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1996 HOGWARTS
Draco was ignoring Athena, or at least that's what Athena thought.
The Black had tried to talk to him, seeing as she hadn't been back in a while, and of course, she'd want to talk to her cousin. But it seemed as if he didn't want to. Every time she would try to chat with him, he would run another direction, pretending not to hear or see her, or he would make small chat and leave.
She didn't understand why he was avoiding her, but she would have to talk to him about it later. Right now, she was walking to the Great Hall for lunch with a pout on her face - as she had tried again to talk to her cousin, only resulting in him saying he forgot something in his dorm.
She neared the Gryffindor table, slumping down to Hermione. Said girl looked over at her friend, curiosity washing over her. "What's up with you?"
"Draco's ignoring me." She said, her forehead now placed onto the table.
"Why does it even matter?" A new - not really - voice joined in their conversation, sitting down in front of her.
"I know you hate him Ron but the brat's still my cousin. He's normally not like this." Athena stated. If it weren't for her head being on the table, Ron guessed that she would be drilling holes into his soul with glares.
"Er- sorry..." The boy apologised, however the other two knew he didn't really mean it (maybe a bit).
Athena sat up, however her demeanor was still sad. "It's just... he usually talks to me when we're back at Hogwarts. Heck, sometimes he even owls me a letter just the week before the first!" She slumped back down, her head now rested on Hermione's shoulder. "I just don't know what the hell happened while I was gone."
Hermione looked over to Ron's direction, the boy making eye contact with her. Hermione moved her arm, putting it around Athena's shoulders as she comforted her. "I would say something along the lines of 'I'm sure it's nothing bad', but I honestly don't want to lie to you..."
A sigh can be heard escaping Ron's mouth. "Yeah, Fi... The guy looks more sad and serious since school started. Sometimes he even looks scared."
"Do you guys think it's something to do with his dad being in Azkaban? Maybe even Voldemort?" Athena asked sadly.
"I mean, he's got to feel pressure right now." Hermione stated. "With his dad being locked away, he's got to be the man of the family and make the Malfoy name proud or something."
A sigh then escaped Athena's mouth. "I just wish he would've told me if he was feeling trouble or such. He knows that I'm here for him, and Aunt Cissy."
"You can talk to him about it sometime... Try corner him or get him by himself so that he won't run away - or that he wouldn't be scared to talk to you by yourself."
