Lovingly, not yours.

Chapter 3

"It feels like I have grown too quickly, and hence I think I lost my understanding of wanting certain things, to be mine and mine alone... like a lost desire for possession"

Chapter 3 : "The boy who lived."

Odele felt a weird mix of sympathy and sadness when she saw the thunder shaped scar on the forehead of the boy with glasses that Mione was talking to. She'd recalled her father talking about him with a similar mix of emotions, but watching him smiling and talking normally, made her feel somewhat relieved that the boy who is burdened with the heavy title of being the harbinger of justice and peace, is just another eleven-year old like herself. 

When Odele first heard her father speak of Harry Potter to her mother, she felt heartbroken for the boy, who not only lost his parents but also had to carry around the burdens of being 'the boy who lived'. Although she understood how much of an effect his simple existence was having on the wizarding world, she couldn't help but find it ridiculous that the elders expected wonders from him that even they couldn't do,despite having more experience and exposure to the art that is magic.

Her gaze then moved from Harry to the redheaded boy that was standing with them. She found his freckled face and ginger hair to be familiar, but she couldn't quite put a finger on exactly where she saw it. Not thinking much of it she continued her walk to the giant man with his equally big lamp at the end of the station with Neville. The man's big stature with the evening lights made him a little intimidating but Odele felt brave as she walked beside her friend who occasionally sniffled on his loss of his dear pet.

She followed the instructions of the man, all while making sure to look back on Neville who seemed to stumble a bit on the narrow path. The lack of light surely didn't make it easy. 

The burly man called out, "No more'n four to a boat" and the girl could simply watch her friends Neville and Mione get on a boat with the freckled boy and Harry. She felt disappointed on being left behind but she was quickly pushed onto another boat on which the pale boy with shiny blonde hair was seated with his other two friends. She sheepishly apologised as she sat down next to the chubby one. Her disappointment vanished as the thrill crept on her upon finding herself in closeness with the prince-like boy.

Odele kept her green eyes forward onto the boat of her friends, trying to steer her gaze away from the pale boy who caught her attention at the first look. She along with the others bent down as they passed through the dark tunnel and that's where she locked her green orbs to his grey ones, and she could tell that it was just like any scene from the movies her mother gushed about, the same ones where the hero and the heroine gazed into each other's eyes and found themselves getting lost in the colours of the other.

His grey eyes twinkled in the dark as if they were something of a precious gem, and her green ones could only remain fixed on them as if charmed. But as the night sky opened to them again, she averted her gaze and found a happy Neville with Trevor in his hands, on the damp greenland.

The other boys got off the boat easily, but the pale boy stayed behind and extended his hand for Odele to take as she hesitated to step out of the boat. She looked at the boy for a moment, a small shy smile forming on her face as she took his hand and stepped down.

"Thank you..." Her voice faded as she whispered her gratitude to him.

"I am Draco, Draco Malfoy, and you are?" His grey eyes scanned her face recognition before he got his answer.

"I am Odele Burton, nice to meet you, Draco." She smiled, keeping herself calm, as she remembered in the back of her mind that the Malfoy family was not only one of the sacred 28 families of the wizarding world but also that they were an active part of the previous wizarding war. She was hoping that this boy too, like the other, wouldn't have to carry on the burdens of the family.

He nodded and let go of her hand immediately, understanding that she wasn't a pureblood. A pang of disdain and disappointment filled Draco's heart as he realised the fact. And he sped away from her to his friends, having done with his gentlemanly duty. 

For the second time in the day, Odele felt hurt by her own expectations. It's crystal clear that the pale boy is far from what she'd dreamed him to be, and that she too was no different than the elders of the wizarding world for holding someone to the honours of the family name; because she felt an uneasy conviction that he'd turn out exactly as she is hoping him not to be.

Nonetheless she shook off her thoughts and followed the crowd of the students, trying not to think about anything and simply gazing at the marvels of the castle in front of her.

The man said loud enough for all to hear again, "Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" and he knocked thrice on the ginormous oak door of the castle.

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