"AREN'T YOU GOING TO DINNER?" Nova asked. Draco spun around in his spot on the plush green couch in the middle of the common room. Surprisingly, he was sitting all by himself; his 'goons' were nowhere to be seen, and she herself was the last one to be leaving for the final dinner before holiday break started. He turned back around and dipped his head down. "I was planning on just staying here. You can go on without me." "Alright," she said quietly before stepping out of the room and heading to the main hall for dinner. They had a large spread of steaming foods laid out on the tables of the four houses. The room was full even though some people had already left for break. Nova sat down at the end of the long Slytherin table and scooped a few things onto her plate. A stereotype put against the Slytherins was that they were all scheming, gossiping snakes, but Nova actually preferred to be by herself most of the time. Often, she would be reading a book while eating, and she didn't differ from this practice tonight. When she had finished her meal, which didn't take that long, she began to scoop out another plate, guessing what foods to put on it. She tucked her book under her arm and collected the plate before going back to the Slytherin dormitory.
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"DRACO?" SHE ASKED QUIETLY. The pale boy looked up at her from the same spot on the couch as he was at earlier. "Thought you might be hungry." He took the plate and smiled. "Thank you." "Mind if I sit with you?" Draco nodded, scooting over and propping a leg up on the couch, turning to face his schoolmate. Nova sat down, setting her book on the table beside her. "So, what's going on with you? I haven't been able to figure it out myself." "You can figure anything out." "Stop avoiding the question, Draco." He laughed quietly. "There's the Slytherin in her." When she didn't reply, he only sighed, putting his half-eaten plate aside. "I'm not getting out of this, then. What do you want to know?" "Why were you crying in the bathroom? You didn't go to dinner with your friends, either." "I just needed some time to think." "And what were you thinking about?" "Just break." "So you're telling me," Nova turned to Draco, "that you were crying over break?" "I wasn't crying!" "I saw you, Draco. Please just tell me what is going on." He shook his head and turned away from her, dipping his head once again. "I just don't want to go home for break, that's all." The girl frowned and tried to get a facial expression or something from him that would explain. When she didn't, she tentatively reached a hand out, first resting it on his shoulder, and then reaching up to his head and brushing the hair off of his forehead. When she saw that he was once again crying, she rested her cool, smooth hand against his cheek and forehead, letting some of his tears catch on the side of her hand. "Draco, what's the matter?" His shoulders began to shake. "It's terrible. They're everywhere." "I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean, Draco." "The death eaters, the Dark Lord..." "Oh." Nova let her hand fall from his face and rested it on her lap. She curled her legs up under her and rested against the back of the couch. "I assume you know already-" "That you are one?" "Yeah." Draco grimaced and leaned back against the couch beside her. "I can't escape them, and with the Dark Lord staying at the manor...I don't want to go home. It's terrible." "Have you thought about staying here over break? At Hogwarts?" Draco laughed. "Staying in the dungeons. No, I haven't considered it all that much." Nova nodded, understanding what he meant. Although they both had nice rooms, the Slytherin common room was a bit dank and was definitely not part of the Christmas scene that the rest of the school had been displaying recently. It was always cold and musty down there, so she understood why Draco hadn't considered it. "It's like when I'm at home I have to play this sort of game..." He trailed off, stretching his shoulders back and moving his neck around. "Like, although I am one of them, I don't want to be. I never wanted to be. But I was raised to join them, and they don't see that this wasn't the life I wanted. My parents, the others...they just don't give me that choice. And they never did. So I am stuck living this life, this miserable life of doing all of this and pretending that this is how I want to spend the rest of my life." He played the game as if his life depended on it and the truth was that it did. At school, everyone had the idea stuck in their heads that his persona was his true character. But it wasn't who he really was, not in the slightest bit. He never wanted to live like this. Draco was a Slytherin, and the hat had chosen that correctly. But he never wanted to be a Death Eater; he never wanted to join the Dark Lord. That life was forced on him by his cruel, cruel parents, and denying their wishes would not have ended well for him. And with the fast approaching war in the Wizarding World, he was stuck now more than ever. He knew he could not escape and would never be able to. He had to play the game as if when or if he took a wrong step, that would be the end for him. "Have you thought of something else you could do? Somewhere else you could stay?" Draco merely shook his head. "No. I'll just be going home again." "Draco, it's the holidays! We'll be on break. Don't go home if it has truly gotten that bad. You deserve to be happy, even if it only lasts a short while. Please consider something else," Nova pleaded. Her heart was not always as cruel as her Slytherin robes portrayed. She genuinely cared about him; she wanted him to be happy. Draco deserved that, at least. "Nova," Draco began, having said her name for the first time, "I don't have any other options. This is my life. I can't escape." "Come home with me."
