ANGEL IN BLUE JEANS | P. PATIL ✔

５ - Ｍａｌｌｏｒｙ Ｇｒｉｍｍｏｎ Ｈｅｌｐｓ Ｄｒａｃｏ Ｍａｌｆｏｙ

ＭＡＬＬＯＲＹ ＴＲＵＤＧＥＤ ＡＦＴＥＲ ＨＥＲＭＩＯＮＥ ， ＷＨＯ was walking unnaturally fast. They were headed in the direction of the Hospital Wing but she didn't understand why. Hermione looked worried beyond the word worried. But Mallory hurried after her anyway. She mentally groaned when she saw Ron laying on a bed, with Harry, Dumbledore, Snape and Slughorn around him. She then told Hermione she had to meet up with Demelza, even though it was a fib. Hermione though didn't care whether she was lying or not, all she cared about was Ron.

"I promise I'll meet up with you later." Mallory promised before heading in the direction of the common room. Hermione eyed her before she rushed to Ron's bedside. Mallory walked past Lavender, who was running. Most probably worried about her adorable Won-Won. Mallory shuddered.

She found herself taking a left when she she spotted Draco hunched over, head between the knees. It seemed as though he was crying and Mallory's heart paced. What should she do? Walk away and pretend she didn't see anything? Or comfort the one boy who tormented her friends since day one?

"Are you okay?" Mallory heard herself whisper to Draco. He looked up, tears glimmering on his ghostly cheeks. His eyes were crimson red and Mallory felt her heart break.

"Go away Grimmon!" He snarled at her and she swallowed thickly. Walk away Mal, walk away. You can just pretend this never happened, pretend you never tried helping the one person who torments your friends. Just walk away.

"You don't have to talk." Mallory stiffly said, sitting down next to him. "You don't even have to look at me, but I'll be here. For when you're ready to talk."

Draco said nothing, made no attempt to move at all. He sat there, his hands lying limp on his lap. "Why are you here Grimmon?"

"I—" Mallory sighed. She didn't know why she was here. One minute she was headed to the common room, the next she was talking to Draco. Maybe Mallory wasn't as demon as she thought she was. "I don't know."

"Won't Potter be upset with you?" He asked after what seemed like a century. Mallory looked at him, for the first time seeing a broken and scared boy in front of her, no longer that cocky and ambitious Slytherin boy he was sculpted to be.

"He's not really my friend." She truthfully replied. Mallory and Harry never really speak.

"Granger then?" Draco asked with a voice thick with sorrow, Mallory swallowed hard. She shouldn't be here.

"Perhaps. I don't know." She shrugged.

"Why are you doing this Grimmon?" Draco sniffed, wiping his nose on his robes. "You shouldn't be here, you should let me be."

"Honestly Draco, I really don't know."

"Do you know anything?" Draco asked, voice rising in evident annoyance. Mallory shrugged.

"I know that I want to help you, even if you are the bad guy. I don't know why I want to help you, but I do." She sighed. "Maybe it's because I know what it feels to be sad in secret."

Draco glanced at her, "Thank you." He muttered before standing up awkwardly and Mallory awkwardly smiled at him.

"Anytime." She whispered before she watched him disappear.

*

ＭＡＬＬＯＲＹ ＷＡＳ ＳＥＡＴＥＤ ＮＥＸＴ ＴＯ Hermione at breakfast, Ron seated next to Hermione on her left with Harry across them. Where she sat, she could clearly see Lavender glaring daggers at them with red, watery eyes. They reminded Mallory of Draco. Her heart began racing because she helped Draco, and Draco is Harry's mortal enemy.

"...and you broke up." Hermione finished and Mallory blinked, not realizing that she had zoned out of their entire conversation. Harry suddenly whipped out a book when Ginny sat down next to him.

"You still have that book?" Hermione snarled and this took Mallory aback. She had known Hermione for being kind, caring and a huge geek but never this mean.

"Yes," Harry carelessly said, flipping through the pages, reading extremely fast. Mallory knew even Hermione could never read that fast. "It helps. It saved Ron's life."

"What book is it?" Mallory found herself asking, surprising herself and Harry. They locked eyes for a moment before Harry looked down to his book and Mallory looked at Lavender, who was still glaring daggers at them.

"Advanced Potion Making." Harry replied, not bothering to look up. Mallory didn't reply. Instead, she found herself sliding out her chair and walking over to Lavender, whose eyes never strayed from Ron and Hermione.

"They're together aren't they?" Lavender snarled when Mallory plopped down next to her. Lavender heard her sigh. Padma then decided that it'd a good time to come over.

"No." Mallory replied, looking at the ceiling. The spot where they sat, began raining and Mallory shrieked in shock. This caught the attention of the trio, plus Ginny and Draco, who looked helplessly at Mallory, as if he was deciding whether she could be trusted or not. Mallory looked away from him.

Lavender suddenly cried, and Mallory stopped the rain before she and Padma engulfed her best friend in a hug. It pained her to think that Lavender was just a friend, not more and how she wished she was more.

"What's wrong with me Mal? Is it my nose?" She asked, sniffing loudly in Mallory's ear. Mallory however made no attempt to move. "Merlin knows I've been trying to fix it! I even asked Padma!" Mallory and Padma made eye contact and Padma sighed as she nodded, indicating that Lavender had truly asked her. "Or is it my plump body?" She helplessly asked.

"Nothing is wrong with you Lavender, something is wrong with Ron." Lavender pulled back from the hug and both Padma and Mallory held her hands. "He's a fucking git for not noticing how adorable your crooked nose is, or how curvy your body is or the freckles you have scattered around your nose or how your eyes light up when you laugh."

"Yeah," Padma said. "I mean we haven't really spent much time together but you're awesome Lavender Brown and if that shit head Ron doesn't appreciate that, then he doesn't deserve you."

"Thank you guys." Lavender whispered and Hermione glanced them a sad look from the other table. "It hurts guys. I thought he loved me the way I loved him. It just bloody hurts. I wish I could stop all this hurt."

"I know it hurts Lav, it will always hurt." Mallory sighed. "But I'm here Lav, I'll always be here. Just look for me, and I will always be here. I won't let you down Lav, I promise." If Mallory knew she'd never be able to fulfill her promise, she would've never made it.

"And I'll be right there if you need me Lavender." Padma said, and smiled at Mallory, who blushed and tried hiding her cheeks. Padma laughed at her.