fade into you || d.m

the promise

A song for the chapter: Margaret (feat. Bleachers) - Lana Del Rey, Bleachers

"Flora's actually a pretty decent person. We have Divination together and she's just as joyful as I am, which means we can laugh at our grim futures together." Elwia stated and looked at the full moon in the sky.

"Her whole boy-crazy, stupid-girlfriend-personality thing was just an act. I'm not exactly sure why she did it—maybe so our parents would be more convinced of our fake relationship. I've also noticed that lately, she's been acting the same way she did when we were younger. That's a good thing." Draco noted while playing with Elwia's red hair.

"It's crazy that we're almost in the 21st century and you purebloods still practise traditions that were invented maybe a thousand years ago. I mean, arranged marriages? That's awful." Elwia groaned.

"Do you ever see yourself getting married?" Draco asked, which really surprised Elwia.

Elwia had never tried to imagine herself walking down the aisle. When she was younger, she hadn't been interested in love or romance. And now, at sixteen, the perfect age to dream about hopeless romances, Elwia already knew that was all they would ever be—just dreams.

"Maybe, I'm not sure." Elwia shrugged her shoulders and glanced at her watch as it hit midnight and listened as Hogwarts' bells started playing.

"384 days," Elwia mumbled to herself.

"So tell me, what's going to happen on the second of May, 1998? That's the day you're counting down the days for, is it not?" Draco enquired and turned to look at Elwia.

Probably all the colour flushed away from Elwia's face, leaving her looking paler than she already looked half of the time. How could Elwia ever tell anyone the secret and burden she carried every day? How could she ever have the power in her to make her friends aware of how many days they had left to spend with her?

"Well, are you going to tell me or not?" Draco repeated.

"It's two hours past bedtime. We should go, Draco." Elwia mumbled and stood up, slightly leaning against the railing of the Astronomy Tower.

Draco frowned a little, disappointed that he wouldn't learn the secret that Elwia was hiding.

"What do I have to do in return so you'll tell me what you're hiding?" Draco asked, a suggestive glimmer sparkling in his eyes.

Elwia looked up at Draco with an amused smirk and pulled him closer to her by his black tie. She then went up on her toes and whispered, "Tell me what the task is." Elwia raised an eyebrow, expecting an answer from Draco.

"Shit, I really can't. I guess you can keep your secret then; you win." Draco sighed.

"I'll tell you before the day comes, okay? It might be in a week, six months, a year, or exactly the day before. I can't promise a certain day, but I do promise to tell you." Elwia murmured, glancing at Draco's lips, trying to fight the urge to do something she knew she wouldn't regret.

"What are you hiding from me that could be so huge?" Draco wondered, and Elwia could only guess that he was probably thinking of all the possible answers she would one day have to his question.

"Will you ever tell me what your task is?" Elwia asked and lowered her eyes to the floor.

"You'll find out soon." Draco answered, straightening the collar of his suit.

After a minute of silence, he then said, "You're right, it's late. We should leave."

Elwia nodded and walked down the stairs closely behind Draco. Their walk back to the Common Room was silent, both of them feeling anxious and uncomfortable when thinking about the secrets they were hiding from each other.