twisted

eighteen

2  M O N T H S  L A T E R

lucille granger

The December breeze was bone-chilling as it always was. Students' noses went bright red the second they stepped outside; snow had fallen the night before, leaving a clean, fresh white blanket along the frozen ground.

Students were leaving for the holidays, their suitcases stuffed with warm apparel and other belongings.

I was beside Enzo, who was sitting alongside Onny, Blaise, and Draco. We would be spending Christmas together at the Malfoy Manor, which would either go very well or very poorly.

I was admiring the beautiful view - Christmas lights were wrapped around lampposts and along the roofline of the building. Everything around us was white, the sun beaming onto the fresh snow and causing it to glimmer like a sheet of glitter.

Enzo and I held hands and cuddled up close to keep warm. The past few weeks had gone better than I could have ever asked for. He was perfect. The sex was perfect. The time we spent together was the highlight of my year. Draco, for some reason, hadn't been as aggravating as he was the first few weeks. For the most part, he was quiet, but I couldn't help but notice his glares from the other side of the room. I noticed he wasn't spending as much time with us, and he never informed us as to why. He would even skip classes sometimes.

We waited for Draco's mother to come as the wind whipped against us and the snow numbed our bodies. I didn't even mind all too much; I always enjoyed the snow and the cold weather.

"Fuck, it's freezing," Draco complained. "My mother should be here by now."

"The weather matches your personality," Onyx teased him.

Draco rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"I don't mind," I said, squeezing Lorenzo's hand. "I think it's beautiful outside."

"I never minded the cold, but it's not my favorite." Lorenzo said. "But I'm not fond of summer, either. Autumn is my favorite month."

"You mean it's your favorite season?" I asked, cracking a smile.

"Oh, yeah, that's what I meant," He said, and I could tell his cheeks were turning scarlet, but it didn't make a difference compared to the redness his face already portrayed.

Onyx giggled to herself. "Idiot."

"Oh, shut up, Onny," He shook his head.

"It's okay, love," I said, nestling into his chest. "We know what you meant."

All of a sudden, the wind picked up around us, and a swirl of grey flushed passed us. I shut my eyes at the sudden gust of ice-cold air, and when I opened them, Draco's mother was standing a few feet from us.

She looked around for a moment before meeting eyes with us and breaking a soft grin. We stiffly stood up, so cold it was hard to move, but Lorenzo had no trouble getting up and starting towards his mother. He pulled her into a tight hug and beamed. "Hi, Mumsy."

"I've missed you, Lorenzo," She sighed and her lips raised into a relieved smile.

"I've missed you, too."

He loosened his grip on her and walked back to me. Next, Draco made his way over to her. Her smile was relieved, a bit sorrowful. She opened her arms and Draco melted into them.

"Draco. It's good to see you."

"Hello, Mother."

Their hug lasted longer than I thought it would. They were grasping onto each other like stress relievers. When they finally pulled away, her gaze turned towards Onyx, Blaise and me. She walked towards the three of us, first pulling Blaise into a hug and murmuring something to him, then hugging Onyx, then me. She smiled at us warmly.