This chapter contains violent actions.Please read with caution.
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I watched out over the deserted hall, impatiently waiting outside of Cedric's classroom — usually, I would enjoy having a free period, generally spending it with Hermione and Luna. But not today — today was different,
I was supposed to talk to Cedric yesterday with Blaise present, but I refused. I avoided the two best friends all day, till it was too late. I refused to let Draco have his ways with me — therefore, I told Blaise that I would meet him later,
I know that there's no way Cedric would agree to anything with Blaise present. He despised them — he hated everyone that was in Slytherin. I never found out to know why he did. He never told me, but I could tell that they were competitors in quidditch, and I think that the completion followed him off the field.
At this point, I wasn't certain he'd even listen to me, not after what passed at dinner a few nights ago — he was wrong in his doings, I know he was — but he also has a bad habit of not letting things go. On my sixteenth birthday — I was gifted a lovely silver necklace from the Malfoys, and by Cedric being Cedric, he refused to talk to me until I agreed to take it off,
But I have to try talking to him, even if it bothered me — Draco defended me, he stuck up for me, even if he wanted to deny it. I owed him this — It's a funny thing, me, owing Draco Malfoy something.
The entry to the classroom flung open, and swiftly the quiet, somewhat peaceful hallway was now filled with students and noise — a trail of students shoving each other out of the way before my sights caught onto the tall, brown-haired Hufflepuff strolling past me.
He winced back as I tugged his arm, grey eyes bored through mine, wide-eyed, '' What do you want?'' Cedric spat at my startled front, yanking his arm back — I meet grey eyes as I stared at him with spite by his heartless demeanor, '' Well — speak up,''
Cedric's lip still coated bruised by the other night, '' What's your problem, Diggory? I questioned him, causing his brows to furrow, lips pressed into a firm line, '' I need you to do something for me —,''
His arms crossed over his chest as he eagerly waited for me to speak my mind, '' Why would I ever do—,''
'' Because you owe me, Cedric — because you hurt me,'' I snapped, his face slightly fell at my words as his eyes grounded, '' What you did to me — was cruel and mean, and I'm asking you to do something to make it up to me,''
He nodded at my words, still staring down at his feet, '' I need you to be quiet about what Draco did to you.'' Cedric's neck jolted up at my words as a curve arced on his lips,
'' Is that so?'' He taunted me, sounding amused by the situation, '' You want me to protect your beloved little boyfriend?'' I felt my temper failing me as I clenched my fists — not even caring about the fact that he called Draco my boyfriend, '' How about, no?''
I chewed on my bottom lip, trying to gather my temper together, '' Not even to protect your beloved little girlfriend?'' I fired back as I rose a brow, earning a shocked look from the boy — eyes bored through mine with hatred as his breaths heaved,
'' You wouldn't,'' He snapped, voice breaking in uncertainty, shoving his clenched fists into his pockets, '' You wouldn't do that,''
'' I would—,'' I smirked, leaning onto the wall behind me, twirling a curl of hair between my fingers, '' And do you know why I would do that, Cedric?''
'' Because you called me a whore, when you were the one dating Cho behind my back — you deserved what Draco did to you.'' My words left him gulping. He looked at me in disbelief running a hand through his hair,
'' Fine,'' He stated, gently placing a hand on each side of me, trapping me in his hold, '' I can keep your boyfriend's little secret, on one condition,'' He grinned evilly as he licked his lower lip, biting it after, '' Does he make you cum,''
The words leaving Cedric's tongue caused me to choke on my spit, several coughs left my throat as he stood solemn before me, heated breaths fanned my cheeks, ''Does he?''
I searched his eyes — trying to find the sweet, gentle boy I once held feelings for — but nothing. He's not the Cedric I knew anymore,
'' He did, '' I spoke, raising a brow as he furrowed his, '' While you fucked me,''
"What did you just say to me?" He shouted as a hand flew to my chin, gripping it roughly, '' I asked — what you said to me,'' His cheeks flushed in anger, nostrils flaring as he gawked intensely into my eyes,
A peel of quiet laughter left my lips at his reaction, knowing that I set him off, '' I said — he was able to make me—,'' With those words leaving my lips, something inside of Cedric snapped,
He slapped me,
He fucking slapped me,
My face ripped away from his as I sucked my breath in, once again chewing my bottom lip not to whimper in pain — my cheek flushed red as he stared at me shockingly, regret climbed his profile as he looked down at his hand, '' Leiah—, I—,'' He stuttered,
I forced myself off the wall, shoving my way past him as I turned in my shoes, '' Don't you ever touch me again—,'' My chest heavy as I stretched my hand up to cup my cheeks, '' Or Draco will be the least of your problems,''
I caught him calling out for me, trying to get me to stop, but I refused — I wanted nothing to do with Cedric anymore — he's done enough.
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I rushed my way through the crowded hallways, heading towards the great hall — repeatedly stroking my sore cheek, feeling it heated below my shaking hand —Draco can never know about this — he would kill Cedric, and he would kill me for meeting him without his blessing,
I cringed out of my thoughts as I heard a voice calling my name from afar, turning in my shoes to see Luna, hurrying up to me, '' Leiah,'' She breathed, walking closer as she rested a hand on my shoulder, catching her breath, '' I've been looking everywhere for you. You took off after class, and I couldn't—," Luna halted in her words as her sights placed on my colored cheek,
My sights ripped from hers as I stared down, swallowing thickly, '' What is that?'' Luna confronted me, tugging my arm back to look at her — her face faltered as she scored an exact look of my redden skin, '' Who did this to you, Leiah?''
I felt myself gulp — not owning the strength to tell her, but my best friend keeps a lively imagination and quickly jumps to conclusions. She spins in her shoes; silvery eyes searched the hallway around us before snapping to a certain blonde-haired Slytherin,
She marched her way towards him, shouting as she went, '' Draco Malfoy,'' Her voice tore through the noisy corridor, making students snap heads at her, '' Did you do this?''
Draco looked at her with spite, pushing himself off the wall he was leaning against — taking a stride towards the upset girl, '' How dare you to speak my name — you filthy,''
She snapped her fingers, making him hush down as he narrowed blue eyes in hers, '' Did you do this to her?'' Her words caused his face to twist in hesitancy, and then, she pointed the finger at my stunned figure,
'' Answer me, Malfoy — because if you did I swear to—,''
Draco's eyes locked to mine, ignoring every word leaving Luna's lips as he pushed past her — I turned around quickly, afraid of the temper I knew was coming down on me, taking a swift step before he yanked my shoulder back, '' Who did what to you?'' His voice ripped through my ears as he forced my arm further back, wanting me to look at him,
Brown strands of hair fell over my face as my eyes floored, feeling his eyes burning through mine, '' Look at me, Leiah,'' He demanded, sounding hostile — his impatience seized the best of him as a hand flew to my chin, arching my jaw up to match his eyes, '' What the—,''
'' Diggory?''
My insides twisted as I felt the guilt wash over me, '' Answer me, right now — did that filthy half-blood lay his hands on you?'' He already knew the answer to that question, staring intensely into my eyes as he waited to catch me in a lie — I was so startled by Draco that I didn't even notice his best friend walking up behind us,
'' Draco, please—,'' I begged, blue eyes dared mine, jaws clenched as he loosened his hold of my chin, '' You don't have to do this,''
The look he gave me at this moment caused my knees to weaken, my heart slightly pounding as I felt his minty breath match mine, '' For fuck sakes—,'' He breathed, annoyingly,
His eyes watched over his shoulder, shooting Blaise a glare — my eyes searched him, my face twisted in disbelief as his best friend nodded at his remark. Draco slowly shook his head as blue eyes found their way back to mine — a shaky breath left his lips before pressing them together into a firm line,
I heard him swallow harshly as jaws tensed, and with that, he pushed himself past me, his friend quick to follow, both storming off towards the Hufflepuff basement.
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My heart is hammered roughly within my chest, drops of sweat rushing down my pale forehead as I marched through the hallway, headed to the basement.
Stupid.
How can I be this stupid?
Draco's father will be furious with us, making our lives living hell if he establishes that Draco spent his time punching people because of me. My eyes snapped to the two best friend's walking fast before me,
" Draco, please—, " I begged through shouting, my voice scored throughout the corridor. He winced out of his violent state by the sound of my plea, peering over his shoulder as both of them clocked their necks to mine,
''Leiah—, It's really not the time to—, " Blaise rose, catching a shoe towards me, but my eyes are quickly locked in Draco's, causing Blaise to hush down.
My eyes begged his, pleading for him not to do this,
" Draco—, " I breathed, and as soon as I do, his tensed, icing hands clutched my waist, forcing my trembling self into a wall — I suffered my breaths for a fleeting moment as my spine roughy collided with the stone,
Blue eyes narrowed in mine, nostrils flaring in anger, '' What are you doing to me?'' He heaved underneath his breath, shaking his head in doubt before his stare is once again pierced through mine,
I let out a shaky breath as he stood close, feeling heavy pants fanning my shocked features — Draco's face turned to stone, jaws clenched tightly, " This is your fault — what I'm about to do, is on you," He endangered, pure venom dripped off his tongue,
I felt myself swallow, chewing on my lower lip as I stood frozen in his hold — terrified of what he would do, " Please, Draco—," I begged once more, eyes flickering over his furious front, blonde strands of hair messy over his temples,
The hold of my waist became firmer as he leaned closer, nose brushing against mine, " You should've listened to me." He spoke, voice scored low, " I told you not to meet him alone, but as the stubborn fucking mudblood you are, you had to do it," His teeth gritted at his final word, and I felt numb, my views grounded because I knew he was right,
" Look at me." He demanded, teeth still gritted, firmly pressing his body onto mine. And I do, without thought — I meet his blue eyes in a heartbeat, and a smirk formed his lips as I obeyed him,
Blue eyes flew wide over my expression, " This is on you." He spat, forcing himself off me before he poured off. His rapid, sharp footsteps echoing through the hallway as I let my body slide down the wall, my heart shattered,
I pulled my knees up to my chest, hugging myself as my figure crumbled — what have I done?
My pooling eyes failed me as a sob left my lips, " Please don't cry," Blaise begged, causing me to tilt my head up, leveling his kind, brown eyes as he kneeled beside me — He stayed.
I quickly wiped my tears, shaking my head. I felt ashamed, stupid — Draco was right, he had all right to blame me for this - I deserved it, " I'm sorry,"
Blaise stroke a comforting hand over my hair, tucking a strand of it behind my ear as he smiled at me, " No need to apologize - he's the mental one," He spoke, kindly, gesturing to his best friend that just fled us, " You have nothing to be sorry for,"
I felt a shy chuckle leaving my throat as I stared at him, " Come with me," He stood tall on his feet, reaching to grab my hand, pulling me up beside him,
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The rest of the night Blaise and I spent locked inside his room, talking — we talked about everything from him and his blonde-haired best friend, to the dress I thought to wear to the ball - he even let me put nail polish on his nails — he decided to go with black, before painting mine with a light yellow one,
He had a beautiful mind, such a kind soul, and he was kind, breathtakingly kind, and after hours of laughter — he fell asleep, with his head heavily rested on my lap. I couldn't help but cherish his charming features, his tanned skin, his dimples solidly embedded into his cheeks. He truly is beautiful, from the inside, out.
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I felt my breaths stuck in my throat as my eyes placed on the fuming blonde-haired boy, resting on the couch as I tried to sneak out of Blaise's room, unnoticed. Blue eyes immediately snapped to mine as he heard me take the last step off the stairs, '' Leaving in a hurry, are we?'' He spoke, tiredly,
Shivers fled my spine by his raspy voice as I stood frozen before him, '' Are we?'' He repeated himself, pushing his body up to sit correctly — Draco released a loud sigh, rolling his eyes at my quiet self,
'' Sit down,''
He patted the material of the furniture, indenting for me to join him in his misery, and I was hesitant at first, thinking that this was a bad idea, but his eyes narrowed in mine in the most daring way,
I seated myself on the far end, crossing my legs, '' What do you—,'' I rose, but he quickly shot me down, making me chew on my lower lip,
'' Is Blaise asleep?'' He asked, nodding in the direction of the boy's dorm, causing a strand of blonde hair to fall in his eyes,
I slightly nodded, nervously twiddling with my fingers, '' He is,'' Draco stared at me with hooded eyes, studying me purposefully for a second before we both snapped our sights away, staring into the fireplace, flames sparkling — but somehow, my eyes couldn't stay away, flickering back to him — he looked exhausted, numb, almost lifeless as he leaned his head back,
I sucked a deep breath in, '' Did you and Cedric—,''
'' No—,'' He muttered, '' I didn't—,'' His chest bent forward, elbows placed on his knees as he buried his head in his hands, '' I thought about it—, but no.''
'' I'm glad,'' I hissed as he tilted his head to look at me, brows furrowed before he pushed himself closer to me, making my cheeks flush in color by the scent of him, the smell of his minty breaths fanning my shoulder, '' I didn't mean to—,''
'' What — ignore everything I told you?'' He snapped, resting close to me, '' He laid a hand on you, and he will pay for it,'' My sights immediate grounded, scratching my forehead in embarrassment before his hand sought mine — cold fingers brushed over my knuckles,
'' He's a bloody fool — forget about him,'' My neck clocked to him again, his face clenched, but his eyes stayed soft, feeling my heart pounding because of it,
I shook my head before I quickly pushed myself off the furniture, stepping around it as his eyes followed mine, looking confused. I settled my hands on his shoulders from behind, feeling his toned muscles tensing by my touch as I leaned to trail my tongue behind his ear,
'' So are you,''
With that — I shoved myself off him, rapidly walking out of the room,
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I flung my door open, suffering my breath after almost running my back to my room — I dropped my wand as a shaky breath left my lips, by the figure standing close to the window,
'' Narcissa?'' I questioned her, remarking the brown and blonde curls in a perfect mixture, '' What are you—,'' She turned to face me — but her face shunned dark, empty and not kind as it usually did, her eyes flaming red, tears flooded her pale cheeks.
She let out a sob before stumbling towards me, ''Leiah—,'' She gasped, swallowing thickly '' Your mother—,''
My heart shattered,
" She's gone—, "
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