She didn't know why she went in. Maybe it was her hufflepuff nature coming out; maybe it was just the sort of person she was. Whatever the reason Emily followed the muffled sounds of crying into the first-floor girls' bathroom.
"It's just Myrtle" I said under my breath hoping as I moved around the corner that marked the entrance.
But it wasn't. It was a boy. His light blond hair dishevelled, uniform ruffled. From where I stood I couldn't quite see who it was.
"Are you alright?" It was a stupid question and I knew it but I really struggled to come up with anything better to say. Startled he whipped his head around to see who had caught him at his weakest. With him now facing me I realised who he was.
Draco Malfoy.
Panic flashed across my face and I thought about leaving. He was the slytherin prince, the son of a death eater. He wouldn't want my help. If anything he'd now make my life a misery for even looking at him in this state.
"Of course I am. It was Myrtle. " He tried to say with conviction but it came out as almost a whisper. His eyes gave it away though; all red and puffy. The closer I looked the more I saw that behind his usual sneer, there was a sense of desperation and fear in his eyes.
Slowly, I walked towards him. Like one might do to a wild animal. Scared that one wrong step might cause it to bolt. Only he didn't bolt instead he tried to produce the sneer that he was known for only for it to get lost behind the many emotions his face was trying to show despite his best attempts to hide them.
"What are you doing?" He was still trying to sound confident and nearly succeeded if it wasn't for the fact that his body was still shaking.
"Sitting down" Was all that I could say as I sat beside him but not to close as to scare him. I wasn't sure what I was thinking after all I hadn't even spoken to him before this moment but there was something so lost about him. The bags under his eyes made it clear that he wasn't sleeping and the way his shirt hung loosely on his frame exposed that he couldn't have been eating much either.
"Accio blanket" was whispered so softly that he was surprised when it came flying into the room. Slowly I placed it over his shoulders trying to provide him with some warmth. But as my fingers lightly touched his back he jumped, as if scared of physical contact. When returning to my spot next to him I realised that two eyes were glued to her.
"You're shaking" Suddenly a feeling of stupidity for being here took over me and I started to stand. My mind raced as the situation dawned on me.
Why was I here? He wouldn't want my comfort. He had plenty of friends for this, and Pansy his girlfriend, who would jinx me for even being this close to her Drakey.
It was only when Draco did something completely unexpected that I snapped out of my trail of thoughts.
"Please…" It was the softest of pleas but the desperation could be heard loud and clear. So I sat back down unsure about how to procced. He was Draco Malfoy of all people looking so helpless and broken. I did the only thing I could think of; I slid along the floor to reach him, put my arm around him and pulled him to my chest for a hug. At first I could tell that he wanted to say something, probably one of his pride-filled comments like Malfoy don't hug but then I felt him start to relax in my arms.
"It's OK" I whispered to him trying my best to reassure him. He was unsure to begin with but after a few moments I felt his body start to shake again as the tears fell.