Traitor : Fred Weasley, Draco Malfoy & OC Fanfic

Chapter 38 - Surveillance

The kiss I shared with Draco had pulled me from my stupor. It shocked my system completely and the guilt in the days following was all consuming. If I had been conflicted about my feelings before, it was nothing compared to how I felt now. I still loved Fred, I knew it deep down but I couldn't deny I had been left somewhat exhilarated after my encounter with Draco.

Despite continuing to tell Ginny everything I knew, I didn't breath a word of this to her or Hermione. I couldn't bare the thought of Fred finding out. I was sure it wouldn't happen again so it was better if I kept it to myself.

Very little changed, Draco was still evading most classes and I would only see him in Potions, during which he'd steer clear of me wherever he could. Though we shared a work bench he would sit on the very end and ignore any effort of conversation I made. If had to come near him for whatever reason his whole body would become restless.

Even when spending time in the Common Room he was nowhere to be seen. There was a blatant Draco-sized gap when his friends would gather together on the sofas and Pansy looked positively lost, not having someone to fawn over.

Though I hardly had a leg to stand on after days of missing classes myself, I made a point to return with as much vigour as before. Professor Slughorn had even gone out of his way to pull me aside after my first lesson with him to ask if I was feeling better, when I finally felt strong enough to return. Though he let it slip that one spiteful student, who I assumed had been Pansy or a member of her horrible little gang, had informed him that my absence had been the result of 'getting dumped', as they'd put it so bluntly. Despite this, he was quite understanding, stating "Heartbreak is an awful thing", before dismissing me.

I would always be in Slughorn's good books, that was for sure, but my other classes needed plenty of revision to stay on track. Now Professor Snape had finally gotten what he wanted after all these years, he'd gone full steam ahead with his Defence Against the Dark Arts curriculum, so I planned to spend all night the common room making sure I was caught up.

As the evening went on the Common Room slowly cleared and eventually I was left alone on a plush green sofa to finish the chapters I'd missed. The Slytherin Common Room could be a hostile place sometimes, especially when Pansy was in a bad mood, but if you were able to stay up this late and have it to yourself, then you could really take in its charm.

I was rather cosy by the fire, reading the dusty pages of my textbook by candlelight when my peace was interrupted by the sound of the Common Room opening. I sunk lower into the sofa so my head ducked behind the back and prayed to Merlin that it wasn't Snape.

"Don't worry I'm not going to tell you off" a familiar voice drawled. Draco placed himself beside me on the sofa and I scoffed into my textbook. I stared at him coldly, why did he want to be so close all of a sudden? After having ignored me for weeks on end.

We sat in silence, with only the sound of the crackling fire echoing through the grand room. I dared to take a peek at him, noticing his nervous expression. Beads of sweat had formed on his pale forehead and I couldn't help but wonder if that was from the fire or stress.

"Are you okay, Draco?" I whispered, peering at his face. Mentally, he'd been a million miles away, staring entranced as the flames in the fireplace flickered. My words seemed to break him from his spell as he lazily turned his head to me.

"Excellent" he replied sarcastically, before resting his head on the back of the sofa, so his face pointed to the ceiling, and shutting his eyes. He looked as though he were asleep already and I was tempted to shake him to see if he was still there.

Everything always had to be so dramatic with him. I shook my head, knowing he couldn't see and turned back to my textbook. He never liked when people ignored his performances, I suspected it's why him and Pansy had made such a good match in the beginning. She'd given him all the attention he wanted and more. I often wondered if she deeply regretted cheating on him at the Yule Ball but I quickly shook the thought from mind, realising I was letting him distract me.