Blaire Zabini || Draco Malfoy

34 - The Best Friend

The news about Draco's father had spread like wildfire around the school.

I couldn't help but notice that Draco had completely withdrawn himself, locking himself away in his bedroom across the last few days before summer. He only left his room to summon Crabbe and Goyle, for some reason refusing to leave the confines of the Slytherin quarters without them.

He avoided me like the plague; his eyes refusing to look anywhere near me if we happened to be in the same vicinity. It made me feel blue.

I even attempted to knock on his door once, hoping he'd at least talk to me in private.

But he never answered the door; and I didn't want to push it, respecting his need to be alone. After all, what was going on with Draco was bigger than what had happened between us.

"I'm so worried about him," Pansy wailed as we boarded the Hogwarts Express to go home, "he seems so upset about his dad."

"Well, he has been outed as a Death Eater and locked up in the most depressing place in the world." I muttered, hurling my trunk up in the luggage rack. "I think Drac's entitled to be a bit upset, don't you?"

I sat down heavily, pressing my fingertips against my forehead. I didn't know how I was going to stand nine hours of her non-stop wailing.

Pansy had clung to me like a limpet over the last couple of days. Thanks to Umbridge's little adventure in the forest, Dumbledore had been reinstated as headmaster and the Inquisitorial Squad was no more; so Pansy found herself at a loose end, especially with Draco completely turning his back on us.

All she talked about was him. She didn't even seem to notice I wasn't that keen to join in on any discussion, and so just prattled on endlessly as I hid myself behind a magazine.

It was about two hours into the journey when I realised couldn't take her any more. I got up, feigning the need for a shit, knowing she wouldn't want to accompany me for that.

I left her wrinkling her nose in disgust as I slid the compartment door closed behind me, sighing with relief.

Sauntering coolly up the corridor, I found myself glancing through the windows of compartments, telling myself I wasn't looking out for a certain white-blond haired Slytherin.

Liar.

About three quarters of the way up the train, as I went to open the door between carriages, I found myself accidentally whacking it into someone on the other side.

"Shit, sorry-"

"Watch the fuck where you're going, bitch!"

Startled, I found myself looking up into a pair of familiar cold grey eyes.

My heart instantly hammered uneasily. It had been a while since I'd been this close to him, a while since we'd even exchanged words.

I'd forgotten what a piece of shit he actually was.

"There's no need to be so fucking rude," I snapped at the Hufflepuff, my blood instantly bubbling with fury at the audacity of the bastard. "It was a simple accident."

Cedric narrowed his eyes down at me, hatred sparking in them. He was completely unrecognisable from the sweet, gentle boy he had once been before sex and power had sunk their ugly claws into him.

As soon as I thought this; Draco's face flashed into my mind. Ugh, why did life have to ruin the beautiful ones?

"Lost your little guard dog?" Cedric sneered cruelly, pushing his face down into mine. "Tell me, Zabini, how does it feel to be constantly ditched for other women? First Parkinson, then Chang - and I've got to tell you, she was fucking hot in the sack, best move I ever made exchanging you for her. And now your little ferret friend has been running after Umbridge; drooling all over her like the pathetic loser he is."