Fire & Ice - A Draco Malfoy fanfiction

Chapter 10 - Today I had extinguished her fire

Remember your words can plant gardens or burn whole forests to the ground.

- Gemma Troy

DRACO's POV

Did I feel guilty about the things I said to Eleanor? Yeah, a little bit. I mean, she deserved it after flaunting her win in Potions like that, but the things I had said to her even surprised myself.

Eleanor never showed how she was feeling, which made it easy for me to get over it. She didn't look hurt, so I assumed she wasn't and shrugged it off. But when she didn't show up for lunch, I knew I had gone a little far. She was just so incredibly annoying. Everything she did was always perfect and she had to rub it in my face every time.

I didn't care about her at all, but when she returned from detention, looking exhausted, I felt a little sting. I couldn't come up with many positive adjectives to describe her, but if anything, she was determined and fiery. Today I had extinguished her fire.

Daphne walked up to her, but she just brushed it off and walked to her dorm room. Daphne looked sad and our eyes met very shortly before her look turned cold again. I didn't really like her all that much, but me hanging out with her annoyed Eleanor greatly, which was worth it. But seeing her so miserable, I wasn't so sure anymore. It had just been a week ago that I sent her to the Hospital Wing. Maybe it was getting a bit out of hand this year.

I checked my watch and stood up with a sigh. Time for patrol.

It was October and the weather had become rather unpleasant lately, so I grabbed my coat and buttoned it up as high as possible. Quidditch season began this week, which would mean months of flying in this terrible weather. I liked quidditch, really, but why did the season have to start in October? Eleanor walked down the stairs, her coat in her hands. She was very pale and she looked tired, as if she hadn't slept well for a couple of days. She pulled the sleeves of her jumper down to cover the wound on the back of her hand. Right, I had heard about detention with Umbridge. It was kind of my fault, again.

"Just go to bed, I'll do patrol", I said as she reached the exit of the common room. She just ignored me as she put on her coat.

"Eleanor, just get some sleep. I know you're tired. I'll do it alone, it's fine", I said, gently pulling her back.

"Let go of me", she hissed, but even her voice sounded weak. She pulled herself from my grip and walked out. I sighed and followed her.

She immediately turned left to patrol her part of the dungeon, so I gave up and walked the other way, like we always did. It was better that way. All we did was fight anyway. We just didn't get along. We were forced to compete from birth. All I heard since the day I was born was Eleanor achieved this; Eleanor did that; Eleanor got a perfect grade again. And I had to keep up. Less than her was not good enough. My parents didn't pressure me to be better than her, one of the few things they didn't pressure me about, but I didn't want to be ... less.

And then I heard the silent sobs.

I frowned and turned a corner, seeing a Hufflepuff girl sitting against the wall, her head in her arms, sobbing silently.

"Shouldn't you be in your common room?" I asked and she looked up surprised. A scared look appeared on her face and she quickly stood up.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to, please don't get a teacher", she said, sobbing loudly again. I stood there awkwardly for a bit, not sure what to do. I just now noticed she was absolutely soaked. What had happened to this girl? Merlin I was not the right person for this.