Darkness Within||Draco Malfoy Fanfiction

Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Fallen angel

Suddenly, Roxy abruptly pulled back. Draco's eyes flew open in surprise at the rush of cold air to his lips. They stared at each other, cheeks flushed, eyes wide, breathing heavy, and lips slightly swollen.

"I'm sorry," Roxy said, "We -we shouldn't have done that. We can't. It'll only bring more trouble. And I -I don't think I can...I can't..." She trailed off.

Draco felt his heart sink. Already, he longed for her lips back on his. It had been too long. He wanted nothing more than her. She stood there, a beautiful angel. But there was also darkness in her life, though he believed her heart was pure.

A fallen angel.

And Draco knew that, despite how he felt, she was right. They couldn't be together. It just couldn't happen.

He swallowed. And swallowed down any feelings he had.

"I understand," he answered, stuffing his hands back into his pockets to stop  his fingers from twitching towards her, to reach for her, "Let's -let's just say it never happened. Go back to the way we were." She slowly nodded.

"Alright. Yes, I think that's the best option. We should both get some rest." Before he could talk further, she turned and swiftly vanished down the steps, heart in throat.

~~~***~~~

Then came the day of their Hogsmeade trip. For the past few days, ever since what had happened on the Astronomy Tower, the two of them had tried to remain neutral. They forced smiles and laughter with their friends, attended lessons (though Draco didn't show up to some of them) and worked together on the cabinet. Yes, together. Draco had finally dropped his grudge of not letting her help him, but he was only allowing her to do limited work. And as for the necklace, they had agreed to carry out the operation whilst they were at Hogsmeade.

Roxy and her friends wrapped up warm, meeting the boys in the Great Hall, where many of the students were assembled.

"Brr, it's literally freezing outside," complained Blaise, "Italy is so much warmer. Just look at that snow!"

"It's not that bad," Jade disagreed, "I like the snow. It's pretty."

"Well, I'm on Blaise's side for this one. Snow is cold, wet and gets everywhere," Daphne flicked her blonde hair back as she tied her scarf around her neck.

"Besides, with snow comes snowball fights," Theo grinned slyly at Blaise, "Prepared to get battered with snow, Blaise. You're going to be even more freezing."

"Oh, honestly," Blaise huffed irritably, but his lips quirked up in a giveaway smile.

"Where's Draco?" Roxy asked anxiously, ignoring her friends' playful banter. They all shrugged. As they neared the front of the line to be checked by Filch, she spotted a flash of white that had nothing to do with the snow.

"I'll be back in a sec," she said, dashing off. Roxy turned a corner, and almost crashed right into Draco. They stepped back, looking at each other. Draco was wearing his school robes.

"There you are, Roxy. I was looking for you," he said.

"Why aren't you ready to go?" she asked in return. His satchel was slung over his shoulder. Draco thrust the wrapped package containing the necklace into Roxy's hands.

"You're going to have to do it without me," he said quietly. Roxy blinked in surprise, taken aback.

"Why?!" she exclaimed, already running through a dozen possibilities in her mind.