Challenged Love

Chapter 2

Your destiny awaits, my dear Kasper.

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An odd scent filled the air in which I was sitting, then I recognized it as the cologne I got Kasper for Christmas. He seated himself beside me in the elegance of the Malfoy Manor Library. I glared up at him, taking in his scent. I also appeared surprised to see him in the library so late at night.

"So," I spoke to him, "you only have one year of school left."

Even when I said it aloud, the fact still did not seem real. I wondered what I was going to do without him at school.

"Unfortunately," he replied, placing his brown leather journal on the arm of the couch.

I gave him a doleful look.

"Hey, you're not going to lose me," Kasper reassured me with a more hopeful spirit than me.

I sighed. "It's not necessarily that."

Kasper frowned. "Then what is it?"

I did not look him in the eyes, afraid to reveal the whole truth.

"I'm not sure," I shrugged my shoulders. "I just worry for you."

"Well, all I can say is don't," instructed Kasper with light-heartedness. "Just enjoy the one year you have left of me."

He winked at me, and I rolled my eyes with a slight smile.

"Well," I began, "do you have all your stuff packed for tomorrow?"

"Not quite," Kasper replied as if suddenly remembering. "I should probably go finish that."

He got up, clasping his journal in his hand before leaving.

"Hey Kas?" I called out to him, shooting up from the couch out of impulse.

He appeared startled, recognizing that concerned tone in my voice.

"Yeah?"

I have set aside this very next question for the entirety of the summer, yet I felt now was the time to finally ask.

I randomly noticed his inky fingers, which were staining the binding of the journal.

"Are you okay?"

Kasper portrayed to be surprised at my sudden concern for him, though my worries were not fairly recent. He chuckled to himself, eyeing me with those caramel-colored eyes.

"Of course," Kasper answered. "Have I given you a reason to concern you?"

His easy countenance might have relaxed my spirit a bit, for I completely abandoned my regard for him.

"Just wondering," I replied instead. "You just go finish packing your things."

I beamed at him thoughtfully, watching him leave the room with a seemingly bright spirit.

Now the only sound which filled the library was the rain pounding heavily against the glass windows. I focused on the calming noise of the rainfall, which seemed to drown out my scattered thoughts. Darkness had covered the earth, and something strange lingered in the atmosphere.

I have been somewhat perturbed by Kasper's behavior for quite some time now. Ever since the news spread that You-Know-Who had truly come back, Kasper seems to have changed his habits. This appears obvious, as he does have a past with You-Know-Who and Death Eaters. The news was difficult to take in at first, and I believe it has affected Kasper. During the summer, after returning home from work, he would go straight to his room and immediately lock the door. Once day, he had accidentally left his door unlocked, and I peeked inside to see him scribbling furiously into his journal. I always thought of his journaling as a hobby or a past-time, but now I have made some new assumptions that perhaps it is a coping mechanism.