Pawns | A Draco Malfoy Love Story

Will You Stop Eating?

Back at the castle, we sat in our usual spots in the Great Hall and exchanged hugs with the others. Ginny sat to my right with Dean next to her, and Hermione and Ron were across from me.

The red head, as usual, had eyes only for his food and he was chomping away at a chicken wing much to Hermione's dismay. Harry was missing and she and I were starting to worry.

Despite the feast being excellent as always, and despite the growling of my stomach urging me to eat everything in my vicinity, my chest was cramped with nervousness. I looked at the empty seat to my left and felt a tinge of guilt for having been preoccupied by thoughts of Malfoy during the carriage ride instead of focusing on Harry's whereabouts.

I should have went to find him after the train stopped. Not that I was obligated to or anything - Harry and I weren't a couple. Honestly, I wasn't even sure if he actually liked me back, though there were some signs.

Over to my right, I saw Dean slide Ginny a gift box under the table. He looked a little nervous being near her again, like they needed to warm up after the summer months apart. I let myself smile at the thought of the two of them, but it quickly faded when I realized that I'd forgotten to tell Ginny that Dean was looking for her on the train. I'd been distracted by her story of the Professor's get-together. But this little present must have been what he wanted to give her.

I watched from the corner of my eye, not wanting to intrude. She unwrapped the bow quietly, taking the lid off to find a thin and sparkly bracelet. Dean grinned at her and I saw her squeeze his hand under the table in appreciation.

But at that moment, the doors of the Great Hall opened wide and Harry walked in, flush and stiff. Most of the eyes in the room had turned to him, mine included. Ginny let go of Dean's hand, turning over her shoulder to get a look at Harry. I noticed Dean's smile fade as he realized that he had lost her attention.

Even from a distance, I could see that Harry's face looked bruised and he was wiping the remains of blood off his mouth. The state of his clothes gave away the extent of his injuries; they were completely bloodstained - dark red covered his entire shirt, and splatters laced the upper part of his trousers.

His footsteps echoed loudly in the now silent hall, save a few whispers and mutters from the students he passed by. He made his way to our table and took a seat on my left, wiping his nose. The metallic scent of his injuries surrounded me, making me dizzy. Ron almost stopped chewing on his chicken wing from the smell, and that was saying something. Hermione was stunned and hadn't shut her gaping mouth since the doors had opened.

Slowly, the room started to increase in volume now that the show had passed. But no doubt they were all about to fabricate some tail, trying their best to piece together all the gossip that reached their ears. The loudness of everyone's voices permitted me the opportunity to ask questions without being overheard.

"What happened?" I asked, mouth hanging open slightly.

"Malfoy," he mumbled back, gritting his teeth and not meeting my eyes.

I leaned back a little, taken by surprise. I had always known that Malfoy and Harry had long been enemies - I was told it was like that since their first day at Hogwarts - but seeing all the blood covering him still shocked me. A bit more violent than usual, I thought.

I looked over my shoulder at the Slytherin table, expecting to find a smug Malfoy. It wasn't hard to locate the blond amongst the others; he had his head down, tossing his food back and forth with his fork like he didn't have an appetite. I was surprised to see that this expression was hard to read.

I felt myself looking at him for a little too long, and that's when he looked up. His eyes met mine, but only for a spit second; Harry's hand reached across my shoulder and pulled my gaze back to our own table.

At his touch, I felt a fluttering sensation in my chest and looked at my plate of food, hopeful that he wouldn't notice the blush that was likely creeping up onto my cheeks.

From my periphery, I noticed Dumbledore, the Headmaster, stand up and make his way to the front podium. The students quieted once more all in a matter of seconds. The old professor proceeded to make a long and rather ominous speech, but not before announcing that Slughorn, the new professor from the train, would be teaching Potions. Professor Snape would thus go on to take Defence Against the Dark Arts.

A murmur spread through the crowd of students but silenced again quickly at the sight of Dumbledore's raised hands.

The mood at Hogwarts had definitely changed.

A couple years ago, a shaken and broken Harry returned from the Triwizard Tournament, clutching the body of fellow competitor Cedric Diggory. It was then that the first claim of Voldemort's return to power had been made.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the news led to a ferocious political climate; Harry and Dumbledore vehemently persisted in their claims that the Dark Lord had retuned, but the Ministry had kept it all under wrap, insisting that this was a lie out of their fear for its truth. Of course, I believed Harry, as did the other members of Dumbledor's Army.

Now though, everyone knew the truth.

Security at Hogwarts ramped up and the Ministry was sending out advise to all wizarding families about how to stay safe among a brimming war. Even I received a pamphlet at my Muggle address. I had to quickly hide it before my dad could discover just how serious things were getting - I didn't want him to worry. Especially so because he knew that 'The Chosen One' was one of my best friends, and him having such a personal place in this war would have made my dad worry for the rest of us.

I looked longingly at Harry who was looking at Dumbledore reciting his speech. I wanted so badly for him to be happy. He had been through so much and my heart ached for him. I followed his gaze to Dumbldore who, I noticed, kept making fleeting looks towards Malfoy. I took another glance at the Slytherin, careful to make it brief this time, and was startled to find his eyes still on me.

I snapped my head back around rather obviously and I cursed myself mentally. I didn't have much time to think about it though because right then, Dumbledore ushered us all to bed and the room got extremely noisy once more.