and angry. Angry at Ophelia for even daring to enter my mind, and angry at myself for ever letting her.

I blew out the candle that was burning on my nightstand, adjusted my pillow, turned to my side and tried to forget.

⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼

Back to normal now, Draco. You need no soul.

I repeated this mantra as we entered King's Cross Station.

It was a new beginning. From that day, my mind would be fixed in one thing and one thing only; my mission.

Back to normal now, Draco. You need no soul.

The crowd around us was getting thick, so we retrieved to some lonely spot, avoiding the parents that were hopelessly waving their first-year children goodbye. I was always overwhelmed when in Platform 9 ¾. My parents always dropped me off but there were never the tears and the desperation that I saw in some of those families. This had to do a lot with my upbringing; I was always a boarding school student, even before Hogwarts. I had grown accustomed to dry separations at the age of eight.

I kissed my mother. I usually never did that, at least not when I was in public or if I had a choice. I noticed that I was getting sentimental again, so a light peck was more than enough.

"Remember. Severus will help you," she said with a vulnerable vocal cord breaking ever so slightly.

I don't know how much strength there must have been inside her so that she could look at me straight in the eye and not even flinch. This could be the last time we met – neither of us wanted to believe it, but it was true.

"I don't need help. Trust me, Mother," I said.

"I trust you."

And with that, I was gone. If I stayed there any longer, I would get emotional and I had promised myself I wouldn't allow these sort of slopes this year. I was clear with myself; Draco, as soon as you lay foot on that train, you leave every emotion behind. You let yourself feel weak for a summer. Now you need no soul.

And as I passed the corridor, my mantra still in my head, I forced myself not to look to my right. I didn't want to see who was in the compartments. I didn't want to know who was sitting with whom. I only wanted to make my way to the fifth carriage, where I was sure to meet Blaise. Deep inside, I knew exactly what I was avoiding. I was avoiding any glance, any glimpse of those hazel and green eyes.

But with the corner of my eye, I noticed those four people, that group of friends I most despised. And how could I have missed them? The two of them had that loathsome orange colour for their hair. But when I raised my eyes, passing by, I only saw Potter, Granger and two of the Weasley siblings sitting in the compartment.