"I still don't understand why you'd want to go alone. You can have anyone in the school, and you would rather go by yourself." Maggie said in astonishment as she zipped the back of my satin red dress. "What are you playing? Hard to get or something?" She chuckled, not understanding my logic.

"Something like that." I said as I stared at the dress in the mirror, smoothing out all of the wrinkles. I picked up my red lipstick from the vanity in front of me and applied it.

"Ari, are you almost ready?" I shouted across the dorm room, hoping she'd hear me from inside of the bathroom.

"Yes, just a moment!" I heard her yell back from behind the closed door. We were supposed to meet Blaise in the common room in the next 5 minutes. He had said he wanted to escort both of us so I didn't feel so lonely.

If anything, I honestly think that makes all of this more embarrassing, but he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. I was perfectly fine attending this dinner party alone. I didn't care that I could have any boy in the castle. I didn't want them.

"I'm ready. Let's go." Aria said in a rush as she walked out of the bathroom. She had on a dark blue short dress that I had never seen her wear before, but I loved it.

"Okay, queen." Dani said as she looked her up and down. I let out a light chuckle.

"Let's go." I told her as I extended my hand out, waiting for her to take it. We walked out of the dorm room together and made our way down the steps.

Blaise stood in the common room, casually leaned back against one of the high top tables as he fiddled with his fingers. He looked up at us when he heard our heels on the stone steps, causing a smile to spread on his face.

"Hello, Mr. Zabini." I said in a sophisticated voice. "Pleasure running into you on this fine evening." I joked. He looked handsome, I couldn't deny it. The all black suit he had on was definitely my taste. However, I preferred how it looked on his best friend.

"Haha so funny." He joked back as he kissed Aria on the cheek warmly. "I would just like to say that I feel like a million bucks. Not only do I get to walk in with one... but TWO pieces of arm candy! People are going to think I'm THE guy." He laughed. Aria stomped on his foot aggressively. "Ow!" He cried out in pain as he grabbed his dress shoe with his hand.

"That's my best friend! That's so weird, don't say that!" She scolded him. "What? Do you want me telling Malfoy that I think he's good looking? Would that make you feel good?" She asked him, trying to prove a point. I laughed at both of their behavior, but felt jealousy rush through my veins.

I know other girls actually think about Draco in a romantic way. Everyone always did throughout the years. He was hard to get. Dashing. Had the wealth factor. And some girls liked his toxic personality, but he was mine.

But he's not. Not anymore.

"Let's get going before we are late." I said in between my laughs. Blaise hooked arms with both of us, one on each side, and led us out of the common room.

We walked through the empty halls, mine and Aria's heels being one of the few noises you could hear apart from our random conversations. Everyone else was already in their dorm for the evening or at the party.

The sound of something hitting the floor in an empty hallway next to us grabbed my attention as we walked past. I stopped in my tracks and walked a few steps backwards to re-examine it, dragging them along with me.

"Did you hear that?" I whispered, fear slightly lingering in my words. "I thought heard something."

"Oh my goodness, Jules." Blaise poked fun at me, his voice much louder than mine. "You sound like a scaredy cat. There's nothing even there." He laughed. "Probably Sir Nicholas if anything. This place is lingering with ghosts."

"Blaise, seriously." I hissed at him quietly. "Hello?" I called out louder, trying to see if someone was down the empty hallway. "Maybe they're hiding." I whispered back to Blaise and Aria, not taking my gaze off of the hall.

"Let's investigate then!" Blaise announced, enthusiastic about it. Aria shook her head in fear.

"Seriously, you two. We're going to be late." Aria tried pulling us both, but our strength won as we pulled her down the hall with us. "I don't want to. I'm scared. Bizarre things happen in this school all the time. I'm too young to die." She finally admitted, causing Blaise to unlink our arms and stop with her. I shot him a look of betrayal as he gave me a sorrowful look.

"You know whose side I have to be on." He chuckled, knowing he couldn't possibly pick me over Aria. I continued walking forward to look for the culprit of the noise. I glanced into the hidden window sills to see who it was, but they were all empty.

"Jules, come on." Blaise finally told me after a few seconds. "We really do have to go." I let out a sigh of defeat, knowing he was right.

I glanced into one last window sill before I let out a scream of fright. I quickly cut my squeal off and covered my chest when I got a better luck at who it was.

"What on Earth are you doing here?" I asked Draco as he sat in the corner, hiding something that was in his hand.

"Why the fuck do you always have to be in my business? Seriously, you need to let this obsession go. Enough is enough." He spat at me. "Just leave me the fuck alone for once, Brown!" He yelled at me. Sadness washed over my face momentarily before I pushed it aside. My face locked up as I felt sudden anger rushing through me. I was tired of his bipolar behavior.

"You're such a prick." I seethed at him. "I don't even know why I let this behavior surprise me anymore. It comes with your namesake. Once a Malfoy, always a fucking Malfoy." I shook my head, hating the person he had become. He was just like his father after all. Poor Narcissa has to be stuck with these two for life. I give her props.

A devious smirk spread across Draco's face as he bit the inside of his cheek. He nodded his head slowly as he broke eye contact with me, twisting the stem of a small green apple in his hands as he looked down the hall.

"You know, it's so funny that you would say that." He started, his voice cold as his smirk widened. This won't be good. "Because I know for a fact that if I offered the name to you, you'd come crawling right back to me and you'd take it in a heartbeat." He laughed at me, saying the sentence loud enough for our friends down the hall to hear. "Still not over that crush yet, are we, Princess?" He mocked me. His dark eyes stared into mine, enjoying the pain that they had caused.

I felt tears brim into my eyes from embarrassment. I tried my hardest to keep them in, but my entire face turned into a pout. I hated how mean to me he enjoyed being. I hated that he was right. I hated that he just announced it in front of my best friends, knowing that our relationship was always our business and nobody else's.

"I fucking hate you." I croaked out, turning away from him and storming back down the hallway. I avoided eye contact with my friends as I walked towards them.

"Jules-" Blaise tried making me feel better about it, but I snubbed him. I linked my arm with his and pretended like nothing had even happened. I gently patted my tears, trying not to smear my makeup.

"Let's go." I told them, anger lingering in my voice. They didn't question anything else, just turned and made our way towards the party once again.

We walked into the room as it was decorated with different types of colors and drapes. It looked lovely. I felt the feelings of sadness and anger that Draco given to me wash away quickly as a smile spread on my face.

"Picture!" Slughorn said out of nowhere. He pulled me away from Blaise and turned me around to face a giant camera. We stood side by side, smiling as the flash went off.

"You next, Mr. Zabini!" He told him. Blaise took my spot and smiled for his picture as well. "Thank you both so much for coming!" He said in excitement. The old man is a kook, but he is sweet. I smiled at him as Blaise responded for the both of us.

"Thank you for having us, sir." Blaise nodded at him. Thank Merlin one of my friends is smart enough to go through these Slug Club events with me. I'm not sure that they would be nearly as bearable.

Slughorn quickly walked away from the three of us, heading towards Harry who had just made his way in to the entrance with Luna Lovegood. I grabbed a drink off of a tray that was passing by, thanking the boy who carried it. I let out a slight chuckle.

"Neville, how did you get roped into this?" I joked. I hadn't talked to Neville Longbottom in years. We were seated together in potions once. I thought he was nice, I didn't mind him one bit.

"Long story." He chuckled as he walked off, continuing his rounds with the appetizers.

"Well, this is... interesting." Aria laughed as she looked around the room. "Are all of those stupid dinners you two go to this boring?" She asked us, pity on her face.

Blaise and I nodded our heads rapidly, an exaggerated look of annoyance on our faces. She laughed loudly at our reactions to her question.

"Now I see why you two stick together so much." She laughed. She looked around the room to see who else was here. I turned my attention to Snape who was talking to Cormac and Harry. Git probably got himself in trouble again.

The party was interrupted when there was clattering at the front of the room.

"Take your hands off of me, you filthy squib!" Draco spat at Filch who had a hold of the back of his suit jacket. I let out a long groan of annoyance.

"Professor Slughorn, sir." Filch greeted him. "I just discovered this boy lurking in an upstairs corridor." Filch said with pride. He loved getting students in trouble. It was the only excitement he got to see in his days.

"Christ." Blaise mumbled under his breath.

"He claims to have been invited to your party." Filch told him. Slughorn looked at Draco in confusion. There was no way Draco was even passing potions, let along be invited to this party. Draco started to panic, causing my gut to make the decision for me and help him out.

"I invited him. He's my guest." I blurted out, causing everyone's attention to turn to me. I'm going to regret this. Draco's face fell as he realized that I had taken the fall for him.

"Is that true, Mr. Malfoy?" Snape questioned him slowly. Draco's demeanor stiffed once more as he looked at Snape.

"Yes. Now have this scoundrel release me! I already feel bad enough for being late as it is." Draco spat towards Filch who let go of his jacket. He readjusted his suit with disgust on his face as he looked around the room at the other students.

He stormed over towards me after a moment, anger on his face. I knew I was in for it, and quite frankly I wasn't in the mood to fight with him once more. He grabbed a hold of my arm and pulled me to the side slightly.

"Why would you do something so stupid?" He seethed at me quietly. I looked up at him in confusion.

"I just saved your ass. Don't thank me or anything. Especially after how you treated me less than half an hour ago." I whisper shouted at him. Aria and Blaise just stared at the two of us awkward as we fought one another for the second time this hour. This wasn't unusual behavior for us at all at this point.

"Merlin, Juliet!" Draco said back quietly. "How many times do I have to tell you that I want nothing to do with you in my life before you finally listen!?" He asked me. "Stop sticking up for me! Stop trying to help me! Stop trying to keep me around! I don't want to be your friend!" He told me honestly. I felt my face clench up, ready to give him an earful back. I was interrupted by Snape who had placed his hand on Draco's shoulder, stopping our bickering immediately.

"A word, Mr. Malfoy." Snape said, as he pulled Draco towards the exit of the room whether Draco wanted to leave or not. I turned to look at Blaise and Aria who both looked at me with apologetic faces. My breathing was still escalated as I was still on edge.

"He has a point, you know." Aria told me. I scrunched my face up, trying to see the point that she was trying to make. "When will you realize you two just shouldn't be friends?" She asked me. I scoffed at her, not wanting her opinion on the matter in the first place. She doesn't get it. Nobody gets it.

Blaise gave me a weak smile, knowing he had already tried giving me the same talk weeks ago. I let out an annoyed sigh as I looked at both of them.

"I need some air." I said as I pushed through the crowd and headed towards the exit. I walked down the hallway, not sure where I was going, but knowing I needed to get as far away from that party as I could.

"How many times do we have to discuss this?" Snape said in the distance. I came to a stop in my tracks, peaking my head around the corner to see Snape at the other end of the hall lecturing Draco. I pulled my head back and stood with my back against the wall.

"You. Cannot. Be near her." Snape said slowly. Draco didn't answer. "You're putting her in danger, and you're distracting yourself. You're scared, Draco. You attempt to conceal it, but it's obvious." Snape told him.

"I'm not going near her. She keeps coming to me. I'm not trying to- I don't mean- ugh!" Draco stopped trying to come up with words to say. I felt confusion cross my face as I tried making sense of the conversation.

It was obvious that Draco was a wreck, but why did he have a reason to be scared? What was going on that he would keep it from me like this? Especially since I just heard Snape talk about me, so it's not like I'm not involved.

"Let me assist you." Snape said. "I made a vow, Draco. I assured your mother that you would leave the girl alone and that you would get this done. I'll say it again. Let me... assist you." Snape told him slowly. I held my breath as I listened to their conversation.

"No!" Draco cut him off. "This is my moment." Draco huffed. I peaked my head back around the corner and saw that Draco was gone. He must have already ran off from Snape, who stood in the hallway alone.

I quickly fled from the scene and ran back to the party in the opposite hallway. My stomach was twisting and flipping from the conversation that I probably shouldn't have just overheard. I was more curious than ever now.

Merlin, Juliet. GET IT INTO YOUR HEAD ALREADY. STAY OUT OF IT. Stay away from him. It's for your own good! Stop worrying about him all the time. Let. It. GO!

I ignored my own thoughts as I met back up with Blaise and Aria who were making their way out of the party.

"Are you okay?" Blaise asked in concern. "You look like you've seen a ghost." I stuttered to think of words, but nothing came out. "Did you actually run into Sir Nicholas this time? Or was it somebody else?" Blaise chuckled. "Hopefully not Myrtle. Did you use the restroom?" He joked, but I didn't find humor in to. Aria put the back of her hand against my forehead when she could sense that there was actually something wrong with me.

"Merlin, you're burning up. I think you're running a fever." She told me, rubbing her hand down to my cheek. I took a deep breath, finally mustering up the strength to speak.

"Yeah." I choked out. "Something like that." I could feel the sweat pooling off of me as I worried about Draco more than I had before. Something had obviously happened to him, and I was tired of his lying. There were so many possibilities though, I couldn't just come up with assumptions on what it could've been.

"I think I'm just ready to go home." I lied to them. "I don't feel very good." Which wasn't entirely not true. I don't feel good. At all. The churning in the pit of my stomach was enough to make me want to throw up.

"Well, let's get you to bed then. The train will be off in the morning and then you can get away for a few weeks." Aria gave me a weak smile, wrapping her arms around me as she led me towards the dungeons.

•

"What do you mean you're leaving me here alone?!" I screamed at my mother. I had tear stained cheeks as I walked towards her down the hall. My face was so puffy, and I could feel how swollen my vocal cords were from all the yelling I had done throughout the day.

This had been the worst Christmas ever. Absolute hell compared to the last one I had with Draco and Pansy. All my family had done was fight with each other the entire day. They were making me feel awful.

"We have work to do, hun. You'll be fine here on your own." My mother assured me once again, meeting my father in the foyer. I looked at both of them in disbelief. That had been their argument all day. That I would be fine.

"We have hardly spent any time together my entire winter break and you are leaving me on Christmas evening!" I argued with her. "How am I supposed to be fine? No other child has to live like this! You're never even home anymore! Why didn't I just stay at Hogwarts?!" I screamed at both of them. They didn't show an ounce of pity as they looked back at me. They didn't care that this was hurting me. They only cared about themselves.

"You need to learn to be a little more grateful for the things you do have. At least you have both parents around when you do. Poor Draco-" My mother tried lecturing me once more but I cut her off.

"Oh my fucking- IT'S ALWAYS POOR DRACO! It always has been! You have always put Draco above me! And guess what? His mother is with him 24/7 right now! That's more attention than I get!" I yelled at her. "I pity him, too, okay? I have always cared for him when no one else did! More than anyone else does! I take care of him! I watch out for him at school now because he's slacking off so bad! AND HE FUCKING HATES ME ANYWAY! SO I GET ABSOLUTELY NOTHING OUT OF OUR ONE SIDED FRIENDSHIP! WHEN CAN IT JUST BE MY FUCKING TURN TO GET EVERYONE'S LOVE AND AFFECTION?!" I screamed, going absolutely ballistic at this point. My tears streamed down my face at a rapid pace as fury burned through my entire body.

"Language!" My mother said in a more stern voice. I just shook my head at her as I drew in an uneven breath. I couldn't believe any of this was happening.

"Duty calls, my love. We're already late. I'm sorry." My father said before they apparated out of the house. I sobbed harshly as I realized that I was officially home alone. The manor was dark and cold as I walked back towards my bedroom.

My parents had only appeared at the house this morning, already being gone all week long. They watched me open my many Christmas presents in the living room and ate a small meal with me this afternoon for lunch, but now they were gone again. Who knew when they'd be back. How is that even fun?

I practically lived here alone. The only ones to keep me company were the elves that were too scared to even hold a conversation with me.

I threw myself down on my bed and curled up in a ball under my large comforter. I cuddled with my fuzzy blanket and cried about everything that I had been holding in for months. I was so sick of this shitty life that I had been dealt. I would give up all of my money and fortunes if it meant that I could live a happy life like my friends did.

I wanted to love someone. To be loved by anyone. A boyfriend. My parents. I just wanted affection. It wasn't too much to ask for. I just wanted the bare minimum from somebody.

You could have it. If you'd just let Draco go.

But I can't. He's all I want. I can't let him go.

I closed my eyes and waited to fall asleep. I didn't care what time of the day it was, I just wanted to close my eyes forever. I hated my life and everything about it.

Who would have ever thought that the only normalcy I'd have in my life would come from that bloody school I attend.