Dramione❤️

Chapter 10: Christmas

Christmas at the Weasley's feels like home. It is weirdly insane how a family that is not your own can make you feel like it is. I am extremely fortunate to have these friends I can rely on. Now is definitely not the time to visit my parents. What with all going on, the last thing I want to do is make them vulnerable to unfriendly attacks and expose them to the recent threats of the Wizarding World. For this reason, the obvious thing to do was to gladly accept Ron's kind invitation to spend Christmas at his house with Harry and the other members of the Order of the Phoenix: a place and a group of people who truly make me feel at home. I am disappointed that Ronald's invitation was not extended to his lovely girlfriend. I am obviously joking. Nonetheless, I don't think it is at all a question of jealousy at this point but mere caring for a friend who clearly found himself a partner who does not deserve him at all. When we were coming to the Weasley's house on the Hogwarts' Express, I have to admit that I did find the heart drawn on the compartment's pane with Ron's and Lavender's initials a bit soppy, but, to each their own...

As I sit in the Weasley's guest room, with some time to spare, my mind takes me to some unfamiliar places. Who knows what Draco is doing now? I wonder if he's happy with his family, even if only for a little while. I do hope his family gives him some rest at least for Christmas. I wonder if he's received any gifts, if he's eating good food. I wonder if he's listening to nice music. I wonder if he's studying. I wonder if he's cold in his bed, if he wishes there were someone with him to keep him warm. I wonder if he's smiling. I wonder if he's thinking about me. I wonder if he misses me as much as I do him and if, like me, he's realizing the importance of the moments we spent together now that we are not able to spend any more together.

I never understood those couples who talk about love as if it is the only thing that keeps them sane and busy. I never understood those people who want to constantly spend time with their 'other half'. I always thought I was destined to spend my spare time with my books, maybe studying or maybe reading. I just thought that maybe some people are born to be good at different things: I'm good at studying, Harry's good at being a Seeker, Ron's good at eating... I thought that being in love or being able to find a boyfriend or girlfriend was another talent that you were born with. Boy, I was wrong. Falling in love is a privilege, not a talent. It is understanding and appreciating someone else's worth, unconditionally. It is thinking about someone else constantly, wondering what they are doing, wondering how there are. I think you realize you're in love the instant you realize that someone else's wellbeing is more important to you than your own. 

***

I am standing in front of Hogwarts, wand in my hand. The school is empty. The sky is dark, the air  is cold. I can't hear a sound. There is an eerie atmosphere around me. I look around, move slightly forward; there is no one to be seen. I gasp as I realize the castle is destroyed. Pieces of the Hogwarts building are missing, there are small fires burning up anything made of wood. I don't understand why no one is around but the castle looks deserted, devastated. There are puddles of blood here and there, there is blood on the few, remaining walls of the castle. Then, out of the blue, out of the darkness, comes a tall, dark figure. It comes towards me. It is dark and I don't understand who or what it is. I move back, I am afraid. Is it here to kill me too? Is it the Dark Lord who has come to end me? It moves closer. The air gets freezing cold, I shiver. I look down at my hands, I no longer have my wand. It has vanished. I have nothin to defend me. In its place there is only blood. My hands are smeared with blood that trickles down to my wrists and then further down into my sweater. I look back up. The figure is even closer now. I don't know what to do. I scream chants and spells as loud as I can but without my wand I am bare and weak and vulnerable. Suddenly, a candle illuminates the figure and I now see it better. I notice the blonde hair, the pointy nose, the grey eyes. Familiar. Comforting in the discomfort. How bittersweet to be killed by the soft, sweet hands of that who you love. The figure comes towards. My time has come, I am dead. The figure points its wand at me. I shut my eyes, I slightly kneel down. I think about my parents and prepare to die. But, the unexpected happens. The figure takes my face in his hands and kisses me. In the desolate, destroyed landscape, our two souls are intertwined. The world is ours. The dust, the blood and the ruins lay around us, indifferent to us, they ignore us completely. I am not dead. I have survived. I have been saved. I am alive. The smell of smoke fills up my nostrils. I start coughing, I can't breathe. The small fires that were surrounding us have now become huge and the flames move towards me, trying to reach us, trying to kill us. I wake up. 

I am sweating. What kind of a dream was that? What does it mean? I realize that my difficulty in breathing is persistent though. I am coughing. I look around the bedroom and realize that smoke fills the room I am in. I remove the blankets I am trapped under and open the room's door, running down the stairs. Everyone is escaping from the Weasley's house which is now on fire. The building is collapsing, the walls are falling apart, the wood is slowly burning, turning to ashes. Mrs. Weasley stares helplessly as her house falls to pieces, heart in her hand. The family's aces are petrified, scared, sad. What happened? Harry and Ginny are breathless. So are Remus and Tonks. Whatever happened cannot be good. As the home turns to ashes, I wonder what my dream meant and I wonder how on Earth we could ever fix something like this. I am worried for the Weasley's and what this means for them. Tears fall from my eyes as I am told what has happened and I am angry at myself for having slept through it. But, most importantly, I am afraid, shocked and feel betrayed when I remember that, except for those coming here, only one other person knew that Harry and I were going to be at the Weasley's for Christmas and only this one person could have informed Bellatrix of Harry Potter's exact location for the holidays.