Just Let Me Taste the Sky: A Draco Malfoy Fan Fiction
Chapter 3: And so a New School Year Begins.
-x-
The train journey for both Draco and Elizabeth had seemed to drag on for an eternity. Both were withdrawn from their social groups, pondering over the encounter they both had with the other. You'd be mistaken if you thought that it was just Elizabeth who was feeling emotional turmoil over the conversation, in fact it was Draco who seemed to be suffering more from it. His mind was all over the place; thinking about every minute detail of their transaction, replaying the scene over in his head. It was like he was scanning her body language for any sign, any small hint of what she was thinking at the time. He wanted to know how she'd been feeling, whether he really did have a chance to put right what had been ruined so many years ago. He tearing his hair out, wanting to scream his heart out and release all those emotions he'd been bottling up but fear of reprimand from his father and social rejection forced him to remain silent and cope alone.
Elizabeth on the other hand had friends she could confide in about the situation, friends who would not judge her or her decisions. Or so she hoped should she decided to give Draco one more chance. She was sure that her friends would understand and it would not affect them in any way. Unlike her family, Elizabeth was convinced that should she be forced to choose, she would always choose the good side rather than fall to the ways of the Death Eaters; a fate that had befallen many members of her family. No she needn't bottle up her emotions, she had people there who would listen and comfort her when she needed them to the most. In the years before Hogwarts, she and Draco had had each other, relied on each other when the situation at home got too much to comprehend but that had changed so suddenly.
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Draco's perspective:
The hissing noise of the train's engine cooling brought Draco to his senses again. He'd been quiet and spaced out for the remainder of the journey; ignoring his friends' queries as to what was the matter. Once the train had come to a complete stop, he rose from his seat and pulled his luggage down from the over head rack. Draco hauled it out onto the platform and, without waiting for anyone, he headed for one of the carriages that were pulled seemingly by themselves as very few people could see the Thestrals pulling them. Having put his things on the back of the carriage, he hopped up. He'd taken the last place on this carriage and the sudden jolt signified that it was time to head towards the castle.
Looking over his shoulder, Draco noticed that his friends were left standing at the side of the dirt track, looking on with confusion as he pulled further and further away from them. He imagined that they wondered why he hadn't waited to get a carriage for them just like the years before. Draco smirked at the thought and new that he needed to change a few things in his old routine. The only problem with this was that those changes all involved Elizabeth. Draco had been so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed who he'd been sitting with or whose carriage he's climbed up into. When he turned his head, his face fell. The journey was just about to get even more awkward.
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Elizabeth's perspective:
Elizabeth steadied herself as the train shuddered to a standstill, smiling over at Ron who'd been asleep and was now rubbing a sore forehead that had smacked against the window pane after his rude awakening. "Silly wasn't it Ron?" She teased.
"You should have bloody got me up earlier," he protested groggily, "You know I hate it when that happens."
"Its fair funnier to watch you hit your head," Hermione added, giggling lightly as Ron huffed and got up, helping Harry to get everyone's bags down. After saying their thanks, the girls were the first to get off the train from their compartment, followed by Ron and Harry. Though she tried to stay involved with their conversation, Elizabeth found it all too easy to be sucked back into her own thoughts. As they walked towards an empty carriage, she lost track of the conversation, absently handing her bag to Harry to put on the back of the carriage before climbing up and taking a seat next to Luna. "What do you think, Elizabeth?" Luna asked.
"Huh?" She replied, turning to face her blonde friend, "Sorry I missed the question."
"I was asking, do you think the Thestrals look in better condition this year?" Luna explained, repeating her question that had been missed. She knew that Elizabeth could see them also, and had often spent time last year with her, feeding and petting them.
"Oh right, well now that you mention it, it does look like they had a good feed over the summer. Must be more food in the forest, or Hagrid's been supplementing their diet again," Elizabeth retorted, "You know what he's like when he gets his hands on some new feeds for the creatures." The carriage let out a small laugh before it was brought to an end. The group's mouths dropped as they observed the Slytherin Prince get into their carriage.
Silence ensued, the group watching pie-eyed as Draco looked behind him at his friends who stood gawping after the carriage. It was only when Draco seemed to realise which carriage he was in that Elizabeth spoke up. "Malfoy...what are you doing in out carriage?" She asked slowly, as if she couldn't quite believe what her eyes were showing her.
"Uhm I didn't realise it was your carriage to be honest, I might have chosen another if I had," Draco replied, his mouth spitting out insults even though he was trying to be nice to Elizabeth, "Not that I'm unhappy with you being in my company, just your so called friends."
Hermione and Luna had to hold Harry and Ron back, who looked like they were ready to murder Malfoy. Elizabeth remained calm however, raising her eyebrow at the blonde boy. This was going to prove interesting.
-x-
"And what is wrong with my choice of friends?" She questioned, her eyebrow still raised.
"Well you know the dislike that runs between Weaselby, Potty head, that Mudblood and old Loony there and myself," Draco explained, "I could put up with Loony, but not the Magnificent Trio that everyone won't shut up about."
"Put up with? Oh Draco that's so kind of you, but have you ever considered that Luna might not want to put up with you or for that matter, that I would want to put up with you either?" Elizabeth snapped back coldly, "I knew your niceness couldn't last. You try to make up with me and then go ahead and insult my friends. Didn't you stop to think that these people were there for me when you weren't? They picked up the pieces that you left behind you, helped me get over you. You can't just walk in and out of people's lives."
There was a long pause before Ron muttered, "Bloody hell, Elizabeth. You go girl."
Draco hung his head, but he wasn't about to apologise to the Trio. He did feel a little sorry about what he'd said to Luna as she was Elizabeth's best friend. "I... I don't know what you want me to do Elizabeth," He whispered to her, making sure only she could hear, "I'd do anything to go back to how it used to be. Just you and me."
"I don't know if it can ever be like that again," She whispered back, "You broke more than our friendship when you cast me aside. It's going to take time."
"I'll give you all the time you need," He added, his tone sounding almost desperate.
"And you're going to have to promise you really mean this and aren't just going to walk back out again and leave me back at square one," Elizabeth went on to say, adding another rule.
"I promise, Elizabeth I really mean it. I want us to be friends again. It's not been right without you," he confessed, still making sure no one could hear.
"Yes, well we need to seriously chat about this. Meet me in the Library after Potions tomorrow," Elizabeth whispered back, giving him a small smile which he returned, "And Draco, you can just call me Lizzy."
Draco seemed to grin more at this as the carriage came to a halt outside the Entrance to the castle. With a look at Elizabeth, Draco hopped down, heading straight inside the castle. When he was gone, the group turned to stare at Elizabeth. "What was he whispering about?" Hermione asked, "What could he possibly say that anyone cares about, the slimy piece of sh-"
"-it's obvious that you've given him another chance, Elizabeth," Harry interrupted rather coldly, "After all the hurt he put you through, you've gone back for more."
"Its not going to be like that this time, I think he's grown up more since then," Lizzy tried to explain only to have Ron and Harry scoff.
"Its Malfoy we're talking about here, maturity isn't in his dictionary," Harry spat back, "Well look, I know you're torn between the two and it's not going to affect our friendship, I promise. But just remember who was there for you when he wasn't. And just remember that we're going to trust you with important information that you can't tell Malfoy, not matter how close you get or how much he pesters you."
"I understand Harry, I really do and I'd never break our friendship or trust," Lizzy promised and with that, they all climbed out of the carriage and headed inside the castle for the Great Feast whilst their rooms were prepared. After such a busy day, the group were looking forward to snuggling down in their beds with full bellies. Never before had Elizabeth or Draco been so eager to settle down into the fluffy, warm duvet and pillows. Still, the night was hardly over yet.
