As the Leaves Change Color So Does Your Love

I was in shock through the rest of the class period. So this was the man that was in on the plan with Voldemort and Malfoy. I had detention with him that evening.

When my partner, whose name was Johan Ever, practiced nonverbal spells with me, I tried to pay attention but failed miserably. As charming as he was, I wondered why no one sat next to him. So I asked him.

“Actually.” He laughed. “This annoying girl did sit next to me, but I moved.”

“Can I know who it is?”

“It would embarrass her.” Of course. He was charming and nice. And he was a Slytherin. By what I knew, how was that possible? Not like the other boy who I had been in recent contact with. When I thought about it, I could still feel his hands clasped around my wrists. His tall, slender, strong body pushing into my 5’9’’ frame. I was tall, but he made me feel shorter than I was.

When I looked over at him practicing spells with a pug-faced girl, his silvery eyes were glancing at me. I quickly looked down.

Forcibly driving him out of my mind, I looked over at Snape, who was going around helping students with nonverbal spells. Hermione had them down perfectly, but he still criticized her.

Out of nowhere, screams started up and people ducked out of the way. Harry and Malfoy were pointing their wands at each other, in the center of the room. They shot curses repeatedly, but Snape shouted, “Expelliarmus!” before things could get out of hand.

“BOTH OF YOU!” he bellowed. “DETENTION! EIGHT… MY OFFICE!”

Thankfully, the bell rang and people raced out of classroom. I quickly grabbed my book bag and walked out, Johan escorting me. We had Transfiguration together after lunch but I was glad he offered to have lunch with me, as Harry had left with Ron and Hermione before I could catch up to them.

“I’m starving,” Johan moaned. “I could eat a hippogriff!”

“Me too.” I snickered.

“Hey, you have detention with Potter and Malfoy! That’s an awful pair, they hate each others’ guts,” he sighed.

“Bloody hell.” I hadn’t even thought about that, but now it seemed like a horrendous way to end the day. Although Harry wasn’t a problem, the other guy was.

He leaned down to me and whispered in my ear, “Be careful.”

“I’ll try.”

With that, I sat down to eat at the Slytherin table with Johan while all the Slytherin girls shot me ugly looks.

“I have a feeling Slytherin girls don’t like me as much anymore. Not that probably ever did.”

“Ignore them. They’re all snobs.”

We ate in silence since we were so hungry, trying to stuff our faces with as much food as we could manage to do so. I finished off remaining crumbs on my plate and turned to look at Johan, who was just about done with eating too.

“Let’s go?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

***

After dinner, I walked to the Defense Against The Dark Arts classroom, not knowing where Snape’s office was. On the way there, I ran into Harry.

“Harry! Where’s Snape’s office?” I sounded relieved.

“Oh hey there,” he smiled. “Follow me. Remember? I have detention too.”

“Yeah. I don’t really like him.”

“Snape or Malfoy?”

“Both.”

Quickly, we walked past multiple corridors before reaching one that seemed uninviting. An unnerving feeling crept over me and I had the urge to turn right back around and run.

As Harry pulled open the door, Snape's back met us. He was saying something to someone facing him. He turned around.

“You’re two minutes late,” he hissed.

“S-sorry, professor,” I started. “We got lost.”

Ignoring me, he turned to look at Harry.

“Potter,” he spat. “Go to Slughorn and get me the ingredients for you-know-what.”

“What’s you-know-what?”

"It’s. None. Of. Your. Business."

Harry left the room, leaving me alone with Malfoy and Snape, the two people I despised the most.

“Now,” Snape started. “I want you two to go down to the library and Madam Pince needs some bookshelves dusted.”

I sighed.

“Is there something you have to saying, Miss Cresendor?” Snape breathed down my neck.

“No, sir.”

With that, I walked out, Malfoy trailing behind me. I tried to ignore the fact that he was so close and the last time I was alone with him, I was scared out of my mind.

“So, you haven’t told anyone,” he drawled.

I stopped in my tracks. Without facing him, I tried to say something, but nothing sounded right. There were no words in my mouth. So I stayed silent.

Footsteps.

He was right behind me. I could feel his breath on the back of my neck. I tried to push myself forward but my feet were glued to the ground. My heart started racing at the speed of light, unable to control itself. I closed my eyes, praying to God to help me.

I mustered up some courage. I wouldn’t let him think I was scared of him. “I can.”

“But you won’t.” His hand wrapped around my right arm lightly, as if he was unsure of what he should do next.

“Stop it.”

“Stop what?”

“Malfoy-“ I grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away from my arm. He snatched his arm away from mine, as if my touch had just hurt him. Without thinking twice, I grabbed his wrist again, pulling up the sleeve of his robe. I gasped.

The Dark Mark was engraved on his wrist.

“You're a Death Eater?”

“Please, I can explain-,” he started but I cut him off.

“Oh my god. Oh my god. You’re going to kill me, aren’t you? Oh my god!” And then, I ran. I ran away from Malfoy, as far away as I could get, pulling my wand out of my robe pocket. I completely forgot I was supposed to serve detention.

“Expelliarmus!”

I froze as my wand whipped out of my hand, flying over and behind me, landing in his open palm. I backed up against the wall of the corridor. I didn’t even know where I was.

“Please, don’t kill me,” I cried, my eyes closed. I couldn’t bear to face death. Maybe that’s why I hadn’t been put in Gryffindor.

My entire life flashed before me. My first ride on my toy broomstick. The first time I had done a magical thing: I was playing with a soccer ball and some boy had just deflated my ball. Suddenly, as sadness filled me, I realized the ball inflated again on its own.

I opened my eyes and saw his face was only inches from my own.

“Draco…” I whispered, shocking him and myself by saying his name for the first time.

“I didn’t want to hurt you but-“ he trailed off, his wand pointing at my chest.

“Avada Kedavra!”

A flash of green light filled the room.