Even Royalty Falters || Draco Malfoy

Chapter 33 - Betrayal

I had been talking back to my room from the library late at night, exhausted from studying for the O.W.Ls, when someone pulled me out on the balcony with them. 

"Are you part of the group Potter created?" Draco said angrily, hands on my shoulder. I shook him off, taken by surprise because we hadn't talked to each other in weeks, even though I had planned to after holidays. Between studying and training, I had no time to talk to him, and he never sought me out either. Until now. Pansy's words still hurt and so did his silence. How did he figure out that Harry had created a group?

Under the moonlight, I could tell he hoped so much that I would say no but in his heart, he probably knew the answer. "No." I lied, flinching when he pushed me back.

"Tell me the truth, Cress," he said.

This is why, I thought, this is why we can never truly be together or friends because when it came to things like this, we always stood on opposite ends. Always. "So what if I am?" I gritted my teeth. "I don't understand, Draco, how you can be so hypocritical. How do you expect me to sit there and watch my friends be bullied for doing nothing wrong? I don't know what happened to what we had at the beginning of this year, but ever since you joined the Squad, we haven't been on the same page. Besides, you have to know that the Ministry is lying, have you read the latest articles?"

Tears welled up in my eyes. I was upset with him. With the way he treated like a princess when we were alone or when he was having it his way, but yet still so against my friends and standing in favor of the return on Voldemort virtually. "Why do you keep holding onto me if you need to let me go?"

"I wanted to protect you, Cress," he sighed, his eyes softening. "I miss you, Cress. I hoped you received my gift, you didn't write back." He murmured, reaching his hand out to grab mine.

"I did, but I wanted to talk to you in person," I said, letting him hold my hand. 

"Give me one more chance, ok? Can you meet me in the Astronomy tower tomorrow night so we can talk again?" he offered.

I stared at him, wondering if I wanted to chose to believe him. Harry had wanted to meet up tomorrow night for another practice session. "Why should I put you above my friends anymore?"

"Please," he pleaded. "Because I love you and it hurts to see you hurting...you ask me why I haven't let go, but neither have you," He hit home with those three words. At some point, my love for him had become my greatest weakness.

I gave in, not knowing if I had made the right choice. Just missing one practice, that's all. "Fine."

~~~

I crept up the staircase, looking around for him but he wasn't there. I assumed I was early until I saw a slip of paper laying on the ground.

"I'll be back in a bit, duty calls," I read the slip, recognizing his handwriting right away. I could imagine how he would've told me in a lighthearted tone, wearing a smirk as he left and came right back. That would've been the case before we got into a fight.. That's also weird though, I hadn't run into him on the way here. And what duties would he have this late?

I stood on the balcony, pondering at the pitch black sky. It was cloudless, moonless and starless tonight. Empty just like how my heart felt lately. Things had escalated so fast since the creation of Dumbledore's Army and the Inquisitorial Squad. It almost foreshadowed the larger scale of the situation. The Order of the Phoenix vs the Death Eaters. That's where our fates lied, forever parallel and never touching. Never meant to be, so why was I still trying, still hoping, still falling for him? With no one to catch me.

I couldn't tell how long I was standing there, but I crumbled the piece of paper up and threw it out the window, fresh tears in my eyes. Who was I kidding? He never planned to come tonight, it was probably another of Pansy's suggestions to him to mess with me. I wiped the tears and rushed in the direction of the room of requirement, regretting even agreeing to him when I could've been doing something more productive. When I neared the wall, I slowed, pressing myself against the wall, making sure there was no one around. However, an sudden explosion rocked the hallway, throwing me off my feet. I picked myself back up and peered around the corner to see a gaping hole in the hall, Harry and the members of Dumbledore's Army on one side and Umbridge and her squad on the other. Standing among the squad was the blonde haired boy who was attending to his "duties". I covered my mouth to muffled my gasp of shock, frozen in fear of getting caught as Pansy and the others rounded on my friends.