[4] UNREQUITED ENEMIES ━ Draco Malfoy

04. Can I Stay?

FOUR CAN I STAY?

Xander was numb. There was no other way to describe it. He sobbed at night, casting a silencing charm around his four-poster bed so Justin and the two other boys he shared with wouldn't hear him. He knew Justin was upset too, he also knew Justin was pissed off. Xander had dealt with the black eye to prove it.

"You said you'd protect her!" Justin had shouted and Xander remembered going for his wand, but the boy apparently wanted to deal with things the muggle way. Xander begged Professor Sprout not to give him detention or take any house points, but she did anyway.

Classes were done for the day and Xander sat in the common room, the fire warming him as rain pelted against the windows. It was already almost Christmas, the last week of November was fading away faster than Xander would have liked. His last year in general was fading away faster than he wanted it to. This was supposed to be the biggest year of his life, the year before is out in the world to make his mark. It was supposed to be fun, a last hoorah. Now, he was alone, sitting in front of a fire in a room that didn't feel like home anymore.

"I'm sorry for punchin' ya," a voice interrupted his train of thought and Xander hadn't even realized that he had been nodding off in front of the fire. Was it that late already? He couldn't tell anymore, time was just time. It passed and nothing changed. Nothing got worse, but it certainly wasn't getting any better.

"I deserved it," Xander sighed, "I can't believe it's already been almost a month. Time is... slipping away much too quickly."

"Do you reckon she's still..." the question drifted off as Justin's eyes met Xander's. Neither of them wanted to discuss it, but Xander knew the fear was weighing heavy on his heart with every passing moment that Diana was gone. No bodies had been found of any of the muggle-borns that had gone missing, but that didn't stop Xander from listening to the radio every night.

Xander shook his head, his hands twitching slightly with the after-effects of the Cruciatus curse. Some second-years hadn't stopped talking in class and Xander brunted the punishment for them because he couldn't bear to watch students so young get such a horrible curse casted upon them. He didn't regret it, but his body ached.

"I don't want to talk about this, if you'll excuse me, I have a letter to send." It wasn't a lie, the letter had been burning a hole in his pocket for a week now. Draco had never responded to the first one he sent, so he felt silly sending another, but he had a feeling the boy might know something about Diana's disappearance. He hoped that if the boy cared about him at all he would find a way to help. Still, he couldn't be sure. He might never see Diana or Draco every again; he doesn't know what he would do if that was the case.

The long walk to the owlery was a peaceful one, although there wasn't much peace around the castle these days. He sent off his letter using Diana's owl, since the school ones were monitored by the Carrows and probably Snape as well, as Salem curled around his neck, purring softly in his ear. He took Salem with him everywhere these days, but it was mainly just because he needed a friend. Things had gotten so lonely here.