The return back to Hogwarts after the holidays has been even more busy than it was before, between the continued stress of preparing for the quickly approaching O.W.L.s on top of Dolores Umbridge as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor things have been feeling out of whack. All the students have been furious with Umbridge's takeover of the class since she has such a strong opposition when it comes to teaching us the practical magic needed to counteract the Dark Arts.
The ministry has to approve of all her lessons, turning it into a theoretical based course instead. It's like the ministry is hiding something from us, it's highly alarming that Umbridge isn't teaching us anything useful. One of the most important classes at Hogwarts is turning into one of the most useless. There's something strange going on, the ministry knows something and is stripping students of the capabilities of properly defending ourselves against the dark.
Because of this unfortunate circumstance the D.A. was born. Dumbledore's Army is a secret organization that Hermione, Harry and Ron had come up with in retaliation to Umbridge only teaching lessons based on textbook theory. Hermione founded the D.A. to educate us about what we'd be up against should another war breakout, giving all the facts and background knowledge about defensive magic.
The sole purpose of the D.A. is to demonstrate defensive spells, something Umbridge has failed to do in class. That's where Harry comes into play, holding the role as leader he's in charge of teaching all of the members the important defenses in order to deflect and protect ourselves against the Dark Arts.
If I'm not in class or in the back of the stuffy library with my face shoved in books, I'm in a D.A. meeting with the rest of my friends. I've been under so much stress and pressure lately from trying to balance classwork, exam prep, and the D.A. that my eating and sleeping habits have been almost non-existent.
I haven't had a decent nights sleep in what feels like weeks, and my body hasn't physically been able to handle anything more than a couple of bites of dinner each day from all the anxious knots in my stomach. I'm running myself down, becoming exhausted both mentally and physically and it's not healthy.
Draco Malfoy hasn't been much help either as of late, he's been completely avoiding me since the Christmas party. Of course we still play the glancing game between classes but we haven't spoken or been around each other much otherwise. Something's changed with him, he's much different now since the party. I guess I shouldn't be complaining though, this is the way it's supposed to be between Draco and I. Does it bother me he's been avoiding me? Yes. Should it? Absolutely not.
But it does, because I haven't stopped thinking about him since that night. I can't unsee the way his grey eyes were sparkling brightly, the way his pink lips pulled back to reveal his perfect teeth and dazzling smile when he talked about his travels. His platinum blonde hair touched by the brilliant silver moonlight, the feeling of his fingertips brushing mine. How kind he was, giving me his jacket to shelter me from the frosty December air and asking about my parents. It's all right there, right in front of me and I can't just ignore it anymore.
I huff lightly, sitting up in my bed while dropping my head into my hands tiredly. The messy topknot flops forward, my fingers rubbing harshly at the bags under my eyes. My hands drop to the fluffy blanket, fumbling anxiously with the soft material while my eyes glance absentmindedly around the dark room. I glance out the window to the right of my bed, my left hand coming across my chest to rub at the tense muscles in the back of my right shoulder.
I know it's going to be another sleepless night, adding to the running streak of at least two weeks now. I can't handle another night of helplessly tossing and turning, staring up at the dark ceiling while thoughts of Draco flood through my mind. I need to go for a walk, to get a change of scenery and take in some fresh air. Maybe it will help ease my troubled mind or maybe it won't, but it's worth a shot. Anything is better than just laying here alone in the dark and praying that maybe I'll finally fall asleep.
