after dusk - draco malfoy

xiv. | fourteen

WEEKS HAD GONE BY SINCE DRACO had kissed me and he had been avoiding me, completely. I ended up sitting on my own in Defence Against the Dark Arts and Potions. I didn't mind sitting on my own in Defence Against the Dark Arts, considering it was one of my favourite subjects but Potions dragged on for longer than necessary.

In Charms and Transfiguration, I had Tommy to sit next to so it didn't get too bad but whenever I had planned to talk to him, he'd always be the last one to arrive to class and the first to leave, quickly rushing off so I didn't get the chance.

I wanted answers. My brain wouldn't shut up at night, keeping me up every night, pondering on why it happened and how it had gotten to that point. I mentally cursed myself every time I thought about it for not reacting. I made it seem like I didn't want to kiss him back. When a big part of me did.

Saturday came round and Stella, Poppy, and Tommy all went to Hogsmede. I would've hung out with Harry, Ron, and Hermione but they all seemed preoccupied. Ron had been accusing Hermione of letting Crookshanks, her cat, eat his rat, Scabbers. Hermione kept getting upset, claiming he would never do such a thing but from what I had heard, it had been very clear he had.

The drama continued in the Common Room so I headed to the Black Lake to clear my head. It had become a such a peaceful place to me, considering not many people went down there - other than the very warm days, that is. I still hadn't received an Owl back from Antoinette, Estelle, or Dominique so I had decided that they didn't care about me anymore and get on with my new life with my new friends.

I had wanted to write my Aunt and Uncle as I hadn't done in a few weeks. As I approached the Black Lake, I noticed someone was already down there. There was no mistaking who it was, I didn't even need to take a second glance. I slowly walked towards him, unable to remember what I had planned to say to him.

I reached his side and I sat beside him, underneath the cherry blossom tree. He didn't glance my way at all. I looked at the side of his face. He was thinking, his eyes scanning the lake in front of us. I came to the conclusion he wouldn't speak first so I took it upon myself to do so but all that came out was, "hey."

I focussed on his facial features, intently, trying to find any changes. I focussed so hard, I saw the smallest smile tug at the corner of his lips. He paused for a few moments before taking a deep breath in and turning to face me, yet his eyes refused to reach mine. "Hey," he muttered back. "How- how did you know I would be here?" He asked me, looking up to my eyes once before quickly breaking eye contact.

I tilted my head slightly, pulling my knees up to my chest and hugging them, tightly. "I was coming down to think," I told him, quietly, not taking my eyes off him. "It was just pure luck you were here. I've been wanting to talk to you."

He turned his whole body around, crossing his legs in front of me. "You say that like I haven't been wanting to talk to you either," he almost snapped, making me flinch slightly. I hadn't seen that side of him for a while and it startled me, being the last thing I had expected.

A small fire burned in my chest, getting slightly annoyed at him. "Yeah, I did," I agreed with him, raising my voice a little more. "You're the one who's been avoiding me, so forgive me if I thought you didn't want to speak to me," I got my point across.

His facial expression turned into a much softer and almost sadder one. The fire in my chest quickly disappeared, understanding there was something on his mind. He stayed silent, his eyes refusing to make eye contact with me, again. I moved up so I was sat much closer to him. I didn't take my gaze off him, almost waiting for him to return it.