Amy Riddle - Volume 2: The Half Blood Prince (A Voldemort's Daughter Story)

Part 18 (nsfw??)

Chapter 18 (this chapter has a bit more of a pg-13 warning than the rest)

Amy's POV

I was following Harry, who was following Draco. Turning corners, walking swiftly through the halls of Hogwarts. The world around me felt close. I could almost hear my blood rushing and my heart beating. I couldn't tell why I was feeling this way, but I had this feeling, like I was approaching the peak, the summit, the pinnacle, the climax of a huge story. I could sense something - something bad, but something good as well.

For the past few weeks Draco had been nothing short of absolutely horrible. I noticed his physical appearance changing drastically. Don't get me wrong, he always had a bit of a grey tint, but his expression looked more pallid than normal. Dark circles layered beneath his eyes constantly and during the day his eyes looked red and raw, from either a lack of sleep or an excess of tears. Both made sense in light of his circumstances.

But this whole mission thing was taking far more than a physical toll on poor Draco. I saw how he acted around his friends, or at least those he had left. Most of them realized that something big was going on in his life and ditched him before he could blink. He was sad, quiet, small. His grades were dropping faster than his self esteem.

I had talked to him a lot too. It was good for me, I think, and him. It was like a nice, long, emotional walk down memory lane when Draco and I talked for hours over the summers before I went to school, sometimes pulling all nighters, sometimes laughing until we peed, sometimes just sitting and thinking and just being. Putting on music when the Death Eaters were all gone and dancing until we were out of breath and laughing harder than ever. I remembered how I used to feel about him, before Hogwarts, before Harry Potter....

Before Teddy.

I think I kind of loved him.

But I quickly threw the thought out of my mind. I told myself that he was the only guy I ever knew, the only friend I ever had before Hogwarts. I told myself that Teddy was still my boyfriend, that I was still head over heels in love with him. Teddy, not Draco. Teddy, not Draco. Teddy, not Draco.

Ugh, fuck drama.

But nonetheless, Draco and I were talking. We'd talk about the mission, we'd talk about what he was going through, sometimes he'd ask for my help or my advice, and I would give it to him. Sometimes, rarely, we'd talk about the good old days, back before school. Sometimes we'd joke around and laugh with each other. Sometimes we'd gossip, or hate on Hufflepuffs, or listen to music. It felt like all of my down time was being spent with Draco. And I really liked that, far, far more than the drama we went through last year. But I could still see it in his eyes and hear it in the way he talked - he was not okay anymore. It was like he was drowning. They say that a lot about depression, that you're sinking and everybody else was floating around you.

I was even able to realize through Draco that maybe that's exactly what I'm going through right now.

My mind snapped back to the present. I continued down the dark hallway, being extra careful to stay as far back from Harry as I could. If he detected me, any explanation I could think up would probably be the last straw. I've had far too many wrong place wrong time experiences during my time here, and another one would be it. Over. Mission failed.

So I continued onwards, led only be by Harry and Draco's quiet footsteps. I followed them up staircases, around corners, past windows and mirrors and dimly lit hallways. Finally, I heard silence, so I stopped moving. The silence lingered for a few more moments until I heard footsteps again, except this time they echoed towards me. I quickly pressed myself into the wall, hiding under the shade of a pillar that jutted out just a bit farther than the wall. Harry stormed by me and I thanked the heavens when he didn't notice me. I waited a few moments longer until he was completely out of sight, then sprang from my hiding spot and continued on the path that Draco was on.