a rose by any other name

chapter twenty-eight ❃ time passes

The school year passed pretty quickly, October soon turned into July and now the last day of the school year was now in only two days, only two days until everybody could finally go home and see their families. Well, except for me, I wouldn't be leaving, I would spend my whole summer in the place I loved the most and that I was grateful for. The last eight months had been... dreadful. After Christmas, which I also spent at Hogwarts, I had to return to my lessons which was... an experience. People refused to sit next to me, refused to work with me and some refused to even acknowledge me. Even those who did were wary, not saying too much, not getting too close, it was like I had a bloody disease. But time passes. Even when it seems impossible. Even when each tick of the second hand aches like the pulse of blood behind a black mark. It passes unevenly in strange lurches and dragging lulls but pass it does. However, time also heals. Even when it too seems impossible. Very slowly Pansy and Blaise were warming up to me, Draco slowly bringing them round and convincing them that I didn't know, he was right they would understand eventually. They were speaking to me again and after Pansy wasn't allowed to move dorm eventually, she moved back in to ours. I hadn't really seen Cedric, although he seemed to be getting over things too from afar. He still didn't have a new girlfriend that I knew of and this I was also grateful for; I still hadn't found the... time or willpower to get over him. Sometimes I would steal little glances at him and find him already looking at me, he had also smiled weakly at me a few times; the first time he had done it I was so shocked I looked around to see if it was even meant for me, but it was and I smiled back as my heart swelled with hope. A hope that he could forgive me, even though I was wrong for him and I promised I would protect him by staying away from him, I was selfish, and I wanted him, I needed him. Even after eight months his hold on me, the way I felt about him was permanent and unbreakable. My mother's death still hurts me as if it happened yesterday, and the fact that my father has still not spoken to me, nor do I even know where he is or if he is okay has made it even worse. Snape has told me very little about the whole situation with my parents and I'm not entirely sure if he knows himself. Draco and I have been working hard, once a week, every week without fail to fix the vanishing cabinet. We have made very slow progress as the birds we are using have stopped coming out dead and have instead started just not coming out meaning that what we are doing is working. It's taken us almost all year, but Voldemort is pleased with us and that means we haven't had to see him much, it's safe to say I also haven't missed any meetings since the last one I did either.

I was sat at dinner when Draco walked in to find me. Pansy didn't like me being alone with Draco anymore, still worried I might try to hurt someone but, Draco being my best and, in a way, only friend always found ways to see me alone at least twice a week to see how I was. This was slightly odd though considering we were due to spend the rest of tomorrow, the last day of term, trying to fix the cabinet. "Hey Ris, do you think it would be okay if we worked on the cabinet tonight? I have a lot of things to do tomorrow and I have a match to prepare for at the end of tomorrow." I put my knife and fork down and smiled at him, "Of course Dray, do you want to go now?" I asked and started to stand up, "Yeah, might as well – I really have a good feeling that today is the day we fix it you know." I smiled and nodded before walking with Draco to the Room of Requirement. It appeared as always at the end of the corridor, when we turned the first corner on the fourth floor.

We had come across a few problems throughout the year with the Room of Requirement that neither me nor Draco knew the cause of. Every now and again, when we went to enter the Room, we either couldn't find it, or we were chucked out. I mean literally chucked, a strong wind would come out of nowhere and we would go flying out before even being able to reach the cabinet, the door would disappear and that would just be it. That usually meant that somebody else was using it but who would need the Room of Requirement? Draco and I had both stayed out of the school drama this year but I knew from Pansy that there had been a lot. Dumbledore had even been suspended for a while, this annoying woman called Umbridge became headmistress and enforced all these rules. I had been too busy moping around and Draco had been too busy with either convincing Pansy and Blaise to forgive me or fixing the cabinet with me to really know what was going on. So, we both didn't have a clue what was going on when the strange pink lady went running out of the castle screaming one day. I also missed my O.W.L.s but Dumbledore said I could take them next year due to what had happened with my mother. However, after everybody else in my year was supposed to take them, I heard that the Weasley Twins set of fireworks or something just to annoy Umbridge and I wished I could have seen that. After Dumbledore returned and things went back to normal however, the problems with the Room of Requirement stopped and so me and Draco thought no more of it.

We entered the room and walked straight to the cabinet that we had seen so many times now we didn't need to search for it anymore. Out of the hundreds of cages that were still laid out on the floor only five had birds left in them, what me and Draco had done was truly horrible and evil but what choice did we have? We had killed hundreds of birds between us over the last eight months and I knew Karma must have been coming my way. Me and Draco got to work and after about an hour of opening the door the second time to emptiness I watched as Draco opened the Cabinet and the bird flew out. I gasped and he turned around to me excitedly. "Parisa we did it!" Draco exclaimed as I walked over to him, "Hang on before you get your hopes up, pass me another bird." He did as I said, and I placed the bird inside of the cabinet. I waited a few seconds before opening it again, and to my relief the bird flew out happily chirping. I turned to Draco who was smiling brightly, and he picked me up hugging me. "Oh Ris, we did it! I told you today was the day! We fixed it!" I laughed as he put me down, "We did it Dray!" Me and Draco excitedly left the room of requirement and headed to Snape's office to tell him. When we did, he was very pleased and said he would inform Voldemort who would also be very pleased. I hoped that he wouldn't set Draco and I any more tasks after this, but I doubted that would be the case, Snape had said big things were coming and it was obvious we would have to be a part of that. It was almost curfew so me and Draco decided to go back to the common room.

We walked to the dungeons and when we got there, Pansy and Blaise were sat waiting for us in the common room, when we walked in, she stood up immediately and walked over to us. "Where the hell have you two been? Draco you were supposed to meet me after dinner, but you never showed!" Pansy shouted and Draco's eyes widened, "Oh shit Pans I forgot, I'm sorry there was something I had to get done." Pansy looked at me now and then back at Draco, "With her? What were you doing with Parisa? I told you not to be alone with her." Draco sighed, "Ris was just helping me with some school work I missed." Pansy rolled her eyes, "Oh please, you could have asked me that is such a shitty excuse. You were cheating on me, weren't you?" My eyes widened this time, did she seriously think I would do that to her? I knew she hated me, but I would never hurt her like that, and anyway, Draco is like my brother. "Yeah as if, Parisa is like my sister." Draco replied and Pansy laughed, "Whatever, you're staying in my dorm tonight Draco, Parisa I don't want you anywhere near him so find somewhere else to go." I sighed, "Pansy please you know I would never hurt you like that ever, can't you go to his dorm?" Pansy shook her head and dragged Draco upstairs behind her. Wow, Pansy was becoming a right bitch I could see why not many people liked her, she was my best friend though, or I guess she used to be, I can't believe she thinks I would do that to her, with Draco of all people. I sighed and left the common room, I needed space to clear my head, so I went somewhere I hadn't dare go in months. The Astronomy Tower.

authors note: hello! Apologies for such a short chapter but the next is much longer and is literally purely Cedric and Parisa so enjoy hehe I think it's one of my fav chapters so far. I will post it directly after this one for ya. Also lets just pretend i didn't rip Stephenie Meyer off here with the whole time passes bit.