Several days had passed, and with each passing day, it was becoming harder for Draco to accomplish his tasks for the Dark Lord, and even harder to keep up class attendances.

Blaise had advised Draco to put his focuses on the vanishing cabinet more so, but even that was preposterously difficult!

No matter what he did, no matter how hard he tried, something always went wrong. If he wasn't working on it, then he was thinking about it. He'd been so distracted lately; it was even easier for Melanie to notice something was off.

Blaise had also warned him about her, how she was distracting him, calmly stating that he should work on staying alive first, then on further relationships. And even though Draco hated the idea, and hated it even more that Blaise was right, he'd subconsciously found himself doing exactly that.

Whenever he'd see her, alarm bells immediately went off in his head. Not only did Blaise plant caution in him, but he brought back that fear she'd unknowingly managed to take away temporarily, that fear of her finding out, the fear of losing her, or worse, hurting her.

He hated it. Things suddenly felt too heavy to carry. Blaise wasn't enough. She wasn't enough. Nothing was enough.

He knew, it was only a matter of time before everything spiraled out of control, and that very rational fear was affecting his daily activity quite clearly, to all.

Lately, Melanie hadn't gotten many chances to talk to him, and couldn't shake the feeling that he was avoiding her. The problem was that this wasn't new. It was just like when the year first started, then it toned down, now it was back again. He was driving her crazy!

One time, she called his name and could've sworn he looked directly at her, yet still walked away.

Doubts. She couldn't stop the rapidly rising doubts, doubts that, like it or not, Harry had already planted in her head, even if she'd fought against it, even if she'd denied it, still they came, small, but growing.

Still, she was persistent, and pushed them aside till she got the chance to talk to him in person. But then, a few, distracting events had met her first.

It was finally time for the official annual Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Which meant that Ron was to play Keeper officially.

Everyone was cheering for him. Literally all Gryffindors were rooting, as well as many other members of the remaining houses, least of all the Slytherins themselves of course.

It was great, but mostly pressuring, and Ron was never comfortable under pressure, and since we were talking pressure from over a hundred students, let's just say he wasn't doing so good.

"I'm resigning!" Says Ron. His friends eye him in shock as he seats himself across them on the table. They were in the hall, minutes away from the match. "After today's match. McLaggen can have my spot!" He tells frantically.

"Ron! You can't be serious!" Melanie calls, seated by Harry and Hermione.
"I bloody straight am!"
"Fine." Harry tells. They all turn to him in confusion. "Have it your way. Juice?" He asks casually, them still perplexed.

Ron takes the drink warily. "Hello, everyone." Greets Luna from beside them, wearing a mask around her face that was presumed to be a lion's mane. She looks to Ron. "You look dreadful, Ron." She notes. Ron rolls his eyes at that. Luna then turns to Harry. "Is that why you put something in his cup?" She asks. "Is it a tonic?"

All but Harry furrow their eyebrows at that. Harry then smirks, flashes the small, but noticeable vial of liquid luck at them before placing it back in his pocket. Ron's eyes go wide with excitement upon realizing what it was, but the girls are far from pleased. "Don't drink it, Ron!" Tells Hermione. He drinks it anyways.

Hermione then turns to Harry. "You could get expelled for that!" She exclaims. Harry feigns innocence.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He says.
"C'mon, Harry! We've got a game to win!" Ron urges.

And as said, Ron had won them the day!

The Gryffindor's celebrate their victory in the Common Room, where Harry reveals to the girls that he hadn't placed anything in Ron's drink, that he only made him think he did to boost his confidence, and alas, that Ron truly won the match by skill, which the girls rejoiced upon hearing.

Then, the least expected thing happened. Lavender, who had been fairly obviously hitting on Ron since he started tryouts, grabs him in a moment of excitement, and kisses him…in front of Hermione.

…

Hermione stormed out of the room, Melanie and Harry following. Harry didn't know about Hermione's feelings towards Ron, like Melanie did, but he caught on that night. They tried to comfort her, but she was really hurting.

She was so caught up with her emotions towards Ron, even so that Melanie told her to tell him how she felt, but she kept holding it off, she wasn't ready. Now, it was too late, like studying so hard for an exam, only to find it cancelled.

She was angry. At Lavender. At Ron for not seeing it. At Melanie for encouraging this. But, most of all, at herself, for not speaking sooner.

Ron came out, Lavender with him, laughing and giggling, a picture that slabbed Hermione across the face, and fed into her hurt and rage. She was harsh towards him. She drove him away.

And so, the two days that followed were far from easy. Harry and Melanie tried to keep the group compatible, but it just wasn't working. Ron was angry with Hermione for her outburst, which he still didn't understand the cause of, and she refused to tell him, and swore the others to secrecy to avoid her further embarrassment. And Hermione was in too much pain to see him. So, they were divided, and it sucked.

Throughout the clatter, Melanie still hadn't gotten the chance to talk to Draco. Slughorn's Christmas party was coming to, and she was allowed to bring someone, so, that day, she was determined to find her block-headed boyfriend and force him with her.

She was scouring the halls, headed to her dorms for a quick change after classes. She spotted him, turning a corner off the crowd. She hurried after him. "Draco!" She calls.

He stops dead in his tracks. Closing his eyes momentarily, as if readying to face her, to feign a smile. Oh how he wished it would all just end. He hated being so distant from her. It was like he needed to be near her.

When Blaise would force him to classes, he'd be in a corner, focusing on nothing but her. Just looking at her was comforting, yet, beyond painful. So close, but never close enough. It was so hard. She had no idea what he was going through.

But, when he turned, when she saw his face, all that determination, the scolding she'd planned for him, washed away, and was replaced with pure concern. He looked so pale. Dark lines underneath his gorgeous eyes. But, one thing she couldn't overlook was the look in those bright eyes of his, a look of fear, she was sure of it.

Her heart ached extremely in her chest, like it knew more than she did, it knew what it had to do, and she listened without question.

And without words, Melanie placed her arms around his neck and pulled him closely, resting his head on her shoulder.

He was shocked. Utterly. Then he felt every muscle in his body ache. Relief. An immiscible amount he could barely comprehend.

Without words, he too put his arms around her tightly. He felt himself losing his grip on his bottled up pains, and refused to fall apart in her arms. He took a deep, calming breath, breathing in the scent of her hair, burying his face in the crotch of her neck as she massaged his head with tips of her fingers, feeling every bit of relief he was. And neither could care less about the passing students, and possibly passing teachers. It was just them, for just a minute, that felt like forever.

He then pulled back, fairly worried about losing it in her arms, but he didn't go all the way, resting his forehead on hers. She smiled softly, forcing a smile on him too.

She opened her mouth, about to speak, but someone beat her to it. "There you are." Hermione utters, coming near them as the couple pulled apart and Hermione realized she'd walked in on something. "Sorry. I-"
"It's fine, Hermione." Melanie dismisses for the sake of reducing the awkwardness, but it was too late.

Draco had gone back to being silently uncomfortable. And Hermione had forgotten what she'd come to say. She blathers out the first thing that comes to mind, trying to break the ice. "Were you talking about the party?" She tries asking casually. Melanie plays along.
"We were about to." She said, turning to Draco, who looked confused. Not everyone knew about the party, so she explained. "Slughorn's having a Christmas party. And I want you to come with me." She smiles.

Draco attempts to process her words, unsure how to react, then his eyes caught sight of the impatiently waving Zabini at the end of the hall. The Malfoy furrows his eyebrows in concern, recalling that, before walking into Melanie, he was supposed to be headed to the Room, to meet up with Blaise for their next attempts at getting that damned cabinet to work.

They were nowhere near close! It was maddening. If he was to go to said party, Blaise would have his head. Truth be told, he'd rather deal with Zabini's wrath than the Dark Lord's himself.

But seriously, time was not in his favor. He'd be a fool to deny it.

Melanie notes the flip in his mood, and the distant look in his eyes. She furrows her eyebrows, turning to see who he was looking at, and spots Blaise, who looked dead serious. Hermione sees him too and is suspicious of the situation.

"I'm…uh." Draco starts. She turns back to him. "I'm sorry, love…I can't. I…uh…promised Blaise I'd help him with something. And it can't wait. I'm sorry."

Melanie feels a dagger stab at her heart. He lied to her. She could see it as clear as day. He flat out lied to her.

She panicked.

Never. Never. Had Draco ever lied to her. She had no idea what to do. The amount of shock and panic led her into a temporary state of denial. So, she nodded her head as if understandingly. "It's okay. Don't worry about it." She smiles. But he knows…He knows it's fake.

There was nothing he could say. Nothing he could do, to make it better, for either of them. So he leaves, because he could barely keep it together anymore. "I'll see around." He tells, heading off.
"Yeah." She retorts.

The two girls watch silently as the blonde heads off with Blaise. "Well, that was awfully suspicious." Hermione calls worriedly. Melanie stays her silence, making her friend turn to her in concern. "Are you alright?" She asks.

Melanie nods, yet feels her heart sink all too suddenly. A lump rises in her throat and her eyes shimmer with tears. "I'm fine." She tries, but the minute she utters those words, she breaks.

The sudden reaction surprises Hermione and aches her heart for her best friend. "Oh, Melanie!" She pulls her into her arms.
"He lied, Hermione!" Melanie cried in her shoulder, yet still spoke in whispers, her loyalty to him still there, refusing to expose him. "I saw it in his eyes! He lied to me!"

…..