𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 • (𝐝.𝐦.)

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫

♔

The summer passed by me with unexpected speed. All the time I had to relax was spent waiting for any letter or word from Draco, but nothing ever came. 

I waited, debating writing another letter, but it wasn't my turn. I would wait for him to write me back, and if he didn't, then he simply didn't. 

I didn't want to think about it too much, but he promised me that he would write as much as he could. 

Over the summer, I didn't see him either. Only once. I spent all of my time with Blaise. We went to Diagon Alley quite often, stopping at the Leaky Cauldron for sneaky drinks under the table from our favorite bartender. 

I laughed a lot that summer, more than I would've expected to. I still kept a low profile and made a daily effort to remind myself that I could not be found out. 

Blaise even had a quidditch pitch behind his house, so we played quite often. I was thinking of joining the team this year, and Blaise had been helping me practice for tryouts all summer. I wasn't certain I would try out, but it was a thought.

I was a terrific player, according to him, but it was obvious I needed some work with perfecting how I played. He said I'd make a good Chaser or Seeker,  I had good speed. 

The Zabini family was overwhelmingly kind to me, treating me like a daughter. It made me feel like I was a part of a real family. My father was never discovered, he was still completely off-radar to me, but I had a feeling he was still alive. 

Winnie had served me well this summer, and I gave her a lot of time to relax and not slave for me, it was terrible to overwork a house-elf, they were just like everyone else after all. My owl came back after dropping Draco's letter off, but there was nothing on the receiving end. 

I decided upon leaving my owl at Hogwarts' owlery and bringing Poe to school as my designated pet instead. I would hate to leave him by himself, and he had been alone for so long while I was at school before. 

Over the summer there were plenty of Death Eater meetings. The only time I had seen Draco at all that summer was when Ryder and Olympia Zabini brought Blaise and me to Malfoy manor for a meeting. 

We were not there to participate, of course, but Blaise didn't feel safe leaving me at his house alone when he had to go. I only saw him when the doors to the meeting room were open and Blaise and I were waiting outside. 

I saw how tired he looked. He looked like a whole different person to me, and this was terrifying. I disregarded the fact that he hadn't written to me at that point, there had to be a lot happening behind closed doors, but I still wished he would communicate with me. 

I wish I could help him. 

♔

In the morning before we were to go to Kings Cross, Blaise and I said goodbye to his parents and I said goodbye to Winnie. I was happy about the fact that Winnie had a new home now, and for as long as I had resided at the Zabini's, I hadn't seen any mistreatment of their house-elf either. 

Blaise and I used Floo Powder to get to the station, not my favorite mode of transport, but a quick one. 

When we arrived, I decided that I wanted to board early to get a spot on the train. We walked past all the compartments to the back of the train where the sixth years sat. 

When we walked into that back compartment, I saw something I didn't expect. 

"Draco? Haven't seen you all summer," Blaise chortled, sitting down across from him. Draco's dark circles hollowed out his face and made him nearly unrecognizable. 

He looked so different from when I saw him at the beginning of the summer. 

He looked so much more tired. 

He looked up and mustered a small nod, looking back out the window as I sat down as well. 

"Hi, Draco," I said, trying to form eye contact with him, but I got nothing in return. "Hi," He said lowly, eyes trained out the window even though the train wasn't even moving yet. 

Draco stood up to put something away, standing in the aisle for a moment as he looked around. 

Soon enough, more students filed into the train, including Pansy Parkinson unfortunately. She sat down with Crabbe and Goyle in the booth next to us, but I ignored her earnestly. 

Suddenly, the train car went black as dark, ashy powder surrounded us. "What is that?" I asked, coughing slightly, but Pansy insisted it was a first-year playing a trick on us. 

When the smoke cleared, Draco looked agitated but sat down again.  

Montague paraded through the aisle soon enough, wedging himself next to Pansy and making a scene of sticking his tongue down her throat. I cleared my throat, not needing the disgusting PDA. 

"Want to sit somewhere a little more... private?" He asked Pansy, who shot me a glare.

"Of course, Monty, baby," She said in a sickening voice, getting up and following Montague away from us. Finally. 

As the train began moving, Blaise and I began to talk about the year to come. "I looked at our Potions textbook briefly, says we're making Amortentia this year," I said, and Blaise's eyes widened. 

"Wicked," He breathed. 

"I can't wait to be back," I admitted, and Blaise hummed in approval, agreeing with me. 

"Hogwarts. What a pathetic excuse for a school. Think I'd pitch myself off the Astronomy tower if I'd thought I would have to continue for another two years," Draco hissed suddenly. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, arms crossed. 

He rolled his eyes at me, looking back towards the window. "Let's just say I don't think you'll see me wasting my time with Charms class next year," He said. 

Blaise let out a snicker at his words, although I still was properly confused by them. 

"Amused, Blaise?" Draco started, glaring at him now, "We'll see just who's laughing in the end." 

♔

bruhhhhhhh draco's so dramatic. anyway this is like, a big deal. big things to come. yay!