"Shut up right now." He says, covering my mouth with his hand.
For a moment we both stare at each other, not quite sure what to do next.
My body is frozen against the wall. All I can focus on is Draco's minty breath that dances across my face.
Hi...
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All I want to do is stay in bed, wrap myself in my duvet and pretend I don't exist but unfortunately it's a monday which means I have classes to go to. The past 24 hours have been hell; first a sleeping spell was cast on me and I was dropped into the middle of the Black Lake, then I found out my boyfriend cheated on me with possibly the most perfect girl in the world and to top it all off, one of my best friends has been keeping it from me for months just to get closer to me. Just when I think the worst has passed, it keeps getting better! I suppose the only silver lining is that Daphne's so worried about me that she's practically turned into my personal house elf. The only thing I can do now is put a brave face on and pretend that everything's fine, after all, I don't want to cause another scene.
"Morning, Fran." Theó says, moving to make space for me at the table. "I got you some breakfast. It's okay if you don't want it- no pressure."
"Thanks Theó. That's very kind of you."
"Well it's the least I can do after..."
"Can we not talk about it? Please." I ask Theó quietly.
"Of course, of course." He awkwardly pats my shoulder before turning back to his newspaper.
"Good morning everyone!" Blaise says cheerily as he waltzes towards us. "Fran! I- uh- I didn't expect to see you this morning. How you holding up?" I smile at Blaise. He has good intentions but couldn't read the room to save his life.
"I'm fine, Blaise. I'd rather not talk about it." He nods his head at me and begins to dig into a full English breakfast. We manage a whole 3 minutes of avoiding the topic of yesterday's events before Hermione approaches the table.
"Fran! I only just heard about you and Cedric- I'm so sorry. It's his loss anyways." One thing about Hermione is that her voice is naturally quite loud and the combination of that with the echoey walls of the Great Hall is the last thing I need right now. Sure enough, as I wait to reply, I look around and see people looking up from their plates and staring at me as if I'm an animal in the zoo. As my eyes scan the room of spectators, they land on one person who I especially don't want to see- Cho Chang. Cho is sat with her friends on the Ravenclaw table at the opposite end of the hall. They all whisper when I look their way and I quickly turn back to Hermione.
"I'm fine, 'Mione. Can we talk about something else?" I say bluntly, desperate for her to take the hint.
"Oh, right. Sorry." She replies sheepishly. Suddenly Hermione's eyes flicker up and an expression I can only describe as loathing appears on her face. Turning to face the cause of this expression, I see Cedric walking with his head down. Whispers quickly fill the hall and before I know it, all eyes are on me again. Even just seeing his face gives me the desperate urge to burst into tears. The emotions of yesterday are still very much present and when Cedric finally looks up, I can tell it's the same for him. I don't feel any remorse for him though. Perhaps there was reasoning behind it but frankly I don't care to hear it. I turn back to my friends, who are all still glaring at the Hufflepuff table, and do my best to act normal.
