Hiraeth // draco malfoy

FIVE.2

"That all you miss?" She questioned, cocking her head to the side. He thought for a moment.

"I cannot be with someone in that way right now." The words came out slow, and stung hard. "But I would very much like to be your friend again." She nodded vigorously, wiping the tears from her eyes, and lunged up, wrapping her arms around his neck. He reached his hands behind her back, squeezing tightly and wanting to soak all of her in. If he never had to let go, he wouldn't have. Feeling her against him once again was like a dream he had hoped for the past 6 months. It felt surreal. "That's a wicked left hook you've got, by the way." He muttered to her as she let out a laugh. "She deserved it."

"Be careful, say some more nasty comments to me and you'll see how she felt." She joked back to him as she pulled away from the hug. His eyes glanced down to her lips and it took everything in him to fight the urge to press his against them. But he had to. "I hear there's going to be a party in the common room in a few hours. Will I see you there?" She asked.

"I'm not sure. I have a few things I need to do. But I'll try to make it." He smiled, weakly.

"Why are you so damn mysterious?" She reached her hand up, tangling a few strands of his hair in between her fingers. He leaned forward, just barely brushing his lips against her ear.

"Keeps you on your toes." He whispered.

— — —

When nightfall came around, and curfew had begun, the Slytherin students had just been waking up for the evening. It was the first Slytherin party of the year. Usually, this was the only time half-bloods and muggle-borns were permitted in the Slytherin common room, due to the fact that they were required to bring alcohol to share. So, no alcohol, no entry. Those were the rules. And in the past, Fred and George were almost always the guys with it all. But now that they had left, it was surprising to see that Ginny Weasley had bestowed it upon herself to provide it. Ginny hated the majority of the Slytherin house, with the exception of few, like Ophelia, but she could never turn down a chance to party. And let's be honest, the ambience in the dungeons was unreal.

"Weasley really lives up to her brothers." Pansy commented, lifting up a bottle of firewhisky, and pouring Ophelia a drink. One drink turned into three drinks and three turned quickly into seven. The night was going on, while everyone enjoyed the first party of the year, and Ophelia couldn't help but wonder where Draco had been. He hadn't shown face and it was nearing midnight. From across the room, Daphne and Astoria stood, snickering to themselves and making subtle comments no one could hear. Ophelia's anger had subsided, and truly she felt a little guilty for how she acted. But, the Greengrass sisters made it easy to lose all sympathy for them. "Dance with me." Pansy grabbed onto Ophelia's hand, pulling her toward her.

"My legs feel like jelly." Ophelia slurred to her friend as Pansy let out a laugh, turning her around and wrapping her arms around to the front of her.

"Don't look now, but you've got an admirer." She whispered and Ophelia's eyes darted up to across the room, where Draco stood against the wall, holding a glass of his own, beside Blaise. "It's a tad bit creepy if you ask me." Pansy laughed again, swaying side to side.

"Ladies," Theo's voice rang out as he approached them with small little shot glasses. "Cheers!" They all, in sync, gulped down the shot of gigglewater. Theo wrapped his arms around the two girls and swayed with them, resting his head on Ophelia's. After just a minute or two, Ophelia's eyes drifted back over to Draco, who was now extending his index finger, indicating to come to him.

"I'll—," hiccup, "be right back." She told the two before walking toward Draco.

"No she won't." Pansy commented to Theo, before wrapping her arms around him.

"Hi." Ophelia greeted Draco, trying to compose herself.

"You alright?" He asked her with a smirk.

"I'm fine?" She responded, confused by what he was meaning.

"You ran into three people on your way over here." He chuckled, rubbing his chin and cocking his head to the side. "How many drinks is that?"

"Um," she paused, looking up and trying to remember what number she was on and when she began to drink to begin with. "Eight? Wait— no, I don't know." She shook her head with a giggle. Draco, not feeling a need to respond, handed his glass to Blaise and pulled Ophelia's arm around his waist, beginning to walk with her.

"What's going on there?" Theo asked Pansy, who now focused her attention on them. She hurried over to Draco, who was approaching the stairs to the girls dorms.

"Where are you going with her?" She asked, slightly set off.

"Relax, Parkinson, I'm just taking her to bed." He told her in a hushed tone.

"Yeah, that's not exactly what she needs right now." Pansy was getting the wrong idea of the situation. "She's wasted."

"Do you really think that low of me to sleep with someone who can't even walk right?" He sneered at her, a bit offended.

"Oh. Is—is that not what you're doing?" She felt idiotic.

"I'm just getting her safely to bed." He assured her as she nodded, stopping herself from entering the bedroom. Draco pulled the duvet down from the bed and assisted Ophelia in. As he began to walk away, a tight grip landed around his wrist and he turned back to see Ophelia staring up at him. He sat himself beside her.

"Thank you." She yawned, closing her eyes.

"It's not a problem." He assured her, placing his hand on the blanket over her body. "Get some rest, alright? You're going to be feeling this one in the morning."

"Okay." She nodded, as he stood up, heading toward the door. "I love you, Draco." She mumbled with a sigh. He stopped in his place for a moment, before walking out of view.

"Draco," Pansy followed after him. "Draco!" She shouted, causing him to halt to a stop.

"What?" He asked, in a harsh tone.

"You need to take it easy on her. She's not exactly doing well, and I'm not sure what's going on with her but it's much greater than you and I. There's something she's struggling with and she won't tell me. But she has these nightmares almost every night, and I don't think she can handle anymore heartbreak." Pansy said in a motherly tone to him. "Either be kind to her, or leave her the fuck alone."

"Got it, Parkinson." He snapped back, and she watched as he descended down the stairs and into the crowd of people. She glanced back at a sleeping Ophelia, and sighed. She was desperate to figure out what was going on with her, and she would do anything to get it out. She just needed time.