Lost - draco malfoy

six

- Meadow Song by S. Carey -

It was the weekend, and I had spent all of my time nervously tracing my every step searching for my locket. I had lost it. I wasn't sure where. I was guilt-ridden, I was meant to be wearing that everywhere I went. 

I struggled to remember why I took it off in the first place. Isadora and I were retracing all my steps.

"Okay, so it wasn't in the Charms classroom. Potions?" she suggested as we walked purposefully through the corridors. "Yes! Okay, and if it's not there that only leaves Divination."

We darted in between students enjoying their day off to get to the Potions room. As we briskly turned around the corner, we came face to face with Draco.

"I've been looking for you," he said, and held his hand out. He had my locket. 

"Oh, thank you! Where did you find it?" 

I attempted to snatch it from his hand but he quickly pulled it away, smirking at me. "Hey, maybe I'd like to keep it. It could probably sell for a few galleons." He dangled it in front of his face, inspecting it. I could see Crabbe and Goyle creeping up behind him in amusement. 

I didn't have the patience for this today. He then dangled it in front of my face, but as I tried to grab it he quickly pulled it away. 

The sounds of laughter from the three of them were all I could hear. This locket wasn't really a thing to joke about for me, it was sentimental. I didn't find him humorous at all.

"Listen, Malfoy -" I opened my mouth to talk as he opened the locket, and saw the photo of my parents. I could feel Is grab my arm in reassurance as they all burst out into laughter.

"Malfoy, give it back to her. Now!". All our heads snapped to see Blue walking up to us. As strong as Blue was, Draco wasn't necessarily afraid of him.

"You know what, I don't think I will. She has to grow up one day. She's too soft. She can't even be away from her parents for a few months that she has to walk around with a photo of them?!"

 It all went quiet, all I could hear was my breath stop and the laughs from Crabbe and Goyle.

"I keep them with me in this locket, because they're dead. Not because I'm just homesick" I whispered. I looked down at my feet and could feel my eyes prick with tears but I quickly blinked them away and looked back up at him. His face had changed, he was no longer smiling.

Blue snatched the locket out of his hand, and walked behind me to place it back around my neck. I looked away as Draco, Crabbe and Goyle all walked off. I could still hear the laughs from Crabbe and Goyle. Is was squeezing my hand, "I'm sorry Bella. That was evil of him to say" I smiled at both of them, "Don't worry about it. I'm fine"

But, I wasn't fine. In fact, I hadn't felt that crap in a while. But they didn't need to know that. This locket was not leaving my sight again.

After yesterday, I just wanted to be alone. I sat on the lake shoreline with my back against a rock, hugging my legs to my chest. I wasn't studying, I just needed to clear my head. I hadn't moved in so long that I couldn't really feel any of the bones in my body. My eyes were lost in the dulled sky, I was searching for a crack in the clouds and hoped to see a tinge of blue. I hadn't yet. I felt my hair flying all over my face in the wind, the only thing I could feel against my skin.

"I'm sorry."

It was Draco, standing a little far in front of me. The odd thing was, I wasn't even angry at him. I was just... sad. 

Sad to be reminded of my deceased parents.

I couldn't open my mouth to say anything, instead I just looked back to the sky.

"I- I didn't know" he stuttered. If I didn't know better, I would've thought I could actually hear a tinge of sincerity in his voice. 

"Well, how could you have?" I breathed. Draco didn't know anything about me. We were never close. How was he supposed to know that my parents were dead?

"I crossed the line", he sat down in front of me. 

He did cross the line. But he crossed the line all the time. He constantly teased and bullied Hermione about being muggle-born, he would make jokes about Harry's parents being dead and about Ron's family being less well-off than he was.

"Malfoy, it's not the first time you've crossed the line. Let me know when you apologise to everyone else too" I snapped. He didn't have a remark to shoot back at me, he just sighed and stood up "I tried" 

I looked up at his face, his signature scowl had made a return. "No, not really" I murmured. He scoffed and started to walk away and that's when I felt all this anger rise up inside of my veins.

"You're just a bully, Malfoy. That's all you are"

He looked down at me, "And you're a pathetic excuse for a witch"

I stood up and marched right up to him, and stopped only a few inches away from his face, staring into his cold eyes, I didn't say anything and I just scowled at him.  "What, cat got your tongue? Do you need Silverling to come save you again?" 

"He's the man you will never ever be" "I-" "He's strong, he's kind and he's brave, You're just a coward! You have to bring everyone else down so you can feel better about yourself. I feel sorry for you." 

I let his eyes linger on me for a bit. He didn't say anything. We were both still, with only a few inches of cold air between us. All I could see and hear was each breath we took. Neither of us continued to say anything, just staring and scowling at each other. What was a few seconds of silence and tension, felt like hours.

He quickly glanced down at my lips again, like he had done the other week. Only for a split second, but I still noticed it. 

"I have to go" he snapped as he turned around and disappeared into the wind. 

It had been the second time he had looked at me like that. 

How curious.