𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐝𝐞 || 𝐃.𝐌

Chapter 19 - Autumn

*Few weeks later*

Ivory's POV:

It was the middle of autumn, my favorite season. The air was crisp and the rain fell softly. Today was a free day. I slipped into warm socks and one of Draco's sweaters.

Ginny was busy packing her books. "Ivory, do you want to come to the library with me and Hermione?" she asked, not looking up from her bag.

"Actually, I think I'll stay in," I replied, my voice softer than usual. "You two go ahead."

Some days, being alone felt necessary. Today was one of those days. The quiet was a refuge from the noise in my head, the constant whirl of thoughts that never seemed to stop lately.

Once they left, I turned on the record player, filling the room with the warm crackle of old vinyl. I poured myself a cup of cinnamon tea, the scent comforting, and opened my sketchbook. Time passed without me noticing, and soon, I was lost in the flow of creativity.

After an hour, I stood by the window, my gaze drifting to the rain that blurred the world outside. That's when I saw it, an owl, drenched and bedraggled, perched on the windowsill, holding a letter in its beak. Strange. We weren't expecting mail for another two days. Curiosity got the better of me, and I opened the window. My heart skipped when I saw the handwriting on the letter. I didn't even need to fully open it to know who it was from.

"Stopped running yet?"

The words were too familiar, they stung the moment I read them. My chest tightened, breath catching somewhere between anger and something heavier. I crushed the letter in my fist and threw it beneath my bed, like hiding it might make it disappear.

But it didn't.

The feelings crept in anyway, quick and suffocating. My anxiety, frustration and anger were all tangled together. Why couldn't they just leave me alone? Why couldn't I outrun it?

I started pacing back and forth, like movement alone could make it disappear. I didn't know what to do with any of it. I just wanted it gone or anything else but this constant, gnawing edge of panic.

The air in the room felt thick, pressing down on me, filling my lungs with everything I didn't want to feel.

I needed to get out.

Before the thoughts could swallow me whole, I grabbed my shoes and shoved them on, not caring about the laces. Then I hurried downstairs, chasing the only escape I could think of, the storm waiting outside.

"Where are you off to, miss girl?" Fred called as he spotted me rushing down the stairs.

"Oh, I know," George chimed in, shooting me a wink.

I gave a half-smile and shook my head. "I'm not going to my boyfriend, George. Just... watch."

Without waiting for a reply, I slipped out of the common room and headed toward the courtyard. The rain had picked up; students hurried inside, shielding themselves as they ran past. I paused beneath the archway, my eyes fixed on the storm.
Then, after a moment, I stepped into it.

Within seconds, the rain soaked through my sweater. I walked to the center of the courtyard and sank onto the cold stone, the chill biting through me, but I didn't move. I just lay there, staring up, unblinking as the rain struck my face.

Somewhere nearby, a door creaked open. Voices followed, distant and uncertain.

"Is she... okay?"

I didn't answer. I couldn't. The rain swallowed everything, filling the space where my thoughts used to be. If I stayed still long enough, maybe I'd disappear into it. And for the first time in days, I wasn't fighting to breathe.