𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 - 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐨𝐲

26-The End is Near

It was the rise of the sun when he decided to fulfill this promise. Barley any students had been lurking in the hallways and the staff was preparing the great hall's feast. There had been no other time better than this, he thought. 

The sky was peachy and orange in its glow, its dye bled onto the wavering water. The orange and the sky's blue that mirrored onto the lake united to a purple tone. The dock was not as creaky as it had been the night he held her in his arms, it was instead quite as if he were walking on sand. 

He bent his head down in search of the curious otter. Of course, he could just say he saw Pluto and move on with his day- But could he really? He had already refrained from questions regarding her antiquity so he could not lie to her. He felt the strain on his lungs every time he even thought to conjure a lie in regards to his whereabouts, and he could only imagine the strain on his muscles if he dared to think about lying right now. 

In all reality, he had no idea how he could ever spot the otter. He could not possibly dive into the lake in search of him (although the idea did strike him for a second)

"Draco?" Swiftly he turned his head back and almost lost balance with the force. "Greengrass" He curtly responded as he turned back, barely acknowledging her presence. 

"What are you doing?" She asked as she moved closer, her feet now on the dock. He waited a few seconds before he could respond, his eyes skimming the dark water in hopes of finding the strange animal. He lifted his head and saw that she looked to be in a strange state. Draco had never been close to Daphne, only mutually, although he did tolerate her as she was not like her younger sister. 

"I think I dropped something" He mumbled, scratching the back of his head as his eyes scanned the water again. "Why aren't you with Pansy? Aren't you both basically attached at the hip?" He said, not thinking much as he was still mostly preoccupied with his own problems. He heard only silence and the flickering of leaves turning around 

"Did I say something?" He asked, his voice an edge from shifting to genuine concern as he saw how a plain and quiet look marked her face. "Oh, no. Nothing- I was just walking here and saw you. I figured you should know your friends are looking for you. Well, specifically Blaise, Pansy, and maybe a little bit of Xeno, but you know him..." She chuckled ending her sentence, suddenly stopping herself. "I'm sorry, I rambled. Anyway, I'll see you soon, I guess" Before he got the chance to say much more, a simple for a mumbled goodbye, or even a nod of the head acknowledging those words, she began to walk towards the castle.

"...Bye?" The thought of Daphne in his brain was a mere puncture in his vessel, though it heals quickly with the puncture of other thoughts. He almost felt bad about neglecting her mental presence at such a quick rate. Although, he did not care for her- and yes, he thought of himself as harsh, cruel, and his own definition of father-like when he thought of the six-word sentence 'I do not care for her', but with himself, (and among one other person he seems to only now think of) he felt honesty was necessary, otherwise, his lies would swallow him whole and leave him just weak, ill bones, and pale, grey skin.

Now, the lingering of Daphne's presence bounced back and forth as he searched through the water. With this, Draco looked back and saw a book, evident from Daphne's trailed footprints. He walked close and picked it up: 'Jane Eyre' had been the book. It was deeply annotated and looked to be read over a thousand times. It was small enough to fit into his pocket. He planned on returning it when he saw her or Pansy. Although the thought of Daphne was again quickly disregarded as he spotted something glistening; the light of something hit his eye and he quickly winced, along with shutting his eye. Nevertheless, he seemed determined to see more. The water was so ignorant with its darkness that he could scarcely see the outline of his reflection. With the laws of science, there was no way he could see a clear image of the underwater ambiance. It was impossible, the refractive index of air and water were intersecting each other.