Summer Holiday

Chapter 44

Weeks had gone by and the holidays were now here. Students had packed their luggage to visit family for Christmas with one night left at Hogwarts. Theo and Blaise had opted to stay at Hogwarts for the holiday. They had decided spending Christmas together was better than spending it with Death Eaters. Bronson and Cho would both be going back home, and Draco and Sophie would stay at Grimmauld Place with Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.

Sophie had not spoken to Draco since Blaise advised her to keep her distance. It had now been 3 weeks and she hadn't so much as made eye contact with Draco. Every night when she arrived to the pier Theo or Blaise had a reason for Draco's absence. She knew Theo was oblivious to why he conveniently never made it to the pier, because if Theo had known he would've asked her about it. She was starting to miss him. At night her mind would drift over to images of her and Draco snogging under the bleachers. She'd quickly distract herself and think of something else. It was too painful to think about Draco watching her kiss Fred. If she could take the entire day back she would. All she wanted was Draco's friendship. If it meant never being together, she would have to come to terms with it. Part of her thought about disregarding Blaise's advice and confronting Draco, but she knew Blaise was right. After all, she had been the one who messed up.

In the Slytherin dorms Draco lay in his bed with a book propped open as he lazily spun his wand in one hand. After witnessing Sophie and Fred kissing he had locked himself in the bathroom and cried. He felt stupid for thinking Sophie had actually fancied him, but most of all he was embarrassed. How could he face Sophie after their moment under the stands? This was why he hadn't admitted his feelings. He was terrified of being rejected, and that's exactly what had happened. Thinking about that day was agonizing and Draco had distracted himself with reading every book he could get his hands on. He carefully picked an excuse for why he couldn't make it to the pier every night. He was dreading returning to Grimmauld Place for Christmas, but he knew Sirius would be disappointed if he stayed behind.

Theo and Blaise entered the dorm in a rather loud discussion. "Why wouldn't we eat dinner together?" Theo asked annoyed. "It'll be Christmas."

"Exactly. I'd liked to wallow in self pity that night. My family never celebrated Christmas properly." Blaise threw his bag on his bed and shook off his robes.

"Well now you can. We can have a proper Christmas together." Theo folded his arms and popped a hip.

Draco looked up from his book as the two boys fought.

"Nott, I eat dinner with you every day. You need Christmas too?" Blaise rolled his eyes and furrowed his brows.

"I would argue Christmas is more important than the other days." Theo spoke aggressively as he began to tap his foot with impatience.

"I'll let you know how I feel. I'll think on it." Blaise smiled sarcastically.

"You twat." Theo shook his head and his lips curled into a frown of disgust. "Alright. You ready?" Theo turned and spoke to Draco.

"For?" Draco asked as he arched one brow.

"We're heading to the pier now." Theo spoke cheerfully.

"Ah. I'm behind on some reading. Next time." Draco lied through his teeth as he avoided Theo's eyes.

"What's with you lately?" Theo asked.

"What?" Draco replied defensively.

"You never come to the pier and you're always in the dorm alone. What's going on?" Theo watched as Draco squirmed slightly.

"Nothing. I'm just behind on my reading and you lot are distracting." Draco avoided Theo's eyes.

"Well you're not missing the last night before holiday. Come say goodbye to Bronson and Cho." Theo demanded.