Just in case || Draco Malfoy

Thirty Six - Excuses

"Where do you even go every night?"  I had told Cass that I went to Draco every night, I hadn't told her where. I didn't want to reveal anymore of the secrets Draco had told me not to share.

"We just find an empty classroom. We soundproof it so they don't know we are in there" I lied. Me and Cass looked at each other for a few moments, thinking up excuses for where I could say I was going.

"You could just sneak out without them knowing" Cass said quietly, not looking at me and instead looking out the window at the heavy rain.

"Cass, we aren't allowed to leave the common room. They are surely going to know I'm missing if I'm not in here or downstairs"

"Maybe sneak him in?" She tried.

"Oh yeah because they are going to see him walking up to my dorm and not question that at all" I joked.

"What if you told him to come after everyone went to sleep?" A recently made rule made it so that we weren't permitted to be in the common room past 10, we often went up before then. The prefects that watched over the common room would then go up to their own dorms.

"That's actually a good idea" I said to her.

I told her I was going to pass a note to Draco the next day in the dark arts telling him to come to the common room and come up to my dorm after ten.

I hated how we had to hide whenever we would speak to each other - all I wanted was to be able to speak to him in front of others, for people to be able to know. Then I would finally be able to be with him in public again. Still, I was willing to hide it if that meant I could see him.

"Anyway, I should probably be getting back to my dorm." She said drearily.

"Cass are you ok? You don't seem yourself." She was no where near as energetic as she usually was and she seemed upset - something that wasn't unusual with anyone now, but she seemed even worse today.

"No, um, I'm fine" she said standing up and making her way to the door. I stood up to go over to her. "See you tomorrow" she said with a small sniff reaching for the door handle. I put my own hand on it to stop her.

"Cass what's wrong?" I said looking at her. She looked away from me and brought her sleeve to her eye.

"It's nothing"

"Cass it's clearly not". She looked at me - her eyes were slightly red and foggy. I could tell she was about to cry. "Cass..." I pulled her into a hug. I didn't know what was wrong with her, but she never cried - I knew something must be wrong. "Cass tell me" I said still hugging her. "We can't speak to anyone else, tell me. Whatever it is"

She was still silent, but I could feel her crying into my shoulder as I held her. I pulled her away for a moment and looked at her silently asking her to tell me.

"It's um" she sniffed, tears running down her cheeks. "Remember I told you my grandmother wasn't doing too well?"  She brought her hand to her face and wiped the tears off her cheeks. I knew what she meant.

I didn't say another word, I just pulled her into another hug, holding onto her tightly trying to assure her it would be ok. She sobbed into my shoulder.

"When?" I said to her quietly.

"Last night" she said between sobs. "I got the owl this morning"

"Cass why didn't you tell me?" I asked her, wishing that she had so I could of comforted her.

"I didn't want to worry you" she replied. I pulled her out of the hug and looked at her as she wiped her tears.

"Cass you wouldn't of worried me!" I assured her. "I'm really sorry Cass, I can't imagine how that must feel." What made it worse is that she couldn't even write back to her family. Or even go to the funeral.
"Do you want to spend the night here?" I asked her, she looked at me assuringly. "The bed is big enough."

"Thank you" she said to me. She gave me one last hug before wiping her face and putting on a pair of my pyjamas.

...

As Cass fell asleep next to me, I silently cursed this entire castle. I would give anything to be able to leave it, for things to go back to the way they used to be. I fell asleep wishing with all my might to be able to leave this place, and take my friends with me.

Especially Draco, far more than my friend.

...