LETTERS 4 U I D.M

03

Zara found herself pacing the Astronomy Tower the next night, her heart pounding in her chest as she waited for Draco to arrive. Their meetings had always been calm, a quiet escape from the noise of Hogwarts, but tonight felt different. She couldn't shake the tension that had lingered after their last conversation, the weight of the unspoken words between them.

She didn't have to wait long. Draco appeared in the doorway, his usual cool demeanor in place, though something in his expression seemed off. He didn't immediately join her by the railing, instead leaning against the stone wall, his arms crossed defensively.

"You're early," he said, his voice clipped.

Zara stopped pacing and turned to face him, frowning slightly. "I needed some air."

Draco raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, his gaze flicking briefly to the stars before settling back on her. There was an unspoken tension between them, sharper than before. Zara could feel it in the way Draco's shoulders were set, in the way he refused to fully look at her.

"Did something happen?" she asked cautiously, taking a step closer.

Draco's jaw tightened, his eyes darkening. "Why would you care?" he shot back, his voice colder than she'd ever heard it.

Zara blinked, taken aback. "Of course I care, Draco. I thought you knew that by now."

He scoffed, turning away from her, his fingers digging into the stone wall as if he was trying to hold himself together. "You care, do you? You care because it's easy for you to care from a distance, Zara. You don't understand what it's like—what I have to deal with."

His words cut deeper than Zara expected, and for a moment, she felt a sting of anger rising in her chest. "You think I don't understand?" she shot back, her voice sharper than she intended. "You think I haven't been trying to be there for you all this time? But you're the one who shuts me out, Draco. You're the one who never lets anyone in."

Draco turned to face her, his eyes flashing with something she couldn't quite place—anger, frustration, pain. "Maybe I don't let anyone in because there's nothing worth letting them in for," he spat. "Maybe I'm tired of pretending to be someone I'm not. Or maybe," he stepped closer, his voice low, "you're just too naïve to see that I'm not worth your time."

Zara's heart raced as he loomed over her, his words biting and cold, but she refused to back down. "Stop pushing me away, Draco," she said, her voice trembling with the mix of anger and hurt she felt. "You don't get to decide whether I care about you or not. I do."

For a moment, they stood there, the tension between them crackling like electricity. Zara could see the storm brewing in his eyes, the walls he kept building higher every time she got close. She knew this was his way of protecting himself, but it didn't make it any easier to deal with.

Draco's breathing was heavy, his fists clenched at his sides as if he was holding himself back from saying something worse. "I don't need you to care about me," he growled. "I don't need anyone."

Zara's eyes narrowed, her frustration reaching its breaking point. "Fine," she snapped, her voice rising. "If you don't need anyone, then why do you keep coming here? Why do you keep meeting me if all you want is to be alone?"

Draco flinched, but his expression remained hardened, a mask of indifference. "Maybe I was just bored," he said, his voice cold.

That was it. Zara's heart clenched painfully, her frustration turning into something much sharper. She had spent so long trying to understand him, trying to be there for him, but his words felt like a slap to the face.

"Maybe I was wrong about you," she whispered, stepping back. "Maybe you really don't care about anyone but yourself."

The silence that followed was deafening. For a moment, Draco's mask cracked, something vulnerable flashing in his eyes, but it was gone just as quickly. He turned away from her, his jaw set. "Maybe you were," he muttered, his voice barely audible.

Zara stared at his back, the weight of his words settling heavily in her chest. For a brief second, she considered walking away, leaving him to his anger and his walls. But something stopped her. Beneath all of his coldness, all of the pain he kept hidden, she saw the boy who had shared music with her in the quiet of the night. The boy who had looked at her like she was the only person who understood him, even when he couldn't say it.

She took a deep breath, her anger simmering down into something softer—determination. "I don't believe you," she said quietly.

Draco's shoulders tensed, but he didn't turn around. Zara took a step forward, her voice firm but calm. "You can keep pretending all you want, but I'm not going anywhere. You're not pushing me away that easily."

Draco's head tilted slightly, as if he was listening, but he remained silent. Zara stepped closer, her voice softer now. "You're not as alone as you think, Draco."

For a long moment, there was nothing but the sound of the wind swirling around them. Zara waited, hoping that maybe, just maybe, he'd let her in. But when Draco finally turned to face her, his expression was guarded once more, his walls firmly in place.

"Go back to the common room, Zara," he said, his voice flat. "I don't need your pity."

Zara clenched her fists, fighting back the sting of rejection. But she wasn't going to let this be the end of it. "It's not pity, Draco," she said quietly. "It's the truth."

Without waiting for a response, she turned and left the Astronomy Tower, her heart heavy with the weight of their argument. She didn't know what the future held for them, but one thing was certain—she wasn't giving up on him. Not yet.