The One I Hated-A Dramione Fanfiction (ON HOLD)

Chapter 13

We apparated to Quint Street. I didn't expect it to be completely empty, but it was way more than the couple of people I had thought would be there. There were at least 10 people there, all of them drunk and disoriented. It doesn't sound like a lot, but at that moment it was for us. They were all together, stumbling around and laughing terrifyingly loudly at something. One of them even wolf-whistled at Ginny! Ugh! At this, Harry's mouth turned into a thin line, and he clenched his fists. Ginny noticed his anger, and put an arm around him. He relaxed a bit. Harry was always protective about everybody he loved, and I didn't blame him for getting angry. Drunk men wolf-whistling at engaged women in the middle of the night was a disgusting sight. Well, we were looking for a hideout, Lucius Malfoy's hideout, so it was bound to be somewhere where most people wouldn't want to be in.

We stopped where we were. We didn't want to stand around and watch drunk people wobble around, throwing up, but we also didn't want to breach the International Statute of Secrecy. We waited for 20 whole minutes. It was horrible. They finally started moving very, very, slowly to wherever they were going. It added another 15 minutes. We wasted 35 minutes doing nothing, all because of those drunk people! They ruined our timing! How could they do that to us?!

They finally finished up with their antics, giving us a clear field to investigate. We split up and got to our designated areas to explore. I went reluctantly. I was embarrassed. About everything. The kiss, the park, the asking for more time at the park. Every moment I had spent with Malfoy alone ever since we met after graduating from Hogwarts. I didn't want to spend more time like that. This was hopefully the last time. Ron didn't seem to happy with it either.

I muttered Lumos and my wand lit up. It was the only thing that could be seen. Malfoy did the same. I am not a Legilimens myself (even though it would be a fascinating skill to have), but, judging by his silence, he felt the same way I did. Or at least I hoped he did. I wanted the "I don't ever want to see you again" stuff to be easy and light for both of us. I sighed to myself and gave myself a mental pep talk. I didn't even piece together why until I was done. Come on! You can do it! Yes! You got this. Why do you even care? This is Draco Malfoy. Stop it, you're being childish and immature. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. I started counting. I always counted in my mind when I was stressed. 13. 14. I stopped. I was giving myself a pep talk because I had decided that I was going to say bye to somebody who I absolutely hated for most of my life. Saying bye to him wouldn't be that hard! And if it was, how hard could it actually be? I stopped with the pep talk and resisted the urge to start it again.

I decided I wanted to break the silence. Communication is important everywhere. "So... why were you... uh, staring at me?"

"Huh?"

"Um, you were, um, staring at me, at the Ministry?"

"Oh, yeah, that. I don't know," he replied. Even though this was an inadequate response, I accepted it. Maybe he just wanted to keep some things private and to himself. I understood that. I kept my mouth shut for some more time. But it started to get awkward again, so I asked, "Malfoy, wouldn't you be feeling anything? Anything that's not regular?"

"Like what?" he asked confusedly.

"You know- nervousness, anxiousness, stress?"

"Ha! I'm never nervous. Or anxious. Or stressed. At least I would never admit to it."

"Oh, please. I've seen you cry."

"When?"

"The time I was interrogating you about Malfoy senior?"

"Malfoy senior? Seriously? Anyway, what did you think that was? As in, what emotion?"

"Er... sadness?"