By Any Other Name; D.M

02 - Collision

He didn't look like a death eater.

There, with his wind torn hair and a look of passionate focus etched across his face. He looked innocent. Like a normal teenage boy.

The wind bit into her arms as she tracked his broom, green robes mixing with blue in a flurry of movement. From high above, crystal blue eyes tracked the air for a glint of gold. Vicious wind blew strands of blonde across his face as he fought to keep his broom steady.

Elodie crossed her arms in a futile attempt to fight off the cold. Hogwarts quidditch matches were played come rain or shine, and she'd known the Sunday's match had little possibility of being cancelled, despite her wishes. Slytherin especially would never agree to a postponement, not for something as little as safety, and all students were required to watch the school matches.

It had been a few days since her discovery, and Elodie couldn't keep her eyes off Draco Malfoy. In the great hall, the classes they shared, even this quidditch match, she tracked his movements, squinting to see some hint of the death eater that resided within. Thus far, nothing.

Despite being a self-righteous asshole, like most boys their age, Malfoy seemed extraordinarily normal. Not even a whiff of the evil beneath his sleeve. 

She stared at where the mark would be, willing it to show through and scream its presence, relieving her of the burden of its secret. It was safe to say she hadn't told anyone. Who was there to tell? Her brother? Darcy? Neither was a good option. She cursed herself again for her curiosity. If she hadn't have followed him, none of this would have happened.

Sudden movement in the air snapped her back into focus. Draco had made a sharp dive, seemingly having spotted the golden snitch. The Ravenclaw seeker followed his lead, unaware of its location but unwilling to be left behind. The crowd strained from their seats to catch a glimpse of the snitch, like a needle in a haystack. At the last minute, Elodie saw it.

With a quick feint, Draco pulled his broom upwards, heading in the opposite direction. Too slow and too focused, the Ravenclaw seeker continued on his spiral downwards as Draco raced towards his actual destination. With an outstretched hand, he made it look easy as he plucked the snitch from the air.

The crowd erupted into noise, some ecstatic and some dismayed as Slytherin took the win. 

Up in the air Slytherin flew their victory lap, faces ablaze with glory as they congratulated each other with savage claps across the back. Draco's face was alight with an elated smile, a whisper of smug arrogance still running through it, as though he'd known all along that the victory was theirs.

As she watched, her mind flickered back to that night, light turning into gloom, glee into terror. His carefree grin flashed with that look of crazed horror that had engraved itself behind her eyelids. 

Swallowing back her own anxiety she shut her eyes, trying to dispel the vision. How could they be the same person? It was as though the Draco she'd seen that night was an uncanny double, his antithesis, filled with the terrifying, raw emotions that this Draco seemed to lack.

Thinking she'd done her dues, Elodie left swiftly, leaving the rest of the stadium behind. Hoping to avoid the gloating of the Slytherins for the rest of the day, she decided to camp out in the library for a while. Who else would go there on a match day? The rest of the school would be preparing to party, either victory celebrations or consolation drinking.

A part of her wished she could go, the feeling of missing out on the teenage experience lingering deep within her. But life was easier this way. Less stress and worrying. She vaguely wondered if falling out with Harry had caused a lot of her issues. When they'd joined Hogwarts, her whole life had fallen apart. It was all she could do to try and hold the pieces together; she couldn't truly live.