Anger and Affection | Draco Malfoy and Cedric Diggory

Chapter Thirteen

The chilly air and parcels filled with gloves and scarves reminded all of us that December was here. There was something about the winter that I have always adored. Maybe it was the possibility of snow, hot chocolate, and festive decorations.

Two weeks had passed since my meeting with Draco in the woods. It was night, and as laid on my bed, staring at the ceiling, I kept recounting every last word, every last detail of our conversation. I hadn't seen Draco since then. He didn't come back to the dorms that night. The last time I saw him was when he walked away from me, back to the castle. Yet, his last words lingered in my mind. I don't have a choice.

Everyone else in the dorms was asleep, but for some reason, my mind was racing. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't even drift off. I decided to inspect my egg.

My egg had been the object of my fascination ever since I stole it from the dragon. I have looked over every single line, every single detail on its exterior. Whenever I opened it, it let out the most horrid screeching sound, so I could never bear to leave it open for more than a few seconds.

Silently, I grabbed my wand off my nightstand and egg from the floor and pulled the covers over my head.

"Lumos," I whispered. The tip of my wand lit up, and I held the egg up to it. Its shiny golden exterior reflected the light from my wand. I examined the engravings, but nothing spoke to me. I ran the light along every single indentation, every single line, but still, nothing came to mind.

After a while, I gave up. The thorough inspection made me quite tired, so I put everything away and let myself slip off into a deep sleep.

~

I awoke to the faded December sunlight streaming through the dormitory window. I sat up and looked towards the window across the room. Snow-covered the sky, falling slowly and almost carefully. It was Friday: the day I had the least amount of classes.

After forcing myself out of bed, I got dressed in a green and black plaid skirt and a white button-up skirt, with the top couple of buttons unbuttoned. Then I laced up my platform black doc martens and headed towards the dining hall to quickly eat breakfast.

As usual, when I arrived at the Slytherin table, Marcus and Adrian began to pester me about joining the Quidditch team.

"Isn't it too late to join anyway?" I asked, standing up and searching for something I could take on the go. I looked up and down the table, only half paying attention to what they were saying.

"Well now that Draco's been missing in action we need another player before January's game—"

My mind snapped back into focus. "Sorry did you say Draco?"

"Yeah, why?" Adrian asked.

"Do you know where he is?" I tried to ask casually.

"No one really knows, But his family probably pulled him out for a few weeks or something. Sometimes they do that." Adrian responded.

"Hey Caulfeild, since when do you care about Malfoy?" Marcus pressed with a smirk. "I thought you hated him."

"I do hate him. Just curious I suppose...." I trailed off. That obviously wasn't the truth. I needed to talk to him about what he said to me that day after the first task. Finally, I picked up a piece of toast and slathered it with jelly.

"Aren't you sitting down?" Adrian asked.

"Sorry fellas I can't. I have work to do...for uh...potions." Then I began to walk away with my toast.

"Hey, Arcadia! What about—" Marcus called after me.

I looked behind my shoulder and called back. "Fine! I'll play!" And I walked out of the Great Hall.