Instrumental *d.m*

*27*

"I missed you so fucking much."

"My brother."

Hermione, Ron, and Harry came to visit me. It took a lot of convincing, with Madam Pomfrey's strictness, but they did it. Though if I could have chosen who it was, it would have been Draco, without a doubt. I'm still mad about what Harry had said, but I can tell he feels sorry about it, so I don't bring it up. After all, I'm not one to hold a grudge.

I explained to them exactly what I explained to Dumbledore. "I didn't know you have a brother," Ron says, his mouth full of the chocolates he bought me.

"I don't. Not anymore." He stops chewing. "He died. I don't like telling people about it though; I don't need their pity. So I'm not sure how Professor Dumbledore knew about him. I suppose from my parents."

My brother; Silex.

He was amazing; black hair and dark green eyes, identical to mine. He was quiet at times, but otherwise, so outgoing. He went to Durmstrang as well. He was only a year above me, so we got along well. He played quidditch - he taught me actually. He was so good, I always hoped to be just as good as him, but I had to stop playing when my parents wanted me to play the piano. It's ironic, they pressured me for piano, but they pressured him for Quidditch. All my parents cared about was their last name: 'Taylor this' and 'Taylor that'. I don't know exactly how he died, my parents never liked to talk about it, but I got something out of them.

Though I wish I hadn't.

- trigger warning -

The night I performed, he killed himself. Lex was the only person who was proud of me and not my parents. When he saw how I messed up on that very last note...I didn't even get to say goodbye.

Though now I understand something:

That one note was the difference between silver and gold.

That one note was the difference between life and death.

* * *

Sooner or later, Hermione and Ron left, leaving Harry to speak with me.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I said. You're an incredible person, and you are definitely not your last name. You are Everliegh, and you are not a Taylor."

Yes, I am - I know why too.

"Thank you, Harry,  it's alright. I'm sorry too."

"You don't have anything to apologize for."

"I know," I pause, "but it just felt right." He gives me a warm smile and squeezes my hand. After giving me one last look, he walks out of the room, leaving me alone in the Hospital Wing, other unconscious bodies around me. I can tell it's now lunchtime. I hear the loud chatter of other students, enjoying their free time.

I can picture Draco, sitting with Blaise, Daphne, Goyle, and Crabbe, laughing and enjoying their food. Thankfully, Pansy is still in the Hospital Wing with me. Frankly, I'm not sure why I'm still here. I feel fine, and I didn't get hurt in any way. But I trust Dumbledore, so I stay put.

'I miss my friends.'

As if reading my mind, the door to the Hospital Wing opens slowly. A few heads poke in, which I immediately recognized. "Blaise! Daphne! Millicent! What are you guys doing here?" I whisper-shout. They smile and open the door more to reveal Crabbe and Goyle behind them, along with a certain blonde boy pushing his way through.

My eyes widen, as we both say, "I missed you so fucking much."

Out of instinct, I jump up, out of bed, showing my dirty outfit. My bare feet hit the cold ground, as I open my arms, running towards each other. I see the huge smile spread on his face, with a hint of worry in his eyes. I jump up, my arms going around his neck, my nails digging deep into his back.

His arms wrap around my slender waist, as he buries his face in the cranny between my neck and shoulder, my hair flying all over the place. I bend my knees, pointing my toes up, as I close my eyes and he spins me around. When he stops, I wrap my legs around his waist, and as we pull away from the hug, his grip goes to my thighs, and tightens, making me feel secure and safe.

I look into those beautiful grey eyes. They're twinkling as he looks at me, up and down, as if checking to see if I'm hurt. I blink quickly, as if I'm dreaming, and scared he'll go away if I stop, but he doesn't. A smile spreads onto my face, and his mimics mine, I let out a shaky, sigh of relief.

In less than a second, our lips are attached to each other. We don't use tongue, but instead, it's deep and meaningful. It lasts quite a while, before we pull away, leaning our foreheads towards the others, leaving almost no space between us. Breathing heavily, it's hard to hear the person behind Draco clear their throat.

Reluctantly, Draco puts me down and I jog towards my fellow Slytherins, laughing. We group hug, and my voice is muffled when I say, "I missed you all so much! Thanks for saving my ass yesterday."

We pull away from the hug, but the smile doesn't leave my face. "Well thank you for beating Pansy's," Blaise says, nudging me.

"Anytime," I say, with a wink. Daphne gives me my air kisses, and Millicent gives me her warm hug. I do my handshakes with Crabbe and Goyle at the same time, and surprisingly don't mess it up. I go to Blaise, and do our handshake, and back away when I point, going back to Draco.

We slap our palms together three times and interlock our pinkies. We say it in sync, just like we planned, "Always." We lean in, giving each other a peck on the lips, before backing away and smiling.

"So," I pause, sitting on my bed. "What are we doing today?"

Draco sits in the chair next to me, and says, "Well you are going to stay here and rest."

"Ugh, no! I've been cooped up here for so long," I whine.

Daphne holds my hand on the other side. "He's right, babe. We still don't know what happened to you." I give them a sad smile, understanding where they're coming from. The rest of the group starts chatting, asking me what happened and what I remember. None of them understand what happened to me, besides me.

I know exactly what happened, but I'm never going to admit it.

Something's wrong, something is definitely, terribly wrong. This only happened once before I came to Hogwarts.

On that night: I blacked out, I went rogue. It's hard to explain, so I'll just go back to that night.

- posted December 10, 2020