BANALITY : Draco Malfoy

32

Sleeping was absolutely awful. I toss and turn the entire night. I ask Draco for more to drink, but he says if I am hungover the next morning, apparating will be an entirely worse beast than it was yesterday. When I wake with a shout and turn to look at him next to me, his eyes are open, and he is staring at the ceiling. There is a wand on the bed next to him the entire time we are asleep. He even wakes up before me. I wonder if he sleeps at all.

After getting ready to go, they arrive. Draco and Weasley get into an argument over who is taking whom. Weasley suggests I go with Granger, and he will take Draco and Potter. Draco would rather apparate alongside Granger with me, but Weasley absolutely refuses the idea. Potter then suggests that Weasley take us both, but Weasley's apparition skills are the worst of the bunch and Draco mentions something about splinching. It ends up with Draco and I travelling with Weasley anyway but Granger and Potter taking our luggage.

It's a whole entire hullabaloo for a trip that is practically instantaneous. I tie my hair up before we go in case we vomit when we land. We go, and the trip is awful, but I manage to keep my lunch in. Well, I suppose I already threw up yesterday's lunch. I haven't eaten in nearly a full day at this point.

Granger buys us the tickets, although Draco gives her the money. Soon enough, we are on the platform and then we board. There aren't enough people on the platform to really draw attention to us. Since Granger and Weasley don't have coats, I thought we would draw more attention. There is snow on the ground. I cannot imagine how cold they are.

Draco and I sit in a row near the back of the train car, while the others take a spot meant for four people. Our luggage remains in an enclosed area near the front. Draco's eyes dart around until the train begins to move.

He orders us food on the train. It comes, and I try not to eat it quickly. It has been so many hours since I last ate or drank. We are going to have to switch trains at a station in Glasgow. He explains that we will have to apparate to the home from King's Cross, but it is surely not very far, and it won't be for another twelve hours. Once more, I try to read. It hurts my head.

I press my head against the glass. My reflection is clear. There are bags under my eyes, and I look sickly. Yet, I can look. Never before have I felt worse, but I can see myself. It's uncomfortable to see myself in such a state, but not painful. My eyes don't ache.

"The erased memory wasn't the only spell someone put on me," I turn to Draco, my voice quiet.

He presses his lips, before nodding, "someone put a sort of charm on you that helped keep you hidden. I noticed it when you told me you couldn't look in the mirror. Well, I had always found you a bit hard to look at, to be honest, but I had assumed it was because you were a muggle. I don't usually spend time with muggles. I was wrong."

My chest feels hollowed out. Nobody ever noticed me, or ever remembered me. At least, not until well into knowing Draco. Almost overnight, I could look at myself and my friends seemed to care about me more. They said I looked happier. Muggles fill in the gaps about things. I was ignored, but it was because someone else hid me.

"Why hide me?" I ask.

"I assume someone was trying to prevent someone from finding you," he explains further. "The charm is a modification on a bedazzling hex. They are used to make things invisible, but you weren't invisible. You were ignored, or at the very least hard to look at. It seemed to be much more powerful than intended. The charm shouldn't have made you avoid yourself. It took me all night to undo it. Removing it might have been the reason Goyle was able to track you down."

"Are there any other spells on me?" I ask.

He shakes his head, "Granger probably would've noticed anything significant. It could be hidden like the memory charm. We'll keep looking into it."