Falling Star

The Yule Ball

As I walk out of the practice room with Hermione, I notice Draco sitting on a bench across the hallway. My heart starts beating in my ears. When he sees me, he stands stiffly and begins walking my way. He definitely looks like he's on a mission. Hermione protectively stands in front of me.

Draco, blatantly ignoring Hermione, looks at me and says, "We need to talk."

"She doesn't want to talk to you," Hermione snarls.

The muscle in Draco's jaw twitched. "Fine. Don't talk to me. But I have a letter and package for you from home, so I need you to at least come with me and get it. I'm tired of looking at it and having it take up space in my room." He gives me an annoying smirk. "Plus, I think you're going to like the package."

Curiosity gets the best of me. Hermione looks back at me, and I nod that it's okay for her to go on without me.

I roll my eyes. "Alright, I'm coming," I say taking a step toward my brother.

"You can't avoid talking to me forever, you know," Draco snaps as we walk toward the dungeon.

I glare at him. "Watch me," I snap back.

"I said I was sorry. What else do you want from me?" He tensely asks.

Anger wells in my chest, the flames of it making its way up my neck and heating my cheeks. I stop walking, and, once Draco notices, he stops, too.

"You really don't get it, do you? What more do I want from you? I want you to be different from our parents. I want you to not look at me and only see what a disgrace I am," the words spill out before I can stop them. The last few words come out as little more than a whisper,"I want you to be proud of me."

Draco stares at me with wide eyes. His jaw is clenched tightly, but it doesn't appear to be out of anger. He takes several deep breaths. Finally, he says, "I don't...I don't think you're a disgrace, Li. You're a talented witch, probably more so than me. I'm sorry our parents don't see that, and I'm sorry that what I said made you think those things."

Tears prick my eyes at his words. The wall I had built against my brother these past few weeks begins to quickly crumble. I know it took a lot for Draco to admit all of this to me. He's usually not one for giving kind words of encouragement, at least not anymore. He used to cheer me up all the time when we were younger, until Father mentioned that it made him soft, so he stopped.

Within an instant, I close the gap between us and pull Draco into a hug. He's startled and stiff for a moment, arms awkwardly out to the side of me, but he soon recovers himself and returns my hug.

"Are we alright, now?" Draco murmurs as I finally pull away.

I nod and wipe away a tear that has traveled down my cheek.

He nods in acknowledgment, and we continue walking toward his dorm.

When we arrive at the entrance to the Slytherin dorms, I wait on a bench in the hallway while Draco goes to his room to retrieve the letter and package for me from home. He returns shortly with a fine piece of parchment tied with black ribbon and a long box with a green velvet bow on top. Scrawled in flowing cursive under the bow is "Madame LeBlanc's," and I immediately know the contents of this box. Madame LeBlanc's is my mother's favorite elegant dress shop.

"My Yule Ball dress," I squeal in spite of myself.

Draco smirks down at me and hands over the letter. "Do you need help carrying this to your dorm?"

I shake my head. "I think I've got it. It shouldn't be too heavy."

Draco shrugs and hands over the box as well. I was correct in my assumption that it wouldn't be too heavy, but the box is bulky and awkward to carry. I'll manage it though.