a christmas break | draco malfoy - 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐃

07

There were days when Draco didn't leave his bed. Days where he didn't eat or drink. He simply stared out the window, or the ceiling, letting tears silently roll down his cheeks. His body cold and motionless, even under piles of blankets.

There were days when Astera asked herself where he was. Days where she searched for him unintentionally. Days she waited for him to come out and argue. Even then, she gave up and decided to leave it at that. And giving up wasn't in her language.

Professors that left for a few days came back, filling up the Great Hall with talk and chatter.

There was a day when Astera didn't join them in the Great Hall for breakfast or dinner. Dumbledore wondered for her, yet kept his distance, still not quite understanding teenagers.

"I don't know if you're purposely following me or it's just a coincidence  you're always here." said Astera, looking up from her book. Before her, Draco stood tall.

"Don't flatter yourself." his words were sharp. He avoided her for days after their last encounter, embarrassed of himself. Why wasn't she making fun of him?

She nodded, noticing him sit opposite her on the window. The two sat in silence and for the first time, Draco didn't feel the need to talk, to fill the void.

"Do you ever raise your head out of those things?" he asked, holding one arm on his propped up knee and playing with the material of his pants.

Astera looked up, closing her book, "When you've got no one, you learn to find comfort in different things. Sometimes unusual."

As much as she wanted to ask him about that night, she couldn't. It wasn't her place. He wouldn't answer. Worse, he might argue and yell. Her book rested in her crossed legs as she held her knees.

"Why weren't you at breakfast?" she asked, trying to get him comfortable. It was difficult. Draco wasn't just someone. He was complex and difficult. He was stubborn and hard to get through. He had a wall of brick and stone in front of him, taller than the trees. He didn't want to talk, yet he did. Somehow.

"Why weren't you?" he asked, his grey eyes finally meeting hers. Astera cocked her head to the side, a sly smile on her face.

"Are you always so observant?"

Draco noticed they weren't actually talking. It was question after question and they weren't getting anywhere. He brought himself to answer, her first question.

"Sometimes." but he kept his answers short. Good enough to satisfy her, but short enough to want more of him and his voice.

"I didn't go because... I didn't feel like it," she said to him, "It's weird not being surrounded by other students that let you go unnoticed."

Draco eyed her up in down. The two were like black and white. Whilst he was in a suit, expensive ties and shoes, she was in a white shirt with a crew neck top over it and those same bulky jeans. He wondered, how were her feet not freezing in those sneakers?

"You don't go unnoticed." Draco said, moving his leg and hopping off the window. Astera followed him with her eyes. He stared at her, his language silent yet loud enough for the smart girl in front of him. She got up with him, letting him walk beside her.

The distance between them was a bit dreadful, annoying even. But, as much as she hated to admit it, the fear and slight despise she had for him was still there. Just because she saw him crying, didn't mean she forgot who he was. Was.

"You aren't in my shoes. I'm fully aware of the state of my life." she said back, holding the book in her right hand.

Draco looked down at her then back up again, "If you were so unnoticed, I wouldn't have known who was in the library."

She stared down, knowing in a way he was right. But, how did he know her? Did someone talk to him about her? Maybe it was the Slytherins that sometimes made funny remarks in her way.

"I would've thought you were another student."

"But I am another student."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Don't argue. It doesn't really suit you."

She scoffed, not believing his words, "And it suits you?" she asked in disbelief, a confused look in her eyes.

"Obviously. No one does it better than I do." Draco said. She expected a smug smile or smirk on his pale face but got nothing but a stern look.

"So egotistical." she shook her head, their feet slowly walking them to another turn in the castle.

Never in a million years would either of them imagine this. While he walked with his hands behind his back and she walked by his side, Astera didn't know if she was dreaming or not. Was she in another universe, reality? Draco felt so, weirdly, normal. The normal reputation he built for himself was evil, degrading, loud and mean. He made himself look like a monster and an enemy to all.

Astera wasn't much like him. She had his sharp tone when angry and crease in the brows. That was the main thing they had in common. Their arguments were harsh, hurtful. In a way, that filled Draco up. But, it made her angrier and confused, even. The two were like two different continents. There was no way to get to the other. Not even a bridge could help. They were basically useless.

In nature, disasters sometimes bring good. The continents sometimes split, the ground shakes and rips itself. One part of the continent travels slowly in the dark and cold water and somehow manages to bump itself into the other continent, causing an earthquake, disaster and a whole turn.

Draco was a disaster. He brought chaos with him everywhere he went. He just didn't think to slow down and not bump as harshly. He forgot how to swim.