𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍 | 𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒐 𝑴𝒂𝒍𝒇𝒐𝒚 | 𝟏

𝟐𝟔*

The end of the school term crept up on everyone quicker than they had anticipated.

After the shock of Cedric's death and the days spent in mourning there had only been three days of classes before they finished for the summer much to everyone's relief.

Olivia had found herself in the thick crowds of another party on that final Friday night before the summer. In the days since the memorial had been held for Cedric she had been quiet... reserved. When she had met with Professor Snape for her final lesson before the summer Remus had been there, convincing her to leave Hogwarts early.

Her answer had been a firm 'no' and she had ordered that they started teaching her more intense spells before throwing herself into her lesson. She had worked herself to the brink of exhaustion before she was made to sit down and rehearse the lie she would have to tell everyone about where she would be spending her summer now that her parents had died.

If anyone asked her, she was to tell them Molly and Arthur Weasley had generously offered for her to stay with them—which wasn't a lie in the slightest, because they had. Everyone was to think Olivia was spending her summer at the Burrow with the Weasley family when in actuality she would be spending her summer hiding in a safe house owned by her biological family.

She wouldn't be allowed to meet any of her friends whose family had contact with the Dark Lord, previous or current which meant no seeing Draco for the entire summer. She wasn't allowed to even meet any of her friends in Diagon Alley if they asked.

She hated the idea and she had argued until she was blue in the face that they couldn't force her to stay in Grimmuald Place all summer but after Barty Crouch Junior had made that threat that the Dark Lord would be looking for her no one was willing to risk it. She would be staying there, where everyone knew she was safe, until the school term resumed.

So when she heard about the upcoming party that signalled the end of the school year she knew she couldn't say no to what would probably be her final night of freedom before she was holed up in an old house no one knew about.

Draco and her friends had been surprised when she announced she wanted to go. She hadn't done or even said much since Cedric had died. They had all been undeniably worried about her but they worried that going to a party wasn't the best idea for her either.

Olivia wasn't willing to take no for an answer though. She wasn't asking for their permission either, she was simply telling them she would be going.

Her friends had noticed the change in her since Cedric had died. She wasn't the happy and bubbly girl she used to be. There was an edge to her now, one that was brash and uncaring. They weren't sure what to make of it. It was new and so unlike her... almost like a flatness to her words. All they could hope was that it wasn't permanent, that she was just grieving in her own way.

Regardless, they went to the party with her and watched her cautiously throughout the night. They tried not to be overbearing, tried not to make it too obvious but Olivia had caught on within minutes of them being there that they were observing her every move. She hadn't planned on having a drink but she knew she would need one if her friends were going to walk on egg-shells around her and treat her as if she were a child.

So she had a drink, and another and another and another until she lost count and she drank until the tears forced her to stop.

Draco thought himself a horrible person when relief overcame him when he saw the first of her tears. While he knew she was hurting he also knew she had finally started grieving. She wasn't numb anymore. Cedric's death was registering in her mind and she was that one step closer to recovering—or at least that's what Draco thought.