The Shadows Cast

Chapter 15

Sniffling reached eleven year old Draco's ears.  It was only the second night at Hogwarts, and the amount of times he had heard a first year cry that day was far more than he could remember.  But this time it was the middle of the night.  He was surrounded by darkness and the only other soul currently with him was his roommate.  Varian.

When he had met the kid on the train, he had intended to keep him kinda close in hopes that maybe he would be a good homework card.  His plan was going perfectly when both of them had been put in Slytherin; which he had expected Varian to be Ravenclaw and was surprised by the sorting.  Yet it had all worked in his favor.  Or he had thought.  The first night had gone relatively well.  And so did the morning.  However, the rest of the day was not as pleasant.

Crabbe and Goyle had been playmates since longer than Draco could remember.  The two boys were immediately jealous of Varian, who had been following Draco around all day.  Which was annoying on it's own, but Varian didn't seem to want to leave him.  He even kept hiding behind the young Malfoy whenever anyone else tried to speak to him.  Draco had been reduced to a social shield and he didn't appreciate it one bit.

Now, to make matters worse, the boy was crying.  Perfect.  He was going to have to demand a dorm change because he was not about to put up with childish antics.

Throwing his blankets off, Draco stood up.  He paused when he realized Varian's bed was absent.  Scanning the darkness of the room, he finally found a shadow curled in the small area between Varian's bed and the dresser.

Why Draco didn't just yell at him to shut up, he wasn't sure.  But instead, he slummed down on the floor with his back against the dresser.  It wasn't comfortable and the floor was cold.  "What is it, Meyer?" He muttered gruffly.

The boy sniffed.  "S-sorry... Did I wake you?"

"Yeah.  You did," Draco retorted.

"Oh..."

The crying started to get worse.  Draco groaned.  "Look.  I'm tired.  Are you dying?"

"No..."

"Are you hurt?"

"No..."

"Then for the love of Merlin, why are you crying?  Father says that it's childish."

Varian wiped the tears off his cheek.  "Mama says crying is helpful and that we should do it when we need to."

"Your mother's weird," Draco snorted.

"Maybe..."

"Then why do you need to cry?"

"I've never been away from home.  I want my mama..."

Oh.  He was homesick.  In all honesty, Draco understood a little.  It wasn't like he had ever been away from home either, but the difference was that he didn't miss his parents.  Was he supposed to miss them?

"Just owl her in the morning."

"It's not the same," Varian whimpered.

Perfect.  He really was stuck with an emotional wreck of a roommate.

"What about you?"

Draco looked at Varian by the sudden question.  "What?"

"Don't you miss your parents?" Varian asked.

"No.  No I don't," he stated as he looked at the wall across from him.

"Oh...  Why not?"