Author:?
Dear Mother,
How is brother Angelo? And sisters Felicita and Ernesta? Send them my regards. I be with them in my dreams.
It has come to my attention that you have requested me home. I am afraid to tell you that I cannot leave – I am terribly busy with my schoolwork. I hope you can understand. The Headmaster has informed me that he denied your request. Please, do not panic or hold a trial in the Ministry – he is merely concerned for my O.W.Ls.
As for Draco…Mama, I wish I could describe how heartbroken I am, and it is his fault, not mine. I know it does not matter what I feel, but I wish you’d understand and let me deal with this on my own. I promise that our quarrel will not affect the Chavarone and Malfoy relationship, you have my word.
It is getting late. I will send this in the morning.
I love you all,
(Name)
Putting the quill down you rubbed your tired (colour) eyes, skimming the letter for one last time before folding it and putting it into your robes pocket. You picked up your supplies from the table, blowing out the lonely candle that provided you light.
You had stopped by the Library and convinced the grumpy woman to allow you a couple of minutes alone. Begrudgingly, she agreed.
You thanked her again whilst she only dismissed you, and soon you exited the semi-warm library into the chilly corridors of Hogwarts. You wanted to be alone while you wrote to your mother – the topic was delicate, she was a fiery woman and you needed to pick your words wisely. Hopefully, she will leave you alone.
You didn’t pass anyone all the way to the dungeons where you noticed a couple of second years snooping around and hiding from prefects. You sent them a disapproving look as they greeted you with bright and adventure driven smiles.
You didn’t stop to chat.
~*~
You lazily opened your tired eyes to stare at the dull curtain that separated you and the chatting girls in your bed chamber. Mona’s voice was energetic and squeaky, whilst Millicent’s was still riddled with sleep. The other girls, you never bothered to learn their names, were eagerly talking about one thing or another, something boring and not worth even an ounce of your attention – their families, or more specifically, the pure-blood ties to the fashion world. You were a bit surprised how Pansy stayed quiet.
You sat up, yanking the curtain open. Covering your eyes from the hurting light, you groggily yawned, making the females around you greet you immediately. You found yourself teetering at the edge of your bed, your fellow students eyeing you careful. Minus Pansy, of course…speaking of which, where is she?
Draco. You tried to swallow the bitterness but it still reflected on your face upon remembering the dreaded day a couple of weeks, no, months ago when you had officially ended any and all relationship with Malfoy. It still hurt – seeing Pansy latching to him like a leech – but you knew very well that he needed a lesson or two on how to treat and respect his girlfriend. That is, if he even cared about you anymore.
“You’re up late, “ Mona inquired, her narrowed orbs sparkling with suspicion. She licked her dry lips, leaning in on her bed and tilting her head to the side, “And you got back late too.” Her statement was met with encouraging glances and low murmurs of ‘yes!’ and ‘I heard her come in too!’. Your features softened – mouth relaxing as you lovingly gazed at your dark haired friend.
“Are you implying something?” You asked. Mona grinned.
“Oh please, don’t you give me that look, Chavarone.” Mona said, “Everyone knows you’ve been cosy with Potter ever since you broke up with Draco.”
“We’re just friends.” You told, “I’m not cosy with anyone.” The girl rolled her eyes, glancing at Millicent.
“Can you believe her?” The question was rhetorical, so the chubbier girl only gave a light shrug, sending a look your way. The girls’ chambers fell quiet, until the same chirpy girl started boating about her aunt as a ‘France fashion icon’. You sighed, relieved that the topic was over – you never were a person who could open up easily, even if you did consider Mona and Mili your friends. Then again, you certainly had your reasons – just look at Draco and Pansy, a girl you once called your bestest friend in the whole wide wizarding world was now trotting around school hand in hand with your (ex)boyfriend!
Your relationship with Harry Potter wasn’t a secret, it was more of a hush-hush matter – people were gossiping about it, but never within a hundred-meter radius of you. Even if there were claims of more than just friendly matters between you two, they were harshly denied either by you, Harry or the ever growing number of your admires.
The attention, which you hated so much at first, became almost pleasant when no one looked at you with fear in their eyes – mostly because of Draco – and now led you on with a smile and even a friendly ‘Hello’. You tried your best to be the best, but not because you wanted people to like you. No…You wanted Draco to burn with envy each time he’d lay his steel grey irises on you.
You finished tying the heavy scarf around your neck, looking yourself up and down in the mirror before a pleasant red glow heated your cheeks – it started getting hot. You glanced at Mona, impatiently waiting by the door and murmuring something about ‘being late’ and ‘everyone will leave without us’ or something along those lines.
“If you want Draco to lose his marbles you’re on the right track now please, (Name), please, let’s go.” She whined yet again, and cracking a smile you finally moved out the door. Gliding down the stairs you were met with a semi empty common room and soon you exited it completely, your squad following after you. Taking out a small permission slip from your pocket, you gave it to professor Snape once you caught up with the rest of the school.
“Nice of you to make it on time, Miss Chavarone.” He said, moving past you to get the other slips. Your eyes roamed the big crowd – most of the school was here, minus the first and second years, of course. They weren’t allowed in Hogsmeade yet.
The wind was cold and harsh to your exposed skin, making you curl up, pushing your libs closer for warmth. You weren’t the only one, at least – Mona was holding hands with an unnamed Slytherin cutie whilst some other girls were hugging their sides to stay warm. Fall was finally ending.
The walk to Hogsmeade was uneventful – your ears were buzzing with seemingly mindless chatter and you had had an urge to hex the same Slytherin girl in your clique that started the ‘wizard-fashion’ topic again. When you finally reached the small town, though, that’s when you truly felt happy.
Leaving the castle grounds was refreshing and most certainly needed since you had been so tense for the past couple of months – being without Draco tore you apart slowly, but you couldn’t bring yourself to forgive him, whilst he couldn’t swallow his pride and apologise. Once the crowd dimmed you disappeared, mingling with the townies and ignoring the frantic calls of your name.
You stumbled up a hill, a road that was empty and let you be alone for a bit. You reached the infamous Shrieking Shack, stopping to stare once your (colour) eyes first noticed it. No wonder no one ever came here – the atmosphere was eerie.
Your ears picked up distant footfalls, but you didn’t bother to see who was coming here. You continued to admire the old structure – albeit creepy, yet oddly fascinating.
“(Name)” a soft whisper of your name startled you, making you shriek when you snapped your head to the cause of the noise – your left shoulder. You stared in disbelieve – was it a ghost? Has it come to greet you from the Shrieking Shack?…But wait…the voice sounded…familiar-
Right in front of your eyes stood Harry Potter and you were positive he wasn’t there a second ago. You stared, rooted in place, only after he cleared his throat awkwardly did you blink at him, pointing the weirdly coloured cloak in his hand.
“Is that the-“ You didn’t have to finish your sentence – he nodded immediately. A small smile curled at the corners of your lips, sudden heat striking your cheeks from embarrassment “You frightened me…”
“Sorry…” he mumbled. Silence settled between the two of you. Shifting from foot to foot your eyes wandered down the dirty road and then up the rooting wood of the most haunted house in the wizarding world, thinking of what to say – sadly, nothing interesting came to mind.
“You…” glancing at Harry, you approached the subject delicately “shouldn’t be here, right…?”
“Yeah,” He answered, motioning to the cloak “but I wanted to go anyway.”
“Umbridge has you in a tight grip.” You said, light-hearted.
“You have no idea.”
“I do, actually,” You admitted, “She comes over for dinner often – my parents find her pathetically amusing. I have to act accordingly, you know, respect and all, and she loves to comment about how I do this and that wrong” you turned away from him, gazing into the distance “-she’s only this sweet to me in school. Afraid I’ll tell my mother.” Harry snorted, making you smile lightly as you glanced at his cape “My brother had one of those… it never actually worked.”
“It was my dad’s.” Harry said. You nodded, not really sure how you should reply “I wanted to run away from the castle, to be honest.” The tar haired boy moved past you, finding a bench near and taking a seat. Sighing, he looked back at you “It started to feel like a prison, you know?”
You have no idea… you thought to yourself, strolling to him and taking a seat beside the infamous boy. Gazing at him, you wondered how the two of you became so close – for your whole life you viewed him like nothing else but Draco’s enemy, but ever since your fateful encounter with The-Boy-Who-Lived on the train that perception you had started to change. And now…well, now he was not a nobody anymore. He was your friend.
And perhaps even…No, no…The only you liked was Draco – that would never change, and yet… Looking into his forest green eyes you found them much more appealing, much warmer and much more loving. Turning your gaze away, you fiddled with your fingers, thinking of something to say. The silence was pleasant, but for some strange reason you yearned to hear his voice.
The harsh wind hit your body yet again, making you shiver and unconsciously scoot closer to the boy beside you. Your cheeks were bright red, either from the look he gave you or the cold, you couldn’t tell. You nearly jumped when you felt an arm hug your side, pushing you closer. Your body flooded with warmth and a minty scent that no doubt emitted from Harry Potter. A small, timid smile curled at the corners of your lips, your (colour) irises finding his own.
“Thank you…” You murmured.
“…Yeah.” Harry mumbled, turning away “No problem.”
“You know, Harry…we should do something about Umbridge.” You said, suddenly, making him snap to you in surprise “Not hex her, or anything like that…But if He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is really loose then…we need to start learning magic on our own. Because like you said “ Your voice lost softness, your brows burrowing “-no one will protect us out there.”
He was stunned into silence, blinking owlishly before he closed his mouth. Licking his lips, he cracked a smile.
“Have I told you how bloody brilliant you are?”
“Oh please, I already know that all on my own.”
~*~
Awkward silence settled in the Chavarone manner. You sat tensed at your seat, your irises cast down to stare at the delicious food on your plate as your mother glared at you. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Draco stealing glances at you as your father tried to start a conversation with Lucius Malfoy.
You wished you had stayed in Hogwarts for Christmas.
Due to the not so recent breakup your mother had figured the best way to patch things up would be leading you on and demanding you back for Christmas. Here, you had nowhere to run. At least there was no Pansy to get on your nerves, all you had to deal was Malfoy. Maybe if you avoided him for the rest of the evening all will go well?
“It has come to my attention that the things between my daughter and you, my dear Draco, are a bit…” You tried not to flinch at your mother’s sweet voice “-tense.” Draco shot you a look, and you finally lifted your irises up from your untouched food to glare at your mother “Perhaps the two of you should go talk. It’s Christmas, after all, the time of forgiving.” She made sure to stress the last word all the while staring you down.
“I agree,” Lucius inquired, “We should be celebrating like a family.”
“Last year truly was lovely,” Your younger sister, Ernesta, inquired, sipping on her punch “We sang carols, and (Name) along with Draco were surely the best duet.”
“I say leave it be.” Your older brother, Angelo, butted in “If the ragazza doesn’t want to talk, let her do as she wishes.”
“No one asked you, Angelo.” Felicita shot.
“Enough.” Your mothers voice boomed, shushing everyone in a second. Her harsh demeanour fell yet again, and with a loving smile she turned to Draco “Take some wine, figlio, and go on to figure things out. When you come back we’ll cut the cake.” She finished firmly, leaving no room to argue
…
…
…
You couldn’t look at him. Draco put the glass of red wine down on the coffee table in the guest room the two of you were at, you staring out the window and into the raging storm outside. You tried your best to keep your breathing calm, your expression cool and collected. Hopefully, this wont last too long and you can go and have some cake. You really didn’t feel like fixing your relationship with Draco Malfoy, especially on Christmas.
The quietness of the guest room started getting heavy, nearly suffocating. The images of him and Pansy together started playing in your mind, your heart clenching at each loving look he sent her way. Your eyes were dry – was it the cold? Were it the surfacing tears? You didn’t know, all you wished was to get out, because if you open your mouth you’ll surely say something you were going to regret.
His hand on your shoulder burned like acid, making you jump lightly, startled. Snapping to him, you narrowed your intense (colour) eyes and shrugged his hand away all the while taking a step back. He sighed, frustrated.
“Look, (Name)-“
“No, I don’t want to hear it-“ You growled.
“-I’m an idiot.” He admitted, making your heart painfully thud in your chest “I messed up. Really, really badly.” Turning his irises away from you, he released an anxious breath of hot air and glanced back at you, expecting a reaction of some sorts – what he got in return was wide eyes and a disbelieving frown.
“You cheated on me with my best friend.” You declared, anger flaring up in your chest, “Draco, have you any idea of what you have done?” He rubbed his temples, as if having a headache, before he spoke again.
“I know what I did and I’m sorry-“
“An apology is not going to suddenly make it okay!” Your voice was growing louder, “Have you any idea how much I suffered?”
“Have you any idea how much I did?!”
The statement caught you off guard, your defences falling as the look of genuine hurt flashed on his face. His grey irises were pleading, his jaw tensed as if he was holding something back. You couldn’t move – the fire died down, along with your will to fight. You could never see him in pain, arguably it was your only weakness.
“I made a mistake, a big one, and I know what I did can never be justified” He told, firmly, taking a step closer as if to prove his point “But I love you, (Name), and it took me too long to realize that.” Draco was quick, his hands bringing your face closer as he smashed his lips with yours in a passionate kiss.
You felt your legs weaken, the surprise you felt replaced with the overwhelming need of his touch. Your nose filled with his scent – his musky cologne made your head spin. You hadn’t realized just how much you needed him…How much you missed him…
You gave in, letting him pin you to the cold wall that made your hot skin tingle pleasantly, moaning out his name when his lips moved from yours to somewhere more delicate.