Song of the chapter: Love in the dark- Adele
The common room didn't see Draco's face for a month. November passed and the snow came down in blizzards but he never came out to socialize.
After hours of overthinking when I'd gotten back to the common room Halloween night, I realized how in-the-wrong I had been to say something like that. I wanted to apologize, tell him I'd always be there for him no matter what but like I said before, he never came out anymore.
The silence from him had done only one good thing for me. It had let me focus on my studies and the increasing amount of danger I was in. I'd gone to see Dumbledore a few times but he never seemed to want to talk to me. It was this lack of information that sent me running up to the divination room on a Saturday afternoon.
I knocked a few times on the door to Professor Trelawney's tower and she answered almost immediately. I blushed hard, remembering the day Hermione and I had walked out of her class and never gone back.
"Miss Grey?" she said in a whispery voice. I had to dig my fingernails into the palm of my hand to keep myself from rolling my eyes, suddenly remembering why I'd stopped taking Divination.
"Hi Professor," I muttered.
"Did you need something?"
"I was uh- hoping you could tell me a little bit about a certain prophecy."
She nodded once and let me into the heavily perfumed classroom.
"I'm guessing it is one about a witch who fits in all of the Hogwarts houses, am I correct?" she swooned, finally getting something right. I nodded, letting her continue.
"Yes well- I suppose it's you isn't it. I have always seen the way your story would play out in my minds-eye."
My eyes tried to see the inside of my skull yet again but I hid it with my hand.
"I always knew you'd be chosen by Mr. Potter. You'll fight with him until finally The Dark Lord kills you brutally," she said in a bored voice.
Although I knew better than to listen my heart still began to beat faster.
"Maybe you could explain to me how to stay alive?" I asked, trying to stay calm.
"Oh- oh my dear girl. There is no way to stay alive. If the Dark Lord wants you dead then you most definitely will die," she began to sound sympathetic.
I only nodded and stood up to leave again.
"Uh- Miss Grey!" she called.
I turned towards her again. "Yes?"
"It would be best to- move in- shall we say, with your enemy."
Confused I walked back to the common room. I stopped in front of the portrait hole.
"Pure-blood," I said, reciting the new password.
The snake-woman in the painting didn't move an inch.
"Excuse me! I said the password, may I please get into the common room now?" I asked, annoyed. She turned to look down at me.
"The password has been changed," she hissed.
"Veritaserum," a cool voice from behind me said. I spun to face the speaker and found myself gazing into Draco's cool eyes.
The portrait hole swung open but before Draco managed to get around me and go in I grabbed his hand and pulled him down the corridor.
"What do you want Grey?" he snarled, trying to break his hand free of my grasp.
I pushed him into an empty classroom and shut the door. He gave me an annoyed look.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry Draco. When I said it mattered if you were forced into being a Death Eater I meant I wouldn't want you to be forced into anything not that I would leave you if you were," I stumbled over my words but he seemed to get the message.
He walked forwards, closing the distance between us.
"I'm dangerous Evangeline. You need to leave me alone now," Draco whispered with a detached look on his face. Then, without a hesitation, he side-stepped me and walked to the common room.
Somehow these cold words didn't cut through me the way they should've. It hurt to see him walk away but I had to believe we would find our way back to each other.
That night I sat down to dinner and ate more than I had in a long time. I filled my plate with mashed potatoes, broccoli and chicken.
Draco's eyes burned red-hot on my skin but I ignored them.
The next day we brushed arms on the way to potions with Slughorn and my heart skipped a hundred beats. Draco flushed and quickened his pace. I didn't try to catch up but watched the sway in his step from my place down the corridor.
Minutes turned to hours, which turned to days. I spent all of my time studying and preparing for the holidays in which I would spend the cold days in the common room with a book.
It was Friday night and my quill scratched against the parchment in a satisfyingly clear noise. The heat from the fire burned my legs but I didn't bother to move to a chair farther from it.
"Hey Eve," Daphne said, sinking into a chair across from mine.
"Hey," I smiled, setting my quill down.
"Feels like I haven't seen you all week," she groaned.
I held up the strenuous amount of work I had for history of magic as an excuse.
"Sure sure. It's about the work load," she rolled her eyes playfully.
"What else?" I moaned.
"Maybe it's about a certain boy with moonlight like hair," she said in a fake poetic voice that was obviously an imitation of my speech.
"Uh-huh sure," I laughed.
"He seems to be just as removed from the world as you are. Is it possible you two are spending every waking moment together or am I incorrect?"
"The latter. Draco has barely said two words to me since the Halloween party a month and a half ago."
"What a bloody idiot," Daphne muttered, shaking her head.
I nodded but returned to my writing, every piece of me throbbed with pain for a moment.
"Want me to talk to him?" she offered.
"And say what exactly? 'Hey Draco my best friend wants you to like her again so go do that right now'." I remarked sarcastically.
"Bold of you to assume you're my best friend," she joked. I smiled at her. "But no really- I do love you," she said sweetly.
"Oh- well than maybe we should just date and forget all about Draco and Blaise."
"Ha ha," she groaned. "Couldn't do that to Blaise- he's too perfect. Maybe- maybe you should just talk to Draco."
"I did about a week ago. He just said he was dangerous and then left," I told her. She nodded and pulled her cheeks in, making a fish face- what she does when she's concentrating.
"Maybe he's right. Maybe it's not the smartest thing for you two to be together," Daphne muttered.
"Daph?" I said after a moment of silence.
She looked up at me. "Yes?"
"You think he's a Death Eater?"
"No! No of course not! Draco seems really tough but I don't think he's a murderer by anyone's standards."
I nodded, hoping that she was right. There were too many questions about him that, if his current behavior continued, I'd never learn the answers to.
That night seemed to stretch on and on as my hand cramped up and was roughly shaken out again so that I could continue my paper on moonstones and their healing powers for Potions class. Daphne had gone to bed hours before so I was alone in the dim common room with only the fire's noise in my ears.
I set the quill down and gazed into the fire, spacing out for a moment. I turned my eyes to my hands and began to notice every flaw of my skin and every chip in my nail polish. I didn't care much but it was a valid distraction from the hideous load of homework I still had to do.
I was frustrated and I wanted to cry more than anything. It wasn't sadness that made my eyes wet but stress and anger.
"Are you alright Miss?" a small voice I knew well asked from behind me. I turned and found Dobby with a duster in his hand, his eyes wide and worried.
"Fine!" I said, actually beginning to feel better. "Just stressed."
"Would you like some Butterbeer Miss Grey?" he asked me. I nodded and gladly took the bottle he pulled out of his shirt.
"Thanks Dobby. What are you doing here so late?" I asked. I checked my watch and noticed the time was no later than three AM.
"House elves aren't supposed to be seen Miss! They come clean up after the students go to bed. But you're still awake so Dobby gets to see you Miss Grey!" he said joyfully.
"I was needing some company. You came at the perfect time- you always do," I said kindly, remembering a time when I'd been so starving I could've fainted and Dobby had shown up with a croissant and jam.
Dobby began to clean while we talked. I helped him pick up stray parchment and trash that littered the stone floors. He seemed grateful but I was becoming more tired as the minutes ticked on.
"Miss Grey needs sleep now!" Dobby told me.
"It's true. It's way later than I meant to stay up," I moaned.
"Go to sleep Miss Grey. Thank you for helping Dobby! Dobby can finish on his own now," he said with a smile.
I have him a quick wave and stumbled up into my room. Daphne and Pansy were both fast asleep, something I was glad to see.
I climbed into bed and pulled the covers up over my chin. Within minutes I was too asleep to notice the tapping at my window or the faint sound of footsteps on the floorboards.