Dear Diggory

chapter 56

The next evening I was heading back to the Ravenclaw Tower after class ran late. I was eager for the weekend to begin, I needed a break from assignments already.

As I hurried up the staircase I spotted Draco coming down it, I hadn't seen him all week, he hadn't turned up in potions class on Wednesday. Once he caught site of me his eyes flickered around in panic, searching for an escape route.

I knew what that meant.

I hurried up to him as he turned back on his route. I reached for his arm and grasped it gently through his robe. I spotted a small hideaway in the wall nearby and pulled him into it for some privacy.

We stood opposite one another, but he refused to meet my eyes, scuffing the ground with his shoe.

My hand shook slightly as I reached my fingers under his chin and raised his face to meet my eyes. I scanned his porcelain skin and saw the tell-tale shimmer of concealment charms. I pulled my wand from my pocket and waved it across his face, revealing the true horror beneath.

His delicate skin was covered in ugly bruises ranging from yellow to purple to black. The mottled effect was sickening and made worse by the thoughts of how he had acquired them. There was a small cut across his lip and I knew it would have hurt him to speak or eat.

I tried to retain my gasp at the sight of what Lucius had done to his son and a fresh wave of anger washed over me.

"Draco this is-" I began, but he cut me off briskly, waving his own wand to conceal the abuse.

"Please don't say anything. I don't want to talk about this right now." He pleaded and I felt devastated to see the shell of his character before me.

He was just a boy. He didn't deserve this.

He slipped past me, running back down the stairs, as if he was afraid I might push the conversation upon him.

I sighed as I looked after his retreating figure. I had mere months to figure out how to help him and his mother. And so far I was completely failing at it.

The sadness filled me heavily and I didn't feel like returning to the dorms anymore, the girls would only notice my mood and force questions upon me.

I continued up the staircases, making my way to the seventh floor. I knew I would be alone with my thoughts here, no one came up this high because as far as we knew there wasn't anything significant on this floor.

I wandered through the long barren corridors, passing where I knew the room of requirement was.

The hallways were sparse compared to the other walls of the castle which were filled with paintings. The only sound was my own footsteps, but I ignored them as I got lost in my thoughts.

What would I do about it all? About Draco and his family? About Cedric and forgiving him? Would I ever have answers to those questions? It didn't feel that way lately. I was so drained from the turmoil of everything.

I had always been empathetic and I considered it both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, I knew it helped me understand other people and it helped to make me a better friend. But on the other hand, it meant that I shared other's pain and sometimes it was overwhelming.

But I knew what was really frustrating me, it was that I didn't have the answers. Answers that I so desperately craved. If I was unable to find solutions it annoyed me greatly, what use was all this thinking without a conclusion?

"Hello there," a timid voice spoke behind me, echoing through the empty corridor.

I jumped out of my skin and turned to see who had crept up on me.