𝐒𝐚𝐲 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞; 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐨𝐲

THE SILENCE

Camila May

We walked in silence the rest of the way.

It was only when we further neared our destination that I realised where it is that we were headed.

Hogwarts.

It's been abandoned for about a year now. Ever since we lost the war every student enrolled had been either pulled from the school by their parents or taken away by another. I had no clue why I hadn't thought about it before.

Besides from it being a nearly 5 day walk from where I was, it was the safest place we could think to go.

Or maybe the most dangerous.

The wards around the castle no longer stood so it was free and accessible to pretty much anyone walking by. It was still intact for the most part, I mean, almost all of the west wing was destroyed and the front of the castle had been demolished but the Slytherin commons remain untouched.

Mostly because they lie underneath the castle.

I always found the walls to be comforting. At very early age I discovered that Hogwarts was one of my happy places, a place where I could be with my friends, where I could learn and have a good time.

Where I could be with him.

Of course, those memories passed a while ago and now, I just found it to be daunting. The portraits on the wall once occupied by a smiling face were now just empty frames and the once bright red carpet we walked on was just a mere piece of fabric hiding the cracked stones beneath.

The castle was quiet and looked to be almost empty beside the few pieces of furniture that still sat there untouched.

"Are you sure this place is safe?" I said as we walked down the one hall that didn't have a blown out wall.

"No one's been in here for years" Theo said, his voice echoing off the roof.

"I'm not talking about that" I said as I tried my best to see through the dark "I mean structurally. Are you sure it's not gonna just cave in and trap us if we were to take a wrong step?"

"We'll be fine" Draco said as he walked ahead of us. I hadn't heard him say anything since our fight. This was the first he'd spoken and if it wasn't for his loud steps behind, I wouldn't even know he was there.

I watched as he reached a safe enough distance and slowed to his normal pace.

"I didn't even know you guys dated" Theo said to me.

"We did. For 2  and a half years" I answered "As you can probably tell by now, it didn't end so well"

"Yeah, I think anyone with a brain could sense that" Theo chuckled "It's just—he never even mentioned it before. All the times we spoke about you, the times Voldemort mentioned your name... he never said a thing. Not even when in school"

"I guess he really must of hated it that much" I sighed "He was my first everything. My first boyfriend, my first kiss, my first... well, Y'know" I chuckled "He was my first and only love"

"Yeah, firsts can always be the hardest to let go" Theo said "I remember my first"

"Oh, do tell" I smirked and he shook his head "Oh, c'mon! Don't leave me hanging"

"Fine" he smiled "Luna Lovegood"

"Luna Lovegood?!" I gasped "You had sex with Luna Lovegood?"

"I was 15!" He defended "And she was actually really fucking sweet. I remember that after she put a fancy rock on my chest and told me not to move for 5 minutes. She said it was a way of cleansing and detoxing yourself"