THE SUN BURNED HOT on her face as Hermione threw the curtains of their dormitory open.
"Get up!" said Hermione, already stalking over to her four-poster. "We have a big week ahead of us."
Trying to see through the agonizingly bright light, Eden squinted her eyes. Hermione paced around the small dormitory. She could see her coffee curls dangling around her shoulders, but the light that blazed through the windows made everything blurry.
Hermione rattled on. "It's our last week at Hogwarts. Have you seen that article in the Daily Prophet?" she huffed. "Oh, of course, you haven't, you were fast asleep."
A headache loomed in the back of her brain as she mustered the strength to sit up. Hermione's garrulous chatter wasn't helping matters either.
Hermione prodded her shoulder with the Daily Prophet.
"Read it." She urged.
Eden scanned the title of the article.
HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED RETURNS!
Hermione stood in front of her, blathering on and on, but reading about what had happened at the Ministry was making her relive everything. It was as though the horrible pain she'd felt when Bellatrix Lestrange cursed her, seeped into her limbs again. She felt it prickle, like the tremors of the Cruciatus Curse had never left her body. She watched Neville's blue eyes turn horrified, and rollback. A flash of red and green collided mid-air, and the red filled her sight. It blocked out everything else. Stark against the monochrome of black, with manic laughter that bellowed between her ears.
Shut up.
It only grew worse.
Eden looked up at Hermione, the movements of her lips were blurring now too. Eden couldn't make out a word of what Hermione was talking about.
Black hair.
Pain.
Red spells.
Thoughts of that night accelerated through her head. A burning sensation filled up her lungs as she struggled to breathe.
"Breathe for me. You can do it." Malfoy had said. She tried picturing the blonde. Tried feeling his sharp cheekbones resting against her forehead as he rocked her trembling body.
But Lestrange was laughing again.
And she couldn't breathe.
The edges of Hermione's face became even blurrier than they were before.
Colour threatened to leach out of everything.
And then, he was there. A lighting scar rippling across his forehead, emerald eyes peering worriedly through spectacles. His hands grabbing her shoulders.
"Calm down." He demanded.
His voice cut through the blurring.
She was gasped for air now, clutching her hands to her throat, trying to release an invisible force that was choking her.
Harry took her hands in his. He was warm. "Calm down," he soothed. "You're okay now."
Hermione's distant and muffled voice became clearer.
"I knew I shouldn't have shown her the Prophet!" she was saying bitterly. "She needs to lie down. We don't want her to have another seizure."
Adrenaline coursed through her veins. A seizure?
She was breathing rapidly again.
Harry climbed on the bed, lodging his knees between her shoulder blades.
"That's it," Hermione said, inching closer towards the bed. "Now hold her head up."
Harry's hands wrapped around her jaw, steadying her. Air flooded through her lungs again.
They were both hushing her, and Hermione pulled her lips apart, emptied a vial in her mouth.
It was bitter.
And everything stopped. She slid down Harry's chest, resting her head on his lap.
"I'm sorry." She whimpered.
"That's rubbish! Don't feel sorry! It's not like you can help it!" Hermione said as she joined them on the bed.
Eden squeezed her eyes shut, holding back tears. She hated feeling weak. Feeling weak made her feel like a child. She felt utterly pathetic. While they saved the day, she was struggling mentally with one curse.
How did they do it? How did they go on with their lives after all the fucking torture?
"See? You're fine now." Hermione whispered, stroking a strand of hair out of her face.
Eden swallowed the lump forming in her throat.
Her dry lips parted uselessly. You're fine now. If only she truly was. Instead of arguing, she jerked a half nod.
Hermione and Harry shared looks, and they sat there for a while, in silence.
Hermione crawled behind her, spooning her. Harry, on the other hand, seemed like he didn't want to let go of her. His hands were firmly trained on her shoulders like he was preparing for another fiasco.
After a while, he carefully let go of her body, as if she might break apart. He then lay himself in before her.
The silence was dreadful.
They treated her like a porcelain doll.
The door burst open, and Ron swept into her range of vision.
"I think I've waited long enough now," he said, closing the door behind him. "Hey! Are you hugging without me?"
He looked horrified and offended at the same time.
She stifled a faint giggle.
"Ah, she smiles! That's much better now, isn't it?" Harry chuckled.
Ron dived on the bed, the cushions flying everywhere. All three of them grunt.
"There'll be no cuddling without me." He stated, crawling behind Hermione.
Eden laughed as the three of them sandwiched her into a hug.
"Ugh! Get off!" She screeched.
They looked at each other before yelling, "Never!" And they dived in for a bigger hug, laughing uncontrollably.
"No, seriously! The bed will break." she grinned.
"Alright alright," Ron chuckled, already climbing out of the bed. "We need to get to breakfast anyways."
He straightened out the creases on his sweater.
Harry placed his hand against Eden's forehead, brushing away a lock of hair. "I'm always here for you. You know that, right?"
He seemed so worried.
It was like she was going to be the one he'd lose next.
Her breath caught, and she blinked back tears.
Slowly, she pushed herself up.
He helped her up and Hermione sped over to her.
***
The corridors were bustling with life; students were laughing and chattering loudly. It made her feel on edge because the subject was not something to be excited about.
"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"
"Is he actually back?"
Eden swallowed as acid rose from her stomach up to her throat.
Calm down, Hogwarts is safe, she convinced herself as she walked to the Great Hall with trembling knees.
Thankfully, at breakfast, the Gryffindors were busy talking about the Quidditch match against Ravenclaw that evening. Eden had never really been interested in Quidditch, but at least listening to the others' excitement took her mind off the Ministry.
She was poking at a piece of cold toast that lay on her plate when a light thump filled the pockets of her pants. It startled her, and she carefully slid her hand into her pocket.
A piece of parchment?
She rustled the paper between her fingers, trying to be sure of it.
Eden glanced around the table, to make sure nobody noticed what she was doing, but they were all too caught up in the conversation.
She casually brushed away a lock of hair and slowly pulled the paper from her pocket.
It was a tiny, folded-up piece. A note perhaps?
She nervously fumbled it between her fingers, opening it.
Meet me on the seventh floor tonight, at eight.
It wasn't signed and her mind spun around the possibilities as she gazed around the hall, scanning every student.
A platinum-haired Slytherin was looking at her. Her gaze froze on him for a moment and he stared right back at her, a subtle grin playing over his lips. He was playfully twirling his wand between his fingers, letting her know he had sent the note. She jerked her gaze back up to his eyes and he gave her a faint smile before turning back to his cold expression and rolling his eyes at something Zabini said.
She nervously wet her lips, and discretely tucked the note back into her pocket.
"You've not touched your food, you have to eat." Harry suddenly blurted.
She snapped out of thought and saw Harry staring at her untouched plate. She grabbed the piece of toast and nibbled at its edges.
"I'm not watching the game tonight," she said slowly." I'll probably rest and catch up with some homework. I missed a few lessons while I was in the hospital wing."
"Do you need help? I could skip the match," said Hermione, already packing her bag.
"No!" she said too harshly. Hermione looked taken aback. "Please, don't mind me! Go and enjoy the match. I'll be fine."
"Well, okay, then. Let us know if you need anything."
Eden nodded vigorously. "In fact, I'll head back to the dorm now. I'm a bit tired."
She stood up from her chair a little too fast. The room spun violently as she stumbled backward, taking the chair with her.
Two strong arms grabbed her waist firmly and the world went bright again. She looked up confused, seeing that Cedric was the one holding her.
"Are you okay? I was just about to come and talk to you before you-" He sighed.
"I- I'm fine. I just need to rest." Eden said, looking at her friends, who seemed more worried by the minute.
"Let me help you." Cedric offered. He slowly let go of her waist before taking her arm. Eden gave one last glance towards the Slytherin table and saw Malfoy turning white as he gave Cedric a dangerous glare.
She quickly turned her head towards Cedric and muttered a quick thank you.
At the stairs, she found her legs couldn't climb. She clutched her hand firmly around Cedric's arm.
Her eyes drifted up to him. He truly was amazing. After everything she'd put him through, he was still here trying to make sure she was okay.
"I've been so worried about you," he said. "I'm sorry I didn't visit you in the hospital wing. I wasn't allowed in."
"Don't be sorry," Eden swallowed. "It's not your fault."
"I shouldn't have shouted at you that night. If I'd known you..." He stopped talking.
What? Might have died?
She met his gaze. "It's fine Ced, you couldn't have known. Besides, it was my fault. You had every right to be angry with me." she sighed. "You still have every right to be angry with me-"
"But I'm not." He interrupted. "We'll talk about it another time when you're better."
She nodded.
She muttered the password of the common room and hugged Cedric goodbye. She needed to rest. For tonight. For Draco.
She crawled in bed and dozed off into a heavy, dreamless sleep.
***
Eden sat up, rubbing the remainders of sleep from her eyes, and looked out at the horizon. Vivid light extended across the rosy sky. It didn't hurt; the light, her head. The headache was finally over.
She stepped into the shower and turned the dial, releasing dozens of drops that darkened her hair and trickled down her back. She thought about Malfoy and couldn't help the strange feeling that settled in her stomach. It was the first time in days that she felt better and it couldn't have been more perfectly timed.
It was eight o'clock and Hogwarts felt ghostly. Everyone was outside, watching the Quidditch match. She'd waited a while in the common room, making sure nobody would notice her sneaking out.
She pushed open the portrait and to her surprise, Draco Malfoy was waiting right in front of it.
Eden gulped nervously as he lifted his head towards her.
He pressed his lips together in a fine line and glared. "You didn't expect me to let you walk alone, all the way up to the seventh floor after you almost fainted just from getting up off a chair?" He grabbed her arm firmly.
Her heart skipped a beat and she wanted to make fun of him, but she thought best not to spoil it.
A heavy silence followed as they walked up to the seventh floor, but on the inside, Eden was bursting with curiosity.
When they arrived, nothing was there. She flashed her eyes at him, not fully understanding why he'd brought her up here.
He let go of her arm and walked up to a wall. He walked around a bit and then a large brown door appeared in front of him.
Eden's eyes widened. "Where are we?"
"The Room of Requirement. I believe you've heard of it." He turned towards her.
Her pulse pounded excitedly.
"I told you I'd take you on a date before." He said, clearly reading her.
She walked over to him as he opened the door.
In the room, a very comfortable-looking sofa was set in front of a big crackling fire. It was somehow similar to the common room except that here, everything had a touch of green to it. On a soft rug in front of the fireplace, an expensive-looking bottle of red wine winked at her.
Eden gulped nervously as she looked at Draco. His face seemed paler than ever and his eyes gazed at his feet. He seemed nervous too.
She bit her lip and whispered, "I love it."
Omg I hate this chapter LMAO. Bare with me, it gets better (:
Also... smut incoming teehee.