Chasing Shadows || Draco Malfoy x OC

Year 3- Ch. 17

The day after exams, the stress and gloom of exams that hovered over the castle had dissipated. It was a sunny day so many students were lounging outside on the hills and courtyards of the school grounds.

Harry and Hermione found Céline reading under a tree and sat next to her. She immediately closed her book and looked at them both anxiously. They told her they were able to save Buckbeak. She yelped in excitement, hurling herself at them to hug them. They hugged her back, but it wasn't all they told her about. They told her about Ron's rat that wasn't actually a rat, and the truth about Sirius Black. How Professor Lupin was an actual werewolf. And about Ron's broken leg.

Céline was worried about Ron and wanted to go see him, so they all got up and went to the Hospital wing. Before they did, they stopped by the dungeons so Céline could get some chocolate from her stash. That way, she had something to give to Ron that would make him feel better.

While they waited for her, Hermione looked at Harry with a knowing smile. "You like her, don't you?" She nudged him on his side as she watched his face turn pink. "She is very kind and pretty and smart."

"Hermione.." Harry groaned.

"What?" She laughed, "I think it's sweet. I mean you definitely seem to care a lot for her. You even helped out her Slytherin friend, just to make sure that she was okay."

"Okay, okay. That's enough will you." He chuckled lightly.

"Sometimes you have to shoot your shot." She shrugged.

He shook his head and smiled, "school is almost done and then it'll be summer. I think I'm fine holding off for now." Just as he finished saying that, he heard light footsteps walking up the steps and there emerged Céline carrying an armful of sweets and chocolates.

"Sorry for keeping you, I didn't know which one to bring so I grabbed a few of each!" She beamed. She carefully took out two chocolate bars and gave them to Hermione and Harry. "Here,  these are for you, for your great efforts and achievements." She smiled at them, "they're my favorite."

They thanked her and headed to the Hospital wing all laughing and smiling.

It was the day before school ended and they were all having dinner in the Great Hall. Dumboldore gave his final speech of the year awarding Gryffindor the house cup.

Céline was laughing at something Theodore had said, when she felt eyes on her. She looked around and saw at the table next to theirs, which was the Ravenclaw table, two familiar faces glaring at her. She looked at them unsure how to react, but before anything else could happen, the two girls' eyes widened and they quickly looked back down to their plates.

Céline looked confused before she turned to look at her table and saw on the other side of Theodore, that Draco was glaring at them. She felt her heart clench again, so she quickly looked back to Theodore and continued their conversation.

The next morning the carriages took the students to Hogsmeade station, where they all boarded. Throughout the train ride back Céline spent the first half with her Slytherin friends, before she went down the corridor looking in each compartment to find a specific trio. Her smile widened when she finally found them laughing together in a compartment.

She slid the door open and they all looked at her before smiling when they recognized her. She plopped down next to Harry. He smiled at her and offered a pastry which she gladly accepted.

"So," Céline started as she took a bite of her pastry, "what are your plans for the summer?" She asked them.

"Not much in the beginning, but toward the end Harry and Hermione are coming to stay with me so we can all go to the Quidditch World Cup!" Ron beamed. The other two nodded excitedly.

"Are you going?" Harry asked her.

She smiled at him, "yeah I am actually! It's quite exciting." He smiled even wider.

"Maybe we can all meet and watch it together." He said hopefully.

Her smile lessened as she looked down at her pastry, "oh, probably not, unfortunately." They all looked at her confused. She looked at them, "well I'll be going with my father. He's going for work since he's in the Department of International Cooperation. He'll want me to not leave his side, so that I don't embarrass him." She rolled her eyes before taking another bite. "But maybe I can sneak off for a bit after the game." She gives a sly smile.

They all smiled and nodded. They told each other that once they have more details of the layout then they can figure out a rendezvous spot for them. They talked and laughed some more, until it was getting close to their arrival at King's Cross Station.  That's when Céline said her goodbye to her favorite Gryffindors and headed back to her original compartment.

When they arrived and exited the train. Céline said her goodbyes to her friends before she felt a light tap on her shoulder, when she turned to look she saw Draco with a stoic look. He nudged his head in a certain direction.

She followed and saw their fathers speaking again. Next to Draco's father stood a very pretty woman, seeing the platinum part of her hair she could assume it was Draco's mother. Her smile tightened and she clenched her fist around her trunk. She stood there for a moment to prepare herself. Draco noticed her tension, he wasn't going to do anything until he saw a pair of  green eyes with round glasses glaring at him from afar.

He saw Harry staring at them from a few train carts down with a frown, so before he could stop himself, he smirked at him and placed a hand at the middle of her back. Gently urging her forward. She looked at him confused at his actions.

"What are you doing?" She asked him as she furrowed her eyebrows, but her ears became slightly pinker.

"I'm trying to get you to move forward. You were taking too long." He said looking towards their fathers again.

She huffed, "I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for the summer." She started walking with him. He removed his hand as he approached they're parents. He nodded to his father before going to greet his mother with a kiss on the cheek. Céline felt a slight pang of jealousy as she watched his mother smile at him lovingly while hugging him.

She looked at her father and gave a polite smile. "Hello father." She greeted as she stood next to him. She then looked at Draco's father and with the same polite tone she greeted him too, "It's a pleasure to see you again Mr. Malfoy."

"Yes.. I'm sure it is." He said unenthusiastically. "I don't believe you've met my wife, miss Everhart?" He gestured to the beautiful women. "Narcissa Malfoy."

She looked at her, never removing the polite smile from her face, "it's nice to meet you Mrs. Malfoy, I'm Céline Everhart."

"You certainly are a beautiful child." She said kindly to her. "You have your mother's beauty." She brings her in for a small hug. Céline's body stiffens and her smile falters. She was not used to being embraced. Of course her best friend, Daphne, has hugged her a few times, and she's hugged her friends on occasion. But almost never by an adult or parental figure. She doesn't remember the last time her parents hugged her. She thought for a moment, probably when she was a very small child.

What felt like a few minutes was most likely just a few seconds, before Draco's mom released her and stepped back to stand next to Draco. She still had a small smile on her face. Céline fixed her face with a polite smile again before standing next to her father once more. She was deep in thought while her father spoke to Lucius. It was something about the Quidditch World Cups. Moments later she felt a stern grip on her shoulder, which made her snap back to reality.

She saw her fathers stern gaze on her. She blinked a couple of times, "I'm sorry father. I was lost in thought. Were you saying something?" She felt his grip tighten slightly.

"I was saying that we should get going. Your mother is waiting for you to return." he said coldly.

She nodded, "Yes, father." She looked back to the Malfoys politely, "It was a pleasure to see you, may you have a nice summer." She glanced at Draco who still had a stoic face, for a moment it looked like he was looking at her, but she realized he was looking at her father's hand on her shoulder. She nodded a silent goodbye to him before she walked away with her father.