"What happens to hearts after they break? Do they repair themselves or just evaporate?"
-Lacey Roop
"Why me?" you whisper, staring at the man, who only moments before had been the badly scarred Auror.
He smiles a twisted smile that sends chills down your spine. "Because I know you'll keep my secret, Blaise."
..
You wonder if you should tell somebody. A convicted Death Eater, back from the dead and teaching at Hogwarts under a disguise cannot mean anything good.
I know you'll keep my secret.
And you know that you will, too. You don't know why, but you can't bring yourself to betraying his trust.
You don't owe him anything, but you keep quiet anyway.
..
"I was right," he says with a smirk when you show up in his office long after an appropriate time.
"Guess you were," you confirm, trying to sound casual, but your nerves make your voice too tight.
"I had another reason, you know."
"And what's that?"
He leans back lazily in his chair, eyes sweeping over you. "You remind me of someone I used to know."
..
You should leave him alone. Just because you keep his secret and pretend that he's nothing more than the paranoid professor everyone believes him to be doesn't mean you have to keep seeing him.
But logice means nothing, and you find yourself in his office night after night. Something about him is addictive, and he draws you in.
..
"The person I remind you of, who is he?"
"First love. He was just as quiet as you," he says. "Just as cold and above it all."
You laugh. "Sounds like a good bloke."
"He's dead now."
The lack of emotion in his voice scares you a little. "Sorry to hear that."
..
He is a drug. Dangerous. Forbidden.
He is in your veins, and you need more.
..
"Did you ever love anyone after him?" you ask one night.
"No."
"Oh."
"But I want to."
You don't protest when he kisses you.
..
You hear the news. Hushed whispers circulate, spreading like wildfire through the castle.
A Death Eater, right under Dumbledore's nose.
No wonder he was so good with curses.
Shame they only took his soul.
You scowl into your coffee. They didn't know him. They don't know what they're talking about.
..
"I know hard you are to please, Zabini," Pansy teases.
You keep your face calm, unreadable, but inside you want to slap her.
Yes, you are hard to please. No, you have no interest in dating anyone at this stupid school.
You've tasted love. Just once, just one sweet sip. And you have nothing to show for it but a broken heart that will never dare to love again.