Distance // Draco Malfoy

Chapter 20

Mrs Weasley ushers us all downstairs in the morning, Ron yawning and stretching. He seems jetlagged after coming back from Egypt. I can't believe that it is the first of September once again. This year, we will be in our third year at Hogwarts, and we have chosen the options that we would like to study. There's only one problem. Hermione and I seem to have taken every subject possible, which means our timetables will be overflowing with subjects. As Mrs Weasley loads my plate with toast and bacon (daenerysdiaries BEER CAN! Lmfao I couldn't help it ;)!), I thank her and begin to eat daintily. 'Are you excited?' Hermione asks as Ron slumps into the seat opposite me. 'Very.' I wink. 'So many new subjects, I actually can't wait.'
'You two are such swats!' Ron moans sleepily.

I finish my food quickly. We're meeting Harry at Diagon Alley, as he's been staying in the Leaky Cauldron, whilst me and Hermione have been staying at Ron's, sleeping in Ginny's room for the last few days of the holidays. I found it delightful to bond further with Ginny. Despite seeing her around school, I don't know her all that well, even if she is Ron's sister. I look up once I finish eating to see Mrs Weasley making our trunks hover to the door. 'Right, let's go!'

We arrive at the Leaky Cauldron at ten in the morning. Hermione and her cat, Crookshanks, enter the pub after me. When the cat catches sight of Ron's rat, Scabbers, it leaps from Hermione's arms and chases it. 'Scabbers!' Ron shouts. Hermione turns to him. 'Your cat is going to bloody kill Scabbers!'
'No, Crookshanks isn't going to kill Scabbers.' Hermione retorts, looking angry as she catches sight of the cat again and picks him up. 'I'm telling you Hermione, keep that bloody beast away from Scabbers.'
'It's a cat, Ronald. It's in its nature.' Hermione shouts. Ron looks up.
'Harry!'

I whip around and see Harry coming down the stairs to meet us. I give him a long hug. 'How are you?'
'I'm good, yeah.' Harry nods, then hugging Mrs Weasley. We all sit down at the table and begin to talk, me getting into an argument with Fred and George over how we would go about hexing Snape. 'Come on, then! Don't want to miss the train.' Mrs Weasley ushers us all out of the pub and to the next building, King's Cross.

I take a run at the barrier and enter the platform, following Hermione towards the train. I watch as the rest of the Weasleys and Harry materialise before my eyes and we say goodbye to Mr and Mrs Weasley. Upon boarding the train, we find a spare compartment and take to it quickly, waving to Mr and Mrs Weasley before we leave. 'Lyssa!' I hear someone shout as I step away from the window and peer out of the open compartment door. 'Hey, Draco!' I smile. The door is shut behind me as I walk up and hug the boy with blonde hair.

Fucking hell, does he look different.

'How are you?' Draco asks, leaning back against the wall. I lean against the opposite window. 'I'm great. You?'
'Same, same.' I stare at him for a minute, and he gives me a smile. 'Have a good summer?'
'I did, it was excellent. My mum was asking after you, by the way. Sends her "regards", as she puts it. Was yours decent?'
'Yeah. Father was angry for the first few weeks because Potter's sock-incident meant we lost the house-elf, Dobby, but otherwise it was good.' We are silent a minute, and I take in his appearance.

'You've changed.' I smile. He has. His hair is no longer slicked back, but hangs naturally around his face, which makes his features sharper, bolder, and it appears to have gone lighter. His eyes are now the most astonishing colour, and he has grown an awful lot since I last saw him. He does, however, seemed to have paled a bit, making his cheeks look more hollow. It feels weird to say it considering he is my best friend, but he looks bloody gorgeous. 'What?'
'You look different.' I shrug, looking down. 'You're taller. Your hair has changed. It's a good different.'
'I'm still the same old fabulous person, though.' He shrugs, and a giggle escapes my lips. 'You've changed, too.'
'In what way?'

'Well, your hair is longer, and you've grown ever so slightly. Your features are different. And well . . . your body has changed.' He shrugs.
'Draco!' I scold, feeling suddenly self-conscious.
'What? You asked!' I look down, my cheeks heating ferociously. My parents like to call it "growing up" or "becoming a teenager". He walks towards me, closing the gap between us. 'Shit, you've grown loads.' I mutter, and he grins. He's more than a head taller than me now.

Suddenly, the cart jolts to a halt beneath us, and I fall on top of Draco. Jesus, this is awkward. I scramble up and look around at the countless heads peering out of carriages and look up and down. 'What's going on?' I breath.
'No idea.' Draco stands. All the electricity on the train goes out. A chill fills the place, and I notice people slinking back into carriages as the rain-lashed windows freeze over with a layer of ice. I can now see my breath. It feels like all of the happiness has gone from the world, been sucked out of the train, and I begin to see vivid images of my parents splitting up before me.

And then I see it. A tall, dark figure floating along, peering into every cabin. I start as something snakes around my shoulder, relieved to find it is only Draco's arm. 'Come on.' He mutters, pulling me away as fast as he can and into a compartment, slamming the door behind him. I find we are in with the Slytherins. 'What's she doing here?' Parkinson snaps.
'Shut up. There's something out there.' Draco glares, sitting the both of us down. He still has his arm around my shoulder. I watch as the room gets colder, as clouds of my breath become more visible. And then a cloak appears, floating along dismally. I draw a sharp intake of breath as a feeling of sadness settles over me, and I find that my hand clasps Draco's. The figure slides the door open with a blackened, bony hand, and a hooded face peers inside at us all. The compartment is still. And then it leaves. It takes a while to get over this strange and horrible figure entering the compartment, until a blast of light erupts and I see the figure flying backwards.

Very suddenly, all of the lights come back on and the train starts to move again. I remove my head from Draco's neck, where I appear to have buried it. 'Oh, God.' I hear Parkinson mutter. 'Someone hand me a sick bag.'
'I'm going to go find Harry and Ron and Hermione, see if they're okay.' I stand. Draco stands with me and we leave the compartment. 'Was that what I think it was?'
'If you think it was a dementor then yes.' Draco nods gravely.
'What was a ruddy dementor doing on this train?'
'Who knows. Maybe it's to do with Sirius Black or something.' I peer into a compartment to see Harry, Ron and Hermione. 'I'll see you later, Draco.'
'See you later, Lyssa.' He smiles. It's just now that he lets go of my hand. Oh shit.

'Enjoy your little flirt with Malfoy there?' Ron spits as I open my trunk, taking in the scene. 'Shut up. What happened?' I kneel down with Hermione, where an unconscious Harry is lying. 'He'll be alright.' I look up to see a man standing there, someone I don't recognise. 'That dementor gave him a seriously hard time just there.' Harry's eyes flutter open and he sits up, looking around. The man gives him some chocolate. 'Now if you'll excuse me, I need to have a little word with the driver. Eat, you'll feel better.'

We talk about the dementor searching the train until it is time to pull on our robes. 'So, what's going on with you and Malfoy?' Hermione asks.
'What?' Harry sounds awestruck.
'You heard her, they were holding bloody hands when they got back here!' Ron glares at the door. 'Foul git.'
'If you'd let me speak. Nothing is going on between me and Draco, he grabbed my hand to pull me away when the dementor got onto the train. He was just walking me back here.'
'Likely story.' Harry rolls his eyes.
'Shut up, Harry.' I snarl, fuming.

At the feast, Dumbledore explains that the dementors will be surrounding the castle until Black is found. 'Potter!' I hear someone whisper, and I look over to see Draco. 'Is it true you fainted? I mean, you actually fainted?' He sneers. Hermione turns Harry back around.
'Just ignore him.' She whispers as we turn to look at Dumbledore once again.

After the feast, me and Hermione are called to see Professor McGonagall. 'Yes, Professor?'
'Follow me, girls.' She says, and she leads us from the hall and to her office. 'I have spoken to the Minister for Magic and secured you both time-turners.' McGonagall hands each of us a gold necklace with an odd sand timer on it. 'However, you cannnot be seen, especially not by yourselves. Bad things can happen to wizards and witches who mess with time, I trust you both know.'
'Yes, Professor.' We chorus.
'And please do not tell anyone about these time-turners, they are strictly for you to know about. You will receive your timetables in the morning. I will see you both then.' Me and Hermione then leave the office, both of us contemplating the little clocks that now hang around our necks.