Half-Blood (Draco Malfoy)

Okay this time it wasn't a distraction

It has now been a week since I was appointed to be a coleader of the Inquisitorial Squad, and the stress was weighing on me heavily.

After that night, I had to deal with the backlash of making out with Malfoy. Ron was furious that he had to witness it, and couldn't look me in the eyes for days. Everyone understood why I did it, so I didn't need to defend myself too much. Harry admitted that he also hated it, but he appreciated that I was willing to go so far to protect the army.

Once Ron could make eye contact with me, I met with him, Harry, and Hermione, and filled them in on what I had been told. They were just as appalled as I was that Umbridge was willing to use veritaserum on students, but they were thankful to be aware so that they could take extra precautions.

I had been spending my days working overtime to establish trust with both of my groups, finding any way that I could to lessen the blow that I could feel ticking like a bomb. Millicent and I had sat in the library for hours earlier this week, bonding and finding a plan to seek out the Room of Requirement.

Harry had given me permission to lead them in the right direction, knowing that the room only appeared when they needed it.

There were several times this week that Filch, Draco, and Goyle had actually seen the doors, but not have make successful attempts to build their case.

Draco even had to miss Prefect duty this week because he had eaten sweets that Fred and George had left out, and gotten terribly sick. I didn't mind, because things had been awkward between us.

Neither of us had mentioned the kiss, but were attempting to fall back into our usual rhythm. We would spend some time together, figuring out who we should interview. He insisted on Cho, hearing rumors circulating about her and Harry's relationship. I could only argue the opposite for so long.

I had messaged Will nearly every day this week, asking himself and Nico for advice regarding the Draco situation. The first thing that both of them said was "You better not tell Valdez." Which made me feel even more horrible.

I would see all of them in less than a week, as holiday break began on Sunday. I was going to spend a couple days at the Weasley's before heading back to camp.

It was exciting to be leaving school, but it somehow managed to make me even more nervous. I wasn't ready to see Leo, nor was I prepared to leave my friends.

I found my mind wandering, quite often, to the night that I kissed Draco. I wish that I hadn't, because the way that we were before felt perfect. Perhaps it had been because I had barely seen him, but things felt quite different now.

Today was Friday, and Draco and I had to meet Umbridge again after dinner to report our plans for after break. I had gone through my morning classes, and spent some time with Millicent and Ginny during common hour.

Surprisingly, they made great friends immediately. It felt lovely to have them both at my side, although I knew that it probably wouldn't last.

Now, sitting at dinner, I listened with dread as my table spoke about plans for the DA that were happening tonight. It was their last meeting before the holidays, and they all were excited to continue working on their new skills.

I had fallen behind, not having time to balance both the DA and my new duties from the Inquisitorial Squad.

All I could think about was having to question some of my friends, and betraying everyone.

As we all got up to go to our after-dinner activities, I passed by Theo and Millicent, who stopped me in the hall.

"Hey guys," I said, beaming up at them and waving at my friends that I would see them later.