the girl with all of the choices

s e v e n t y - f o u r

3498 words

april twenty-second- regret

~ Addison ~

It had been a month since that night we spent together in the Room of Requirement. He eventually gave in after I said I would die for him, pulling me close, kissing my forehead, and never letting me out of his hold for the rest of the night.

"I promise you that you will never get hurt for me. I won't allow it. You will not get hurt for me, do you hear that?"

"Yes, Draco. But ultimately it isn't your decision."

"I just made it my decision."

We had stayed here during the Easter holiday, not seeing all that much of each other. Part of me expected it, knowing that he was staying here primarily to work on the Cabinet and figure out why it wasn't transporting live items. On the other hand, another part of me was upset, as I figured that he would try to spend more time with me than he did. But this was life and death, so I could deal with the loneliness for a little while. We wouldn't have to be separated once he finished it, and that was the important part.

When I did see him, it was blissful. He acted as if nothing was wrong, as if he wasn't fixing an object that would allow a group of murderous wizards into the one safe place in all of Great Britain. He held me and kissed my temples and played with my hands and did all of the other things that he used to do. We would gossip whenever he heard new information, sneak into the kitchens to bake, and sleep in his room, even though it was against the rules. It was us. It was refreshing to see him like that again.

But then the holiday came and went, and everyone returned to school. Well, not everyone. Hannah still wasn't here. Matt was beginning to show his old self more and more again; he had begun to stop feeling guilty for being happy when she wasn't around. He was in a dark place for a long time, but Ainsley worked to pull him out of it. 

When everyone came back, it was easy for me to be around them again, at least at first. Having Draco be happy around me really boosted my confidence when I was in their presence. But once classes started again, everything went dark. He went back to doing his task and I went back to not being able to speak around my friends. Everything was normal, once again. 

Draco had been back working on the Cabinet for awhile now. We spent our free time researching in their dorm, which luckily had started to pay off. He was going to attempt to apparate another bird today, in between Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Last night was when he and Theo discussed it.

"I really think it might work, Theo."

"That's brilliant, and all, but what if it doesn't? There's only the one bird left, and I'm not going to run around outside on the grounds to catch another for you if this one dies."

"You won't have to," Draco argued. "It's going to work."

"What if it doesn't? You're really starting to run out of time, mate. It's almost May already."

"I know-"

"We go home on the second of July-"

"I know-"

"Which only gives you less than two months to get this done! What if it doesn't work? What are you going to do then?" Theo pestered, his arms crossed as he stared at my Slytherin.

Draco raked his hand through his hair uncomfortably before speaking. "Honestly? I'd probably pitch myself off of the Astronomy Tower."

Theo and I both stared at him, our words overlapping.