addiction - draco malfoy

fifty seven

i rolled over in bed, squinting in the sun. i had slept in, i wasn't used to waking up on a weekday to actual sunshine, especially not in winter. i sat up, looking at the clock. 9:07. i was late.
i frowned to myself, it wasn't unlike lily to not think about waking me and leave, but emma always made sure i was awake for school in time. unless we'd all slept in?

i sat up, blinking in the sunlight and looking around the dorm. neither of them were here.

they've been murdered.

it was the first time i'd heard the voice since i'd stopped the drug use, but i didn't have time to ponder that now. i got up, frantically running around the dorm, even checking under the beds. i had to be sure before i started panicking like an idiot. i turned, pushing my way into the dorm bathroom and checking in there too. i even checked behind the shower curtain. nothing.

phew. okay. i wasn't panicking. no need to panic yet. they'd probably just gone to class and forgot to wake me. there was no point jumping to conclusions. i leant back against the chest of drawers, biting my hangnail and thinking. what was emma's first lesson? i had first lesson with lily, but since emma had aced exams last year while me and lily flunked, she wasn't in our most of our classes, including the one we had first.

i swallowed the panic, grabbing some clothes and quickly changing. it wasn't my uniform, but it would do. i stuffed my feet in a pair of shoes, flying out the dorm and running down the stairs.

i literally bumped into lily in the corridor, and the relief was immediate. 'lily' i gasped, wrapping her in a hug. 'hi' she laughed, hugging me back quickly before untangling herself 'you look a mess, what's up?'
'i thought you and emma were missing' i sighed 'long story. doesn't matter now. i just panicked'.
'well i'm fine, i promise. why don't we go meet emma from class now?' she grinned.
i linked arms with her smiling, letting her drag me along through the corridors to emma's classroom.

her class was just getting out when we arrived, the first students piling out as we approached. we stood eagerly at the door, smiling and waiting as the floods of students passed us. and then the stream of pupils stopped, and there was still no emma. 'she's probably just talking to the teacher' lily said reassuringly, probably noticing the panic on my face 'she'll be out in a minute'. she spoke calmly, but i knew she was panicking. her body had tensed up and the muscle in her jaw was twitching from being clenched so hard.

we waited a full five minutes, until the official break bell rang and mcgonagall walked out of the class. 'is there something i can help with?' she asked upon noticing us, narrowing her eyes. 'yeah actually' lily announced 'we were just wondering where emma is?'
'emma?' mcgonagall asked 'she's not sick? she wasn't in class, i just assumed-'
'she's not sick' i interrupted 'we share a dorm with her. she wasn't there'.
'students skipping class will be the end of me' mcgonagall sighed 'it's so hard to keep tabs on everyone when you're all running off the places you shouldn't be'
'emma doesn't skip class' lily said quickly 'you should know, she's a perfect student. her attendance is almost one hundred'.

i felt sick, nausea overwhelming me. how could i let this happen? i had promised.
'professor mcgonagall' i whispered 'i think we have to report emma as missing'.