Belong (D.M)

Part fourteen

Thoughts of him consumed her brain, no matter how much she tried to push them away. She told herself that the pale boy she had grown fond of always seemed to be bad news to her, bringing about hurt and betrayal. The logical thing for her would be to stay as far away from him as she could, even though her heart somehow always seem to feel warm whenever he's around.

A note landed on her desk during charms class, and she looked around the big room quickly before she opened it, letting her eyes scan over the scribbled letters.

Ellie, 
can we please talk?
I have these thoughts I need to get off my chest.
D.M

She had been avoiding Draco the past week, turning to walk the other way or hiding behind a corner whenever he came close to her. However, avoiding him in class had been slightly harder, and yesterday when she had bumped into him after getting ingredients in potions class everything had gotten even more weird. Hermione had seen, and she had commented on Draco's lack of insults towards her. Usually Draco would not let someone bumping into him go unnoticed, but with her he had done nothing but look at the ground. She had tried to brush it off like nothing towards Hermione, but her best friend seemed to notice the weird tension.

She looked at him, and she found him gazing right back a her. She looked down at her desk once more, crumpling the note into a small ball before she threw it into the trash.

She wanted to be his friend, she really did want it to work out because something inside her felt different whenever he was around. But she just couldn't see past all the bad decisions he kept making, and she couldn't ignore how his actions time after time seemed to affect her friends in a negative way. That kind of friendship just doesn't work, there's too many arduous side effects.

After charms class ended she gathered her things and walked out of the classroom next to Hermione, not looking back at Draco. The two of them were soon joined by Ron and Harry as they walked towards the north tower for divination class.

"Broaden your minds, my dears, and allow your eyes to see past the mundane!" professor Trelawney spoke as the class began, waving her arms around.

"Quite mad that one, I'm telling ya" Ron muttered, and Harry muffled a laugh.

"Today we will explore palmistry further" professor Trelawney said, gazing at the class from behind her thick round spectacles "I hope everyone remembers learning it in your third year, you will need to remember the basics today"

"We remember" a Ravenclaw student spoke up "but why are we repeating it professor?"

"Oh" professor Trelawney spoke with a trembling voice as she turned around "well my dear, the m-ministry insists that we go through everything for the tests, the ministry insists a awful lot nowadays"

The classroom fell silent for a moment, and everyone seemed to fall into concern about their beloved school, before professor Trelawney began moving around hectically to pair up students. 

"Miss Patil and Miss Granger over here, Mr Goyle with Miss Brocklehurst over here, Mr Weasley and Miss Bones can sit here"

Hermione and Ron got up and walked off to their assigned seats, sitting down opposite of their partners. Professor Trelawney continued to roam around her classroom, pairing students up.

"Mr Longbottom and Miss Brown, Miss Dunbar and Mr Thomas come here, Mr Potter and Mr Boot, Mr Malfoy and Miss Ember over here, Miss Turpin and Mr Finnigan can sit here, Miss Abbott and Miss Parkinson"

She sighed as she heard her last name being called next to Draco's.

"Sorry" Harry mumbled as he got up to join the Ravenclaw boy Terry Boot at another table. She got up and wandered over to the table that professor Trelawney had assigned her and Draco to, and as she sat down she saw him quickly walking over.

"Hello" he said as he sat down opposite of her.

"Hi" she said quickly, looking down at her hands.

"Are you still mad at me?" he asked, and she could feel his gaze fixed on her.

"No, I just want to forget about all of this, we're not destined to be friends Draco"

She gazed around the room as students dressed in red, green, blue and yellow walked passed them to find their places. Draco sat quiet, staring at his hands.

"Now what other names for palmistry is there? Please my dears, remember this for your exams" professor Trelawney spoke, her eyes wide as she looked at the class sat before her. Sue Li, a Ravenclaw girl, reached her hand up into the air. 

"Yes my dear" professor Trelawney said, nodding her head towards the girl.

"Chiromancy or chirology or simply palm reading professor"

"Yes yes correct, very good my dear, very good" professor Trelawney spoke, nodding her head so hard that her frizzy curls bobbed up and down on her head "five points to Ravenclaw"

Draco rolled his eyes, gazing over at Ellie once more.

"Psst" 

"What Draco?" she whispered as professor Trelawney began to explain today's assignment.

"Come on Ellie, we're great friends"

"No we're not Draco, we have been friends for what? Like barely three months and there has been multiple things to disrupt the friendship, it's not meant to be"

He swallowed hard, peering down at his hands once more. She watched him for a moment, and he gritted his teeth as he fiddled with his silver ring on his finger.

"Now, take your partner's palm and look for the life and the head lines" professor Trelawney said, waving her hands around "examine them, tell your partner what you see"

Draco looked up, and she felt unsure as she stared at her hands. She did not feel like touching him, but how was she supposed to escape that in a class focused on palm reading?

"Begin you two, come on" professor Trelawney spoke as she passed their table. 

She sighed as she looked at the pale boy before her.

"Give me your hand, I'll start" he said, and she reluctantly reached her right hand out to him. He took it in his hands and she felt a surge of warmth well through her veins, making her skin tingle slightly from his touch.

"Hmm interesting" he mumbled as he inspected her palm.

"What?" she asked, looking at him "is my life line short or something? Am I going to pass tomorrow?"

"No, and don't joke about that" he mumbled, smirking slightly at her as he peered up "but I can see here on your head line that you are destined to be my friend"

"Stop it" she spat as she pulled her hand away from him "that's not funny Draco"

"Ellie please, let me explain, I'm not the bad guy here"

"What is there to explain Draco? You joined the inquisitorial squad with the devil in pink, it doesn't get much worse than that"

"Please just give me a chance to tell you..." he began saying, but she quickly cut him off.

"No, now give me your hand, it's my turn"

He sighed, rolling his eyes in displeasure as he reached his right hand out for her to hold. She examined his life and head line, and as her fingertips trailed along his pale skin she felt the same kind of warmth hit her heart, making it beat hard inside of her ribcage.

After class ended she was quick to leave, wanting to get away from him. She, alongside Harry, Ron and Hermione, walked back to the Gryffindor common room. Ron and Harry went and sat down next to Fred, George and Lee and Hermione plopped down in front of the fireplace to read.

"Hey Ellie?" Hermione called.

"Yes?"

"Do you want to come with me to the library later?" 

"I would love to, but I'm headed to madam Pomfreys" she answered, hurrying into the girls dorm to change. She was quick, and as she walked out into the common room once again, Hermione looked at her.

"Good luck Ellie, have fun"

"I will" she said, giving Hermione a kind smile before she left the Gryffindor common room. She wandered down the stone halls, quickly trying to make her way to the hospital wing. 

She pushed the tall doors open and stepped into the infirmary, which smelled slightly of medicine and some kind of earthy plant. 

"Good afternoon miss Ember" madam Pomfrey spoke.

"Hello" she answered as she closed the doors behind her.

The infirmary was quiet, with only one student laying on a bed. A first year who had fallen off his broom during madam Hooch's class and broken his wrist. Madam Pomfrey was stood by a cabinet, rearranging potions by alphabetical order, she sometimes does that when there isn't much else to do around here.

The doors opened and a little girl dressed in yellow came in alongside professor Sprout, head of Hufflepuff house. 

"This is Miss Zeller, she's feeling quite ill" professor Sprout said, nudging the girl towards madam Pomfrey.

"Alright, not to fret, this way Miss Zeller" madam Pomfrey said as she led the girl to a bed and laid her down to examine her.

"Seems to be a common cold" madam Pomfrey told the girl "now rest"

Madam Pomfrey left the girl laying on the bed and walked over to Ellie who was sitting on a bed, reading a potions book.

"There's a Hufflepuff girl with the common cold, will you give her some pepperup to make her feel better?"

"Of course" she said as she closed the book and sprung to her feet, grabbing a bottle of pepperup potion from the cabinet. Madam Pomfrey went back to her alphabetical arranging of potions as Ellie walked over to the little girl.

"Hi, what's your name?" she asked as she poured the pepperup potion into a glass.

"I'm Rose" the little girl squealed "Rose Zeller"

"Hello Rose, feeling quite under the weather are you?" 

The little girl nodded.

"Well don't worry, here drink this and you will feel better" she said, handing Rose the potion. She drank it quickly before she sat the glass down on the nightstand.

"Thank you" Rose said, looking up at her with big glossy eyes.

She pulled a chair closer and sat down next to Rose's bedside, leaning back slightly.

"How old are you Rose?"

"I'm eleven, soon twelve" the little girl spoke softly.

"Oh okay so you're a first year?"

The little girl nodded again, laying back down onto the bed.

"I have a little sister, she's twelve, she's in her second year, Rebecka Ember"

"Oh yes I've seen her, she's a Gryffindor right?" Rose asked, looking at her with curious eyes.

"Yes, and you're in Hufflepuff?" she asked and Rose nodded "do you like it there?"

"Yes, it's an amazing house" Rose squealed.

She sat with Rose for almost an hour, talking and reading short stories about a magical bunny out of a story book to make her feel less lonely as she recovered in the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey checked up on the boy with the broken wrist every once in a while, and outside of the tall windows it was getting darker and darker.

Suddenly the tall doors sprung open once again, and in came professor Snape holding a Slytherin student to his side.

"Good evening madam Pomfrey" he spoke, his voice low and stern. Madam Pomfrey came rushing over to help, and she looked up to see the Slytherin boy being escorted to a bed on the other side.

"I have to go Rose, get some rest" she told the little girl before she stood up, slowly walking over to madam Pomfrey's side. Professor Snape turned on his heel, leaving the Hospital wing and madam Pomfrey stood over the boy.

"A dislocated shoulder, I have to get it back in place, this will hurt"

She walked closer as madam Pomfrey used a spell on his shoulder to put it back in it's place, and he grunted loudly.

"I'll give you something for the pain" madam Pomfrey said, walking off "miss Ember make sure he lays still"

She stepped up to the boy's bedside and looked down at him.

"Draco Malfoy, here you are again, what did you do this time?"

"I fell off my broom" he said, his voice coming out as a agonized whimper.

"You fell of your broom?" she asked confused as she poured him a glass of water "but you're not allowed to fly"

"I know" he said, holding onto his right shoulder "but I felt adventurous so I stole my nimbus back and I flew it right outside of professor Snape's office"

"Why would you do that? That's so stupid, you could get expelled"

"No, Snape would never expel me, he likes me" he said, taking the glass of water she offered him with his left hand.

"Wait" she said, looking at the boy with furrowed eyebrows as he drank his water "you fell off your broom unprovoked outside of professor Snape's office?"

"Yeah" he said, staring at her "I did"

Madam Pomfrey came back and gave him a potion to ease his pain, and then she walked off to check up on Rose Zeller, the first year Hufflepuff student.

"Oh come on Draco" she sighed, sitting down at his bedside "both you and I know that you're an excellent flyer, why would you fall off your broom unprovoked on a day with clear skies and almost no wind? And right outside of professor Snape's office? The only teacher you know wouldn't expel you for flying when you're banned from having your broom"

"I need to talk to you" he said, looking at her "and you weren't giving me a chance so I had to find another way"

"So you stole your broom back and fell off it and injured yourself on purpose?"

"Well yeah, I knew you were working in the infirmary today" he said, looking at her with something playful in his gaze "however the dislocated shoulder wasn't a part of the plan, this hurts like hell, I was more aiming for a few simple scratches"

She couldn't help but laugh as she looked at him, and her laughter seemed to be contagious because a second later he was also laughing, holding onto his hurting shoulder. Never before had she had a boy fall of his broom on purpose, exposing himself to the risk of expulsion, just to talk to her.

"You're a fool Draco Malfoy"

"I'm a fool for you Eleonora Ember"