dislike ↠ draco malfoy

nineteen

Holiday break passed by quickly. Before I knew it, I was making my way back into Hogwarts after the long train ride. As I entered the Great Hall for dinner, I looked around for Draco, but he wasn't there.

I frowned and made my way to the Slytherin table. Carmen was picking at her mashed potatoes with a spoon. Blaise was leaning over the table, telling her something in a hushed voice. I sat down next to her.

When I sat down, Blaise snapped up and stopped talking.

"Pass me a roll, Blaise," I said.

He glared at me, his dark brown eyes piercing into mine. "We were kind of in the middle of a conversation."

"Sorry," I replied, not sounding very sorry at all. I held out my hand. "Roll?"

He rolled his eyes and handed one to me. I bit into it, and my mouth filled with the warm taste of buttered bread. I started to pile my plate with an assortment of different foods.

"Where's Draco?" I asked nonchalantly while biting into a piece of turkey.

He shrugged. "He hasn't shown up yet."

I felt slightly worried. I reminded myself that he was probably fine. He was just late.

"So," Carmen said, fingering a roll. Her hair was in a braid down her back with curls sticking out of it, "did you guys hear that we're starting Apparation lessons soon?"

"Yeah, I heard," I replied.

"I think Apparating will be so fun!" she exclaimed. "You can go anywhere you want in seconds."

I nodded. "I can't wait for spring to come. Don't get me wrong, I love snow, but I'm really starting to get sick of the cold."

She nodded. "Yes, I agree."

"There he is," Blaise said, looking up past my head.

I whipped my head around. Draco had just walked into the Great Hall. He had an unreadable expression on his face. He made his was over to us and sat down next to Blaise.

"Hey," I said. "What took you so long?"

He glanced at me. "I had things to do."

I stared at him with a worried expression on my face. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Draco snapped, which made me flinch and jump a little in my seat. "Stop treating me like a baby!"

It was as if he had completely changed over the holiday break. I stared at him angrily.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Blaise said with a yawn.

Draco glared at him. He had his arms crossed on the table. I noticed that he wasn't touching the food.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" I asked in a worried tone.

"I did earlier," he replied curtly.

I could tell he was lying. He looked different than before the holidays, too. He looked thinner, and his eyes were sunken in from lack of sleep.

I picked up a roll and offered it to him. "Here, you have to eat something..."

He brushed off my hand. "I told you," he said quickly. "I'm not hungry."

I set the roll down slowly. "Draco..."

"You are not my mother, Evangeline," he spat. "So stop acting like you are."

Blaise looked back and forth between the two of us, sensing the tension. "Er— are you guys okay?"

"Fine," I snapped. I looked away from Draco and down at my food.

Draco shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He looked as if he was going to be sick. He still did not eat. He merely stared into space, lost in thought.

A few long minutes later, Draco got up from the table. "Going to bed," he mumbled and hurried out of the Great Hall.

"Good, he's gone," Carmen said. "He was really sucking the positivity out of me."

I debated whether or not to go and check on him, but I decided against it. It would appear strange to everyone else if I had just decided to go and run after Draco.

I finished my chocolate pudding and then got up from the table with everyone else. People started to make their way to their common rooms. I decided to go to the bathroom on my way there.

I made my way to the bathroom and pushed open the door. There was a blonde boy leaning against the sink. "Oh, sorry, wrong bathroom—" I began, but I stopped when I realized who it was.

He spun around to look at me. It was Draco, and he was sobbing in the bathroom. His face was red and covered in tears.