The Healer- A Draco Malfoy Fanfiction

Chapter 43

"Erica... what are you doing?"

I jumped, almost catching my fingers in the heavy lid of my trunk as it closed. My roommates were standing at the entrance of the bedroom, each of them studying me with mixed expressions. Their eyes went to the jacket and jeans I was wearing, then my bed stripped of its linens, to my empty nightstand, the contents of which were now locked in the trunk at my feet.

Evelyn looked confused. "Are you going somewhere?"

I cursed to myself. I didn't think they would see me. Didn't think they'd even care.

"You're leaving," Greta said, sounding hurt. "Why?"

I crossed my arms, biting my lip. I wasn't expecting them to look so sad. God dammit. I said, "My mother wants me to return home. It's a family issue."

Greta was the first to let her tears fly. "You weren't going to say goodbye to us?"

"I was going to write you all letters," I replied hoarsely. "But... it's an emergency. I really have to go." I had met with Snape earlier to tell him I was ready to accept his offer. He instructed me to pack my things while he summoned Malachi to the castle to escort me to America. I had only a few hours before my uncle would be at the gates.

Penny looked at me in her calculating, suspicious way. "What about Draco?"

I shook my head, feeling a knot in my throat as I swallowed. "That... that didn't work out."

My roommates exchanged looks with one another.

"But you'll miss OWLs," Evelyn protested.

"And the Quidditch finals," Greta added.

"Is this really because of a family issue?" Penny pressed, lowering her black brows. "I know we were horrible to you, but we never meant to drive you away."

Penny hadn't looked at me in months, and right now, her brown eyes were surprisingly misty. It made my own eyes tear up.

"No, it's not because of you all," I said, dabbing at the corners of my eyes with my sleeve. "I don't blame you all for acting the way that you did. I was the one that lied."

"Oh, Erica!" Greta wailed and rushed to me, dramatically glomping onto me in a fierce hug. "Don't leave!" Evelyn also joined in the hug, and I was nearly knocked over by the weight of the two girls clinging to me and crying.

"Evelyn, Greta," I said, slightly choked by their vice-like grips, "I really don't have a lot of time." They released me, still sniffling.

Penny hung back. She was never the hugging type. "You're really going then, aren't you?" she asked stiffly.

I nodded. "I'm finishing my 5th year at Ilvermorny."

"Will you come back to Hogwarts next year?" asked Evelyn.

"...Most likely not."

That made Greta and Evelyn dissolve into tears again. Penny's mouth tightened. She hated crying, and I could tell she was fighting hard to keep herself from doing so.

"Well, you better write to us," Penny ordered curtly. "And tell us about those American boys."

My throat swelled. "Yeah. I- I'll try."

It was all very bittersweet to have to say goodbye to the girls I had spent my most formative years with. We all had moments where we were mean, and bitchy, and rude to each other- but I will remember the good memories more than the bad ones, like when Evelyn gave us a kissing demonstration on a mannequin head, or when Greta spilled Moonseed potion all over herself in potions class and we formed a protective circle around her while she summoned a new shirt, or all the late-night games Penny forced us to play that resulted in us laughing until our stomachs ached.

Greta tried to give me back a sweater I had lent her a long time ago, but I told her to keep it. Evelyn begged me to take her with her, but I assured her I would write and send pictures of the best looking American boys I met. I grabbed my trunk and started to head out the door.

"Erica," Penny grabbed my arm. "One more thing."

I set my heavy trunk down and prepared myself for what Penny would say. She always had to have the last word, and I suspected it would be backhanded, passive-aggressive, or even just blatantly snarky.

Penny opened her mouth to say something, and then, to my surprise, closed it. Then, quickly, rushing into it before she could change her mind, she wrapped her arms around me in an awkward hug.

She pulled away and didn't look at me. But I could still see the wetness framing her lower lash line. "Bye," she barked, and waved for me to go.

"Bye," I said softly. I knew Penny was capricious, and cold. Expressing her feelings was never something she was good at, unless they were feelings of resentment. But I had never seen her hug anyone. That might have been the most loving gesture she had ever made.

Slytherin girls. We don't show our emotion until it really counts.

As I walked to Snape's office, trunk in tow, I realized that Draco was not the reason why I was sorted into Slytherin. Maybe- I had always belonged here.

But this place couldn't be my home anymore.

I had stopped crying when I reached Snape's office, but I could tell he noticed my puffy eyes and red nose.

"Malachi will be at the gates soon," he said to me, ignoring my swollen face. He extended to me the sealed envelope that contained my transfer recommendation.

I looked at it, my hands staying stiffly by my side. "Before I leave, I need to know that Draco will be alright."

Snape's eyes hardened. "Draco's wellbeing is my responsibility. Not yours."

I remained staring at the black wax-sealed envelope. "S-so that means, you're not going to let him die, right?" I asked.

Snape usually appeared stoic and emotionless- but when I asked my question, I saw Snape's expression change into a strange kind of sympathy.

"I will not let the boy die. You have my word." Snape forced the letter into my hands and marched out of his office. "Now, come."

I followed Snape through the corridors. It was half past midday. By this time tomorrow, I would be in America, with my mother, and my father. My stomach did a flip as the sounds of our shoes echoed in the Entrance Hall. Beyond these tall doors was the bridge to the gates, where my uncle was waiting to take me home, where I would be away from evil, away from darkness, away from Draco...

Before crossing the castle threshold, Snape suddenly stopped. He wheeled around with wide eyes, as if an invisible voice had called to him from somewhere deep in the castle.

My blood chilled. Snape looked eerily alarmed. "What's wrong?"

Snape gave me no explanation. "Stay here," he ordered. He took off into the halls of the castle, his cloak billowing behind him.

Short chapter because the next ones are really long. 

Capturing the feeling of saying goodbye to a frenemy... it's complicated. Because even though you dislike them as a person, you still feel attached. As for Penny, Evelyn and Greta's viewpoint- seeing Erica leave made them realize how horrid they had been. But by the time they realized, it was too late.  -kittyhawk