In The End

Chapter 14 - What Are Friends For?

Draco and Eliza spent the rest of the night sitting together in the Room of Requirement, only now it was the same room with the sofa and fireplace which they had spent a night inside previously.

Now, she lay peacefully with her head on Draco's lap as he twirled her soft, shiny brown hair between his fingers. They spoke about the what they had done throughout the week while they were ignoring each other.

Draco had confessed to working on the cabinet in his free time and although she appreciated the thought, she couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes at him. It was difficult for her to accept help sometimes, especially when she felt like she didn't deserve it. 

"So, where do we go from here?" she eventually asked, gazing up at Draco uncertainly.

Draco let out a sigh.

"I don't know," he started, staring blankly towards the flames flickering in the fireplace, "we can't really let anyone know about this."

Eliza's heart dropped at his words. 

"Why not?" she asked stiffly, sitting up and distancing herself from him.

"Come on Eliza," Draco looked at her with sad eyes, "if people were to find out that there was something between us, what do you think would happen? Sooner or later it would get back to my father, wouldn't it? I'm not going to let that happen," he clenched his jaw. 

"So you don't want to be seen with me?" Eliza asked, letting her emotions get the better of her.

"Not in public, at least. But that doesn't mean we can't see each other in secret," he answered gently, resting a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. 

She shrugged it off, feeling sick at the thought that he was just messing her around like she had been afraid of. 

"While you keep dating Parkinson?" she scoffed, making her way to the door in a huff.

"That's not what I'm saying! Macnair, come back!" he called out, grabbing her wrist.

She turned to look at him with hurt in her eyes.

"You called me Macnair. I really don't mean anything to you... I can't believe I was so STUPID!" she yelled, tears welling in her eyes. 

Before Draco had a chance to make things right, she was out the door, running towards her dorm. 

Draco stood there in a stunned silence. What on earth had just happened? 

He spent the rest of the night pacing up and down in the Room of Requirement, while Eliza went back to her usual coping method of adding more elevated marks to her already damaged arm. This was what she got for trusting anyone.

---

The next few days were painful for Eliza, as she never seemed to have any trouble picking Draco out in rooms full of people. Seeing him struck a painful longing in her heart. She couldn't help but feel betrayed. She had really believed she meant more to him than this. 

Of course Luna had noticed Eliza's change in behavior and one night when the two of them sat alone in the Astronomy tower, she decided to ask about it.

"Something's happened. You haven't been yourself these past few days. What is the matter?" she asked gently.

Eliza couldn't hold it in anymore. Before she knew it, she broke down crying into Luna's arms. Luna was more than happy to hold her as she wept and gently stroked her back as she continued to sob, waiting patiently for her to gather herself enough to answer.

After a few minutes, Eliza managed to pull herself together and sit upright, glancing at Luna in shame. She was completely vulnerable.

"It's Draco," Eliza sighed dejectedly, "we had this moment a few days ago... we kissed," she touched her lip absent-mindedly.

"That's good, isn't it?" Luna asked softly.

Eliza shook her head sadly, "I thought so too, but... h-he doesn't want to be seen with me, Luna. Clearly he's embarrassed by me. I just..." her voice was barely a whisper now, "I just thought he cared about me."

Luna put a comforting arm around her friend and gave her a gentle squeeze before offering her a blue handkerchief dotted with daisies.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it. Just you wait. Everything will be just fine. I have a good feeling about the two of you," she said optimistically, smiling at Eliza.

Eliza felt too tired to argue. She knew better than to trust that things would get better. In her experience, they almost never did.

---

The next day in Herbology, Luna gently took Draco's wrist and pulled him to one side. 

Draco looked at her with distaste and pulled his wrist away, "what do you want?"

Luna looked up at him with soft blue eyes, "did you really mean the things you said to her?" she asked gently. 

Draco was taken aback. Did Eliza tell her what happened? How close had they gotten?

"She told you, did she?" he asked coldly, looking around to make sure no one was watching.

"Yes. She was quite upset. I still have tearstains on my sweater. No worries though, I think they make it look better, like raindrops," Luna mused in a dreamy voice.

Draco felt a jolt in his chest at the thought of Eliza crying because of him.

"No," he sighed.

"Hmm?" Luna asked, snapping out of her daydream.

"No, I didn't mean the things I said. At least not in the way she took them. She didn't understand the point I was making. I guess I was trying to tell her that I wanted to go on a date with her first," he said, not disclosing the part about them both being death eaters and that they still wouldn't be able to be seen together.

"Ah. I thought you might have meant something different. She'd be quite pleased if you took her on a date," Luna smiled.

"I do plan on it, just, don't tell her, okay? I want to ask her myself," Draco looked at her uncertainly.

It was strangely easy for him to trust the girl that everyone referred to as 'Loony Lovegood'. It was nothing short of unnerving. 

"Of course," Luna nodded, before walking off to her next lesson.