(Heavy editing)!A best friends to lovers story about an orphan taken in by the Malfoys and a nervous pure blood wizard that no one saw potential in. Happily ever after isn't as easy as these two young Hogwarts students thought, and with Voldemort re...
Time passed and the dinner was finally over. "I hope you all had a delightful time! I know I did!" Slughorn exclaims. "So much in fact I would love to have all of you here for a little Christmas party!"
Slughorn went on about the details of the party but I didn't hear much as I had zoned out. Staring down at Neville's hand in mine. I had said we were on the same side but was that true? I would do anything for Neville but I would also do anything for Draco. I love each of them, differently, but I loved them both all the same. But when if it did come down to it, who would I choose? I shook the thought from my head when I noticed everyone leaving.
"Ren?" "Ren are you ok?" I hear Neville next to me, reality slowly seeping into my ears. "Oh, yeah, sorry I zoned out." I force a smile at him. "Ok, Cmon let's get going!" He exclaims. Helping me up from my seat. Everyone but Harry had left already. "Professor? May I ask you something?" Harry asks as he approaches the professor. He accidentally knocks over an object that looked like an Hour glass. It shatters as it hits the hard ground. Neville and I look up in surprise. "Bloody hell! I'm sorry!" Harry says Neville and I slowly make our way to the door. "No bother!"
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"Sosomme tidiare!"
Slughorn waves his wand and the hourglass mends itself and is right back where it was, as if it had never fallen. "Thank goodness my favorite student from Japan taught me that mending spell! Magical items are so tricky to fix when broken." Slughorn explains. I pause halfway through the door.
A mending spell. For magical items.
I shut the door behind me but linger a bit, my back against the wood. I chew on my nail, deep in thought. This could be it, I think to myself, the mending spell Draco needed. "Ren, are you sure you are ok?" Neville asks "Yeah, I just have to see Draco!" I push off the door and start speed walking towards the Slytherin commons. I abruptly stop when I feel a hand grab my wrist and pull. "Serenity I know what you are thinking but I can't let you." Neville says. Pulling me closer to him so that I'm looking at him rather than walking away. "Neville you don't under-" "Serenity locks don't tell me what I do and don't understand. We agreed you wouldn't be a part of it anymore and that's that!" Neville yells I'm not used to him being so serious, so stern. Normally he is soft and understanding. Right now he is forceful and almost. possessive.
I look to meet Neville's gaze and he has anger written on his face but he can't hide the worry in his eyes, the caring, the love. "Neville, you know I have to. I know I agreed, but he needs this information. It could help us too, you know that." I explain. "Wait till after the party." Neville says. Not asking, but telling me. Then it hits me, he isn't worried about my helping Draco, stressing myself, working a sleepless night on the cabinet. How could I not think about what comes after. He is worried about me killing Dumbledore, leaving Hogwarts, leaving him. Never seeing him again. All the worry and fear that was filling Neville in these moments fills me as well. I swallow hard. "Ok." I finally reply. "Ok I'll wait, I'm sorry, I-I wasn't thinking straight." I say. I bury my face in Neville's sweater. He holds me tight, tight like tonight is the night, like this is the last time he will hold me like this. I hold him back. I had been having so much fun, fun with the distractions Neville provided for me, I almost forgot I had to murder someone.
The next morning I make my way to the great hall. I sit at the Slytherin table in Draco's spot. I'm here early so I can get sketching done. Only minutes pass when I hear footsteps approaching the table. It's odd, not many Slytherins wake up this early. I look up to see Astoria, her eyes meet mine and she turns on her heels in attempts to leave the hall. "Storia!! Oi!!" I yell She turns back around and fakes a smile, I can tell she was hoping I didn't see her. She makes her way over to me, checking her surroundings a few too many times to be normal. That's odd. "Hi Serenity." She says. Barely audible She takes the seat next to me but keeps her eyes forward. "Is there something wrong love?" I ask She immediately looks at me and tears burst out of her eyes like a floodgate broke the instant I spoke. "No!!! Your sorry excuse of a brother broke up with me out of no where! What am I to do now!?!" She gasps through sobs. She leans into me and I hold her in my arms as she continues sobbing and blubbering about things, although I can't understand any words she is saying.
I knew Draco wasn't good with his feelings, and that the task was stressing him out to no end. But I didn't expect him to do this, although it wasn't that it hadn't crossed my mind to do the same with Neville.
In the back of my mind I knew it was wrong but I knew why Draco did it. He was preparing. He had to kill Dumbledore, we would have to go into hiding. The dark lord was holding all four of our lives over us like it was nothing to him. Draco broke up with her to protect her, to let her live. Not only live as in breathe and survive but to be able to live her life outside of being a death eater's girlfriend.
As I held the girl sniffling in my arms I look up to see Neville enter the great hall with Seamus and Dean. He walks so confident, holding the strap of his book bag so gently. Tall but not lanky. He wears a large grin on his face and laughs at something Seamus says. His hair so silky, so soft. His eyes so kind. I melt at the sight of the person that means the world to me. It's him, I'd choose him. Over anyone else, over my life, and over Draco's. Unfortunately I'm not as strong as Draco in these last few weeks, I'm weak, selfish. I want to drink up every moment with the tall, kind, and gentle brunette. Up until the last moment. The. I'd leave him for good. And it would hurt both of us to no end.
