The Road I'm On pt.2
Draco Malfoy Songfic (Sequel to Truth)
'The Road I'm On' – 3 Doors Down
And I know you feel helpless now and I know you feel alone
That's the same road, the same road that I'm on
Astoria sat at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall during breakfast, Daphne next to her. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and it showed under her eyes. Draco's ring hung limply around her neck, concealed under her robes, feeling the cold metal touch her collarbone. Her sister rattled gossip as she usually did, but Astoria barely paid her any attention, her fork pushing her breakfast around lazily.
A still form caught the corner of her eye and she looked up, seeing Draco motionless at the end of the table. Daphne looked as well and was surprised that he sat in the last few seats.
"Did you get into a fight?" she whispered, eyes glowing at the possibility of new drama.
"We broke up," muttered Astoria, yanking her gaze away from the forlorn sixteen year old.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Daphne said, putting an arm around her shoulders. "So did you leave him, or. . .?" Astoria shrugged off her arm and looked down at her plate.
"I don't want to talk about it," she mumbled, taking a sip of her pumpkin juice. In a way she hadn't lied to Daphne; both Draco and she had agreed to stop seeing each other for the time being. But she couldn't break the bond she shared with him; although it might have been easier to cope with than loving somebody she couldn't hold.
Zabini, Crabbe, Goyle, and Nott slowly meandered into the Great Hall, talking amongst each other. They walked right past Draco who sat alone at the end, staring at a wall, the friends acting as if he were invisible. Great pity welled inside Astoria and it was all she could do to keep from running to his side. Draco Malfoy, once one of the most popular Slytherins, now sat unaided and dejected at the end of the table, completely alone. No one came to sit by him, not a person stopped to talk to him, nothing. Instead he received slated and frightened looks from the students he had once considered friends. Finally with a disgusted scowl, he angrily marched away from the table and slipped out of the Great Hall. Astoria was worried about him, scared he might try to harm himself. Saying good-bye to Daphne, Astoria slung her bag over one shoulder and followed him.
He said life's a lot to think about sometimes
When you keep it all between the lines
Of everything I want and I want to find, one of these days
Astoria saw him begin up the grand staircase, cloak billowing behind him as he quickly walked. She crept silently behind him, praying he wouldn't turn around. He did not pause when he reached the first landing, continuing onto the next staircase.
Half-way up, however, he stopped and stood still. Astoria ducked beside a suit of armor, hoping he wouldn't see her. He quickly turned, cloak lashing behind him. With every passing moment Astoria's heart began to beat faster, afraid he would catch her.
Draco then abruptly turned back around and began climbing the stairs, but his pace was faster this time. Astoria waited a few seconds before following, trying to keep as quiet as possible. Her method worked well until they alighted upon the fifth floor. Her foot dragged a bit on the ground, a small squeak sounding. Once again Draco paused, giving Astoria just enough time to dive behind another suit of armor.
"Who's there?" he called out, head snapping to and fro eagerly. "Show yourself!" Astoria pressed into the stone wall as much as she could, holding her breath as to not make a sound. Draco rapidly spun on his heel, hurrying down a nearby corridor. Astoria slipped out from her hiding place and lightly ran on her toes in pursuit.
The bottom tip of Draco's billowing cape was all she glimpsed of him as he turned a corner, Astoria putting on an extra boost of speed to keep up. Yet when she rounded the corner she found herself in an empty corridor full of statues. Draco was nowhere to be seen and the vast hall gave Astoria a dreaded sense of vulnerability, her feet backing into a wall for safety. She now felt like the hunted.
Out of the silence her watched dinged to tell that it was time for class. She didn't want to let Draco slip off, but neither would it do any good to wander pointlessly around the castle for him all day. Praying he wouldn't do anything irrational, Astoria turned and left. Draco stepped out from the shadow of a large statue and watched her figure disappear.
"Astoria. . ."
Astoria sat in Charms, her fingers drumming impatiently on her desk as the last few minutes of class came to an end. She had lunch break next and she intended to use it to locate Draco. She'd already asked all of her friends if they had seen him on their way to class, but all said no. Even Pansy Parkinson couldn't recall seeing him.
Finally Professor Flitwick released them, and Astoria grabbed her bag and quickly headed into the hall. She hurried up to the fourth floor where she knew Draco had class. She didn't see him among the mass of other six year students, but didn't give up hope.
Instead she flew as fast as she could down the stairs that led to the Great Hall. Tons of students were filing in the doors, hungry stomachs waiting. Every blonde head in the crowd caught her attention, but none were Draco. She looked at the Slytherin table once she was inside, but he was still nowhere to be found. Downcast and fear starting to bloom inside her chest, Astoria decided to go back up to the corridor she'd last been in when he disappeared.
As she walked past the stone figures she heard noises behind one of the statues, but it turned out to only be a couple looking for privacy. Astoria scathingly eyed the way the boy slid his hand up the girl's thigh as they snogged and she wanted to smack him. Didn't boys kiss with decency anymore?
"Kissing should be more than sucking face," she thought, "It should be meaningful." The whole floor turned out to be empty except for them, so she headed to the next one and all the way to the seventh floor. At the end of one corridor she saw two girls talking.
"I'm so hungry," grumbled one who had her back to Astoria.
"I know! I wish he'd at least—" started the other before she screamed and dropped the large brass scales she'd been holding. Astoria winced as a loud ringing reverberated off the stone walls, her eardrums protesting.
"Astoria!" said one of the girls louder than needed, "What do you want?" Astoria had never seen either of them before, but thought it was as good a chance as any that they might know something.
"I'm looking for Draco Malfoy," she said as their faces fell, "Have you seen him?" Both the girls shook their heads vehemently, their weird behavior making Astoria more than ready to leave their presence.
"Well, ok, thank-you," she said awkwardly, "bye."
The rest of the day passed and Astoria still hadn't seen Draco since breakfast. In class she was unfocused, fingers constantly tapping nervously on her desk. After what seemed like years, classes were dismissed for the day and she headed down to the Great Hall for dinner. Her stomach was growling with gusto since she hadn't eaten all day.
At dinner, Astoria sat next to her sister and a few of her friends. Fear was still fresh in her mind when once again Draco was missing.
"He's probably just working on whatever the Dark. . .whatever he needed to do for him. It's nothing," she thought, but her fingers still kneaded restlessly at her robes underneath the table. A flash of blonde hair caught her attention near the doors. Her heart almost fell out of her chest in relief when she saw Draco Malfoy unharmed and alive. He glanced only briefly at her before settling at the end of the table once more. This time he ate, which helped ease Astoria's troubles more. Still, she desired to sit next to him.
Daphne told a joke she'd heard earlier in the day, and it cracked a much needed smile on Astoria's lips. More of her sister's friends joined in the humor and she found herself in a lighter mood, even smiling a bit. Soon Draco left the table and exited the Great Hall, but she didn't notice.
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