Never Again

Part 8: Holidays

Draco looked out the window of one of the castle towers to the students boarding the Hogwarts Express.

With the holidays finally upon them, it meant that Luna was going back to her father for two weeks. Draco wished he had spent more time with her before she had to leave, as the last few days he had spent with Luna were uncomfortable, and conversations were mainly small arguments.

"I don't see why you're still upset about the match. Gryffindors won - like they always do - Harry caught the Snitch, and that's that." Luna would say.

"It's not fair. Potter grabbed the Snitch from me when I already caught it!" Draco would argue.

"You didn't have the ball fully in your grip," said Luna. "And honestly, will you please stop calling people by their surnames?"

He groaned. Luna had brought the matter up so often it grew sometimes annoying. "Yeah, alright. Whatever. Now, what are you going to do for Christmas?" he asked, hoping to change the subject.

Yesterday was that day when they finally had a real conversation.

"Oh! Well, me and Daddy are probably going to go find some more creatures, but he's going somewhere on a trip so that he can interview a wizard who has seen some movement of Crumple Horned Snorcacks for the last few days. He's really busy with the Quibbler these days."

"Sounds fun," Draco said, amused.

"I don't think you mean it. But at least I still get to spend time with Daddy. It might be a bit boring at Hogwarts, will it?"

"Well, there's the feast and stuff, but I still haven't got any Slytherins to talk to," he admitted.

"You don't only need to talk to Slytherins," objected Luna. "You can talk to Ginny, Harry, Ron and Hermione. I heard Neville's gone somewhere with his grandmother though."

"I firstly wouldn't go out of my way to talk to them, but second, they wouldn't talk to me either. The fact of just saying a polite greeting to each other is a miracle," Draco snorted.

"It can happen," she said peacefully. "It takes time. Just, try, alright?"

"And why should I?"

"For me, okay?" and when she looked at him in the eyes, there was something there...

Now, he watched as the scarlet train left the castle, and tore his eyes away from the window. Two weeks without talking to Luna. Of course, he had expected that nobody would talk to him when he first came, but he had gotten so used to her presence: with her waiting for him in class, taking his notes, and him carrying her books and lending her quills.

He always had someone to talk to, but now, it felt so... lonely.

"Oh, hello there Draco. I knew I'd bump into you sometime... " whipping his head around, he saw Pansy Parkinson standing behind him.

"What do you want, Pansy?" he asked warily.

"Oh, nothing. I didn't know you were staying at Hogwarts," she latched her arms around his shoulders. "I missed talking to you. How come we don't hang out anymore?"

"Get off," he slipped out of her grip.

She gave a small pout. "Your father would've wanted you to spend more time with me."

"I don't care about what my father thinks," Draco said. "Now get off it, and don't come near me again." he stormed off, hoping to find a different resting place.

He kept his head down as he walked through the lonesome corridors. Almost everybody had gone home for Christmas, and he wasn't sure what to expect.