dislike ↠ draco malfoy

sixteen

I halted my breathing for a moment as I gripped the pillar. My heart was beating so fast in my chest that it felt like it could explode at any moment. I watched as the door to the classroom swung open and Draco stormed down the hall. Snape came out after him and went down the opposite end of the hall. I squeezed myself tighter into the space between the pillar and the wall.

As soon as Snape was out of sight, I started sprint walking after Draco. He had turned the corner and disappeared. I walked into the area where he had disappeared, but I still couldn't see him. I looked up, and I saw him climbing the staircase up to the Astronomy Tower.

I grabbed the railing and started running up the stairs. It was quite difficult, as I was wearing heels and it was pitch dark, but I somehow managed. Once I got up the staircase, I swung open the door to the Astronomy Tower.

The cold air sliced through my face like a knife. I shivered. I was wearing a short dress with only small straps on the sleeves and it was winter. Snow was falling softly on the ground. I wrapped my hands around myself in an attempt to warm up.

Draco was standing on the edge of the tower, his hands gripped around the railing. I couldn't see his face, but I could tell he looked distressed.

"Draco?" I called out. My voice was drowned out slightly by the wind.

His head whipped around and he stared at me, wide eyed. "What the hell are you doing up here?" he snapped. "Were you following me?"

"Calm down," I said, trying to mediate the situation. "Are you okay?"

"Go away!" he spat. "Go!"

I slowly approached him. "No," I stated.

"No?" he repeated, his voice hoarse.

I could see him clearer now in the moonlight. His face was twisted into a look of pain mixed with anger.

"I'm not leaving you alone up here," I said.

"I'm fine, Evangeline," he said, "Just please leave me alone."

"You're lying," I said. "You're not fine."

His hand was now on his left sleeve, and he was scratching it feverishly. That must be where his Dark Mark is.

"Show me it," I said.

"What?"

I motioned toward his arm. "Your Dark Mark."

"No— no, you don't want to see it."

I looked into his eyes. "Yes, I do."

He looked at me painfully and slowly rolled up his sleeve. I could see a large mark on his forearm that resembled a tattoo. There was a skull at the very top, and a snake around it. It looked horrible. On top of that, the skin around it was red and inflamed, probably from Draco scratching it so much.

"Draco," I breathed. "That's horrible..."

He pulled his arm away. "Yeah, real horrible," he said dryly.

"You cursed Katie Bell, didn't you?" I asked. Pricks of tears were starting to form in the corner of my eyes.

He looked down. "I didn't mean to curse her."

I stared at him. "What's that supposed to mean? How do you accidentally curse someone?"

"It wasn't meant for her, the necklace," he explained. "She was just supposed to deliver it to someone."

"Who?"

He looked at me guilty. "Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore? But why—" I looked at him, and it dawned on me. "—You-Know-Who wants to kill Dumbledore, doesn't he?"

"Yeah," he mumbled. "and he wants me to do it."

"But you can't— you're only sixteen."

"I have to," he said, his face white as snow. "Or he'll kill me and my whole family."

I grabbed his hand suddenly and he stared at me. I squeezed his hand. "Then you have to do it," I said breathlessly. "You have to kill Dumbledore."

"I'm going to," he stated. "I'm going to."

He suddenly let go off my hand and wrapped his arms around my body. I hugged him back. He felt warm in my arms. He buried his face in my shoulder and I buried mine in his chest.

"Thank you," he said.

"For what?"

"For believing in me," he choked out. "For not leaving me."

"Of course," I whispered.

"I don't want to do this," he cried. "I just want to be... normal."

"I know," I said in a soothing voice.

"And I couldn't care less about my father," he said. "It's just... I have to do this for my mother. I love her, and I can't lose her."

At the mention of his mother, my own mother came into my head. She had been murdered by Death Eaters. But those people had been evil. Draco wasn't evil. He simply had no choice.

"I just don't know if I can do it, you know, kill someone," he said. "It's not an easy thing to do."

"Why do you have to do it?" I asked. "Why can't another Death Eater who actually enjoys killing people so it?"

"You do what the Dark Lord wants, Evangeline," he said. "If you want to stay alive."

I looked at him with horror in my eyes. "That's awful."

"I know."

He hugged me tighter, and we spent the next few minutes gazing out at the stars, snow falling to the ground around us.