Pawns of War

Sleeping in Ravenclaw tower that night was incredibly strange. It felt foreign. An uneasy knot chewed at my stomach and twisted it in all sorts of different ways. I was on edge.

Every sound I heard was a Death Eater lurking in the corridors. Every movement in the shadows was The Dark Lord. I was becoming paranoid.

I rolled over in bed and pulled the covers up close to my face. Cho Chang slept in the bed beside me. She looked content in her slumbers despite the small frown that her mouth was curved into. It had been years, three to be exact, since anybody in the Ravenclaw tower had really seen her smile. The loss of Cedric hit everybody hard, but especially for Cho Chang.

Thinking back on their relationship made me begin to think back on mine with Draco. I rolled onto my back and sighed. I could still feel the pressure of his lips on mine. I started to remember every embrace we had ever had, every small glance, and every small intimate detail of our time together.

I rubbed my eyes and told myself to go to sleep, but when my eyelids closed all I could picture was him – his platinum blonde hair, his steel gray eyes, the emotionless stone face that he’d recently inherited. I stared at the top of the canopy bed and began to count sheep – una ovejas, dos ovejas, tres ovejas… – until I finally fell under the blissful blanket of sleep.

By the time I woke up in the morning, the sun was already peaking up over the hills and shining in through the curtains. Girls were making their way to the bathrooms or changing into their robes for morning classes.

I grabbed my pillow and laid it over my face. I did not want to think about anything, and I most certainly did not want to be awake. A small hand began to gently shake my arm, and I reluctantly removed the pillow from my head. Luna Lovegood looked down at me, ready to leave to go do her morning bathing.

“You’d best get up, Clare, you don’t want to be late for your first class,” she spoke in her usual quiet voice.

I knew that in the end, Luna was right. I rolled myself out of my bed and quickly grabbed my things for bathing. I walked with her to the bathrooms and allowed the warm steam to clean out my thoughts from the night before. I am here to learn, I reminded myself, not get caught up in a mess with a Death Eater.

By the time that I was done with getting ready, I had just enough time in order to make it to my first class – herbology. I slid into a seat next to Seamus and Neville and waited for Professor Sprout to begin her lecture. I tried my best to focus on Professor Sprout and all that she was reviewing about the Snargaluff pods from last year, but my tired brain just could not pay attention for more than a few minutes at a time. It was not until the door to the classroom opened that I was suddenly jolted awake.

Draco Malfoy and Vincent Crabbe strolled into the classroom. Both of their faces were cold and rigid, and every step they took was with pristine precision. It made me sick to my stomach.

“Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Crabbe, how nice of you to join us,” Professor Sprout said in a slightly sarcastic tone. “I was just going over the methods in which to tame a Snargaluff pod from last year.”

“My sincerest apologies, Professor Sprout, my schedule had just been changed this morning,” Draco replied.

Professor Sprout told them to take a seat and continued on with her review. Draco and Crabbe sat directly behind me, and I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Goose pimples formed on my skin, and I could feel a pair of eyes watching me intently. I did my best to take notes, but his presence made me feel uncomfortable.

Eventually, I gave up on the idea of note taking and decided to simply ask Neville if I could borrow his after class. He was brilliant at herbology and was Professor Sprout’s star pupil anyway.

Class was finally dismissed and I began to pack up my supplies. I noticed that Draco was taking his time, and I figured that I had a good chance of being able to slip out of the classroom without any interaction with him.

I had just started my way down the corridor when a hand fell on the small of my back and began leading me in a direction away from my next class. I looked up and saw Draco. I started to move away from him, but he grabbed my arm instead and guided me to an isolated area away from the other students.

I was not going to let him continue doing this. I stopped and stood firm. We were in a quiet corridor alone, but not too far away from the other students.

He stopped as well and stood across from me and just stared. I could not look at him. I felt anger start to fill up my body. I wanted to run away, but knew it was useless. Nobody could run away from Death Eaters here.

“Clare,” he began softly, as if coaxing a stray from its hiding place.

My palm collided with his cheek. He stood there for a moment and then looked back at me. I felt the anger boiling inside of me and honestly I wanted to slap him again. He rubbed his cheek slightly and replied, “I probably deserved that.”

“Believe me, Draco, there is plenty more where that came from,” I spat.

He sighed and glanced around to make sure that we were totally alone. “Listen, Clare, I really need to speak with you,” he spoke with soft urgency.

“About what, Draco?” I annoyingly asked. “What on earth is so important that you have to keep me from class in order to tell me?”

“You’re in danger, Clare.”

“As if I did not already know that!” I said throwing my hands up. “Believe me, I got the letter, everyone did! But I am not going to let you, or your family, or your new cult make me afraid. I will be a witch, graduated from Hogwarts, by the end of this year. And you know what, I will do it, even though I am a muggle-born.”

“Voldemort knows your relation to Harry.”

I stayed silent. I watched Draco to see if there was anyway that he was lying in some shape or form in order to make me leave Hogwarts. But as I studied his features, I could find no visible signs of falsehood.

I decided to stand tall and unafraid. “So, lots of people know that we are cousins. Why should I be shocked by such news?”

Draco stepped forward and placed a hand on my arm. It tingled at the touch and my body suddenly wanted to leap closer and embrace him. But I restricted myself.

“Just be careful, okay?” He started. “The Dark Lord could easily use you as a form of bait. Lay low and don’t get yourself into trouble. The more invisible you seem, the less likely anything will happen.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

He opened his mouth to speak, but then quickly shut it once more. He placed a quick kiss on my forehead and warned me one last time to be careful. After that, he walked away and down the hall. I was left standing alone with only my thoughts to try and decipher his words and his actions.