Disclaimer: I own only certain elements of the plot, nothing more. No characters either. Not in this whole story. :(
Dear Diary,
He hasn't written in days. Odd, considering how often he had been writing; even just last Monday he sent a letter. Sometimes, I even received two letters a day! I suppose it shouldn't really affect me, considering we haven't even met in person, and because we've only been talking for two months. I mean, it's difficult to maintain a long-term relationship that has no face-to-face foundation. But he's hardly left my mind…
I never would have imagined that taking that quiz to pair me up with a pen pal would, or even could, pair me with someone so like-minded. He's smart, likes tennis… he even plays the violin, like me.
We had been planning a meeting for a while now, but that last letter I sent him stopped our communication dead in its tracks, and I still can't figure out why. All I did was suggest a few places to meet, I think I said outside of Olivander's…in Flourish and Blott's near our favorite section – mysteries… or maybe I suggested Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. So unless he's lactose intolerant, I see no problem there…
Hmm. I also finally told him my real name. We'd both been using pen names from the beginning to hide our identities from potential scammers; yet another similarity between us. I just wish we could have met once. Now he's a secret I'll never be able to unlock. That is, until he decides to contact me again.
I hope it's soon.
~ Hermione ~
Journal Entry 45
Past month has been horrible. Dad is hitting Mom again, even though he said he would stop. Just wish he would grow up and learn to control his anger.
Voldemort has returned - there has been a confirmed sighting by Goyle's dad - so that means a whole lot of ugly is about to flood my life. But these weren't even the worst parts. They didn't even add up to the worst.
The worst is that I found out that the best friend I've ever had is Hermione Granger. And that I can never talk to her again. She and I, by some serendipitous, tragic miracle, were paired as pen pals through a wizarding agency. She is the smartest, funniest, and most caring human being I have ever known, and because of my lineage, I had to break off contact. She has sent a letter every day, waiting for a reply, asking if everything is ok or if something horrible has happened. She tells me about things that are happening with her, like we can still be friends.
…Can we still be friends? I separate myself from her, burn our correspondences so that no one will ever know that I care about her more than anyone else. So that no one will harm her to harm me. Maybe someday, when all of this is over, I can escape from the mansion that is my prison and my name which is the bars—then I can find her.
And we can start writing letters again.
- Draco Malfoy