February had finally found the way to Hogwarts. The feeling of Valentine's was in the air. But not for Tru. She knew what the fourteenth was that month. Another full moon. She was not looking forward to it. She was still getting over the last moon of January. She had thankfully made a good excuse to get away from everyone that night by saying she was spending a fishing trip with her father down at the lake. It was semi true. they DID go fishing. Just not the way one would NORMALLY go fishing...
Tru had been sitting alone in the common room for hours reading her poetry book. She could barely stand the thought of romance. This was the time she was also fearing because she thought that if she ever fell in love, and got serious...she'd have to tell him, whomever her love would be, about her condition. and She knew what they'd do. They'd leave her just like her mother left her father when she found out. She was also afraid that Ellina would leave her father if she ever found out (little did she know.)
She slapped the book shit and threw it aside on the couch. She brought her knees up onto the couch and settled her chin on them, staring into the fire. A tear running down her cheek. How could any man ever love her. Of all people. She felt so out of place ever since her sixteenth birthday. She felt so alone, so cold all of the time. She was always sick now and the thought of doing something unwanted while she was...was...like THAT...scared the living hell out of her. It alone kept her up at night hoping and praying that the potion would never fail on her or her father. She remembered third year all too well...all too well. When her father had forgotten to take his potion...that was terrible.
Staring into the fire, tears began to fall on her cheeks. this was normal for her by now. The sadness of her dillema never failed to haunt her mind almost all of the time. Then she thought of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They knew about it and they hadn't abandoned her. For which she would be eternally grateful. She at times worried that they thought of her as out of place as well and were afraid to be around her because of all of it. But she knew that they didn't think any less of her, in fact they treated her with utmost respect for being so courageous about it.
This made her smile. But her smile soon faded when she thought of Draco. She still hadn't told him, and she trusted him so much...the guilty knot in her chest grew tighter the more she thought about it. She closed her eyes and turned her head from the fire. Then she heard a door close upstairs. She kept her eyes closed as she listened to the footsteps come down the stairs. She felt the couch sink next to her and she turned to see Harry's eyes meet with her own. "Hi Tru." he said to her.
Tru turned away from him. "Hello Harry." She didn't know why she felt so distant from him. He was practically like a brother to her and she trusted him highly. But for some reason, whenever she felt like this, she pushed him away. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned once again to meet his gaze. Her eyes were full of tears and she almost burst by the look he was giving her. "Tru...come on what's wrong?" he wiped a tear off of her cheek and brought her into his arms. she threw her own around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder for a few moments.
"It's just..." Tru began, then she looked up at him again. "I don't know how I'm ever going to carry on like this. I know I can make it through my life but...knowing no man will ever love me...knowing I'll be abandoned and never get married or anything just upsets me." Harry shook his head. "What makes you think you won't get married just because you're like this?"
Tru stood up, she rubbed the back of her neck so roughly she thought she would rub off a few layers of skin. "Look at me Harry, I...I'm so different and I'm so afraid of hurting someone it's insane! I know I won't but I'm still scared and...and...look at Daddy! Mother abandoned us just because he's like this. And I know that will happen to me too! There's no escaping heartbreak for me anymore Harry. None at all. I know that if I ever fall in love, the only thing I'm afraid of is that if I do, the man I love will abandon me. I know I can trust my friends because I know that I won't fall in love with them like that and they won't abandon me." Tru fell to her knees in sobs. She was shaking with tears streaming from her once so bright eyes. Harry had never realized just how much this had broken her. He remembered how spirited she once always was. Any boy would have wanted to just be near her because of her spirited nature.
And now here she was, crying on the floor feeling all alone. Harry sat next to her and held her close. "Shhh" he said to her. "Hey...hey come on Tru don't cry. Now I'm sure that if any man really did love you, he would love you no matter who you are or what condition you have. Why look at me, Ron, and Hermione. We love you no matter what. When I found out you were like this, it only brought me closer because I know how much it hurts you and I'm willing to help you through it because you are my friend and I love you for who you are. And you're not a monster or a killer or any of that. you're simply Tru and that's all you ever were and that is what makes you the friend that you are."
Tru had stopped crying and Harry was stroking her hair. She looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you Harry. I love you too. You're such a good friend." she fell back into him and he held her tightly. Never had Tru been so thankful to have such wonderful friends knowing that no matter what they would be by her side. Come what may.
Draco had been consumed in ideas for Valentine's gifts. Valentine's day was only two weeks away and he still hadn't a clue what to get Tru. He had gotten all four of his friends boxes of chocolates. But he was determined to confess his love for Tru on Valentine's day. Today he was in Hogsmeade, cloaked in his favorite cloak, from which Tru had given him for Christmas the previous year. It warmed him so much every day. He wore it a whole lot during the colder days. Searching through every shop, no gift in the window was perfect enough for Tru.
He kept biting his lip, fearing he would never find the perfect gift. "Draco." Draco turned his head. There was Hermione and Ron and Harry and Tru, coming up behind him. "Where have you been, we've been looking all over for you." Harry said patting his shoulder. Draco made sure to keep the boxes of chocolates hidden under his cloak. "Oh I went off to do a little bit of shopping that's all." he smiled.
Tru smiled at him and his heart did a summersault. "I see you're wearing your cloak" she commented. Draco smiled proudly and prodded a corner of the fabric. "Always do. It's so warm. Thanks." he smiled widely and he held her gaze as they walked. When he looked away Tru shrieked in delight, as did Hermione. All three boys covered their ears. "What is it! Bloody Hell!" Ron shouted.
Both girls were staring in a window. Hermione was looking at a golden necklace with silver and red heart pendant. "That is so beautiful." "Yah..." Tru agreed. "But so is that!" she pointed at a little dragon music box, a little green dragon with blue saphire. It smiled up at her and she sighed with desire. "It's so beautiful...she sighed." Draco smirked and went to the window to view it himself. "You like that a lot ha?" he asked her.
Tru smiled and nodded. Then she turned and walked away. The others followed, but Draco decided to pay a visit with a dragon.
The morning of Valentine's day, Tru awoke with a tear in her eye. She did not want this day to exist at the moment. She turned over and saw a rose on her pillow. She smiled and smelled it. There was a note on it. She read it:
Tru,
come down to the common room for a surprise.
Love always, your best friend,
Draco
Tru smiled and got up, putting on her robe. She carried herself down the staircase and down the stairs she saw a box with shiny red wrapping paper on it on the coffee table. Draco was nowhere in sight. She prodded the box curiously with the end of the rose's stem. She smiled as she read the tag:
Tru,
I knew you would love this gift, so I got it for you.
Happy Valentine's.
All my love,
Draco
She set the tag down on the table and ripped the package open...and gasped. The tiny music box with the dancing dragon met her eyes. The dragon smiled up at her as it danced to a rather familiar tune. She listened to it and then heard someone humming behind her. She turned to see Draco. She jumped up and hugged him. "OH Draco! I love it, it's so beautiful!"
She held him tightly and smiled. "And it's all yours." he said smiling. She jumped around him and then went back to observe the dragon's hypnotic dance. "What is this tune?" she asked. He sat in front of her. "Remember the song you heard me sing? I had them figure out the notes to it and put it in the music box for you."
Tru smiled widely. She rushed over to him and hugged him. "This must have cost you a fortune!" Draco just smiled. "It was nothing. I just wanted you to have everything perfect today."
Tru took him in her arms again and said to him "You're such a great friend Draco."
something inside draco lurched and his smile faded somewhat. He looked at her. "We'll always be friends ha?" he asked her forcing his smile on.
Tru nodded. "Of course, always just best friends!" He hugged her again and his smile faded.
"Well, I'm going to go and put this somewhere safe, with my rose too, and I'll bring your gift down later as soon as I get dressed. I'll see you at breakfast." Tru kissed his cheek and rushed up to her room.
Draco smiled after her then he felt himself suddnely saddened.
"Friends..." he whispered..."JUST...friends."
