"I hate you, too." - Draco Malfoy Fanfic

Chapter 18

"Trouble on my left, trouble on my right.

I've been facing trouble almost all my life.

My sweet love, won't you pull me through?

Everywhere I look, I catch a glimpse of you."

-Cage the Elephant

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Eden's suitcase thudded over the grooves in the train station's tiled floor as she attempted to follow along with one of Francesca's stories. In front of their little group, a line had formed to enter the Hogwarts express as each student chatted excitedly over their plans for the Summer break. Summer break, Eden thought. Already?

Eden was the first of her friends to pull her suitcase up into the train and step inside. Almost Immediately, her right foot slipped on a spill near the door and she started to tip backwards--right onto Faye and Francesca. A gasp had barely slipped from her parted lips as a hand came into contact with her lower back--warming the skin beneath her blouse.

The person pushed her forward a little--lingering before pulling away-- and Eden regained her balance as Draco Malfoy stepped up onto the train beside her and walked straight past without acknowledgement. She would have thought that perhaps someone else had saved her, had she not turned and seen both her friends gaping at him as he strode down to the end of the train--hands in his pockets. "Hurry up!" A ravenclaw boy called from further along the line and Eden continued into the closest compartment.

"What was that?" Francesca's eyes sparkled as she dropped her luggage onto the ground and sprawled out on one of the seats. "I've got no idea." Eden confessed. "He moved very quickly." Faye sat beside her. "He must have been watching you." She studied Eden's face--perhaps for injury, perhaps for her reaction. "Or he just saw the spill." Eden shrugged, her heart still settling to its usual rhythm as she recalled the warmth in his palm--a shiver slid down her spine as the compartment door slid open and Levi entered. He'd barely spoken to her these past couple of days,

"Hi." He paused in the doorway. "Hi." She almost choked. "I thought I'd join you." He cleared his throat. "By all means." Eden scooted over, though there was room on the other side if Francesca would sit up. "Thanks." He dropped awkwardly into the seat as Eden and Francesca exchanged a look.

"How is your Arithmancy going, Levi?" Faye asked casually--saving the day per usual. "Arith-? Good, well- It's good." He nodded and Eden barely contained her cringe. "Shall we talk about the elephant in the room, Levi?" She sighed, and Levi released a breath of relief. "I'm sorry--truly. I thought about it and I know I overreacted."

"Thank you, and I'm sorry too--for walking away." She smiled. "Will you still come over?" He asked and she nodded her yes. None of them dared bring up Draco's rescue.

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Eden stared up at her white ceiling--no, not white, she thought. More of an off-white-cream, she decided as the clock on the kitchen wall ticked by. 12:13 it read as she lifted her head from the couch. Two minutes since she last checked. The ceiling wasn't much for entertainment and the cat was nowhere to be found.

Another minute ticked by, and Eden peeled herself off the couch. "Maybe I'll bake something." She hummed and opened the fridge. "Orange juice.. egg nog...? Tartare sauce." She frowned and checked the cupboard. "Polenta and.. water." She glanced to the sink. "Polenta chips it is, then." She pulled a saucepan out from under the cupboard and set to work. Forty minutes later, she had polenta chips and still no Vivi.