𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑

Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Sorrow in Separation

The next morning at breakfast, Harry tried to ignore the way Pansy Parkinson openly leered at Draco as he held court at the Slytherin table.

The impact of what they had done the night before had only just begun to settle upon Harry's shoulders like a heavy cloak. He had become simultaneously elated and frustrated at the realization that no matter what he may have thought he wanted, no matter what had transpired between them, he and Draco could never have an open relationship resembling the one that they shared in the Tower. The glare of the sun and the bustle of the school halls washed away any semblance of the fantasy world they had both created for themselves in the dead of night, and reality had mercilessly crashed down upon them with the dawn of every new day.

He was Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, and Draco was a Malfoy, the son of a Death Eater. Every reason for them to become more amicable than hated rivals in any capacity was ultimately inconsequential. Harry might have been able to accept this harsh truth but for the gnawing sense of dread that consumed him at the very thought of ceasing their nightly meetings.

With these worried thoughts simmering in his head, Harry found himself trying to catch Draco's eye, but the boy was ignoring him completely per usual.

Harry fought a scowl as he turned back to his food, but was caught by Hermione's suspicious look as she sat across from him at the table. He looked away immediately, busying himself with stuffing some bacon into his mouth. Luckily, Ron engaged him in a conversation about the upcoming Inter-house snowball fight that had been announced earlier in the week by Dumbledore and she never had a chance to question him about his strange behavior.

It was Thursday and classes were uneventful. Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and Charms with the Ravenclaws. Harry barely ate at dinner. Everything tasted like dust in his mouth as he watched Pansy lean too closely over Draco and touch him on the shoulder or whisper into his ear. Harry grappled with a new and disturbing sense of possessiveness, struggling to not do anything rash like run over to the Slytherin table and tell Pansy off. He suspected Draco would not be amused.

That night, he went to the hidden tower and waited for Draco, seeking relief from a day of torture. However, four hours passed and Harry finally could no longer deny that, for the first time since their nightly rendezvous had begun, Draco wasn't coming. Feeling foolish and angry, Harry could barely fall asleep once he had fallen into his bed, and when he finally did, it was fitful and inadequate.

The next morning he was up earlier than his dorm mates, staring sightlessly out the window to the grounds when Ron finally roused himself and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Alright, Harry?" Ron asked, giving him a tired smile.

Harry attempted a grin and nodded, before finally moving to get dressed as Ron ambled off to the bathroom. Harry took a shower after Ron exited and dressed in front of the mirror.

As usual, his hair was untamable, but he was bothered by that fact more so than ever before. He scowled and the mirror admonished him, "you'll never get a girlfriend with that face, dear!"

Harry could hardly get himself to care. He had Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins that morning.

Harry tried not to let it bother him that Draco was ignoring him. After all, that was normal. Draco and he had been studiously ignoring each other in public for two months now, and he didn't know why he'd expected that to change. However, reasoning this way didn't stop him from feeling hurt and frustrated by the treatment, especially since Draco had been conspicuously absent in the tower the night before.

He stole glances at Draco every chance he got, much to the detriment of his focus, and much to Ron's misfortune, who was his partner in catching Billywigs. As a result, Ron was stung multiple times and reduced to giggling and levitating uncontrollably for the rest of the lesson.