The Boy Who

Four

The lessons were going great so far, Harry has been the best teacher and it's nice to have something to forward to now that Umbridge has stripped Hogwarts of all it's fun features. Fortunately, Draco hasn't attempted to speak to me at all. He stares, but no interaction. We had another lesson today after classes, we've had to be extra careful now that Filch has been watching our every move. We know he's catching on and it'll only be a matter of time before he finds out and tells Umbridge what we're up to. She's been looking for students to help 'watch the school' and unsurprisingly, Draco and his friends have volunteered. I turned the corner to the hall and the room was on the other end. I kept my eye out, looking for anyone who could be watching.

"Shouldn't you be studying or something?"

"I knew it was too good to be true," I groaned and looked behind me.

A boy with a Slytherin robe on was walking towards me. He was alone again, monitoring the halls. He stopped in front of me, "Missed me?"

"You wish," I rolled my eyes.

"Where are you going?"

"None of your business," I crossed my arms over my chest.

He puffed out a breath, "I'm sorry. I guess I'll just take ten points from Ravenclaw for your disrespectful behavior."

I glared at him, "You must love the power you hold, huh?"

"Depends what you mean. Power as prefect? Yes, but I love my power over you even more." He boasted, grabbing my shoulder and pushing me into the wall.

"Malfoy," I managed to get out.

"Is there a problem?"

"Someone could walk by," I said. I felt myself panicking, hoping nobody would.

"So if we were alone, it'd be different?" He asked, placing his hand on my chin and lifting up my head to face him. He raised an eyebrow with a giddish smile painted on the corners of his lips.

I used all my force to push him off me. He tumbled back, losing his balance, but gaining it back quickly. "I've had enough of this foolish game, Malfoy! What do you want from me?" Before I could properly process it, tears filled my eyes. His smug expression turned into one of sympathy. His eyes weren't cold anymore, they were soft, and the smirk on his face faded into a half frown. He took a step towards me and I jumped back.

"I didn't mean to upset you," He explained.

"Upset me? Gosh, Malfoy, that's all you ever do. You find joy in bothering me and my friends. You somehow find pleasure in calling me names, calling me a mudblood. You like feeling superior, that's how you are! You're jealous that Harry's the chosen one and instead of being nice to us and attempt to be our friend, you make us your enemy. We've never given you a reason to hate us and you still do." My voice was getting louder and louder. My mind was overcome with rage and soon, tears escaped my eyes and traveled to my jaw. "You're sick! You're evil! You make being here a living hell and I'm tired of whatever game you're trying to play right now. I'm done having my mind confused and consumed by you and your bipolar actions. I'm done with all of it!" I said, pushing him back again and walking away.

I felt embarrassed for allowing myself to cry in front of him. My chest tightened and my heart beat was faster than I had ever felt it before. It didn't even feel like I was walking, I felt weak all over and I wanted to scream. I continued walking, trying to somehow calm myself down. I wasn't sorry for yelling or being angry, I had every right to. I stood outside the room and looked back, he was gone. Nobody was in sight and the door opened. I ran inside and everyone looked at me.

"You're late, what happened?" Harry asked.

"Lost track of time, sorry."

He saw right through me, but he decided not to ask anyway. I smiled and gave a small nod as a thank you and he did the same. The lesson continued on and everyone was having a good time, but I couldn't shake off the left over anger from earlier. I sat down on the floor by the wall of the room while everyone else did whatever Harry instructed them to. Ron looked at me and mouthed 'what's wrong?' but I just shook my head. If any of the guys heard, if Hermione did, they would have Draco by his neck. As great as it seemed in my head, I felt the smallest bit of guilt for yelling at him the way that I did. Minutes passed and we were all caught off guard by a bang on the wall. I stood up and everyone fell silent. Another bang happened and a hole was left in the wall. Umbridge broke the wall open and Draco held Cho in his arms. We made eye contact, but I quickly broke the stare.

Later that day, it was announced that Dumbledore vanished and Umbridge was the new headmaster. At dinner, I walked in with Hermione, Ron, Harry, Luna, Ginny, and Neville. We were about to split up to our tables when I caught a glimpse of Malfoy by the wall. Without thinking, I walked over, Hermione calling out after me. He noticed me and turned his body towards me.

"You!" I started and pointed my finger to his chest, "You told Umbridge, didn't you?"

He looked at my finger then at me, "No I didn't."

"I finally give you a piece of my mind and you can't handle it, so you run off to pink lady and rat us out?"

People were starting to stare, but I didn't care. He tried to stay calm and cleared his throat, "I didn't tell her anything. Cho was already with her when I was walking back to my common room."

I snickered, "Whatever. And I'm the pathetic one." I turned to walk away, but he grabbed my hand, rushing me out of the hall. He was holding onto me tightly and I could barely keep up with how fast he was walking. "Let go of me!"

He continued until we were far enough away then let go of my hand, "You were making a scene!"

"As if you don't like the attention."

"Enough, Juniper!"

I stopped, "You just said my name."

He nodded, "I'm sorry for the torture I've put you through, okay? I didn't realize how much damage I was doing. But you need to believe me, I had nothing to do with Umbridge finding out about the room."

I looked him in the eyes and sighed, "I believe you."

"I want to fix that, I want us to be friends, I do."

"What?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but I want us to be good with each other. At least try. I'll make up for everything I've done to you."

I tried to read his facial expression for some kind of sign that this was a prank, but it wasn't. He looked genuinely sorry. "Really?"

"I don't want to make this place hell for you," He looked down with sorrowful eyes.

I took a deep breath, hoping I won't regret these next few words. "Fine.. I guess we can try."

His face lit up and he pulled me into a hug. He had clearly been working out and his grip was strong. He smelled amazing too, the smell of his cologne was enchanting. It wasn't until a few seconds after that I realized who I was hugging. I pulled back, "Not so fast."

He laughed softly, "Sorry."

I started to walk away, "Don't screw up Malfoy. You get one shot."

I walked back towards the Great Hall where everyone was waiting for me. Harry jogged up to me with Ron beside him. I put my hand up, "It's okay. I'm fine, you don't need to do anything." They didn't ask questions and we went back inside to eat.

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Author's note:

I hope you guys are liking the story so far! I have to back and do some editing things, but yeah. Feedback is appreciated! Comment, vote, and share if you want to. Thank you for reading! :))