The Heart Is Not Black or White

Chapter 30

The rest of term passed by in a blur. Exams were over, so I didn't feel the need to focus. I had extracted myself. But could you blame me?

I was not spending as much time with my friends. I no longer wanted to argue with Daphne and Tracey about which prefect was the cutest (obviously Adair Ashworth). I wasn't even playing wizard chess with Fred and George.

Since the night we came face to face with Quirrell, Draco and I had not spoken to each other. We didn't know what to say. But somehow we ended up sitting in a compartment together on the Hogwarts Express, on our way to King's Cross. Only the sound of the train chugging it's way along the tracks could be heard.

Draco wasn't my favorite person, but I was itching for conversation. So I finally asked him, "Disappointed that Slytherin didn't win the House Cup?"

Draco was surprised that I had said something, but answered, "No. But I would have liked to see the look on the Gryffindor's faces if we had won. And I would have liked to beat Potter."

"Me too," I agreed. "But I knew he would find a way to fish for points. Dumbledore favors him, so it's not a surprise that Gryffindor won. It's not that important to me though. I'm crushed though that Slytherin didn't win the Quidditch Cup!"

"It's pathetic!" Draco jumped up from his seat. "The Gryffindor team isn't even that good! The bloody
Weasleys-"

I gave him a pointed look. "Anyway, did you ever end up talking to Dumbledore?" I asked to change the subject.

"No," he replied. "What did he say to you?"

"Remember when we both saw ourselves running in the mirror?" Draco nodded. "Dumbledore said that its called the Mirror of Erised. It shows us what we truly want at the moment we look into it. When I looked into the mirror, I felt free."

"Me too," said Draco.

"Then we both wanted to be free."

"Oh. Anything else?"

"Nothing of great importance." Okay, it was a half-lie. Nothing else concerned Draco. "All he said was that I should seek the truth myself."

Draco just nodded accepting my answer. I felt like he could tell I was lying. He knew there was more to my story.

The rest of the train ride was filled with awkward silence. Comforting, but awkward. After the stressful events from this year, a bit of peace and quiet was all I needed. And it bet it was Malfoy's longest time going without insulting someone.

When the train came to a stop at King's Cross, all of the students filed off the train. Draco gave me a good-bye and told me that he would see me next year. I wasn't sure if we were friends or not.

I didn't get off the train right away. I just needed to take a few minutes to process everything. Staying curled up, alone, in my own compartment, I thought back to everything that happened. It was difficult to sort it all out in my brain. There were so many different mysteries that I felt were all connected.

Just when I felt that I was about to burst from all the thinking, there was a knock on the compartment door. I looked up to see Fred and George staring at me, concerned.

"Okay, Issa," Fred said, fed up. "For the last couple of days, you haven't been acting like yourself."

"Yeah, what's going on?" George agreed.

"Nothing guys," I lied, even though I knew that they could see right through me.

"Lies," stated Fred.

"Spit it out," George urged me.

I sighed. "Maybe I'll tell you over the summer. It's just a lot to process."

"You've never kept anything from us, Issa." Fred sat on my left.

"Look, I'm just not ready." I buried my face in Fred's shoulder. "But I promise I'll tell you two before school starts again."

"Promise?" George asked.

"Yes."

"Pinky swear." I looked back up at Fred, who was holding his pinky out.

I choked back a laugh. We hadn't pinky sweared since Percy started at Hogwarts. How could I say no to that? I hooked my pinky with Fred's.

"So I hear you'll be spending the last month of summer with us?" said George.

"Yes!" I exclaimed, growing more cheerful. "I want to hear all about the pranks you plan to play on Percy this summer."

"Actually," Fred started. "There's this new invention we want to test on him."

I continued listening to their plans for the summer as we exited the train, not thinking about the future at all.