You spent January first in the library, working on an essay or two you hadn't done. Lunch in the Great Hall consisted of nine people. You had ducked in, grabbed a sandwich, and ducked out. You weren't particularly lonely, as Lin had once again started her never ending string of commentary. You really didn't mind; you'd long since become used to having two opinions for everything.
People had started to come back from holiday at four that afternoon, and the common room became a cozy place to sit, rather than an empty room full of couches.
At eight that night, you remembered the large stack of books you had yet to return to the library. Staggering slightly under the awkward strain of a tall stack of books, you made your way cautiously through the portrait and down to the second floor. When you reached the library entrance, you stood for a moment, pondering how you could open the door.
WHAM. The door opened, hitting you and your stack of countless thousand page books, scattering them everywhere, including onto your toes. You winced in pain and quickly kneeled to relieve your feet of the now throbbing pain.
*Erm, hellooo? Think genius, doors dont open by themselves, especially not incredibly large ones.*
You looked up to see who had opened the door and caught a glimpse of a blond head with chilling blue eyes. You lost what little smile you had on your face (which was really more of a grimace) and bowed your head to start picking up books.
Glancing up again, you saw that Malfoy was walking onto the grand staircase landing. You felt...not relieved. Unresolved, undecided, open. You sighed quietly, biting your lip. Why couldn't you just not like him? Why couldn't he openly scorn you? At least you'd be able to talk to him, even if it was in a very demeaning situation.
You picked up the large stack of books after opening the door. You walked over to Madam Pince's desk and set the many volumes of books down as carefully and quietly as you could.
"Thanks," you whispered before turning to leave. You headed back out of the library and started walking up the grand staircase to the common room when you saw a tall, ginger-haired boy coming up the stairs. Next to him was a girl with rather bushy hair, who was making wild gestures.
You turned around on the stairs. "Ron! Hermione!" you called, waving. They both looked up. You started going down the steps to meet them. You could tell that they were having a quick argument as you came near.
"Just get back?" you asked once you met them.
"Yeah," Ron said. His face seemed a little too red to be normal, even if he had just been arguing with Hermione.
Where's Harry?" you asked conversationally.
mione gave Ron a sharp look and elbowed him. "Ow! Um, well, hes sort of..."
"Gone. He isn't coming back. I'd rather not talk about it at the moment," Hermione snapped.
"Oh, sorry," you said meekly. The rest of the way up to Gryffindor Tower, you lapsed into silence. When you got to the common room, Ron headed up the boys staircase. "I'll be in our room. You can go talk to Ron, it's fine."
You walked alone to your dormitory and went inside. You pulled off your sweater and crawled into bed. Harry had gone. Draco was a Death Eater. What was next? Closing the curtains around your bed, you snuggled deeper into your covers and let your mind race over everything.
****
You opened your eyes and sensed that someone was in the room. Grabbing your wand, you slowly sat up and pulled a corner of the curtains back. It was only Hermione. It sounded like she was sobbing slightly.
"Hermione?" you asked quietly.
She sniffled and looked up. Turning, she wiped her eyes.
"There's a shoulder over here for you," you offered.
She walked over and sat on your bed. She slumped her shoulders and sighed, like your mother sometimes did after a day when she was completely exhausted. Even though it was dark, you could see her cheeks were wet with tears, the lines drawn on her face.
"He left last night," she croaked. "Just left a note, telling us he was going to find the rest of the horcruxes and that he didn't want us to be so close anymore, that it would be too dangerous. Like it wont be dangerous for him. He's so bloody proud. Why does he have to be so bloody proud? What do I do? What do I do...."
Hermione got up, her eyes transfixed to a spot on the wall, and she walked over to her bed. She slid under her covers and continued to stare blankly into space. She must have been deep in thought; Hermione never became unfocused.
"Go to sleep, Hermione. We have school tomorrow. Our transfiguration essays are due. Everything will seem better in the morning, you'll see. Just sleep now."
*Yes, everything will seem better.*
*Whatever helps you sleep at night.*
****
Classes resumed as usual. Ron became his fifteen year-old self again: continually silent and moody. Hermione worked on school, but often times her eyes were unfocused on a page, and she took longer to do everything.
As for yourself, you were constantly battling thoughts of Draco out of your head, along with the fears you had for Harry. It felt like you should have already graduated from Hogwarts, and the place had lost its meaning. All you could do was let time pass, day by day, until, eventually, winter would melt to spring and would in turn grow into summer. Then you would graduate, go on to your career, and loose touch with everyone. That was how youd always known it would be. Still, a part of you wanted to see Draco every day, to have a roommate, to be a child for a little longer.
Some people say life is written in the stars. They say that sometimes, you can see the future. Most times, its completely unpredictable. Other times, what you wish actually does come true.
You simply must go to the results! There's a surprise....
