(1) 𝐍𝐄𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐄 | d. m

Chapter twelve

That night, sleep didn't come at all, All I could seem to think about was Draco, and that kiss. Oh, that kiss. It was still lingering on my lips.

I lay in bed all night, thinking about it for hours and hours, until the sun came up and the sky turned orange. The day seemed to bring new life to the world and I was somehow, in much higher spirits than I'd ever been before. I think Luna caught that the second she opened her eyes that morning.

"What are you doing?", she said confusingly, rubbing her tired eyes and stretching her arms in the air. I was going through my drawer trying to find something to wear for the day.

It was 6. 45 am and I was already awake.

It wasn't like me at all to be this chipper, let alone be awake this early in the morning. I guess the events of the last couple of hours had
stirred up emotions I hadn't felt in a very long time, and the fact that I hadn't gotten a minute of sleep that night, only added to my 'high on life' sort of attitude. It would probably come to bite me in the ass eventually, but then and there, I felt happy.

"Oh hi, good morning. It's a good morning isn't it? Oh, look how lovely it is outside. I have a feeling it's going to be a beautiful day. Don't you think so?". I realized that what I just said, was nothing like the normal me, but dismissed it quickly and continued dancing about the room. I found a perfectly ironed white shirt and put it on underneath my robes, but as I went to go put my rings on my fingers, I realized something.

My necklace was missing.

It was a green emerald stone one, with a gold chain. I had gotten it from my dad when I was little and almost never took it off since. However, in the midst of all the craziness going on with Draco and Neville, I had managed to mislay it somehow. God knows why, I never took it off my neck.

Instead of cheerfully prancing about the room I now started anxiously pacing back and forth, my heart heavy in my chest.

"What is it?", said Luna, sounding concerned about my fast switch of attitude.

"I'm just —  I can't find it... Jesus, where is that thing?", I said, growing more and more anxious. Luna was still staring at me in confusion.

I started looking through every drawer, every jewellery box, even in my robes, but it was nowhere to be found.

"Can't find what?", Luna answered, stumbling out of bed.

"My necklace. The one I always wear. I got it from my dad years ago. I can't seem to find it anywhere, and I don't know what to do". The tone of my voice seemed to grow more and more timid with every step I took.

"I haven't seen it". She paused, as my beating heart started racing even faster. "Why did you take it off, anyway?". Her question got me thinking about the last few days. How I had worn it to class, but not to bed. How the kiss had made all of my senses heighten. In fact, I had been so occupied with trying not to lose my sense of self, that I had managed to do the complete opposite.

Draco. Draco must have stolen it. I can't believe it. He must've somehow taken it from me last night without me knowing. I remembered how I had taken it off my neck when he asked to see it more closely, and didn't even think to put it back on. Oh, this is all my fault.

As the morning slowly turned to afternoon, I tried several times to catch Draco's attention. In class, he seemed distant again, but would smile back at me whenever I looked at him. Maybe to hide his true feelings, to detach from whatever he was going through and didn't want to tell me about. After all, he didn't owe me anything. It was just a kiss.

After another Defence Agains the Dark Arts class that day, I waited til the classroom had cleared out and there was only me, Draco and professor Lupin. I think Draco could see the concern in my eyes, because the minute we stepped out in to the hallway, he grabbed me by the arm and said: