𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑩𝒐𝒚 // 𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒐 𝑴𝒂𝒍𝒇𝒐𝒚 [under editing]

17

July

[Elizabeth]

Cedric died. On the last Tri-wizard tournament mission, he left. Just like that, no goodbye, catching everyone by surprise. No one saw what happened or knew how he died, no one except for Harry. Voldemort was back, he said. Voldemort had Cedric killed. Half of the Hogwarts believed him and half didn't. I believed him, Harry loved Cedric as much as i did. No explanations or convincing was needed for me, Harry would never kill anyone much less a friend and the from the looks of it, Cedric was murdered cruelly. It had to be Voldemort, it was Voldemort.
The ministry of course, didn't believe him. It was ridiculous, saying Cedric's death was a 'tragic accident'. The tragic thing about his death was that it was deemed as an accident.

The school fell quiet after his death, and so did i. No one wanted to talk about it because it brought much sadness to us, even though the return of Voldemort should be talked about.
I distanced myself from everyone, not knowing how to cope. They tried talking to me, Draco tried talking to me, but to no avail. Cedric's voice, his laughter and his warmth is still vivid in my mind as if he was still here but he wasn't. How could i live my life knowing that Cedric couldn't live his. That his life was mercilessly snatched away from him. I wanted to leave Hogwarts so bad.

—
I left the classroom quickly, wanting to get back to the common room as soon as possible so that i could avoid any of my friends or people asking me if i was alright. When i was about to reach, i was pulled away by someone with his hands covering my mouth. I bit his hand attempting to run away when i heard his voice wincing in pain "Ow". Draco.
I turned around, wanting to leave but he held on tightly to my wrist.
"Beth.." He said in a low raspy voice. I stayed still, back facing him. He understood that i didn't want to talk.
"I have somewhere i want to take you" He said dragging me, i didn't resist.

I looked up when we stopped. The Black Lake.
We sat at a small cliff that was overlooking the black lake.
"What are we doing here, Draco ?" I asked, looking down at the lake.
"I just wanted to talk" He said.
"About what ?" I asked, my legs dangling over the edge of the cliff. I knew what he wanted to talk about.. Cedric.
"Anything." He said and i smiled involuntarily. I hadn't smiled since Cedric's death but i couldn't help feeling touched by his sensitivity for not mentioning Cedric even though i knew that was what he wanted to ask me about.

"I'm great. How about you ?" I said, both of us knowing it was a lie.
"Beth, you look horrible. You don't even look like you have the energy to breath." He said. I take back what i said about him being sensitive.
"What do you mean, i look like i have no energy ?" I asked offended.
"Well if you have so much energy then lets go for a swim" He said with a smirk, walking backwards to the edge of the cliff. That sly git.
"No. We would get into trouble." I answered, pulling him back. Truth is, i was tired and lethargic. I hadn't slept well since Cedric's death, i've been having nightmares about him crying for help.

"Good thing i love trouble" He said before pulling me into a bear hug and jumped three feet into the water.

—

[Draco Malfoy]

The water was icy cold, and deeper than i expected. I raised to the surface of the water, looking around for Beth. She was a few metres away from me, thrashing around in the water.

"I..can't..swim !" She gasped as she struggled to stay on the surface. My blood froze and i immediately swam towards her. Idiot, i chastised myself mentally. When i reached her, she splashed my face with water, before sticking out her tongue playfully and laughing at me. She had tricked me, she was perfectly able to swim.

A few minutes later, we swam back to land, both of us panting with exertion. I looked at her, her body soaking wet, hair plastered on her face, her cheeks tinted red, her mouth opened slightly as she tried to take in as much as she could. She was much more alive.

I handed her my spare robe and she stared down at it. I looked down, maybe it was dirty and she didn't want to wear it. She wasn't staring at my robe, but my hand. I had put the matching ring on since the night of the Yule ball when she kissed me. We hadn't talked about the kiss because of Diggory's death even though i wanted to. It just wasn't appropriate.
I glanced up at her, and saw the matching emerald heart on her necklace.

Yes, i desperately thought, i sent it to you, hoping that she would understand what i was trying to say with my eyes.
She grabbed the pendant, as if she was wondering if they were the same but quickly let go. I grabbed it lightly, with the same hand my ring was on, confirming her assumption.

—

[Elizabeth]

It was as if he had magic, he took my months of misery and sadness away just like that. I felt like myself again, forgetting that Cedric was dead for awhile.
"Diggory wouldn't have wanted to see you like this because of him.. he would've wanted you to be happy, Beth" He said softly, sensitive to my feelings even though they were significantly better because of him.
"I know. Thank you, Draco..for this" I said looking into his eyes and giving him a hug. His eyes, so blue, i drown.

They say that the person you think of when you're in front of the ocean is the person you're in love with. Funny, because even though i'm with him right now, he's still the person i'm thinking about.

We walked back to school, which had ended by then, both of us lied and said we were sick, successfully avoiding detention. I went straight to all my friends, apologising for the way i was which they accepted, happy that i was back to normal. And it was all thanks to Draco.