Silence is Deafening

Chapter 22

The snow was melting. It was early March and the castle grounds were covered in a muddy slush of melting ice. The sound of birds filled the entrance hall as they desperately tried to make a nest in time for spring. Everything was dripping and wet, I always hated this time of the year.

There was a tenseness in the air that didn't exist before.

I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but something was changing. The world seemed to get a bit darker, a bit scarier when the snow melted. There was an unspoken anxiety between all of the professors at Hogwarts, and they'd pass each other with a worried glance. Quidditch was massively reduced, and we had to be escorted to and from practice by a teacher. There was no light hearted trips to Hogsmeade to take everyone's mind off of things anymore. It was a silence...a stillness in the air that I couldn't understand.

"-this summer. You're going to have to come, Lizzie. I don't know how I'll manage without you and Hermione." Ginny said, breaking me out of my trance. We were eating lunch in the Great Hall, and Ginny was already making plans to jailbreak me out of whatever safe house Remus was going to send me to. She had promised to come- through hell or high water- and steal me away to the Burrow. I smiled at her, the first genuine smile I had given in days.

Draco was tense. For the last month or so, he was completely on edge. He snapped at me almost every day and had even stopped apologizing for it. He and I worked on the cabinet almost every night, and I felt exhaustion taking over my body. I wanted nothing more than to steal him away from Hogwarts, just for a night, where we could both relax. I wish the Room of Requirement would seal itself for a time, so that he would have no choice but to close his eyes and sleep.

"Definitely, Gin. I can't be locked away in some stuffy house, Merlin knows where, without seeing you. All of you." I said, looking up at Luna, Hermione and Ron. They all smiled at me, but Harry seemed just as out of it as Draco was these days.

"I have a feeling...next year is going to be different. I dunno how, just...a feeling, you know?" Hermione said, lowly. I nodded fiercely because it was the exact way I was feeling. Something was off.

Suddenly, Hermione's gaze flickered over my shoulder and her eyes glasses over. She leaned to the side, elbowing Harry in the ribcage.

"Ow, Hermione-

"Harry, it's Katie. Katie Bell, she's...she's back from St. Mungo's." Hermione whispered urgently. I spun around in my seat just as Harry's eyes snapped to Katie.

She was standing in the middle of the Great Hall, looking at the Gryffindor table with apprehension as her friend tried to pull her toward a seat. Harry immediately stood up and walked over to her.

"I wonder how she is. I mean, six months out of school. Poor girl." Ginny whispered, her eyes filled with concern as they followed Harry to Katie.

I watched them converse for a minute, and suddenly the back of my neck started to prickle. I knew exactly what that meant. Draco was near. It was like my body was drawn to him, even when I couldn't see him. I could feel his presence wherever I was, if he was near.

My eyes gravitated over to the doorway, watching Draco saunter in. He looked stressed, as usual, and very deathly pale. I glanced around at Ginny, who had noticed him too. She gave me a look, like she knew what was going on, and pretended to be very interested in her lunch. I was almost certain my friends knew that I was connected to Draco Malfoy in some way. I don't think they knew to what extent, but word had gotten around about our snogging session outside of the Three Broomsticks a few months before, and suddenly everyone was looking at us differently. None of my friends brought it up, which I was thankful for, but they appraised me in a different way when Draco and I were near each other.