Only Him

Chapter 24

I finally get to go back to Hogwarts tomorrow and see all of my friends. My aunt and uncle have barely let me go out at all this summer. They gave the excuse 'It's too dangerous' but I know secretly that they don't want me to see my new friends. I tried to persuade them but I had no luck. All I could send were owl's.

Me and Mattheo owl nearly every day which is nice. Me and Hermione and I have been talking a lot lately aswell. She's been mainly keeping me updated with how Harry and the order are. She trusts me, which is nice to have a female friend.

I've owled Draco several times but never received one back. Hermoine told me that Draco's father went to Azkaban, which is the only thing I have to go on in why he isn't replying. Every night I sneak out to the bins and grab the daily profit as my uncle doesn't allow me to read it. This is the only way I have updates on Draco as most of his life was projected onto the front page.

I know that he must be going through a hard time with the trial but it still hurts that he hasn't responded to any of my owls. I was angry but also worried for him. I missed him a lot and not seeing in months was torture. But hopefully I will get to see him tomorrow and everything will go back to normal.

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"Lara, come eat your breakfast. We need to leave soon otherwise you're going to miss the Hogwarts express" My aunt screamed from downstairs. Already I was getting flashbacks from last year, when I was terrified of my first day. If only that Lara could see me now.

I ate my breakfast quickly ignoring the risk of hiccups and we scurried off to the station late as per usual. I went through the magical wall barrier for the second time in my life which still amazed me just as much as the first time.

Steam filled my nose as I stepped onto the platform.

My uncle cleared his throat. My mind was so focused on finding Draco I nearly forgot to say goodbye to my aunt and uncle. "You received good grades on your OWL's but NEWT's are a completely different story meaning you have to study ten times harder, I don't need a failure as a niece." He scoffed.

I just nodded trying not to let the words sting. I know all he sees me as is a chore but until I'm 18 I just have to smile and wave pretending everything is okay. "I will uncle."

"Bye auntie." I turned to her and gave her a quick hug.

"Goodbye Larissa." Ugh I hated it when he used my full name however he always uses it in public even if no one is listening.

"I'll see you in the holidays." I've gotten used to saying goodbye to them as I've had to do it every year since I was eleven.

I whirled around, quickly boarded the train, and inhaled deeply. I'm not sure if I should be angry at Draco or just glad to see him. The want to kiss him outweighs the desire to slap him for being a dick. I continued down the hallway until I got to the open booths. I opened the door and the first people in the seats were Draco, Blaise and Pansy.

As usual, Draco and I locked eyes, but this time they appeared a little bit darker and sadder. Even though the usual twinkle was still present, it wasn't as happy. Over the summer, he underwent a lot of transformation. His hair was now cleverly gelled to the side, keeping it off his forehead. His face looked paler than usual and his bone structure was more prominent than before. He was still just as handsome as ever though. He also wore a black suit that suited him nicely.

He quickly looked away from me and scooted up his seat so even if I wanted to I couldn't sit down. I tried not to show it but my heart hurt. What had I done to make him hate me so much? I walked past him as I saw Mattheo and Daphne sitting just a seat behind. Mattheo smiled and gestured to the seat opposite him. I sat down smiling slightly but the moment with Draco still lingering in my mind.

Mattheo had obviously seen what had happened and tried to give me a comforting smile but it didn't help.

After about two hours into the journey I decided to change clothes so I didn't have to do it later. "I'm going to change into my robes, I'll be back in a second." I said. Mattheo nodded at me and continued to talk to Daphne. Unfortunately, I had to walk past Draco to get to the bathroom. As I was walking past him the compartment suddenly went pitch black. I couldn't see anything. At that moment I tripped over someone's foot and fell. However the fall didn't hurt, I must have fallen onto something.

The smoke started to clear and I realised I had landed on Draco. My eyes widened, just as he did when he realised I was on top of him.

"Get the fuck off me Hart." He coldly sneered. He threw me off him harder than I think he aimed to. I landed straight on my butt quite hard. His emotion faulted a bit before resuming his cold sneer.

"Hey, what the fuck man" Mattheo got up to come help me.

"I'm fine Mattheo" I said as he helped me up.

"No, he needs to apologise." Mattheo said, pointing at Draco.

"What are you going to do about it, Riddle?" Draco spat now standing up to face him. They squared up but Draco was slightly taller.

"You don't wanna know, Malfoy." Mattheo gritted through his teeth. I quickly intervened.

"Mattheo please stop, I'm fine."

"No." He said once more.

"He's not worth it." I pulled Mattheo back. He reluctantly followed and we both sat down.

"He shouldn't ignore you for the whole summer and when you finally see him treat you like a stranger." He rambled.

"I agree he shouldn't, but I guess that's the way Draco Malfoy is, he picks you up then as soon as he's had his fun he drops you, acting like nothing ever happened." I said not loudly enough that Draco could hear me though. "Anyway I appreciate you standing up for me but I can fight my own battles."

I was glad I had someone like Mattheo who I knew would be there for me when I needed him. The rest of the train journey was a blur. I wasn't really thinking of anything. I just stared out the window aimlessly. I didn't even realise when we pulled up to Hogsmeade station.

Dinner was also not so fun. Everyone was talking joyfully like every other year however I wasn't in the mood. I sat a few people down from Draco. Every now and then I would glance over at him. He didn't have anything on his plate and he wasn't talking to anybody. He looked so sad, I wanted to go comfort him like I usually would, but then I remembered how he just treated me and changed my mind.

But I couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with him.

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A: I love Mattheo :))

Anyways, on to the next chapter...