familiar ; draco malfoy

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR (R)

mature content ~ viewer discretion is advised

The sheer power of youth to leave skeletons buried among the path they continue to lightly tread took shape in the form of Ramona Xanthos, who lead the funeral parade herself.

Even though Ramona was used to the kind of life that required looking over her shoulder with every step she took, the paranoia and dread that settled in her stomach following the events of her birthday sent her into a down-spiral of existential anguish not only caused but further induced by the very girl she shared a room with.

It had been a full two weeks of Pansy walking on eggshells around Ramona; slipping into the dormitory once she was already asleep, going out of her way to give her space, getting ready quietly and speaking- if she really had to - only in hushed tones.

As if stillness and quiet could cure both of them. As if silence made everything softer. Unspoken things lingered in that silence and never seemed to leave. They bit at their toes and laid in bed beside them when sleep wasn't coming.  They gnawed at their insides. They ripped open their eyelids each morning. They felt heavier than the silence itself. And they threaded beside them each and every day as they left for class, side by side, much like two people who had been through a war together and had very little in common but the battle itself.

 Life passed by them and they could only watch it pass.

Once her feet hit the cold ground on a lousy Wednesday morning, that familiar dread pushed against her like an invisible gust of wind, attempting to reverse her steps back to bed. Dread dressed her in her robes. Dread tied her shoelaces. Dread dragged her towards the Great Hall where she tried to push it down her throat with food that barely had any taste.

"You alright?" asked Blaise, staring at her plate and then at her, traveling between two focal points as if trying to compel her to eat. Every bite she took dissolved like waste in her mouth and she cringed when swallowing.

"Alright," she answered, picking up the sandwich under Blaise's watchful eye. Blaise had taken it upon himself to play the part of mother hen, making sure she ate at least breakfast and dinner, got enough sleep, and didn't spent most of her day in the library. When she'd fall asleep during class, he'd fold his robes and create a pillow for her head. He even got a detention from Snape for doing so once. If she appeared in a good enough mood for company, he would take her for a walk and crack jokes, even ones so desperately horrible they had to be funny.  There was no denying that what happened with Pansy took its toll on him. She noticed how he'd flinch each time she'd sigh deeply.

When she couldn't, he helped Romeo with his homework. Even insisted on it. He didn't even care about people asking him why he was helping a first year Hufflepuff- very few people dared to talk to Blaise Zabini when Blaise Zabini didn't wish to be talked to.

One afternoon, he even agreed to accompany her to the Three Broomsticks to meet with Luna. The white haired witch was pleased to see him, not knowing him and Ramona were on good terms, and Blaise made no moves to stick around for long- though Ramona could see that Luna's company didn't bother him. Which was a start.

There were moments where Ramona forgot what happiness felt like. But magical Luna Lovegood that could erase clouds in the sky just by smiling. And in those moments with the two of them, she could feel it. She could feel what happiness could be like.

"Eat that," Blaise mumbled, stuffing his mouth with the third sandwich in a row, pieces of brea falling out as he spoke. Ramona scrunched up her face and pushed her plate away, much like a bratty child. Blaise commenced yet another grand speech on how her body needed fuel to recover from stress- when a white haired boy left the Great Hall just as fast as he had entered.