|| Star-Crossed ||

32

DRACO MALFOY

The second I shut the door, I could hear her sobs. It absolutely shattered me. I stood outside the door and leaned against it. "I'm sorry, Line." I whispered. Then I walked down the stairs. Theo was sitting there and talking to some girl. "Let's go," I said, walking past him quickly. He stood up and stopped. "Wait- is she ok?" he asked. I looked at him and shook my head. "I had to make it hurt. She wouldn't believe me otherwise." I said. "Fucking hell, mate." he said. I nodded. "Where's Max?" I asked. "He went to go talk to Harry," he said. My face fell. "You need to go wait with her," I said. "What about you? I know you, mate. If I leave you right now, you'll do something stupid." he said. "I just did something stupid. Now go wait with Caroline... Please." I said. He just nodded. "You sure you'll be ok?" he asked. I nodded and left. So did he.

CAROLINE POTTER

I was curled up in a ball in the corner when I heard a soft knock on the door. "Max-" I started. Then the door opened. It was Theo. I stared at him as he walked in. "What are you doing here? Did you come to hurt me too?" I asked. "No. I can leave if you want." he said. "Where's Max?" I asked. "He'll be back soon," he said. I was quiet. "Do you want me to stay?" he asked. I paused, then I nodded. He walked over and sat down next to me. I looked at him and wiped my tears. "I don't understand, Theo. I thought he loved me." I said. "I know," he replied. "Please- please just tell me what happened?" I said. "He thought about some stuff and he doesn't love you." he said. He stared at the floor as he spoke. "He's lying. You both are." I said. He looked at me quickly. "What?" he asked. "I know Draco, I know him. Draco was saying all these awful things. But the whole time, he was fidgeting with his rings. That's his tell. And you, you stare at the floor when you lie." I said. He refused to meet my eye. "There's something going on and I want to know what it is." I said. He still was silent. "Please Theo, you told me you wanted us to work. You wanted me and Draco to work because it made him happy. Don't you want that?" I said. "Of course I do!" he yelled. I stared at him. "He's my best mate. That's all I want. And if you care about him, you will stay away!" he said. I shook my head. "Why is this happening?" I asked. "I can't tell you!" he exclaimed. "Please, Theo!" I begged. "No!" he said. Then Max walked in. "What's going on?" he said. Theo and I both stood up. "Where's Draco?" Max asked. "I'm leaving." Theo said. "No, you need to tell me the truth." I said in a pleading voice. Theo looked at me one more time. "Caroline, it's over," he said. "No. I won't accept that. I'm going to find out the truth, I don't care what it takes." I said. "If you love him, you'll say goodbye," he said. Then he started to leave. When I spoke, he stopped in the doorway. "You're wrong." I said. He turned to face me. "If I love him, I'll keep fighting." I said. Theo sighed and walked out. Max looked at me. "What the hell happened?" he asked. We sat on the bed and I explained everything. By the time I finished, I was crying in his arms. "I'm sorry, Max. I know you told me this would happen but-" I started. "No, I was wrong. You were right." he said. I looked at him. "Draco loved you and you loved him. I saw the way you two acted with each other. You were happy." he said. I smiled. "We were," I said. "I'll help you. With anything you need. I'll help you find out what happened." he said.

The Next Day...

"Max," I said. We were sitting in the library and reading. I had talked to Harry this morning so he took me there to decompress. "Yeah?" he asked. "I want to go to Grimmauld Place," I said. He looked at me curiously. "Why?" he asked. "I don't know. I just want to see where Sirius grew up. We didn't have much time together, I want to see if I can find anything of his." I said. He nodded. "Ok, do you want to go today?" he asked. I nodded. "Should we ask Dumbledore?" he asked. "Definitely not," I said. "What about Harry?" he asked. "Nope." I said. He chuckled. "If we get caught, we're screwed," he said. "That's half the fun isn't it?" I asked. "Why not? What could possibly go wrong?" he said. We got dressed and walked out to the courtyard. Then we took a portkey and the next thing I knew we were standing outside Grimmauld Place.