NOTE: I do not own any of the ideas or characters expressed in this story (except Cassie Jackson). All of these belong to J.K. Rowling.
~*~
Cassie P.O.V.
Time has never moved so slowly.
I lean back and rest my head against the wall behind me as Katherine and Cho argue over which shirt is on sale. The two of them practically forced me to come back-to-school shopping with them; Katherine is convinced it will take my mind off Draco.
There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t think of him. My mind invents the most terrible scenarios that could be happening to him, and a few have actually made me sick. I’m grateful that Katherine and Cho care so much, but…there’s nothing they can do to help.
“The tag clearly says 15 percent off, Cho,” Katherine snaps, thrusting the sleeve of the silky blue shirt under Cho’s nose. “I think you should get your eyes checked.”
“I know that’s what it says,” Cho seethes, snatching the shirt out of Katherine’s grasp. “But it was on the regular priced rack, and this shirt—“ she holds up a peach colored blouse, “—was on the clearance rack.”
Katherine lets out a frustrated sigh and points to me, saying, “Well, maybe you should ask Cassie, because it’s obvious you can’t accept the fact that I’m right.”
The both turn to me, but quickly realize I haven’t been paying attention to anything they’ve been arguing about. I turn my gaze over to them and bite my lip apologetically. “Sorry…what’s going on?”
“Forget it,” Cho snaps, then softens her tone. Looking at me seriously, she asks gently, “Are you okay?”
Of course not, I think dryly. It’s been three months since I last saw Draco, and I’ve been worried sick about him the entire time. I’ve barely been eating, and this shopping trip is the first time I’ve left the house in weeks. I’ve just spent my summer laying about my room, wasting away with so much worry. My eyes have dulled, and I have dark circles that I’m pretty sure won’t ever fade. I haven’t taken the time to fix my hair or apply makeup in months—it’s safe to say I look like hell.
I smile weakly at the two of them and reply, “I’m fine.”
It’s clear neither of them believe me. Katherine’s gaze is suspicious, and she steps closer to me. “Cassie, you have to stop worrying about Draco. He’s going to be okay.”
They both know Draco’s a Death Eater now; the entire wizarding world does. The Daily Prophet has done numerous stories on how the Malfoys are sliding downhill, that their involvement with the Dark Arts is causing them to lose everything. I admitted to Katherine and Cho that I knew before-hand, and they were furious at first—not that I can blame them. I suppose they must have gotten over it somehow, because they still speak with me and are taking me shopping.
I let out a long sigh, earning a curious glance from an old witch a few rows down. I wait until she looks away before saying quietly, “I can’t not worry about him, you know that. I have no idea what’s going on with him; the only information I can get is from the fucking Daily Prophet.”
There’s silence for a moment before Cho says half-heartedly, “Well…on the bright side, you’ll be seeing him in a week.”
An unfamiliar feeling of happiness wells up inside of me, and even a bit of excitement. The first of September is exactly one week away.
But the good feelings evaporate almost as soon as they come. I stuff my hands into the pockets of my jeans and say, “I’m not sure if he’ll be coming back to Hogwarts.”
“What?” Katherine exclaims loudly, but lowers her voice when the manager glares in our direction. “Cassie, he’s coming back, don’t worry.”
“But I’m not sure anymore!” I protest. “With everything going on with You-Know-Who, I don’t know if he’ll be able to.”
Cho reaches over and squeezes my shoulder comfortingly. “He told you he’d see you at the start of the semester, so he will. You can’t worry about it so much, Cassie.”
We stand together silently for a full minute, other people passing by us without a second glance. The racks of clothes conceal us well, so we don’t appear suspicious to anyone. I’m just wondering if we should get in line to pay for our clothes when Katherine smirks devilishly and says, “Yeah, and think of how it’s gonna be when you two meet each other after so long. It’ll be like the fourth of July—fireworks.”
For the first time in months, I laugh out loud. Her face looks so cheeky, so I punch her arm lightly in a fit of giggles.
“What the hell is a firework?” Cho asks in confusion over me and Katherine’s laughter, only causing us to laugh harder. Katherine grew up with Muggles and I was always over her house, so we both know a lot about the Muggle world. Cho, however, doesn’t know much about it at all.
Between giggles, I gasp out with a smile, “Thank you for that.”
Katherine snorts, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. “Took me long enough to get you to laugh, sheesh.”
Cho rolls her eyes and slings her purse over her shoulder, saying, “You’re both so embarrassing.”
Katherine and I finally stop laughing enough to pay for our clothes. The blue shirt rings up to be regularly priced (“See? I told you,” Katherine says, earning an outraged glare from Cho) and we gather up the bags, heading for the door.
“I told you this would be a good idea,” Cho smirks over at me as we climb into Katherine’s old Muggle car. “You feel better already.”
I give a small smile in response, because really, I’m not feeling much better at all. I still have a nagging feeling that Draco won’t be on the Hogwarts Express next week, and I know how much it’ll kill me if I have to wait even longer to see him.
~*~
“Hurry up, Cassie! The train leaves in twenty minutes, move!”
“I coming!” I scream down the stairs, throwing a random pile of clothes into my trunk hastily. I snap the clasps shut and lug the heavy trunk out my bedroom door as fast as I can.
Even though I’ve been looking forward to this day for almost four months, I’m no more prepared for it than I am every other year.
My trunk bumps against each step as I race down the stairs. As soon as I reach the bottom, my dad leaps upon it and begins dragging it through the living room.
I’m pulling my hair away from my neck in an attempt to cool off when my mother appears out of nowhere. She grabs my hand and is starting to pull me toward the living room frantically when she suddenly stops and looks at me in awe.
I stare back at her, wondering what the heck is going on. “Mum, we gotta go—“
“Cassie,” my mother whispers, smiling broadly. “You’re wearing makeup, honey!”
“Uh—does it really matter?”
“But you haven’t worn it all summer!” she exclaims, grabbing my cheeks and checking out my eyeliner. She raises her eyebrows and squeals suddenly, “You’re trying to impress someone! A guy!”
“Mum, you’re squishing me—“
My mother pulls away and claps her hands together happily. “Oh, I’m so happy for you! What’s his name?”
“Mum—“
I’m saved from having to think up a random boy’s name, because my father starts yelling from the living room that we have to hurry up or we’ll miss the train. Ducking under my mother’s arms, I walk quickly into the living room, my cheeks undoubtedly burning red.
My dad holds his hand out impatiently, and I grab a hold of it. I roll my eyes as my mum walks briskly into the room, smiling happily. Great.
As soon as she grasps my dad’s hand, there’s a loud crack, and we disappear from the living room. When I open my eyes again, Hogwarts students are bustling around me, the train’s steam wafting up to the ceiling. We haven’t gone through the brick wall entrance since my second year; my mother’s convinced that Apparating here is much more classy.
We get my trunk onto the train without much difficulty, and then come our dreaded goodbyes. My mum gets emotional, as usual, but I manage to get away as fast as I can.
My eyes have constantly been searching the crowds for Draco, but I haven’t seen any sign of him yet. I board the train and almost crash into Cho, who’d been trying to get past a nervous first year.
Grabbing onto her arm to steady myself, I give a quick smile and say hurriedly, “Will you save me a seat? I want to look for Draco.”
“You want to look for him already?” Cho smirks, then continues, “Yeah, yeah, I get it. I’ll see you later, alright?”
Once she’s disappeared down the crowded aisles, I turn the other way and begin the lengthy search for Draco as the train whistles loudly, taking off for Hogwarts.
Getting through the aisles is hell, but I manage to check nearly all the compartments. The Slytherin area is a dead end; Draco isn’t in there, and all the Slytherins give me death glares.
My heart plummets inside my chest as I shut the last compartment door. Tears prick at the back of my eyes as I slump against the side wall, the train rocking me slightly. Draco isn’t anywhere on the train…he hasn’t come back to Hogwarts.
He’s broken his promise to me.