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Cry Baby

Chapter 1

He was always my favorite. Everyone made a big deal about Harry Potter coming to school. I didn't. I could care less. I was more interested in someone else. I don't think he sees me, though. I'm a no one. I'm in his house, sure, but I didn't do anything extraordinary. I didn't look extraordinary. I mostly kept to myself. I'm not really like the other girls in Slytherin. I only got into the house because my whole family was in it. They expected me to be in Slytherin, so that's what I was placed in. It's hard sometimes, though. I don't really have any friends. There are a few girls my age, but I'm nothing like them. They get around quite a bit and receive a lot of attention from guys. Not me. I've never been with anyone before. It's not that I don't want to; I just haven't had a chance. There's one particular person I wanted to save it for. He never saw me, and I never thought it would happen. But dreams can come true. Every once in a while anyway.

It was in our sixth year that he finally noticed me. I was up late in the common room, doing nothing of course. He came in and sat down on the leather sofa in the middle of the room. He hadn't seen me, so I watched him a little. He looked a mess. His tie was crooked and messy, his shirt was wrinkled and untucked, his normally clean, black trousers were dusty and dingy. I wondered what happened to him. The firelight shone on his white blonde hair, which was sticking in every direction. His normally calm blue eyes looked on the verge of tears. Draco Malfoy ran a hand through his messy hair and leaned back into the sofa. I could hear him mumbling to himself. He yelled in frustration and grabbed one of the little leather pillows from the sofa and threw it across the room, standing up as he did so. He began to pace around, staring at his shoes. He grabbed at his hair again and looked around the room. I wasn't sure what to do. I wanted to get up and leave, but I didn't want to disturb Draco from his thoughts. Before I could make up my mind Draco saw me. He looked straight into my eyes and wanted to glare, but he couldn't. I could tell he was too upset to bring himself to do anything. Instead, he sat back down and cried. Draco let his head fall into his hands and sobbed.

I didn't know what to do. I had never seen Draco this upset before. I stood up and went to sit by Draco on the sofa. I sat down and he seemed to cry harder. I placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Get off me," Draco hissed at me. I pulled my hand back.

"I'm not judging you. I'm not asking questions," I told him. "I've never seen you like this, and I… I'm worried. I know I don't know you well, but wouldn't that make it better? I won't know what you're upset about." I placed my hand on his shoulder again. He cried and leaned into me. I cautiously slid my arms around his shoulders.

I couldn't believe it. Draco Malfoy… In my arms… I had dreamed of this, but never in this fashion. I always imagined he and I in a love embrace. I felt him shake and sob against me. I didn't know what to do, or say. So I just let him cry. I let my hands run down his back a little. Draco moved closer into my arms and cried into my shoulder.

"I… can't… do it… anymore!" Draco cried between sobs. I rubbed his back again. "Dark… cabinet… eaters… fix… can't…" was all I could really hear. I wasn't sure what to make of it. He started to pull back. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have… let myself go." He got up to leave. He turned back to look at me. "Please, don't tell anyone about this." He seemed to be pleading with me.

"Draco, I wouldn't do that to you." I looked into his light blue eyes. There was desperation and sadness written everywhere in them. "I understand what it's like to feel alone. You don't have to feel like that. If you ever need anything, anything, just let me know. You shouldn't have to go through… whatever it is you're going through… without someone to talk to. And trust me when I say I'm not going to be judging you. I've got enough in my past to know when someone really needs help." I tried to smile weakly. I reached out carefully and touched his hand. "Don't be afraid to let your feelings out. If you ever need anyone, really, I'm here." Draco nodded and turned toward the boy's dormitory.

"Thank you," he whispered, then walked away.

The next morning at breakfast I saw Draco. He looked awful. His skin was unusually pale and his hair wasn't as neat as it usually was. He slowly ate a piece of toast as Pansy and Blaise talked around him. I felt bad for Draco; he had friends that didn't even care that he wasn't himself. I sat down a few seats away from them and poured myself a cup of coffee. Before I could even add the cream and sugar I felt someone looking at me. I glanced down the table and saw Draco looking at me. Our eyes met for a second then I casually looked away. I buttered some toast and set it on my plate. I still felt someone looking at me, but I ignored it. I looked up to see Draco getting up from his seat. I looked back at my coffee and toast.

"I hope that you know not to talk to anyone about last night," whispered a voice in my ear. I knew it was Draco.

"I told you last night I wasn't going to be talking," I whispered back. I heard him straighten up and walk away. I watched him as he left the Great Hall. I wondered if he was going to ever talk to me again.

I finished breakfast and headed to Herbology. I knew I would have to stand near Draco, but I didn't know how he would react. Pansy and I were partners, and she always wanted to sit next to him.

I entered the greenhouse to find Pansy missing. There were only a few seats left, mostly on the Hufflepuff side. There was one next to Draco, and one at the very front of the room. I chose to sit next to the boy who cried himself out last night. He noticed me as I sat down, but didn't say anything. We were taking the venom from Venomous Tentacula today. We collected our vials from the front of the room and Professor Sprout gave us directions. Because I had no partner for the day, I was going to be working alone.

"Have you seen Pansy today?" I asked Draco as he got back to his spot at the table. He smirked.

"She's in the hospital wing," he told me. "She thinks she's pregnant, again." Blaise laughed.

"You'd think she'd learn how to use a condom by now!" Blaise laughed. "With the amount of people she's been with, it's a miracle that she hasn't gotten pregnant before." Draco nodded. I sighed. Pansy was always worrying she was pregnant. She slept around so much and didn't bother with any protection. She really was a slut.

It took several tries, but I finally managed to fill a vial of Tentacula venom. I knew once I had completed that I was finished for the day. I checked my watch to see that I had another hour before my next class. I was done a lot faster than I thought I would be. Once I returned the full vial, I headed out to walk around in the grounds. It was sunny and warm considering it was October. It hadn't snowed quite yet. I loved walking the grounds alone. It was relaxing. It helped me to think through things. Like why Draco was crying all over me the previous night.

I hadn't the slightest clue as to why Draco was crying. I didn't even know what he was talking about. I wanted to know why he cried and what was bothering him to the point of tears, but I said I wouldn't ask, so I could only speculate. I walked down by the lake, near the trees and small bushes. I leaned against a tree and watched as the small breeze caused little ripples all across the lake.

I didn't notice until he was next to me. Draco apparently had left class early.

"Hey," I said. He didn't say anything, but I knew he heard me.

"I suppose I owe you an explanation for last night," Draco said after a minute of silence.

"If you don't want to tell me you don't have to." Draco looked at me with questions in his eyes, but pushed it away.

"You know, most other people wouldn't have done what you did last night."

"I'm not most other people." Draco smiled a little.

"I've noticed." We stood in silence for a few minutes. "Well, I mostly came to thank you. No one has ever been that kind to me when I was in that kind of state. I appreciate it more than you know," Draco told me. I looked into his cool blue eyes. He really meant it.

"Draco… Don't think of last night as a favor. It wasn't. If you feel like you can't hold those emotions in, you need to let them out. If you want to open up to me, you can. If crying helps you feel better, you can cry to me anytime you need." Draco just looked at me. He wasn't sure what to say. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again. He looked at the lake and watched the small waves.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Draco asked. "I've hardly ever talked to you, I don't think I even know your last name. Why do you care?"

I didn't have an answer I wanted to give. I didn't want to tell him I fancied him, like he said, he didn't really know me. "I know how it feels to not have anywhere to go." I told him. "I hate it, and I can sympathize with you to an extent. I know what its like to be alone. I don't know what you're dealing with, but I know that when someone cries like you did, something hurts in a way that requires comforting from another person. I never had that. I've never had it and have wanted it so desperately. I need it just like you do. I don't want to see you implode from emotions, so really, if you ever need to talk, or anything, I'm here." Draco looked in my eyes, and I saw an expression I had never seen on his beautiful face. He looked relieved.

"Will you wait up for me tonight?" Draco asked after a few moments of being quiet.

I smiled a little, wondering if he wanted to cry to me again. "Yes." He nodded.

"Thank you."