A Badger and a Snake: Draco Malfoy x Hufflepuff

4. Cara

TW: Mentions of Death

"I still can't believe you dated Malfoy," Fred told me in the hallway a few weeks later. "That's so unlike you."

Everyone was acting normal again after the weird conversation I had with Gen so I guess it was just my imagination.

I gave a tight smile. "Momentary lapse in judgement."

"I don't think that 6 months counts as momentary," said a voice in my ear behind me.

Obviously it was Draco.

I spun around to face him. "Fine. It was a momentary lapse in judgment over and over again for 6 months. Is that better?" I asked

"Whatever," he said while rolling his eyes and walking away.

I turned back to find Fred charming some gum from his pocket to stick to people's shoes.

"You've progressed to full evil with your pranks, Weasley," I tell him.

"Relax, Brown," he mimics me using his last name. "They can magic it off as easy as I can magic it on."

Just then I see George and Naomi walking in the corridor

"Hey!" I call. "Come over here."

"We were." Naomi laughs.

"Actually we were coming to get Fred," says George.

"Where are you taking him?" I ask, confused.

"We're just going to grab lunch. Right, Fred?" says Naomi.

"Yep! See ya later Alyssa," he replies.

That was a dismissal if I've ever heard one.

I expect for them to walk to the great hall, but they turn and disappear around a corner. The opposite way from the great hall.

I start to follow them but instead a soft hand touches my shoulder.

"Hello, Alyssa," says a dreamy voice from behind me. Luna steps to my side and smiles at me. "I was just headed to the Great Hall for lunch, would you like to come?" she asks me.

"Yes, I would love to." I tell her. "Gen, George, and Fred said they were off to lunch but they went the opposite direction.

"Hmm. Maybe they were looking for moon frogs," she tells me.

I laugh. "Maybe so. Maybe so." We set off to get something to eat.

I've just started to eat my pudding when I feel a tap on my shoulder and then a weight beside me.

"Hey, Lyssie."

I laugh at the nickname that I was given my first year.

"Hey, Freddie," I turn and look at him. He's got a goofy smile on his face and it makes me match it. He sits down and starts piling food on his plate. "Where did you and the gang go when you left? Because you obviously didn't go here."

"Oh um, well we were headed here. But we went to the Gryffindor common room first," he tells me.

"Okay... well where are they now?" I ask.

"Probably a makeout session or something," he shrugs.

Fred is definitely lying to me and I'm not sure why. It feels like Gen and George are avoiding me.

I'm not in the mood to be lied to. "Okay." I get up and walk back to my room.

It's there that I find my little moleskine sketchbook on my bed. I got my first one from Cara a few years back. Since then I've bought them myself but I always get the same one.

I let my mind wander as I start sketching with a mechanical pencil.

Cara is my sister. Was my sister, I guess I should say. Not biologically though. Obviously I've always known this because she and my dad are black. It was pretty clear from the beginning that they don't share my blood. I was left on my dad's doorstep when I was a baby and Cara was 6. I don't know who my biological parents are or why they left me, but I've never really cared. My dad was raising Cara by himself because he had gotten his girlfriend pregnant when they were in college and she didn't want the responsibility, and he didn't think that he could take on another child on a college professor's salary. His mind was later changed. It's a story I'll never forget.

When he found me, he freaked out. He looked all over for who left me there, hoping that I wasn't all alone; hoping that this wasn't what he thought it was. When he couldn't find anyone, he ran in the storage room and found one of Cara's old car seats. He strapped me in and drove to the first place he could think of, his best friend's house. Mark and his wife Elizabeth were trying for a baby but were continually failing. My dad thought that they might see the miracle in the situation. But before he got there, I started crying. Apparently it was big, awful wails that made him think that I was dying. He pulled over and picked me up out of the car seat and started rocking me. As he cooed, I grabbed on to his shirt pocket with a tiny little fist and fell asleep. He told me that after that, he knew I was meant to be his daughter. He got back in the car and drove home, never making it to his friends house. The rest is history.

Oh. I guess I should tell you about my sister. Cara Brown was the best sister, best friend, and best protector that I could have asked for. She was ten times cooler than me in every way and still is my style inspiration. I'm so lucky that I got 14.5 years with her, but it just wasn't enough. Cara died in a car accident last year. The officers don't know what happened. No one does.

I was with Draco when I got the news. I'd never hugged anyone harder. It destroyed me. Cara was my light. She was my best friend. Draco got me off the floor and into bed that night. He was so kind.

He broke up with me two weeks later.