By: Celebrytie Aris Channas
Disclaimer: Do I look like I could think up Harry Potter and all those characters? Not likely.
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She walked with her head down, her thoughts up in sky with the clouds. Normally such a saying makes you think of bright, fluffy clouds and happy daydreams. But those were not her thoughts at all. The clouds she immersed herself in were the clouds that told you it was going to rain. The kind of clouds that put you in a bad mood, like she was already in.
Her eyes weren't really seeing, but she managed to avoid the passing cars, the other pedestrians, and the cracks and bumps in the sidewalk. With each step she wondered where she had gone wrong. What had happened to her that made her so unwanted? Was it her somewhat bushy hair, or her dull brown eyes? Did she talk too much? Was she really an annoying know-it-all?
Each conclusion she came up with told her it was the school she'd been accepted into as a child. The school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, or in a shorter, simpler word: Hogwarts. If she hadn't gone there, she wouldn't have been so desperate to know everything. She hated failing, and so she had learned everything about magic. And she had liked learning about something new. It was something fresh, somewhat like taking a breath of country air.
Apparently, learning wasn't acceptable with her friends' standards. Sure, she had helped them as much as she could, and they had appreciated it back in school, but now, now it had left her with a higher position than the both of them, and they resented her for that fact. She had tried to tell them that studying would make their lives so much simpler, but they hadn't listened and they were taking the consequences, and blaming her for them.
She just wanted to be erased from their memories. Everyday when passing them at work, they sneered at her, muttered under their breath, and wouldn't respond to her greetings. She had never felt so unwanted in her life.
She felt herself bump into something somewhat hard, and felt hands catch her as she began to fall.
"Excuse me," a voice, so hard, sad, and bitter, like hers, made her look up into the gray eyes of someone she thought she would never see again in her life. While she felt surprised, she couldn't help but realize that bursting out would probably put him a mood that wasn't much better than hers.
"Pardon me, Sir," she bent her head, removed herself from his arms, and began to walk past him. He caught her arm, making her turn to face him.
"Are you all right, Granger?" He asked, his cold eyes probing hers. She stared at him. How could he tell? How could he possibly know? With a shake of her head, she turned to walk away, but his grip on her arm remained. She tugged, and could feel the strength in his hand, but she didn't want to talk to him. She didn't want to talk to anybody. But he left her no choice.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" She asked softly, her head coming up to look at his face, but she avoided his eyes.
"Hang it, Granger. I want to know what's wrong with you," He whispered harshly as someone passed them.
"Wrong with me?" She hissed. "Wrong? Well, tell me how it feels when every friend you've ever had hates you now because of what you decided to dedicate your life to. No matter how much I tried to help them at school, they didn't listen, and now they hate me for it!" She wiped at the tears that had welled up in eyes. "Tell me how it feels to be unwanted."
Malfoy stared at her with a clouded look, but then his face angled into something like anger.
"Like I don't already, Granger!" He spat. "I know how it feels to have a father that hated me when I messed something up. I know how it feels to have all my friends abandon me because I was a traitor to their beliefs. I know, Granger. You don't need to tell me. I know what it feels like to be unwanted."
She stared at him; her mouth caught half open in surprise. Of course he knew how it felt. He was raised that way most of his life.
"I'm sorry," She bowed her head again. "I'm sorry I bothered you." And then she loosed her arm from his hand and began to walk away. She had made it to the end of the street when someone managed to catch up her. She ignored them. But they kept up the same pace as her as she crossed the street, and she looked out of the corner of her eye to see who it was.
Him.
He must have noticed that she had seen him because he spoke.
"Where are you going on this glum day?"
Now that she knew how he felt, she didn't bother to ask why he thought it was so 'glum' when the weather was actually quite warm, bright, and sunny.
"Home," she murmured, not caring if he heard.
"Is it far?" He asked.
She shook her head and tried to bite down a frown. What was making him so cheerful?
"Do you mind if I come with you?" Goodness, he sounded like a child.
"Why are you so happy?" She asked crossly, avoiding his question. Again he caught her arm, pulled her to a stop, and made her face him.
"Well, now that I know there's someone out there like me, I don't really feel as bad." He shrugged, his blonde hair lifting slightly as a breeze rushed past them. He looked up at the buildings around them slowly, then looked back down at her. "Do you really feel that horrible just because they hate you?" He whispered.
She stared up at him, wondering when he had changed so much, what had made him change so much, and then she knew.
He was happy because he wasn't alone anymore. And he had changed when she had told him her story. Was that really all it took? But she knew, telling him had made the weight on her shoulders seem so much lighter.
And she smiled at him, shaking her head at his question. He returned her smile, an image she could never have imagined. The sight reminded her of an angel, one so innocent and happy. Yet, she knew his past, and would have never thought him innocent when she was younger, but yet she knew he was.
He was unwanted, unloved, so much like her.
He turned to continue on down to her house, although he didn't know where it was, and she turned with him. As they walked, he slipped his hand into hers, clasping it, and warmed not only her hand, but also every inch of her body.
They could be unwanted together.
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This story was inspired by the wind we had today, and the somewhat depressing thoughts I was having.
School, socially, doesn't seem to be going well, at least it seems that way. But educationally, it's going great, and that's what matters.
So sorry you haven't heard from me in many moons, but as I said, school is going great and the reason behind that is because I dedicate all of my time to it, pretty much.
Hope you all have the time to review, just like I had time to write this one-shot. I won't hold anything against you because sometimes I don't have time to review either.
Thanks for reading,
Bryt