UNKNOWN | D.M (UNRAVEL BOOK 4)

[ 19 ]

The sound of metal chinking sharply rang through Aine's eardrums and she winces. The alphabets written in her essay had stroked across the page at the sudden high-pitched noise. She groans, watching the ink bleed through the paper. With her wand, she waves it over the page and the flaw corrects itself. The accidental line and ink seep back to her previous word and it was good as new.

Argus Filch, the caretaker was hammering another one of the Educational Decrees outside of the Great Hall's wall. It was now the sixty-eighth proclamation stating that all student organisations are henceforth disbanded. That any student in noncompliance will be expelled without another warning. Just as when Dumbledore's Army, D.A in short was formed recently, it had to be dissolved. But it was a secret group after all, as long as no one says anything or does anything too suspicious, perhaps it could go on without Umbridge's permission.

The Great Hall was bustling with students, flooding in and out as they chatter, studied and relaxed. Aine was doing her homework alongside Ginny, ever since the meeting that they had had regarding the D.A previously. Her friend wasn't smiling as much and her face always looked so sad whenever she comes back to her dorm room. When Hermione and Aine asked her what had happened, she would reply to them in short sentences or most commonly, the line 'Had a fight with Michael' would be heard. Their time together also seemed to lessen and the ginger would often hang out with her friends than her lover.

It definitely made things even more awkward whenever Ginny's face went sour at the mention of Cho Chang, the girl who was from Ravenclaw and Cedric's ex-girlfriend. Aine had noticed that Ginny's mood would swing occasionally from being bubbly to being annoyed every time her brothers teased Harry about Cho's staring. Aine knew that although Ginny had moved on with another man, her heart still aches for Harry and her feelings for the boy would surface once more no matter how much she fights for them to be contained inside.

However, it wasn't just Ginny who had problems. Ever since the last time Aine had seen Draco and talked to him about the plan of creating a group to learn defensive spells against the dark arts. He had completely bailed out on her during the meeting and was nowhere to be seen, especially when she was in school, Aine hasn't seen or met with Draco since then. She was overwhelmed with bitterness and anxiety, it felt weird not seeing him in school or anywhere else on the school grounds since he was usually there. Even the Astronomy Tower that he had loved to go to was devoid and cold. She didn't know if he was avoiding her or if he had caught up in some troubles. Nonetheless, there was one thing for sure and that was how empty Aine had felt when Draco wasn't there. She felt lonely and it surprised her how much his presence alone could affect her.

She wanted to ask around about Draco's whereabouts but wondered if it'll make her seem desperate for him. But then there wasn't anyone she knew who was friends with the Slytherin boy and her friends were certainly out of the view since they hated each other. Furthermore, going for Pansy Parkinson would be the last thing Aine ever wanted since they weren't exactly acquaintances but more of 'enemies'. 

Then there's Cyrus Azuli, who was probably the only person Aine could think of since he was her classmate and was in Slytherin's house. They have spoken to one another a couple of times, exchanging greetings and had seen one another on a neutral level. Yet, whenever she spotted the dark blue-haired boy, her words got stuck in her throat and nothing came up. She could only gawk at him because of the hesitation that she was feeling. 

Was she overstepping her boundaries? Could she be overthinking the relationship between Draco and her? Then it struck the girl, what was she to him? Sure, they were definitely close friends and at times, it felt like there was something more. But she couldn't put her finger on it, just thinking about it had made Aine's head hurt. To Aine, Draco was more than a friend. She admired him and felt herself drawn into him at times too and how her heart would skip a beat and flutter. Aine had liked Draco as more than a friend but what was she to him?