Hateful Love

Chapter Twenty-Two

“What?” Katherine exclaims loudly, but lowers her voice when the manager glares in our direction. “Cassie, he’s coming back, don’t worry.”

“But I’m not sure anymore!” I protest. “With everything going on with You-Know-Who, I don’t know if he’ll be able to.”

Cho reaches over and squeezes my shoulder comfortingly. “He told you he’d see you at the start of the semester, so he will. You can’t worry about it so much, Cassie.”

We stand together silently for a full minute, other people passing by us without a second glance. The racks of clothes conceal us well, so we don’t appear suspicious to anyone. I’m just wondering if we should get in line to pay for our clothes when Katherine smirks devilishly and says, “Yeah, and think of how it’s gonna be when you two meet each other after so long. It’ll be like the fourth of July—fireworks.”

For the first time in months, I laugh out loud. Her face looks so cheeky, so I punch her arm lightly in a fit of giggles.

“What the hell is a firework?” Cho asks in confusion over me and Katherine’s laughter, only causing us to laugh harder. Katherine grew up with Muggles and I was always over her house, so we both know a lot about the Muggle world. Cho, however, doesn’t know much about it at all.

Between giggles, I gasp out with a smile, “Thank you for that.”

Katherine snorts, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. “Took me long enough to get you to laugh, sheesh.”

Cho rolls her eyes and slings her purse over her shoulder, saying, “You’re both so embarrassing.”

Katherine and I finally stop laughing enough to pay for our clothes. The blue shirt rings up to be regularly priced (“See? I told you,” Katherine says, earning an outraged glare from Cho) and we gather up the bags, heading for the door.

“I told you this would be a good idea,” Cho smirks over at me as we climb into Katherine’s old Muggle car. “You feel better already.”

I give a small smile in response, because really, I’m not feeling much better at all. I still have a nagging feeling that Draco won’t be on the Hogwarts Express next week, and I know how much it’ll kill me if I have to wait even longer to see him.

~*~

“Hurry up, Cassie! The train leaves in twenty minutes, move!”

“I coming!” I scream down the stairs, throwing a random pile of clothes into my trunk hastily. I snap the clasps shut and lug the heavy trunk out my bedroom door as fast as I can.

Even though I’ve been looking forward to this day for almost four months, I’m no more prepared for it than I am every other year.

My trunk bumps against each step as I race down the stairs. As soon as I reach the bottom, my dad leaps upon it and begins dragging it through the living room.

I’m pulling my hair away from my neck in an attempt to cool off when my mother appears out of nowhere. She grabs my hand and is starting to pull me toward the living room frantically when she suddenly stops and looks at me in awe.

I stare back at her, wondering what the heck is going on. “Mum, we gotta go—“

“Cassie,” my mother whispers, smiling broadly. “You’re wearing makeup, honey!”

“Uh—does it really matter?”

“But you haven’t worn it all summer!” she exclaims, grabbing my cheeks and checking out my eyeliner. She raises her eyebrows and squeals suddenly, “You’re trying to impress someone! A guy!”

“Mum, you’re squishing me—“

My mother pulls away and claps her hands together happily. “Oh, I’m so happy for you! What’s his name?”

“Mum—“

I’m saved from having to think up a random boy’s name, because my father starts yelling from the living room that we have to hurry up or we’ll miss the train. Ducking under my mother’s arms, I walk quickly into the living room, my cheeks undoubtedly burning red.

My dad holds his hand out impatiently, and I grab a hold of it. I roll my eyes as my mum walks briskly into the room, smiling happily. Great.

As soon as she grasps my dad’s hand, there’s a loud crack, and we disappear from the living room. When I open my eyes again, Hogwarts students are bustling around me, the train’s steam wafting up to the ceiling. We haven’t gone through the brick wall entrance since my second year; my mother’s convinced that Apparating here is much more classy.

We get my trunk onto the train without much difficulty, and then come our dreaded goodbyes. My mum gets emotional, as usual, but I manage to get away as fast as I can.

My eyes have constantly been searching the crowds for Draco, but I haven’t seen any sign of him yet. I board the train and almost crash into Cho, who’d been trying to get past a nervous first year.

Grabbing onto her arm to steady myself, I give a quick smile and say hurriedly, “Will you save me a seat? I want to look for Draco.”

“You want to look for him already?” Cho smirks, then continues, “Yeah, yeah, I get it. I’ll see you later, alright?”

Once she’s disappeared down the crowded aisles, I turn the other way and begin the lengthy search for Draco as the train whistles loudly, taking off for Hogwarts.

Getting through the aisles is hell, but I manage to check nearly all the compartments. The Slytherin area is a dead end; Draco isn’t in there, and all the Slytherins give me death glares.

My heart plummets inside my chest as I shut the last compartment door. Tears prick at the back of my eyes as I slump against the side wall, the train rocking me slightly. Draco isn’t anywhere on the train…he hasn’t come back to Hogwarts.

He’s broken his promise to me.