From the End to the Start
Chapter 5
On the days preceding Halloween, all the third-year students could talk about was the upcoming Hogsmeade trip. Those that had been in the village before were telling stories about The Three Broomsticks and their first taste of butterbeer, while others were spreading more rumors about the Shrieking Shack.
Maleficent and Diaval found themselves susceptible to Hogsmeade chatter as well. They were walking along one of the inner aisles of the library, pretending they were browsing books. Truthfully, Diaval was actually browsing, taking the time to read the titles on the spines and even pulling out a tome if it caught his attention. Her eyes were glued on the opposite shelf, lightly stroking the ancient texts with her fingers but not really paying attention to them.
"Did you get your parents to sign the Hogsmeade form?" She asked quietly.
"Of course. I'm excited to go! I've never seen a wizarding village before. Have you been there?"
"Only once. Father's not too fond of Hogsmeade, to tell you the truth. I like it though."
"Is it true they have the most famous sweets shop there?"
"Yeah, it's called Honeydukes. Admittedly, it's not my favorite place. I'm not really too fond of candy."
"Not even chocolate?"
"I only eat dark chocolate, and not very often too. I only get them from uncle."
Flipping the pages of a book idly, Diaval replied, "Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me? You can show me around."
Her head whipped towards him in surprise. "You know I can't, Diaval."
Diaval snapped his book shut. "Yeah alright. I was just asking." Maleficent, noticing his displeasure, tentatively reached out a hand and lightly grasped his forearm. Diaval stared at her, startled at the contact. Expression softening, he flashed her a close-lipped smile.
The sound of footsteps broke their reverie as a group of students passed by the nearby shelves. Immediately, Maleficent withdrew her hand and turned her back to him. She sensed him put the book he was holding back to its proper place and with a mumbled "see you later", he quickly left.
Staring at his retreating form, she realized that somehow, she's managed to botch this up again.
Maleficent didn't know how to fix her latest mistake. She asked her uncle what he thought she should do, but the only response she got was "talk to him" and some other cryptic remark about courage and carving her own destiny. She loved her uncle but there was no denying he could be incomprehensible sometimes.
Still, she followed her uncle's advice and asked Diaval if they could meet the night before Halloween. He came, despite seeming like he'd rather be anywhere else but with her.
"Hey." She greeted warily.
"Is there something you need?" Diaval countered bluntly, but looked contrite when she involuntarily flinched at his tone.
"I- I'm sorry about the other day." Maleficent clasped her hands together, shoulders hunched.
"It's fine."
"No, it isn't."
Crossing his arms, he affirmed, "Okay, it isn't, but there isn't really anything you can do about it, right?"
"You know the situation I'm in. You said it yourself." She retorted. Diaval clenched his jaw, eyes stormy.
"I do know, but I don't understand. I mean, so what if Stefan tells your parents you're friends with a muggle-born? What are they going to do, kill me? They can't do that. Are they going to hurt you, then? Not bloody likely. If your parents are as traditional as you say they are, they won't hurt their only daughter."
It was true- her parents have never hurt her physically. (Nevertheless, she was sure they've managed to ruin her, and what difference does it make if they do it physically or not?) And despite being pureblood supremacists, they'd never stoop to murder because they know it will be Azkaban for them and they love their life of luxury more than anything else.
Diaval ploughed on. "And I'm not afraid of Stefan either, if that's what you think. We're in school. What can he do, really?"
"You don't know him!" Maleficent argued.
"Do you?"
"I do! He's not- he's cruel, Diaval. Maybe he won't do anything now, but in the future…"
Waving his arms in an impassioned gesture, he exclaimed, "So you're basing your decisions on what he might do 'in the future'? That's a load of codswallop, Lef. Seriously."
"I'm just trying to protect you." Maleficent bit her lower lip to stop herself from tearing up.
Diaval shook his head. "No, Lef. It's not your obligation to protect me, and honestly, there is nothing they can do to me. The only person you're really protecting is yourself."
Maleficent's head was pounding when she woke up the next day. Feeling awful and dejected, she didn't pay a visit to Hogsmeade like everybody else. Instead, she stayed in bed, curled up with a copy of The Secret Garden, the book Diaval gave her last Christmas. Still, she didn't cry whenever her mind drifted back to last night's conversation. She hasn't cried in years and she's not going to start now.
She stayed in the dorms until nightfall, opting to miss dinner. She was dozing off when she heard the window being continuously rattled. Looking out, Maleficent saw an owl repeatedly pecking on the window. She let it in and took the package tied to its leg. A note was attached to the package:
It was dark chocolate that you said you liked, right, Lef? I hope I got the right one.
Hands trembling, Maleficent opened the package- emblazoned on the wrapper was the Honeydukes logo. Gradually, the writing seemed to blur, and when she looked up, everything was blurred as well. Surprisingly, she felt wetness when she wiped her eyes. Feeling the tears at the back of her hand, she finally cried- for the friendship she didn't deserve, for the love she wished grew up in, and for the life she desperately wanted to escape from.
A/N: Honestly I wanted to end this thing in 7 chapters (much like The Flaw in the Plan) but as I was writing it I realized I can't do a fic that spans 10 years in 7 chapters. So I don't know how long this thing is going to be anymore. It's weird because this is supposed to be a prequel to a short one-shot and it has become uncontrollable.
Anyway, yeah. Cheers!