𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 '𝟗𝟔 ; 𝐝. 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐨𝐲 ✓

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐨𝐧𝐞

7:37 am
August 31, 1996

His words still burned inside my head.

"I don't know where I'm headed to, and I don't know if I'll ever see you again."

In a seemingly flash, I boarded the Hogwarts Express, my head drooping low with a lump still imbedded in my throat, preventing me from speaking to anyone. My damp eyes remained looking at the floor, for I didn't want to make eye contact with anyone to reveal my vulnerability. I passed an open compartment, Ron and Hermione inside it, snogging of course. I flinched, but not because I wished I were Hermione, but because I wished it were me and Draco.

Finally, I came across the glass compartment in which Blaise and Pansy sat. They were my best friends, but still, I didn't even urge to talk to them either.

"Estelle! We missed you so much!" Pansy exclaimed enthusiastically, Blaise smiling along with her.

"I missed you guys too." I murmured, plastering a fake smile across my face while a small tear shed out of my eyes.

I pressed my forehead against the foggy window, immediately giving me a rush of brain freeze and quietly sighed, allowing my tears to fall. He was all I could think about. The endless amount of questions I still had rung throughout my mind. All I had longed for was just a little bit of closure, it didn't even have to be how long he'd be gone, or if I was guaranteed to see him once again, or where he was, I just wanted to know if he was safe wherever he had gone.

The grey sky stood still as I observed the trees and shrubbery passing by.

We're under the same sky.

I later perceived that Blaise and Pansy had been addressing me for the past few minutes, but I had become lost in thought. Blaise shook me gently.

"Estelle, why are you crying?" He demanded.

"Oh..." I scanned him unsuspiciously, "Nothing's wrong, just tired. My sleep schedule is just still a little fucked."

Pansy gave me a muddled glare. "You cry when you're tired?"

"Guys, please. Just leave me alone." I muttered in response, returning to my gaze outside the window.

The reason I was so reluctant to tell my friends how I was actually feeling inside was because I knew exactly what they'd say.

"Of course you're crying over Malfoy."

"He's not a good guy, he really did leave because he doesn't want you, Estelle."

"Why Malfoy?"

"Malfoy is an asshole."

I would've agreed with them a year ago, but I've learned to adapt to one's true self before judging on who they are under pressure.

Pansy and Blaise remained reticent the rest of the ride, most likely wishing to not cause me any annoyance.  Soon enough, the train halted to a stop as I cringed. The train ride here was always harmonious. Especially this ride, as I required the silence to leave myself to my own thoughts.

Back at Hogwarts, nothing out-of-the-ordinary occurred. Routinely, I helped the brand new first year Slytherins out with their schedules, arranged my new dorm, reunited with some people I hadn't seen since school let out. It was fairly normal, besides the fact that I was absolutely heartsick.

The evening of my return to Hogwarts, Pansy and I strolled past what used to be Draco's dorm, as I let out a painfully audible sigh. She glimpsed at me, raising an eyebrow in worry. We concluded our walk back to our dorm. I sprawled onto my bed, snuggling up to a nearby pillow in utter wish it was my love. Soon, I realized that Pansy had been burdened with the thought of me being grieved all day.

"Hey Estelle..." She perked up, glancing over at me in my bed. I stared right back, with my glassy sapphire eyes. "You know that you don't have to hide anything from me, right?"

Finally, the tears I held in most of the day began to trickle out of my eyes, as Pansy brought it to my knowledge that it was okay to feel vulnerable in front of her. She tiptoed over to me and cloaked her arms around me, softly rubbing my shoulder with her hand.

"I didn't want to mention anything earlier, because I predicted that you and Blaise might taunt me. Nevertheless, I spent my summer with... Draco, as you may already know. To say the least, we had an absolute blast together. Every night at midnight, him and I would sneak out and dash through the woods, eager to find something new every single night. We would spend the whole day together, from dawn right till dusk. He got me out of my comfort zone, and urged me to challenge my fears. I also may or may not have lost my virginity to him, but that's besides the point. Yesterday, he informed me that he wasn't returning to Hogwarts, and that he would never return for the last two years we have. He even mentioned not knowing if we'd ever see each other again. I just— I don't know. I'm absolutely distraught. I'm really iffy on how to feel. He told me his parents told him to pack his stuff, as they were leaving to someplace unknown. And then he was gone."

Pansy wordlessly nodded, sympathetic towards how I was feeling.

"Look Estelle, I know by how the looks of it are, you believe you shouldn't hold your breath over the idea of seeing Draco again. I in all honesty expect that this will be exactly what justifies your fate together. See, if you're genuinely meant for someone, no matter what, you will always be brought back to them somehow. My mother and father are both living proof of that concept. If you and Draco are really, truly meant for each other, then you'll encounter him once again. But if you never find him once again, then, it deeply pains me to say this, but you guys aren't meant to be. On the bright side, there's someone else out there that would be waiting for you that will be comprehensively worth every step you would take to find them. And that will be who the love of your life is. Despite if you forget Draco or not, they will make you the happiest version of yourself that you can be."

God, I really hoped it was the first one. It's Draco. It always has been Draco, and it always will be.