The news about Draco's father had spread like wildfire around the school.
I couldn't help but notice that Draco had completely withdrawn himself, locking himself away in his bedroom across the last few days before summer. He only left his room to summon Crabbe and Goyle, for some reason refusing to leave the confines of the Slytherin quarters without them.
He avoided me like the plague; his eyes refusing to look anywhere near me if we happened to be in the same vicinity. It made me feel blue.
I even attempted to knock on his door once, hoping he'd at least talk to me in private.
But he never answered the door; and I didn't want to push it, respecting his need to be alone. After all, what was going on with Draco was bigger than what had happened between us.
"I'm so worried about him," Pansy wailed as we boarded the Hogwarts Express to go home, "he seems so upset about his dad."
"Well, he has been outed as a Death Eater and locked up in the most depressing place in the world." I muttered, hurling my trunk up in the luggage rack. "I think Drac's entitled to be a bit upset, don't you?"
I sat down heavily, pressing my fingertips against my forehead. I didn't know how I was going to stand nine hours of her non-stop wailing.
Pansy had clung to me like a limpet over the last couple of days. Thanks to Umbridge's little adventure in the forest, Dumbledore had been reinstated as headmaster and the Inquisitorial Squad was no more; so Pansy found herself at a loose end, especially with Draco completely turning his back on us.
All she talked about was him. She didn't even seem to notice I wasn't that keen to join in on any discussion, and so just prattled on endlessly as I hid myself behind a magazine.
It was about two hours into the journey when I realised couldn't take her any more. I got up, feigning the need for a shit, knowing she wouldn't want to accompany me for that.
I left her wrinkling her nose in disgust as I slid the compartment door closed behind me, sighing with relief.
Sauntering coolly up the corridor, I found myself glancing through the windows of compartments, telling myself I wasn't looking out for a certain white-blond haired Slytherin.
Liar.
About three quarters of the way up the train, as I went to open the door between carriages, I found myself accidentally whacking it into someone on the other side.
"Shit, sorry-"
"Watch the fuck where you're going, bitch!"
Startled, I found myself looking up into a pair of familiar cold grey eyes.
My heart instantly hammered uneasily. It had been a while since I'd been this close to him, a while since we'd even exchanged words.
I'd forgotten what a piece of shit he actually was.
"There's no need to be so fucking rude," I snapped at the Hufflepuff, my blood instantly bubbling with fury at the audacity of the bastard. "It was a simple accident."
Cedric narrowed his eyes down at me, hatred sparking in them. He was completely unrecognisable from the sweet, gentle boy he had once been before sex and power had sunk their ugly claws into him.
As soon as I thought this; Draco's face flashed into my mind. Ugh, why did life have to ruin the beautiful ones?
"Lost your little guard dog?" Cedric sneered cruelly, pushing his face down into mine. "Tell me, Zabini, how does it feel to be constantly ditched for other women? First Parkinson, then Chang - and I've got to tell you, she was fucking hot in the sack, best move I ever made exchanging you for her. And now your little ferret friend has been running after Umbridge; drooling all over her like the pathetic loser he is."
He had leant in so close that I could feel his hot breath on my cheek and smell the sickly sweet cologne that he had worn that night he tried to sleep with me. Revulsion made my stomach churn and in one swift move, I pushed him hard, wanting him as far away from me as possible.
He stumbled back, eyes widening in surprise. I immediately turned on the spot, with the intention to go back the way I came, but a hand suddenly grabbed painfully at my wrist, forcing me to whirl back round.
Before I could tell Cedric to get the fuck off of me, an angry shout from behind made us both look up in alarm.
"OI, DIGGORY!"
Draco was storming up the corridor, his face twisted in utter fury as his eyes burned with venom.
"Get your fucking hands off her, now!" He snarled, spit flying from his mouth as he reached inside his jacket for his wand.
Cedric instantly released me, grappling around for his own wand. As soon as Draco drew up to us, he pulled me out of the way, stepping in front of me as he squared up to Cedric.
I saw a flicker of apprehension in Cedric's eyes. Over the past year, Draco had caught up with him in height. In fact, he almost towered above Cedric now.
"I would be careful about who you threaten, Malfoy," Cedric said, his tone dangerously low. "Especially as it is common knowledge that your father is one big screw up."
"Don't you dare talk about my father," Draco growled menacingly, jabbing his wand hard in Cedric's chest.
"Drac," I said, cupping my fingers at his elbow and trying to coax him away, "come on, leave it."
Draco jerked his head towards me and I felt my breath catch in the back of my throat as our eyes met; my heart giving a maddening flutter.
"Yes, listen to the frigid bitch," Cedric scoffed amusedly, "she's an expert at walking away just when things are about to start getting interesting."
It had happened so fast I didn't see it coming. Draco stepped back as though he was about to retreat, but then, quick as flash, he swung his right arm round and punched Cedric hard smack bang in the centre of his face.
Cedric let out an anguished cry as he fell backwards against the wall, clutching his bloodied face in his hands.
The commotion had instantly drawn people's attention and some of them started running up the train towards us; mainly angry looking Hufflepuffs.
"Shit, come on," I hissed, grabbing Draco's arm and pulling him quickly with me in the other direction.
We ran up the corridor until I located an empty compartment and hurriedly slid open the door, pulling Draco inside with me before sliding it closed again, shutting out the sounds of the angry mob.
Once I'd pulled down the blinds and locked the door, I turned to face Draco, whose breathing, like mine, was still hard and fast from exertion.
"You didn't have to punch him." I said, leaning back against the door as I tried to catch my breath back.
"He called you a frigid bitch." Draco stated, his voice completely unapologetic.
I found I couldn't I meet his eye. Because, of course, we both knew I was far from that.
"Well... thank you," I murmured, because I didn't know what else to say. "But I could have handled him myself, you know."
"I'm sure you could have," he smirked; a touch of amusement flashing in his eyes. "But I'm never going to just stand back. You're my best friend."
"I am?" I asked, not being able to disguise the skepticism from my voice as I looked directly at him, raising an eyebrow.
His smirk instantly dropped and a look of pain flitted across his face; his eyes looking back at me regretfully. "Of course you are, Blaire," he spoke quietly, "you've always been."
I gave a heavy sigh and, suddenly feeling emotionally exhausted by everything that had happened, I moved from the doorway and took a seat. Draco watched me before following suit and took the seat opposite. Weirdly, I was reminded of that first day when we both shared a compartment just the two of us, and I found myself longing for the simplicity of life back then.
For a while we just sat, glancing sadly at one another, saying nothing.
"I've missed you," I said, eventually; not being able to bear the atmosphere anymore.
"I've missed you too," he shrugged morosely, looking down at his hands where he was absentmindedly twirling his rings on his fingers. "A lot, in fact."
His eyes flicked upwards meeting mine and, for a brief moment, the air seem to crackle between us.
I swallowed, trying my hardest not to think of that night; trying desperately to claw back what we once had.
"How are you holding up, Drac?" I asked eventually, glad to finally have the opportunity to ask him about how he was feeling about his father.
"I dunno," he sighed exasperatedly, sitting back in his seat, "just... apprehensive, I guess. And mother; I'm worried about her."
I properly looked at him then, my heart hurting when I realised just how tired and drawn his appearance had become; sunken eyes and a greyish tinge to his complexion. A look of utmost fear shrouded his features and I found I had never felt sorry for anyone more in my life before. I was shocked, not quite believing the effect his father's imprisonment was having on him.
"You know, your mother is a strong woman, Drac," I said gently, hoping my words could at least give him some degree of comfort, "stronger than most people."
"Yeah," he muttered dully; his lips tugging into a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
He fell silent again; his face dropping morosely. Clearly, he was struggling to talk about this and I felt so helpless; suddenly desperately wanting to take away his pain.
"Come on," I said, coming to a snappy decision as I leapt across the compartment to take the seat next to him.
His head shot up, and I had to suppress the bubble of laughter that rose up in my throat at the startled expression upon his face; as though he thought I was going to jump his bones again.
"Get your cards out," I grinned mischievously. "It's been a while since I've thrashed you at blackjack."
It was instant; the change in his demeanour. His face immediately softened and, this time when he smiled, it reached his eyes causing them to twinkle warmly into mine.
My heart swelled; he looked like my Draco again.
"Whatever, Zabini," he chuckled, swiftly removing a deck of cards from his trouser pocket. "I think you'll find I'm the one going to be doing the thrashing around here."
And, as he turned to face me, expertly shuffling the cards in his long slender fingers; I'm pretty sure I hadn't imagined the wicked glint in his eye.
The flip of my stomach certainly told no lies, at any rate.
*****