SONGBIRD

The Boggart

Rose's POV
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It was the first day of classes resuming and I couldn't get rid of the nervous feeling that danced around in my stomach as I got ready for the day. The first class was defence against the dark arts with Snape, which was actually my favourite class so I don't know why I felt so nervous all of a sudden. I slipped into my Slytherin robes and brushed my hair back slightly as I headed to classes with Katherine, as usual I slept in and completely missed breakfast. I barely got any sleep last night I was sure I'd pass out half way through classes today, me and Draco had been up in the common room most of the night catching up. I told him all about my Christmas however I did leave out the part about the burrow, I didn't quite know how to bring it up honestly. Plus, it would have ruined the moment. Over all he seemed fine yesterday, but Draco was always good at hiding how he truly felt...

But there's was not much to say about Christmas other than it was horrible, again. Mum and dad barely even spoke to me this year after finding out I was friends with Draco from a picture in the daily prophet from Slughorns party. A picture I hadn't even realised had been taken, I mean Draco was there for about 5 minutes. They had just assumed we were just friends but from the look on their faces I didn't want to tell them we were actually together, it wasn't any of their business. So they simply kept to themselves all Christmas, scared I was 'friends' with the boy who's father was in Azkaban. But they didn't know Draco, not like I did. They didn't even deserve to, we'd never really been close it looked like a strong family unit on the outside but since Cedric died everything changed. I'd grown cold towards my mum and dad, and they'd done the same to me. After Cedric died my mum and dad practically never left me alone but we've all changed since then and the more we were all apart while I was at Hogwarts the more we grew apart.

I think the only reason they invited me back for Christmas was to quiz me on Draco and check I was atleast still alive, they loved me that much I knew but it just wasn't a family unit anymore.

Katherine and Hermione had sent me hundreds of owls over the holidays telling me every detail about their Christmas. It was about 5 days after Christmas Day when they showed up on my doorstep and practically dragged me out of my family home. I'd told them everything about how Christmas had been and they finally persuaded Molly to come and get me. I couldn't have been happier.

"Thought we'd rescue you" Hermione smiled
"You look like you needed it" Katherine added
"I owe you two".

However, Christmas at the Weasleys hadn't been great either honestly once I arrived shock filled my entire body once I saw the burrow had been burnt to a crisp. The grass around the house had been completely stripped away creating a circle of burnt grass going all around the house. It looked like a scene from a horror film and the look on Mollys face when she greeted me, I could never forget it. Luckily with all of us helping magic did the trick and partly restored the burrow and the ground surrounding it. However, magic could only do so much and the Weasleys would have to find the money to fix certain areas of the burrow.

Hermione and Katherine had filled me in telling me about the death eater invasion and how Bellatrix was the one to set the place on fire. Knowing this woman was Draco's aunt and how she was staying in the same house as him right now made me feel sick to my stomach. Especially when someone so close to me had family that had done something so awful to people I considered family.

Molly tried to put on her best brave face and made me a room up for the remaining days I would be staying until term resumed. I confided in her about my parents, purging every emotion from my mind as I did so. Like always she was unbelievably kind and told me to see the burrow as a second home if I ever needed to escape, which was like music to my ears.

Even though Mollys words had touched me and made me feel part of her family even though I wasn't, I still felt something shift in me this holiday. From my parents distancing themselves from me and having this awful gut feeling about Draco i felt lonely. I felt like I was a passenger in my own body right now, it was weird. I had so many people around me but I still felt completely alone. I'd never felt like this before in my life, or I had and just pushed the feeling back down like I did with everything. I just hoped once I was back at Hogwarts and with Draco things would look up and feel better, surely they would ....