Falling Star

A Tense Interaction

"Hermione! Ron!" I exclaim as they enter the robe shop, ignoring the curled lips and scrunched up noses of the boys near me. I run over to them, leaving the three boys behind me.

"Dahlia! It's good to see you!" Hermione says as she comes to hug me.

"Nice to see you, Li," Ron greets me with a small wave.

"You, too! I've missed you guys. And I'm so relieved you both are alright after..after the World Cup," I say quietly.

"Ay Weasley!" Goyle shouts as he closes the distance between all of us.

I glare at him, trying to silently implore him to shut up.

"What are you doing here? Mummy finally letting you buy your own robes instead of a hand me down?" He turns his head to laugh stupidly with Blaise and Crabbe .

Ron begins to turns red, and I hurriedly step between him and Goyle.

"You shut your mouth right now," I say with as much venom in my voice as I can muster.

Goyle barks out a laugh. It takes all my willpower not to punch him in his stupid little face.

"What would your Father think if he saw the company you keep when he's not around?" He asks, his words dripping with condescension I didn't even think he was capable of.

"I don't give two sickles what my father thinks of my friends," I retort. "Now why don't you go away and ruin someone else's day."

"I thought we were going to meet up with Draco and your mother? Come to think of it, why didn't they come here with you in the first place? They were too ashamed to watch you buy Gryffindor robes weren't they?" Goyle sneered.

Blind rage propelled my next moves. Before I could think of what I was doing, my knee had connected with a point on Goyle that had him collapsing on the ground and wailing. Crabbe crouched down next to him, and Blaise just stared at me in wide eyed shock. Hermione and Ron also looked dumbfounded, though Ron appeared to be stifling a laugh.

"Don't talk about me, my friends, or my family again, got it?" I spat.

At that moment, the shopkeeper seemed to realize there was a scuffle and began to walk towards us. Getting kicked out of the robe shop would not look good for me. I bid my friends a quick goodbye and ran out the door.

It didn't take me long to find my mother and Draco. Draco had his eye on a brand new broom, even though his current one was still in pristine condition. I ran a hand through my hair and tried to catch my breath from running before approaching them. Mother caught sight of me first.

"All set, Dahlia?" she asked.

I simply nodded.

"Wonderful. Once I purchase Draco's broom, we can return home."

Draco eyed me curiously. He had an annoying habit of always being able to gauge if something was off with me. Although, I should probably admit that I was pretty skilled at reading his moods as well, which he likely found equally annoying. I really was not in the mood to divulge the squabble I had with his friends. Giving him that information would only lead to a lecture at best and an argument at worst.

Contorting my face into an acceptable smile, I asked, "Found another new broom, Draco?"

"Mhmm" was his only answer. He clearly wasn't buying my faux chipper attitude. His pale eyes were still on me, knowing something had happened and silently demanding an answer. My stomach twisted uncomfortably.

"What? Why are you giving me that look?" I asked, letting my exasperation show.

"Are you ok? Did something happen when getting your robes?" he inquired.

"I'm fine," I lied. "I'm tired and ready to go home. You know how much I don't like shopping."

Draco still didn't seem convinced, but he let the subject drop as Mother came back to us from the store counter.

"Ready to go?" she said, extending a hand toward each of us.

Draco nods and I say "yes" as we each grasp her hand. We disapparate home just as a familiar trio of Slytherins come into view.