Never • The Lost Daughter | A Draco Malfoy Love Story

Chapter 5 - Astronomy Tower

The classes had just ended and I had to go to the common room to change for the Halloween feast but my steps lead me to the Astronomy tower first. I liked watching the view there. This lonely and quiet place was always peaceful and perfect for someone who wanted to think. No, I didn't want to think of anything but it was the only place where I could at least be alone.

Tomorrow it would be two months since my parents died. I was so tired of holding the tears back and the Astronomy Tower was the only place where I could think straight. The cold breeze playing with my sweater and tangling my hair, the lake in front of me lying like an ocean of thoughts and dreams. It took your mind away.

But like all the good things in life, this beautiful moment had to come to an end. A stiff voice broke the silence.

"What do we have here?" said the Slytherin boy. I knew perfectly who he was just by the voice. I had seen this scene a hundred times before.

Draco Malfoy was in front of many of their bullying attacks. This fact always made me wonder whether this handsome boy knew my name. Did he know who I was other than the fact that I was a mudblood? These were the only thoughts that entered my mind every time I thought of Malfoy. But every time I even thought of looking at him with another way, I was trying to wipe these thoughts out of my mind, knowing that Draco would never even care for anyone but himself.

So as always, I tried to yank these thoughts and questions out of my head again.

"Crying about mommy and daddy again, huh? Everyone knows your little drama. They all know your parents were muggles." Crabbe said entering the room a second later.

"Oh, come on! We've been through this again. Why do you care?" I said trying to make my voice sound stronger and louder as if that was going to help me. "And how come you are not down at the Great Hall eating everything you even come cross? Or did you eat everything already?" I said with a little laugh in my voice.

"How dare you speak to us like this. Wait till Draco comes..."

It was true Draco was not with them. They were Malfoy's bodyguards, his little pets, his faithful followers. It surprised me that they were here first when the only thing that they are doing is standing on either side of Draco.

"Oh, come on... I'm not going to play your little game!" I said bravely and made a step to get away from their repeated game.

"Going somewhere smarty-pants?"  Crabbe turned me around only with a simple movement and pushed me back with two fingers. But even this light push was too much for me. I was physically weak and even this made me almost trip myself. "You filthy mudb-"

"Crabbe! Goyle! What are you doing here?" the voice came from the outside of the room.

'Draco...' I thought.

As soon as I realised it was Draco that was coming into the Astronomy Tower, my heart started beating faster and faster. So much I nearly thought it would break. I tried to understand what exactly I was feeling but I couldn't know exactly was it was. One part of me was afraid because every time he was around, bad things happened to me. But the other part of me said that there was no one else that should be here.

Draco stepped in and looked at Crabbe and Goyle questioningly.

"You two were supposed to meet me downstairs," he said and his eyes were sending daggers to both of them.

"I know, but we found this one up here," answered Goyle waveringly, shoving me. At the time I was scrubbing my shoulder where Crabbe had grabbed me. 

Draco had just realised that I was there. He made a step towards me and scanned me with a questioning look. His cold silver eyes were sending shivers down my spine. I still refused to accept why that was.

"And who is she supposed to be?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"Don't you remember her? The girl from last night," answered Crabbe.

"Yeah, whatever..." he said and scanned me again.

"She's the Ravenclaw. The mudblood one," answered Crabbe.

"Huh, strange," said Draco.

"What's strange?"

"The way she speaks makes me think she'd be in Slytherin," he said and pushed on my shoulder.

I shouldn't have fallen but I did.

Draco looked at me again and I knew what was coming. I could only guess what they were going to do with me now. As I have said before there is no reason for me to be thinking of Draco. He's just a bully. And now he was going to do the same as yesterday and the day before that, and the day before that.

"Shouldn't you be to your common rooms?" A voice had come to save me from whatever was waiting for me. I felt an arm on my shoulder. I turned to look and there was no other than Harry Potter. I felt such a relief that he was here. Harry was the only one to not put up with Draco.

"Well, well, well, Harry Potter... What does the boy who lived want here? Did you stop giving out autographs and started searching for a place 'away from publicity'?" said Draco with a stupid smirk drawn on his face.

"Stop it, Malfoy, don't you see that this girl is hurt because of you and your friends?"

"No, it's alright, Harry. Let's go," I cut in and interrupted because the last thing I wanted was to get involved in a fight. And Harry definitely didn't want that either.

"No, Anne. It's not alright. This is not alright at all. Malfoy you've gone too far again. Leave now!" Malfoy made a step back trying not to show how afraid he was, but he couldn't, of course.

"And you think we'll leave just because you told us to? You might be famous but wits are not on your side," answered Draco.

Harry's first reaction was to take a step forward and raise his fist into the air, ready to hit Draco, but I stopped him. Draco made a step back as Crabbe and Goyle were raising their fists too. But the last thing I needed was to witness a Gryffindor-Slytherin fight so I tried to stop Harry anyway I could.

"Harry, please, don't do this. He's not worth it," I said but these words were knives stabbing my heart. However, Harry didn't seem to get at ease. "Seriously, Harry, let's leave!" I repeated and he finally made a step back, avoiding the conflict.

"If my father hears about this..." said Draco as we were getting out of the Astronomy Tower but Harry said nothing.

"Thank you, Harry," I said as we were heading downstairs. "Thank you for helping me," I repeated still scrubbing my shoulder where the pain from Crabbe's hit seemed to be retreating.

"Let me take you to your common room," he said.

"No, it's fine. I think I'll go to the feast." I answered.

"Are you sure, because you seem a bit pale," he said but I just shook my head. "Okay, then. If you need any help again, I'll be here for you," he said and looked deep into my blue eyes.

"Thank you, Harry. See you later," I said while taking steps away from him.

"I hope so." I think I heard him muttering in a shy way.

That night was hard for me to bear. Not only because I kept thinking of the incident at the Astronomy Tower and how the famous boy had practically saved me from the worse but also because for not the first time, I was thinking of Draco's motives for being so mean to me.

These eyes kept mesmerizing me. If you look at these eyes you only see the coldness in them. But if you look deeper and deeper in them, you can only see the sadness he is hiding behind this selfish behaviour. Everyone sees a bad boy. I see a sad boy.

As soon as I closed my eyes at night, I could see his own staring at me.

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And here comes the foreshadowing of a big crush.

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