Dark Magic

Assimilate

I watched every crease as it formed above his brow. Every flicker of the eye. Every reaction to my words. Stoic, yet filled with judgement. But I continued to tell him everything. The incident at the Black Lake, my little deal with the devil, himself; the Dark Mark that brandished my left wrist, the day I was murdered, and the lengths Severus Snape had gone to in order to keep me alive. The finality of my explanation allowed silence to ensue, as I awaited a response from him...

But no response would come. And no amount of mind-searching would provide a reprieve. After several minutes of watching, waiting...Being a Gryffindor, I assumed he would scream, cry, or perhaps a combination of the two. So, I prepared myself for either possible outcome.

Moments passed that felt like an eternity, before...

He just got up from his seat and left. Which was, perhaps, the worst outcome of all. So, I curled into my seat and allowed my sobs to fill the muffled compartment, eventually causing the windows to steam over, providing me a greater respite from onlookers. Unfortunately, one of the Prefect duties were to check in on students in each compartment; the door sliding open as I quickly turned to face the window in feeble attempt to conceal my tears.

"Emerald?"

My breath hitched at the sudden deepness to his voice that wasn't there at the end of last year, yet I knew belonged to him in an instant. Sniffling, I wiped my cupid's bow with my sleeve and turned to meet his silvery-blue eyes. Before he even had a chance to question the reasoning behind my tears, I leapt from my seat and into his arms, causing him to stumble back into the hallway, his arms circling my waist.

"Draco," I breathed, inhaling the sweet scent of his aftershave that made my knees grow slightly numb. He had grown nearly a foot, but I must have as well, for I remained at his shoulder-height.

Students must have heard, peering out of the many other compartments down the train to see what was going on. In the midst of our embrace, we somehow wound up back in the compartment, and Draco had closed the door to allow some privacy. "Why are you crying, Em?" His voice was soft and comforting as we separated and took a seat, his right hand holding my left firmly. I sniffled once more, a green handkerchief being presented to me as I dried my tears and thanked him.

"Harry and I had a fight." I sighed, trying to prevent myself from becoming hysterical as my breathing continued to hitch. Draco reached towards me, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear than had fallen moments prior. His eyes were sympathetic, "Well, he's your brother. I'm sure you will both make up."

Scoffing, I shook my head. Another tear fell, "No, Draco. You don't understand. I really screwed up, this time." Allowing my head to rest against the back of the seat, I looked up and the ceiling. Draco was silent for a moment, but I could feel his eyes burning into the side of my head, searching for answers.

"Well, I understand it's not something you're ready to share, yet. However, when or if you are, just know that I'm here and I won't walk away."

At his words, a final tear cascaded my cheek as I turned to face him. Quicker than I could comprehend, his thumb reached to wipe it away, igniting sparks where his finger had touched. I tried not to gasp, momentarily forgetting why I was sad in the first place. Such reprieve was bliss. A bliss that felt entirely undeserved. And his hand lingered, preventing the electricity from fading, blue eyes finding green. I tried to steady my breath, his face a mere inch from mine for our noses were nearly touching.

And then, "You should probably get back to your prefect duties." I breathed, immediately scolding myself. Draco broke eye contact, blinking to steady himself and nodding. "Oh. Of course."

"Congratulations, by the way. I hope you can juggle Prefect and Quidditch vice-captain." I spoke, now rather awkwardly as I watched Draco rub the back of his neck. "Yeah, uh...Thanks, Em." Our eyes did not meet at the sound of his sheepish words, the door closing a few moments afterwards as my lonely journey resumed to Hogwarts...