RIDDLE ME THIS

25

it was easier than i expected to adjust back into life at Hogwarts.

i barely saw Tom but when i did, whoever i was with ensured he gave me a wide berth.

everyone seemed ready to defend me, from tiny Pansy to thick Crabbe and slow Goyle.

they were all like family to me.

Tom had been completing Father's tasks with help from Snape who often filled Matteo and i in on what had happened.

the Slytherins had divided though, when we'd reached the topic of Quidditch.

"there's a game on Saturday!" i said.

"not even two weeks ago you were almost dead!" Matteo countered.

"we don't have any reserves!" Pansy was on my side.

"we're strong enough to play without her! no offence, Lola." Enzo argued.

Draco scoffed. "not this time. we're up against Gryffindor."

"you think we can't take them?" Theo challenged.

"not without Lo." Draco shrugged.

i gave Matteo a pointed look and he rolled his eyes in response.

i raised my eyebrows and tiled my head.

"no," my brother folded his arms.

the corner of my lips began to turn upwards but i disguised the grin with a sad pout.

"stop," he said.

"please, Matty?" i begged.

he glared at me for a long while. "only for the first half."

his statement was met with a mixture of cheers and protests, but Matteo just rolled his eyes once more.

"don't make me regret it." he told me.

"wouldn't dream of it," i hugged him tight.

the rest of the common room melted away as his arms wrapped around me.

he smelled like he always did; of smoke and cologne and home.

i could hear both of our heart beats, perfectly synchronised.

Matteo had done so much for me—more than i could ever imagine doing myself.

"thank you," i whispered into his chest.

i didn't know if he heard me, but he squeezed me tightly before letting go.

the common room returned in a wash of colour and i found everyone had disbanded, flopping onto the sofa or starting their homework.

"hey," Draco tapped my shoulder. "do you have any homework?"

i shook my head even though i was behind in all my subjects.

"d'you want to go and practise some Quidditch?"

"yeah," i nodded.

"ok," he grinned. "i'll meet you back down here in five?"

——

i shivered no more than ten feet off the ground.

"come on!" Draco circled high above me.

"it's minus fifty degrees!" i yelled back through chattering teeth.

"you need to practise!"

"i do not!"

a ball whizzed past my head and i stared at Draco in shock.

"you could've knocked me off!"

"but i didn't," he grinned. "if you didn't need to practise, you would've caught that."

"i didn't know it was coming!"

"no excuse,"

"it's freezing cold! i probably have frostbite!"

he swooped down and hovered at my level. "we're playing against Gryffindor, Lols."

"so?"

"so we need to practise. all of us."

i tipped my head back and groaned, snatching the next Quaffle Draco threw and sending it back at him, feeling only slightly better when he let out an 'oomph' sound.

"i don't need to practise, Malfoy."

"i want you to."

"well 'i want' never gets."

"please?"

i weighed out my options; either go inside where i would be warm and cosy, or stay in the biting cold... alone with Draco.

"fine," i sighed. "only because you said please."

"i knew you'd come round," he grinned.

"no you didn't," i corrected.

we practised a few drills, Draco trying, and failing, to block my goals and me trying, and failing, to spot the snitch before him.

we chatted through chattering teeth but the longer we stayed out, the more bearable the cold got.

another one of my goals whizzed past Draco's head and i laughed, looking over at him.

he was staring down at the ground, a stormy look on his face.

i followed the direction he was looking in.
Tom was standing in the Slytherin stand, his arms folded across his chest.

"ignore him," Draco called.

i took a deep breath and nodded, swooping down to pick up another Quaffle from the damp grass.

i aimed for the biggest hoop and threw the ball, watching it bounce off the rim.

"fuck,"

"don't worry," Draco yelled. "get another one."

i tried again and again, each Quaffle missing the goal.

Tom's presence was suffocating and soon enough i asked Draco if we could leave.

"of course," he nodded.

we left the Quaffles on the pitch and headed back into the school, exclaiming at how warm it was.

we didn't tell anyone about Tom.