Obliviate {Draco Malfoy}

Chapter 8

"Expeliarmus!" I said the incantation for the fifth time in a row, each time more hopeful than the next. Not once have I successfully casted the spell, even after Harry walked by and gave me a step by step instruction on how to properly flicker my wand, even after concentrating on the spell so hard that my face turns red, Cedric's wand stayed still in his hand.

An annoyed huff left my lips, my hand dropping back down to my side in defeat. I'm not frustrated because I don't know why it's not working, but because I'm very much aware of the exact reason for my failed attempts. My mind isn't focused on the spell, or on Cedric, or anywhere really. I'm not focused, and on top of that, my head is still pounding to the point where my eyeballs hurt. But even that isn't really the reason as to why I can't make Cedric's wand fly out of his hand, if it were, I wouldn't beat myself up over it as much. It would be perfectly reasonable to be distracted because of the intense headache pounding against my brain, yet, that's far from the reason.

Truth be told, I can't stop wondering about a certain blond boy's whereabouts.

Thirty minutes it's been. Thirty minutes since he should've been here. Yet, he's no where in sight. Why isn't he here? Where is he? Did he forget?

Has he finally realized he doesn't have to force himself to show up to these lessons because I'm not his responsibility to protect?

My head pounded at the thought, protesting at my horrible habit of overthinking every single little detail. This is probably what's caused the headache, the constant thinking and worrying...

God, I hate myself.

"Ahhh!" Neville's scream from across the room snapped me out of my thoughts, and only then did I realize how Cedric's currently biting his lip, clearly enjoying my multiple failed attempts at casting one of the most basic charms ever created. I glared at him, "Oh go on, laugh! You know you want to" I snapped, crossing my arms against my chest. He shook his head, the smile on his face widening.

"No no, it's not funny. Not funny at all" He slightly held up his hands in defense, visibly biting the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing. As annoyed as I am by his obvious mockery, my lips twisted into a smile.

"Shut up" I playfully glared at him.

"My bad, mate! You alright?" Felix's voice said from behind me, probably talking to Neville who I'm sure he just flew across the room. Quite curious to take a look for myself, I swirled around, my head instantly pounding at the harsh movement. I flinched, bringing my hand up to my forehead.

"You alright?" Cedric asked in concern, his brows furrowing.

"Yeah, I'm okay, I just have a bit of a headache" I tried to brush it off as something minor. But it's not something minor, the pain just keeps spreading, already making it down to the bridge of my nose. I could feel and hear my head pounding, almost as if I had a beating heart for a brain. My eyebrows furrowed as I realized how odd this headache really feels. I'm not one to get migraines, so I couldn't really tell how normal this really is, but nether less, it bloody hurts.

"Hey, we can take a break if you want. I'll tell Harry..." Cedric suggested, walking a bit closer to me before putting his hand on my shoulder. I know it's silly to worry over a simple headache, but I'm afraid of the pain continuing to spread if I keep acting like it's not there.

Well what am I supposed to do? I'm not going to Madame Pomfrey for a silly headache, I'd just waste her time. I can't just leave the lessons either, not when they're being held solely because of my uncle's deranged claims of You Know Who being back. It'd be a bitch move to just bail on everyone for something as stupid as a headache.