Muggle | 𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑊𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑦

Chapter 134

Not one second had passed that with my eyes still wide open, I pressed my palms against his chest and pushed him away, leaping to my feet and backing away from Draco.

"Oh, God..." I mumbled to myself, my mind racing as he sat there seated on the stair, staring up at me, obvious on his expression that he already regretted what he had done.

"Oh, no... oh, no..." I kept muttering, running my hands through my hair as I paced around in circles.

"Okay..." Draco started awkwardly, getting up to his feet. "I probably shouldn't have done that so soon after your breakup."

"Breakup?" I repeated, my head shooting up. "I didn't break up with Fred!"

"You — you didn't?"

"No!" I said firmly, but then my heart sank as a thought made its way over my head.

My mind was so messed up and everything had happened so fast that I'd even forgotten what I'd said to Fred in that moment of pure anger.

What if I had worded it badly and Fred had thought that I was ending things with him?

Leaving Fred was the last thing I wanted. He was the only thing keeping me together, and I cursed myself over and over for snapping back at him. I knew I was at fault too and he had every right to think badly of me, after all that Ron had told him over Christmas.

But none of it was as it sounded or looked like; not me going to Slughorn's party with him, not Trelawney finding us in a broom closet together, and definitely not him straddling me on the snowy ground in Hosmeade. It was all a big misunderstanding.

"Lexi?"

Draco called me, but my head was aching so badly that I couldn't even bring myself to look up at him, let alone answer.

"Okay, I get it!" he finally said angrily. "But why are you so freaked out about this whole thing!? It was just a kiss! What's the big deal!?"

"The big deal is that it's weird!" I blurted out before being able to stop myself.

Draco stared at me coldly, taking slow and dangerous steps toward me. "Why? Just because of the family I come from? Or because I'm a Death Eater?"

I gulped, shaking my head weakly. "N-neither..."

"Then what!?" He snapped sharply.

I had to make a choice; either say nothing and lose Draco as a friend, or tell him the real reason, which was the fact that we were cousins and so risk Voldemort finding out about my father.

If Draco accidentally let it slip that Regulus Black was alive and that I was his daughter, Voldemort wouldn't hesitate to kill both me and my parents for the betrayal of my father.

In the future, maybe a miracle could happen and I might've been able to befriend Draco again. But I could never risk my family's life; even if it meant dying myself to protect them.

So as Draco was still glaring at me, his face only a few inches away from mine, I looked down and shook my head.

"I'm sorry..." was all I managed to say.

Draco stood there motionless for a few more seconds before nodding in understanding. And then without any other word, he turned on his heels and stormed out of the chamber, leaving me alone in the quiet hall.

***

Throughout the next month, I didn't get the chance to talk to Draco. I didn't even see him often other than in the classes. He was probably busying himself with fixing the Vanishing Cabinet as he was meant to, and I could do nothing about it.

I wanted to write to Fred and apologize to him for leaving him like that in Hosmeade, but I was scared that he would be too mad at me to even answer, which I knew would end up making me feel even worse than I already was.

So to help myself forget about everything for the time being until I could fix things, I busied myself with studying. I spent all my free hours in the library with Hermione, who was the best company I could ever ask for.

But one day as we went to the library after lunch, we were approached by Professor McGonagall, who looked to be in a rush, the color drained from her face.

"Miss Granger, Miss Hooper, please follow me," she said urgently. "We'll have to find Miss Weasley as well."

"Wh-what is it, Professor?" Hermione asked worriedly, but I think I already knew what this was about.

McGonagall gave a miserable sigh before giving us a sad look. "It's Mr. Weasley."

"Ron!?" Hermione said rather loudly, standing up from her chair automatically. "Is he alright?"

"We should probably go find Miss Weasley first," she answered. "I'll explain everything on our way to the hospital wing."

With worry washed all over her face, Hermione immediately packed her stuff and we left the library to find Ginny.

When we got up to the hospital wing, we saw Harry waiting behind the closed doors of the ward anxiously.

"Harry! What happened?" Ginny asked him urgently. "McGonagall told us Ron's got poisoned!"

"Yeah..." he muttered worriedly. "We were in Slughorn's office... it's a long story..."
 
        And so he started telling us the whole story; from Rom eating a chocolate filled with love potion, to taking him to Slughorn's office, and at last how he drank something poisonous but was saved when Harry gave him a bezaor. 

"Have you seen him yet?" Hermione asked him apprehensively when he was done explaining.

"No, Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let me in," Harry said bitterly.

We spent all day waiting outside the double doors, trying to see inside the ward hopefully whenever somebody went in or out.

       When Mr. and Mrs. Weasley arrived, Madam Pomfrey let them in, but she still asked us to wait outside. So afterward, Ron's parents left the ward to see Dumbledore.

It was around eight when our attention was grabbed my approaching footsteps from downstairs.

"What happened?" Looking up, we saw Fred and George walking toward us.

But Fred suddenly stopped in his tracks when his eyes fell upon me and I froze on my spot, staring at him worriedly.