Just Friends

protego horbilis

"Calling out to everyone except me, darling?"

He pulled me into a clearing and I turned around, seeing Draco and his blonde hair falling into his face. "Draco?"

"What were you doing with Potter?" he asked. I shook my head and let out a nervous laugh.

"It's not what you think," I said, trying to defend myself.

"How do you know what I think?"

"Because I know you. Draco, listen, I went to find Luna, alright? I went to the Room of Requirement-"

"Why?"

"I went to the Room of Requirement," I repeated, "and I found her, right? I tried to stay on the down-low, trying not to get caught-"

"And that worked beautifully I see," he interrupted scoffing. I stared into his eyes and raised my brows.

"Honestly, I could do without your commentary. So anyway, they saw me and started talking to me. I didn't want to be rude so I stayed and then Harry had this plan and he said he needed me to be a part of it. He needs to find a diadem or something and that somehow lead us to the Great Hall on account that Snape demanded it. And then the entirety of Slytherin house got locked up down here and then you showed up and, well, now we're here." There was a pause before either of us spoke again. Draco had broken his eye contact with me and was looking around the dungeon. His eyes met mine again after a significant amount of time and sighed.

"You expect me to believe that?" he questioned. My shoulders dropped and I exhaled dramatically.

"Draco-"

"Come on." He pulled me close and waved his wand around, except it wasn't his, it was his mother's. I recognized the dotted handle and white designs. He apparated us and landed us in the Astronomy tower.

"What are we doing up here? Didn't you hear what Voldemort-"

"Y/n, darling, please." He held onto my arms and looked into my eyes. "I don't want to think about him." His eyes moved around my face, jumping from feature to feature, almost as though he didn't know where to settle. His brows twitched like he wanted to cry but at the same time refused to. "I can't think about him." He pulled me in closer and wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight.

He didn't want to let go and stood there, holding me, for a while before letting go. "I have to go do something. Someone has something of mine, and I'd like it back." I reached out for his arm, making sure he didn't leave me alone.

"I'll go with you," I offered, almost insisting, but he shook his head.

"It's personal," he claimed, taking my hand off of his arm and kissing the back of it lightly. "I'll be back soon." He didn't give me a chance to argue; he simply lifted his wand in the air and apparated away.

I was left alone in the Astronomy Tower and a light breeze was blowing. It was more prominent up high than it probably was down below, so I looked over the edge to test my theory. I grabbed onto the railing and came closer, looking down into the courtyard. The grass blew lightly below but it wasn't as much as up here. It was so far down and my head flooded with thoughts about how this was the distance Dumbledore fell.

I wondered if anyone was there. I wondered how many students must have seen his body if any. I stood there, looking at where his body must have landed. I felt sick, knowing I was a part of it.

I swear I saw his body, laying on the grass, stretched out and rotting. His silver robes sprawled out on the ground and his white beard sprinkled with red. I jumped back from the ledge and tried to calm my uneven breath. My hands were shaking and my head felt dizzy. It hadn't occurred to me the amount of damage we had caused.