Love Never Dies. (Draco Malfoy Fan Fiction) (Watty Awards 2013 Winner)

Chapter 8: Tutor for Spells.

Draco was always on my mind. I kept wondering what he was doing, where he was, what he was eating, if he was in the common room where I could sneak a peek at him. No doubt, I fell in love with him. Draco Malfoy, now the boy Rachel Farrell fell in love with. The first one. Whenever I saw him, I kept wanting to just grab him close to me and kiss him. I was constantly distracted in class and I kept stealing looks at him whenever I had the chance. It was no wonder OWLs results dropped by a few marks, nothing drastic. But this was something I could not keep up. I had to pull my grades up and I knew it. I couldn't fail at Hogwarts. Hogwarts was my home. I had Esme, who was like my sister. My teachers were my parents, for my real parents weren't my parents anymore. They sort of 'ditched' me when they found out their to-be-Griffindor daughter was put in Slytherin.  

- - -

It was a long day today and I was walking back to the common room when I bumped into Hermione in the corridor. What was she doing down there near the dungeons, anyway? I was about to shove her off and tell her to go back to her proud tall tower. 

"Um, Rachel? I was wondering if we could talk for a bit," she asked me so softly when she saw me I could barely hear a word she said. 

"Sure," I passed my bag to Esme who said she'd help me to put it back in the dorms. I remembered to keep my wand in my pocket, though. Who knew what Hermione wanted to do with me all of a sudden. 

"Let's go, then," Hermione took me to what I could tell was an attic. It was dusty and had a musky smell not to mention the extremely high ceiling. 

"Okay, what do you want?" I asked her impatiently. Though I did appreciate the fact that she was still comfortable around me, I didn't want to stick with her for too long.

It wasn't very comfortable to be around someone you were once close to but not anymore.

"Listen, Rachel. Before you think of anything else, remember that I'm still your cousin and that I still... care about you," Hermione tells me in a tone that made me wish I were still best friends like we were three years ago. 

"Mmhm. Okay?" I said, looking around the attic-like place. She should've picked a better place than this.

"I just want to say that I'm sorry if I've ever been mean to you in any way. I've been trying my best to make it up to you but Harry and Ron don't really... like you," she said, avoiding my gaze. Where was she going with this? "And, I was wondering if maybe we could be friends again. I miss being your best friend, Rachel. I don't want to lose you because of the fact that you're in Slytherin."

"Well, you should've said that earlier. You know-" she cut me off.

"I know, I'm sorry. I guess I didn't want you to be mad at me. I really miss being best friends with you and I just want to be as close as we were before, you know? I really missed your company over the past few years," she tells me. Her voice cracked and I could see tears welling up in her eyes. I guess I really meant a lot to her, because I know I did miss her friendship. Though Esme was closer to me now, I did miss having the close relationship I once had with Hermione. 

A tear rolls down her cheek but she wipes it away immediately. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I didn't mean to be nasty to you or anything. I just thought we were suddenly different. I do miss your company, no doubt. But it's a bit more complicated now. But I guess we can try," I tell her.

"Really?" she asks me. She looks up and I see her eyes, now full of tears. 

"Really," I take her in my arms and I felt like I was eleven again. Like Hermione failed a test at school and she'd came back crying. It's been a long time since I've felt close to someone in my family. I missed this, I really did. Until I realised that it was getting late, I let her go, pulling myself away from her.