Merely Misunderstood

Chapter Sixty-Eight

The journey back to Hogwarts was more stressful than I ever remembered. Somehow, it seemed like all the excitement of Hogwarts had vanished, replaced with a grim dread that hung uneasily over all the students.

This dark energy was most prominent in Draco, who sat silently beside me in the Slytherin car, flinching whenever the door to our compartment rattled with every jerk of the train.

I didn't know what to say to him. It would've been stupid to ask if he was alright — since it was clear he wasn't — but how was I supposed to broach the subject? Normal people could go up and ask their friends, "Anything exciting happen over the break?" but something like that was insensitive to Draco.

After all, not everyone's house was the headquarters for You-Know-Who.

Draco's gaze trailed out the window, and his eyes were glazed over, as though he wasn't really present. I took his hand gently in mine, giving it a soft squeeze when he gladly wound his fingers between mine.

"Sorry for being distant," he murmured, his voice barely loud enough to carry over the sounds of the train.

I shook my head. "You don't need to apologize. Just... if there's anything you want to talk about..."

Draco turned to smile at me, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Maybe later. I'd rather just try to relax right now, you know?"

For some reason, my heart squeezed painfully. I wanted to make everything better for him. What did he ever do to deserve such a dangerous life?

I leaned my head on his shoulder, and he immediately responded by tilting his head over mine. We stayed like this for a long time, and after a while, I felt his body sag against mine, his fingers loosening their grip on my hand. His deep, easy breaths brushed gently against the top of my head, and I couldn't help but smile. At least here, with me, he could find some peace.

I let him sleep until we pulled up to the station — he needed the rest; the dark circles under his eyes only proved that. Even when the train jerked to a stop, I didn't wake him immediately; it was better to wait until most of the students were unboarded.

When I did finally wake him, he took a start, flinching into awareness. I apologized, concerned, but he simply laughed it off, and once again, the smile didn't crinkle his eyes like it normally would have.

The Great Hall was emptier than I remembered — many of the older Gryffindors were missing, along with a few Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. The only house whose numbers didn't seem to have changed was Slytherin.

From an outside view, it must've looked like the Slytherins were favored by the Death Eater professors. To the other houses, we Slytherins probably looked just as evil as the Carrows. I'd always hated that unjust reputation. Just because You-Know-Who was in Slytherin didn't make us all bad. I mean, the famed Merlin was in Slytherin, and he wasn't a Death Eater.

"Hey, Bri!" a familiar voice called out to me, and I turned to see Mirah approaching. "Didn't see you on the train," she said, plopping down on the bench across from Draco and me.

"Yeah, we were at the back of the Slytherin car," I answered, picking at my shepherd pie.

"Oh, I was with Raylee."

I frowned up at Mirah, surprised she only mentioned one of the two girls she always hung out with. "What about Cori?"

Mirah stopped in scooping herself some mashed potatoes, a saddened frown coming across her face. "Cori isn't here," she said, her jaw clenching as she appeared to be forcing back tears. "Her family vanished over the break."