On Christmas I spend most of the time with other students who stayed over the break.
I had seen Draco at the dinner, but he sat alone at the corner of the table. He didn't talk to anyone. He just stared at his plate in sadness.
I didn't know that he was staying over the break. I actually expected him to go home. Except he didn't. We were still in the same building.
In the meantime, I had four more meetings with Dumbledore. I wasn't where I needed to be, but I made a lot of progress. I could now start a full fire and control it. I also made a lot of progress with the wind.
Today it was January 1st, meaning it was my birthday. Pansy, Blaise and Theo came back to Hogwarts.
After they all congratulated me and gave me some gifts, we made our way to our room. We invited Blaise and Theo to sleep over in our dorm.
Draco was nowhere to be seen. I was hoping we could at least do our traditional dance. Maybe I'd visit the astronomy tower tonight, I was hoping to see him there.
It made me kind of sad, but at least I was with my other friends.
The time flew. It was currently 11:30 pm.
"Hey, guys. I'll be right back." I said and I walked towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Pansy asked.
"My father asked me earlier today to meet him this evening. He wanted to talk about something before my birthday was over. I guess it's about being able to do magic outside of school now." I lied.
I made my way to the astronomy tower. I hoped Draco was there.
When I finally reached the top of the tower, I heard Draco's voice. "I thought you'd never come."
I saw my hair turning a bright pink. "I was hoping to see you."
"It's tradition. I have to dance with you." He said and turned around, reaching out his hand.
I grabbed it and we danced. It didn't feel different than any dance we had before. But it was, and we both knew it.
"I'm sorry for everything. I wish it wasn't like this." He said.
"I know. It's ok. As long as you're alive nothing else matters." I said. "But I miss you. And it hurts."
"I know. I'm sorry. I miss you more." He replied. "Aren't you having our friends over?" He then asked.
"Yeah, Blaise and Theo are sleeping over in our dorm. I told them my dad still wanted to talk to me." I said.
"Better get back then." He said.
I nodded. I didn't want this to end. It finally felt a little normal. But it wasn't, and I needed to get back.
So I did exactly that. I didn't tell Draco goodbye, I knew it would only hurt more. I was probably not getting to talk with him for a long time. Saying goodbye would only hurt more.
When I got back to my room, the three of them were looking at me.
"How's he doing?" Theo asked.
"My dad? He's doing fine." I said.
"No, Draco. How's he doing?" Theo said.
I sighed. Of course they knew I was going to Draco. "He's having a hard time. He seems more tired than before. He said he misses me. He wishes things were different, that it all didn't have to happen."
They nodded. Then we talked for a long time.
Until I fell asleep. This was the first night I actually felt safe at night. Every night I had stayed awake, I didn't feel safe and just couldn't fall asleep. Now that my friends were around, I did feel safe. I was the first to fall asleep.
[a/n] of course i couldn't skip the dance