five hours with draco malfoy;

Part two

IF DESTINY REALLY EXISTED, that morning it decided to act in a somewhat twisted way, although surely with good intentions, and, who would have thought that two completely different worlds would end up joining together?

That day, fortunately there were no classes and the corridors of the castle were full of students, running from one place to another with joy. The weekend had come, and with it, the Christmas holidays. Everyone would go home the next day to join their families at this magical time of year.

Annelisse felt just like the rest of her classmates, agitated, happy to be able to see her family after months. She always found it hard having to leave her family to attend Hogwarts, no matter how much she loved studying here and being with her friends. She wanted to see her little brothers again, her father, her mother and, above all, her older brother, who used to spend the year abroad, since he worked in the Ministry of Magic there in America.

She was in her room, already preparing her huge and damaged suitcase. Her mother had told her a thousand and one times that she should buy a new one for her but she did not want to do it, she liked hers just as it was. She told herself that the suitcase was special, that every bump, scratch or break that it had, it told an anecdote about a trip or important moment. For that reason, she wanted to continue using it, she wanted to continue marking that suitcase of memories.

"It's done." She said on a relieved sigh, talking to herself as she proudly observed the task that she hated so much and liked at the same time. Packing was overwhelming but on the other hand, it made her stomach tingle, since that meant vacation and it was one of the things she liked the most, traveling, wherever she went. No matter the destination, as long as she tried to get out of the rut, she enjoyed the place she went to the most.

What she did not know was that, on the other side of the castle, in one of the dungeon rooms of the Slytherin house, Draco Malfoy was doing exactly the same thing she was doing at the moment. Although not with the same effusiveness, he watched his suitcase with sadness on his face. Holidays meant something else entirely to him; having to spend time with his family.

Not that he hated it, he liked to see them again but he knew for sure that that feeling would fade the next day and then loneliness would reappear, drowning him. Being in his house was what it implied, being alone, feeling that way during all the days that he spent with them.

At times, he had thought of asking his parents to stay at Hogwarts but he never dared, since he knew what the answer would be. Anywhere seemed better to him than his house, than that cold manor he called home.

He decided that morning to climb the Astronomy tower after having everything ready to leave tomorrow with the Hogwarts Express. He walked out of his room calmly, without much fuss as he watched the people around him. Some greeted him and he just shook his head slightly in greeting as he walked through the huge Slytherin common room. He wished not to meet Crabbe or Goyle on the way since he wanted to be alone, not to be disturbed.

He successfully advanced through the grandiose corridors of Hogwarts, dodging people, even ignoring them, directing his step towards the long-awaited tower, the only place where no one bothered him.

When he finished climbing the stairs, he let out a huge sigh, somewhat relieved, and the mist could be seen coming out of his mouth from the cold December day. He walked slowly, approaching the railing of the tower. He put his hands down, feeling the icy iron on them, sliding them slightly. He liked to feel the cold on his body. After all, it was the only thing he knew; cold. He had never felt warmth or anything like it.

His eyes took in the beautiful landscape offered by the tower, white with snow, almost dazzling. Everything was bathed in snow and mixed with the green of the pastures.

His mind returned to the same idea again, pulling his head closer and looking down from above. When he went upstairs, he thought about how easy it would be to end all his problems. Draco thought he only had to get on the rail and take a step to get it.

"What a stupid thing." That was what he always ended up saying to himself and why he had never done such a thing. Maybe he was not brave, maybe he did not want to disappoint his mother, or maybe and just maybe, there was still a small silver lining somewhere inside him.

Fate had set it's plan in motion that day, we could even name it. His name was Buttons and Annelisse was running desperately, chasing him around the corners of Hogwarts.

"Oh, damn cat." She muttered to herself. If there was something she couldn't control, it was Buttons. He constantly ran away from her, even disappeared for a day or two, but he always came back to her. That morning, trying to catch him —so that tomorrow they could go home together—, Buttons decided to do his thing and make it difficult for her. Annelisse could not do it, every time it looked like she was about to catch him, he would run again, fleeing once more from her.

Buttons, enjoying what seemed like a game to him, entered the castle at full speed while Annelisse continued to curse him under her breath as she pursued him. In a moment, seeing where he was going, her lips twisted, forming a smile on her face almost victorious.

He was heading towards the Astronomy tower and then she knew that Buttons would have no escape. She came up the stairs after him while she was talking to him.

"You can't escape anymore, Buttons." She said almost in a whisper as she reached the bottom of the stairs and, with it, reached the tower "Where are you? Come, kitty kitty."

At that very moment, Draco Malfoy was disturbed by the presence of something, causing him to startle and abruptly bringing him back to reality. He lowered his head towards what had taken him out of his thoughts and frowned when he saw that he had a black cat next to him that would not stop rubbing against him as he meowed softly, seeking his attention.

He felt confused for a second, wondering what a cat would do up here, so far from the Hogwarts grounds. Buttons meowed again, this time raising his head to him, looking directly at Draco. He couldn't help but feel curious, so he bent down slowly towards that cat, slowly reached out his hand towards him and gently stroked his back.

But what Draco had not realized yet but he would do very soon, was that this cat was not alone.