Once the clock strikes at four in the morning, students had been opening their books for last hours' study, and that is no exception for Draco and Annie.
In fact, as jittering as Annalise was earlier, she managed to study productively, from time to time she would eat some ginger candy given by Draco to calm her nerves, and by the time the clock strikes six, she and Draco spend more than half an hour making love in the bathroom, for he said it could help lessen the tension.
Surprisingly, he was right.
Annalise studied more when she came out of the bathroom despite her legs shaking from the intense lovemaking which caused Draco to laugh at her.
She spent the next hour preparing herself, wearing her uniform and flattening her robes then cover her hickeys with her collar by tying her necktie more tighter than usual.
"Draco, I'm gonna leave now," Annalise said as she ties her hair up in a secure bun.
Draco was buckling his belt when he stalk towards her and gave her a short kiss on the lips. "Already? We still have twenty minutes, I wanna spend more time with you, besides, I barely studied." he lied, in hopes she will stay more and study with him
Annalise chuckled, "I have Arithmancy, and you know it takes a lot of time with that examination, then I have Apparition, Potions, Muggle Studies, Transfiguration, Ancient Runes, Xylomancy, Defense against the dark arts, Herbology, History of Magic and lastly, Charms ― those are major subjects, I don't wanna fuck it all up." she said as she slided open a drawer in his dresser and grab her wand.
She knew time will be limited with all those subjects cramming in one day.
"You're not gonna fuck it up, Annie." Draco said, Admiring the fact that the hickeys he placed around her neck were sort of peeking from the uniform despite her tight collar. He walked behind her and kiss her neck again, while sneaking his hands around her waist. "Now after examinations, which I know will probably end sometime between seven and eight, I want you to wear nicely for our last school date, alright?"
Annalise nodded and whirled around, she let herself be content with his hug which she never gets tired of. "Near the Black Lake, right?"
"Yes, and I will be in Theodore's dorm to change, I don't wanna see you in a lovely outfit yet so I would be surprise when we meet." he responded, placing a peck on her forehead before smiling. "I'll be there at exactly fifteen past nine."
Meaning she won't be seeing him until later tonight.
Annalise smiled at him and pulled away, she took a deep breath and walk towards the door, but before she could turn the knob, she look over her shoulder and found Draco fumbling with the buttons of his uniform. "Wear nicely tonight too, Draco. Bye~"
Once she set foot outside, she immediately skirted away from the common room and to the hallways leading to Arithmancy class, just around the corner in a deserted, stone wall corridor, she met up with Luna who's busy reading a book while walking.
"I see you're wearing your raddish earrings today." Annalise said, grinning widely from her relief to see Luna, the lone friend she has left. "You look gorgeous."
"Thank you, Annie" Luna beamed and placed her book inside the book bag over her shoulder. "You look beautiful"
Annalise smiled genuinely at her as they enter Arithmancy class, and settled on the middle row table for them to sit. She looked around and noticed they were the only ones early, perhaps everyone is still studying as of now.
"So, how are you and Pansy?" she started up a discourse again.
Luna placed her book bag on the table, and Annalise can see the tint of scarlet spreading across her pale cheeks. "My father loves her, she's gonna move in with us after school, and she offered help publishing our Quibbler!"
"That's great, Luna!" Annalise exclaimed.
"How are you and Malfoy?"
Annalise locked eyes with Luna, and for a fleeting moment, she saw sadness in her friend's eyes. "We are good.." she responded glumly, and hoping Luna won't judge her the way her friends did.
"I knew what happened, Annie.." Luna started with an air of concern and dejection. The blonde girl placed a hand over Annalise's shoulder and gave a reassuring smile. "But don't worry, you still got me. I don't think there is anything wrong with you dating Malfoy. I'm happy whenever you're happy."
Annalise stared at Luna, and internally thanked Merlin to have a very understanding friend. She knew well Luna was also bullied by Draco's cronies, she however, did not hold any grudge and instead accepted whatever change happened to people who have insulted her, which made Luna the best, unique friend Annalise has ever had.
"Thank you, Luna.." she mumbled, soon enough students start entering one by one, and Annalise acted as though she didn't saw Hermione entered the room, the bushy brown haired girl sat next to a fellow Ravenclaw girl at the very front row table, therefore making Annalise sigh in relief.
The examination took nearly fifty five minutes for Annalise, it was hard to rely only on knowledge without using number charts to explain answers, Nevertheless, she reckoned she did just fine.
The next half an hour, she tried her best in the Apparition Test, memorizing the three D's in her mind all while concentrating on the golden hoop near her foot while a professional examiner watched her. She eventually manage to apparate five minutes before the Apparition test ends, and was very much happy to tell Draco the news once Exams were over.
Potions examinations for her was curiously easy, long gone the anxiousness she felt during Potions-making, however, the only struggle she had was not to look at Ron and Harry, as they shared a table throughout the practical test.
~
Concurrently, while Annalise is struggling and jittering over her exams, Draco had never been overwrought with the imperturbability of his examinations, on the contrary, he found it rather tedious.
Relishing the moment of his alone time in his bedroom after examinations, (which was apparently too easy for him), he lifts his sleeve and checked his wristwatch.
A quarter after seven, Annalise would be here any moment. He thought.
He flicked his wand, all of his clothes, including a velvety black suit, dress shirt, blue silk necktie, and black formal pants, came to his hand. He lazily scrambled to his feet and leave the dormitory after writing a letter to Annalise saying she should take a rest first before changing.
He trudged the landing until he reaches Theodore's bedroom, without knocking he decided to enter, like he always does, and found Nott swinging a fancy robe over his coat.
"We have a door to knock, in case you forgot," Theodore said as he finished fixing his robe, he turned to look at himself at the vanity placed against the wall, and it was full of cosmetics. Draco stared at him and the vanity with perplexity as he shut the door close behind him. "I have a girl roommate, remember? So stop staring like that." Theodore snapped.
Draco only chuckled before dropping his clothes at the foot of Theodore's bedroom, he looked around and quirked an eyebrow. There was a coffee table separating the girl's four-poster and Theodore's, a vanity against the wall, a wide dresser next to it, a bathroom connected at the left-hand side, and drawing violations plastered around the white walls in between grey drapes that will surely get Theodore and his roommate in trouble.
Minding his own business, Draco whip his head towards Theodore and found his friend fixing his hair with a comb while staring at himself at the vanity.
"I need to use the loo," Draco stated flatly.
Theodore glanced at Draco's distant reflection from the vanity mirror and scoff, "You came in without knocking and now you're asking to use my bathroom." he said with a hint of sarcasm.
Without any hesitancy, Draco grab all his clothes and entered the bathroom. He spend nearly half an hour grooming himself, fixing his hair in place and making sure there are no crumpled parts in his suit, he sprayed himself some mint cologne and tightened his wristwatch before gurgling a mouthwash he brought.
As soon as he was done, he walked out of Theodore's room, and Theo, who was sitting on the edge of his bed with a daily prophet newspaper, suddenly stood up. "The Grand Auction's starting in four weeks and a half, nevertheless my family won't be attending ― let's go mate, I reckon everyone's waiting for us." he set aside the newspaper in the coffee table.
It took a couple of minutes for Draco to process what he meant. "Theo, I'm not going to the party."
Theodore turned around and looked at Draco with disbelief. "What?" he snapped angrily.
"I am not going to the party." Draco said again as he slip his hand inside the pockets of his formal pants.
Theodore did the same as Draco, and the perturbed expression was obvious in his face, "You're dressed all that fancy and you're not going to the party?"
"No." Draco responded flatly.
"Why not?" Theodore sharply queried, his tone was that of demanding. "I told everyone you'll be there, I asked some ladies to do a strip dance for us, and Blaise brought a lot of firewhiskey in the Room of Requirement. You cannot can't go." he verbalized seriously, and was short at fuse already.
"I have a date to attend." Draco finally confessed and was waiting for a surprise reaction out of Theodore, however instead of shock, his friend seemed to appear frustrated.
"I don't care about a stupid date!" Theodore grunted, his jaw clenched and face scrunched up. Draco gave him a stern look which made him sigh. "Okay fine, maybe not stupid but, this is our last party, and the last time we will be able to live our life to the fullest and shag some ladies while stoned."
Draco shook his head in disagreement and lifted his sleeve to check his wristwatch, it was nine already, Annalise would be there any moment. "Theodore, I need to go now. I'll see you tomorrow."
However, before Draco could even leave, Theodore blocked his way towards the door, and stand face to face, his eyes were seething but his lips were frowning. "Mateee come on, don't be like this, everyone is waiting for you, what am I suppose to tell them? They are expecting for your presence, you know, "the slytherin prince"." Theodore exclaimed.
"Maybe you shouldn't have gone and tell every slytherin I'll be at the party." Draco bellowed.
"They had expected it all along before I even told them! It's not my fault!"
A sigh escape out of Draco's mouth, and he stared at his wristwatch. It wouldn't hurt to be late a little bit, he grudgingly glanced up at Theodore, and for a fleeting moment he pondered. He had never missed any single party, not one.
It would definitely make everyone wonder why he isn't attending, as he's usually the life of the party.
He pondered again, before saying, "Fine."
A triumphant smile planted all over Theodore Nott's face, his features lit up almost immediately like a switch. "I knew you'll give in, eventually."
"Shut it, I'm only staying for five minutes." Draco responded dejectedly, he shook his head in dismay. "I won't be staying much longer, just a few drinks and that's it, I have a date to attend, and I don't want to mess it up for a bloody senior party."
Theodore reassured him that in five minutes he'll be out of the party immediately, and just like that they walked away from his dorm then met up with Blaise in the hex of hallways while avoiding the caretaker, Mister Filch and his raging cat, Mrs. Norris.
As the Room of Requirement opened upon them, Draco reminded himself to leave after five minutes and meet up with Annie in the Black Lake. Howbeit, the banging sound of blasting party music made him nearly forget about his date.
~
Annalise stared at herself in the mirror of Draco's dresser, her hair was neatly curled and it drops to the sides of her boobs, the short, black A-line dress rested just above her thighs, with a white corset embellishing her waist and puff lace sleeves to finish the look, she smiled at herself and thought she looked decent.
After snatching her wand, and the gift she got for Draco, Annalise sprayed a last squirt of perfume to her neck before leaving his Bed Chamber, she checked her wristwatch and noticed it was five till nine already, walking towards the Black Lake would take at least ten minutes, so by the time she arrives, Draco would've been there.
Speeding up she nearly tripped on her own white pumps which made her hold onto the rough stone walls for balance.
The moment she steps a foot out of the castle, the chilly breeze of the wind greeted her, the bright night sky was surrounded by gray clouds, indicating bad weather, there were no stars in the sky also, which added to the possibility of rain incoming.
Nevertheless, she meandered away from the Castle grounds and onto the Black Lake. Once she got there, her breathing was heavy, and her forehead was trickling with sweat, she laid her back against a tall, handsome tree, and stared at the vast waters before her.
The Black Lake was so wide she doesn't know where Draco will pop up or where she will meet him, but as she roamed the land area, she realized Draco still wasn't here. He was late.
Annalise saw a humongous banana leaf nearby and decided to sit on it while staring at the Black Lake, waiting for Draco. As she place her gift for Draco in her lap, which was placed inside a red box with a ribbon on top, she can't help but smile thinking of his reaction once he sees the gift she has for him, however, where is he?
She was sure he'll be here any moment, something inconvenient must've happened, like forgetting to iron his clothes, or maybe he was looking for his wand. In spite all that, Annalise remained calm and waited.
The night was getting dimmer and darker, the waves of the Black Lake started crashing aggressively near the shore, the wind gets tougher by the second and even from a far, Annalise can hear the multiple glass windows banging against the wall from the Castle, she checked her wristwatch again, five minutes has passed.
That's okay, she thought. But it was twenty after nine already, and Draco promised he'll be here at fifteen past nine. What kept him?
The rustling of leaves and cawing of crows in nearby trees caused shivers to run down her spine, she sat more upright in the banana leaf and kept looking around, keeping her guard up in case she finds anything suspicious. Now that she thought of it, why did Draco wants to have a last school date near the Blake Lake?
What was so special near the Black Lake? Was he planning to swim or maybe have an odd nocturnal night picnic?
She couldn't think straight anymore, five minutes had gone by again, but it felt like hours for Annalise. Too afraid of the dark, she lifted her wand and muttered. “Lumos” a small ball of light illuminated at the tip of her wand, and she could now see the dark waves trashing over the shoreline near her feet as she continued sitting on the banana leaf.
Much better. She thought, she rubs her dominant arm and waited more. Patience, Patience, Patience. She said. She kept a tight hand over the box of gift she has for Draco and persuade herself that everything would be worth it once he's here.
Another ten minutes has passed by, and it turn twenty minutes in no time, as the area gets chillier, Annalise realized thirty minutes gone by, but she still waited, her trust for Draco was bigger than she thought, so big she waited until the clock strikes eleven.
Standing up, tears already form in Annalise's eyes. Why did Draco ditched her? She held his gift tightly against her chest while she stowe her wand around, the light illuminating at the tip was her only light source, the one giving her courage to face her fear against the dark.
Should I leave? Annalise questioned herself.
But the mere notion of Draco coming in the Black Lake just as she left scares her, what if something happens back in the castle? She thought.
Standing there for what seem like ten minutes again, Annalise now realize that Draco was never coming to see her. The moment she started walking away, with the gift in her arms, the rain started pouring, making the earth beneath her feet muddy.
“Fucking hell!” she exlaimed as her dress was now completely drench, and her white pumps now stained and dirty, nevertheless she went on with her path and run past tall trees. “No no no, the gift!” Despite the hard rain, Annalise continued running and running just to save her gift for Draco, and by the time she passed the threshold of the castle, her body was shivering, and her skin felt awfully cold.
Droplets of water trailed her path as she walk pass deserted corridors. She was ditched by her lover, she waited hours on end for him, she spend all her money to buy him a gift, and what did she received back? Nothing.
An undeniable fury started raging inside her, so much excitement, so much expectation for the date, and this is how it turned out.
Once Annalise got inside the Slytherin Common Room, she took a moment to scrutinize the odd silence, howbeit she trudge up the stone steps to the boys dormitory.
Wanting to warm herself, Annalise swiftly turned the door knob to Draco's Bed Chamber and sigh once the warm air hit her but then she froze, a lump form in her throat, her bottom lip quivered, her kneels felt as though it was gonna buckle, and the gift she was holding dropped on the floor with a slight crash from the revelation upon her.
Draco was in the bed, with a blonde girl next to him, both naked, and both asleep.
The reasons, notions and thoughts she had of him not arriving to their date was far different than what reality gave.
Her heart was shattered into pieces, and she can't help but cry silently as she watch Draco wrap an arm around the skinny blonde girl. Annalise clasp a hand over her mouth as she saw their undergarments on the floor, Draco's formal pants, blue tie, suit and boxers, then the girl's skimpy dress, lace knickers and black bra.
They really did have sex... On the day of their date.
He was in his dorm all night, getting laid with someone else while his girlfriend was waiting and worried to death on why he never appeared to their date.
She gingerly picked the gift she brought for Draco and cried miserably, her knees weakened and she fell on the floor. Annalise felt as though she was stab a hundred times by a knife through her heart, was I that easy to replace?
She had waited hours, faced her fear of darkness, even spend her money on him, even though she knew it'll be the last of her savings and then she finds out he was having sex with another girl, and completely forgot about his lover.
“I love you, Annie..”
His words rang in her ear, what once was so beautiful now hurt her. Was Draco really just lying to her this whole time so he can fuck her? Annalise's shoulders started heaving and coughs now interrupted her sobbing.
Gaining strength on her legs, Annalise wobbled to the dresser and place the precious gift she bought for him, the gift she was so excited for him to open, probably the last gift she'll ever give to him.
Then she went closer to Draco, she stood next to the bed, and examine him, his eyes were shut softly, face so calm and aristocratic, the same face that had comforted her through nightmares and darkness.
Annalise's hands started spasming seeing the blonde girl, who had her head resting against Draco's shoulder, she realize it was the same girl from the hospital wing who was simpering over him. And the girl was so beautiful. She had this gorgeous pink lips, long lashes, carved collarbone and she was probably every guy's desire.
It hit Annie so hard.
Why did she thought Draco would actually love her for the way she was? A tear fell down on bed as she stared at the two of them. Everything hurts. She was a mudblood, and she probably meant nothing more but a shag to Draco, and there she is, falling for him while he speak his untrue feelings.
Love hurts, it always does.
She wonder what was on his mind while doing the things he knew could surely hurt her.
Was it that the girl was absolutely good in bed? Had Draco simply forgotten his promises?
And here Annalise, like a foolish person thinking he's changed.
The silver ring around Draco's middle finger made it worse, Annalise cried more, and trembled way worse. He was her saviour, she believed in him, she cherished him despite everyone else's opinions. And she receives nothing but pain.
Annalise gently took the ring off his fingers and turned away.
Away.
She wants to be away from Draco, away from her friends, away from everyone. Everything in life hurts, the universe will keep giving you misfortunes in life until you've had enough.
As Annalise's sobbings intensifies, she walks away from Draco's Bed Chamber, and walk and walk and walk and walk, until she doesn't know where she is. Her feet took her to an abandoned corridor, and she sat down with her back against the wall, knees bended over her chest as she hug herself.
It was cold, she was sneezing, everything turned cold, and painful, her body was shaking like crazy, and she kept on crying.
I just want my mom. Annalise mourned.
Everything was better with mom around.
Annalise was strong, she was incredibly strong, but this one took her off guard, just because she's strong, doesn't mean she can't be hurt. And that exactly what Draco did.. Hurt her until she's gone.
The revelation made her realize that... she was never loved.