Blue Moon [completed]

Chapter 8

            

Chapter 8

I spent half the morning looking for something half-decent to wear to Hogsmeade. I couldn't just roll up in any old thing; I mean this was Draco Malfoy. He always looked so stylish and put-together, even at the weekends, whereas I would tend to just throw on something cosy. I had never understood how he had managed to maintain the 'effortlessly flawless' look all these years. Even in the past few weeks, when he seemed to be downright miserable and was becoming thin, and losing sleep, he still managed to look amazing. Too often, I had caught myself staring at him, simply reading in the library, or eating his lunch, absolutely mesmerised by his elegance.

After about an hour of rummaging through my trunk, I had decided on a simple yet effective outfit: a pair of black jeans paired with a dark red jumper over a white shirt. I then picked up a comb and attempted to tame the mass of dark hair that seemed to have taken on a life of its own, but I didn't get very far in my endeavours.

Following all that nonsense, I was positively starving, so I headed down to the Kitchens and chatted pleasantly with the Elves, while I made myself a bowl of some pasta. Recently, they had allowed me to prepare my own food; I felt guilty for endlessly asking them to make me meals on demand. It took a lot of convincing, and they weren't easy to persuade, but eventually I got there.

By the time I had left the kitchens, it was gone three in the afternoon, so I decided to go out onto the Quidditch field for a couple of hours. I had been going out there quite often in the last few days, and I hadn't come across Draco once since our previous encounter. I resolved that it was for the better, as it would be less distracting. I carried my broom and practise snitch out onto the field and set it up for an hour's worth of play.

Two hours in, I was utterly exhausted. I got down from my broom and made my way towards the changing rooms to the side of the pitch. I took a scalding shower to relax my muscles and just stood there for what felt like hours. It had only been about fifteen minutes when the water began to run cold, and I was forced to evacuate the shower room. I put my change of clothes back on and casually returned to my common room.

Once there, I decided to do some light reading. Hermione had given me what seemed like a very interesting book for Christmas so I decided to get a start on it before she got back, so I would be able to discuss it with her. So I sprawled out on the sunken-in red velvet sofa and with a flick of my wand, lit a small fire.

I was only three chapters in when I realised I should go to dinner. I placed a bookmark between the pages I was currently reading and grunted softly as I pulled my rested body up off of the soft cushions. I walked downstairs and took a seat at my regular spot on the table, beginning to pile food onto my plate. I served myself two slices of pork, a spoonful of mashed potatoes and one of some carrots. I also grabbed a few trees of broccoli and then proceeded to basically drown my food in gravy. I savoured my food and took my time eating my meal, as I would then have to just wait around for ten o'clock. I finished my plate and then went for a wander around the castle.

I was hopelessly mooching around the corridors, with nothing in the world to occupy me. Couldn't play chess, couldn't play Quidditch, and couldn't be bothered to read. I was so unbelievably bored. I couldn't stand it; it was just awful. I was so lonely all the time; I didn't really have anyone to talk to. I occasionally made light conversation with some of the remaining Gryffindors but I didn't know any of them well enough to hold a solid exchange. I was too afraid to spend any more time with Draco, given the way he had been acting recently. I felt as though he was avoiding me after Christmas, and right now I was waiting to meet up with him so I especially couldn't go to him now.

Eventually, I just meandered back up to my bedroom and made sure I was ready to go out. I began to compose a letter to Hermione, and only Hermione; I was too worried about how Ron would react. I had taken the bold decision to tell her about the events with Malfoy. I maybe wouldn't go into detail about what had happened, but I didn't want to keep this big of a secret on my chest for very much longer, I needed to share my feelings with someone sooner or later.