Defend

Chapter Twenty-Eight Jealous?

 I walk into my house and exhale a shaky breath. My parents wrap their arms around me into a hug. I told my mum everything. We came home and it's so strange because— my breath catches at the thought— last time I was in my house, Cedric was alive. I didn't come home last summer as I went straight from Hogwarts to the Burrow to Grimmauld Place to Hogwarts again. My parents clearly are glad to see me, but I can tell they're still very upset over Cedric's death.

I slowly walk up the stairs to my room, dragging my trunk behind me.

And pass by Cedric's empty room. I would have thought my dad would have cleared it out for an office, because he always used to talk about how he wished he had an office. However, the room is untouched.

Like untouched.

I drop my trunk and slowly walk in. It smells slightly musty from being abandoned so long, but also still smells slightly of him, like a warm jumper.

I inhale deeply and bite my lip to avoid tears. I'm not going to break down now. I haven't cried since before the whole Ministry thing and I'm not crying now.

I look around, the room itself makes me feel a sense of saudade. The bedsheets have the Hufflepuff logo on them, along with Hufflepuff pennants on the wall. There's pictures all over the walls, of him, his friends, and his favourite quidditch players and teams. All his quidditch supplies are in a corner, along with a tiny shelf holding his trophies. I walk over to the dusty dresser and see a picture I've never seen before.

Me and him are waving to a camera before his first task, both displaying the biggest smiles. I smile wistfully and dust it off with the edge of my shirt, bringing it into my room. I've lost too many people. First my brother, now Draco.

~~~~

Three weeks later...

"The Weasley's are here," my mum walks into my room and signals to my dad to take my trunk.

"Alright."

I unemotionally get up and walk to the door, kissing my parents good-bye. I know I'll see before them the Hogwarts Express leaves.

I see Ginny and her face lights up before dropping upon seeing my face.

She's such a good friend, she doesn't even say anything. She wraps her arms around me and we walk to the fireplace. I scoop up some floo powder, and step into the emerald flames.

"The Burrow."

I wave goodbye to my parents and disappear in a puff of flames.

I reappear at the Burrow and see Fred and George smiling upon seeing me. Like Ginny, their smiles fade when they see my face. They wrap me in a comforting hug until Ginny appears out of the fireplace. I follow her to her room and we talk a little bit, avoiding any sensitive topics. Molly calls her, so she leaves. I sit on her bed and fix my jeans. They are much too small since they're from third year. I really need new pairs. Ginny and I hope to go shopping a bit, but until then, I stick my fingers in the pocket trying to fix the seams. An extremely old, crumpled piece of paper is in there. I pull it out and unfold it, smoothing it out on my leg.

I missed you, you git.

It's literally one sentence, but I know it's from Draco right after we started dating.

I try so hard, but I can't help it. I want to rip it and then burn it for good measure. I start crying, tears streaming down my cheeks ungracefully and unable to even wipe my nose. My body is shaking and I curl up in a ball and think about how Draco used to rub my back when I was sad.