Pawns | A Draco Malfoy Love Story

New and Unimproved

"Bella!" Ginny called, snapping her finger in my face.

I had been in a daze, letting my toad hop of off my desk over and over again which Ginny was forced to continuously retrieve for me.

"Snap out of it, girl," she said. "What's wrong with you?"

"Just tired," I said through a yawn. This time it was true. I hadn't gotten very much sleep the last few days. Most nights I just just laid there, staring up at the ceiling of my four poster bed in the same way that I had on first night that I snuck out.

By the time I managed to gather enough energy to focus, the class had finished. Ginny and I walked out of the classroom and headed for lunch. Walking through the Great Hall, I could see the back of Malfoy who was facing a smiling Pansy Parkinson. She had her head resting in her hand, staring at him dreamily. I gagged.

Reaching our usual spots, I slid into a free space next to Harry, who had arrived early with Ron. He greeted me warmly with a smile and a kiss.

"Hey, Bells," he said. "How was class?"

"Oh, the usual," I replied.

"Actually, not the usual," Ginny said, narrowing her eyes and poking me with a fork like I was some laboratory specimen. "She's the new and unimproved Bella who's constantly tired, completely absent-minded, and no longer helps me in Transfiguration," she said with a grumble.

"Yea yea, take some wings," I said, rolling my eyes playfully and shoving a plate of barbecue in front of her.

She stopped looking at me and grabbed a wing with a small excited squeal. Like brother like sister. Dean arrived behind her, giving her a hug and seating himself to her right. I turned to talk to Harry.

"What's on the agenda for today? I asked.

"Double potions," he replied. "And we have Quidditch practise after class today," he added. "You'll come?"

"Wouldn't miss it," I said.

I took a cookie off a plater in front of me. Taking a bite, I looking around and I noticed someone was missing.

"Where's Hermione?" I asked them.

"Libwawy," Ron answered through a full mouth.

"Yea, trying to find out who the Half-Blood Prince is," clarified Harry, finishing Ron's thoughts.

Deciding I wasn't very hungry, I said bye to the others and kissed Harry before taking off to the library to keep Hermione company; I'd like to find out the identity of guy whose been so interesting to Harry.

Exiting the hall, I waved hello to Neville who was holding a huge potted plant. He tried to return the wave but dropped the pot, causing the plant to screech loudly and the Slytherins to boo him. 

He bent down, scooping the mud back into the pot with his hands, embarrassed and red in the face. Luna got out of her seat and trotted over quickly to help him. Neville looked pleased and gave her a thankful smile. I was about to help as well but I grew uncomfortable at the sight of the Slytherins' eyes on us, in particular, his eyes, so I continued out of the room.

I climbed the stairs, making my way to the library and saw Hermione sitting by herself, taking up a long table with scattered books. Her hair was frizzy and she had a wild, but exhausted look in her eyes.

She looked up when she saw me and grumbled. "I can't find anything."

I looked at her sympathetically but with a small laugh. I picked a random book off of a nearby shelf.

"Here," I said, throwing it onto one of her already towering stacks, "don't give up."

She didn't look amused.

*

The sun was still high but its brightness was occluded by a collection of slow-moving clouds which cast a dull grey light over the field. There was a small breeze but these were still ideal Quidditch conditions.

After performing the first part of my very necessary moral support duties (leading the team's chant in the change rooms), I walked with the team towards the pitch. Harry and I were at the back of the line, hand in hand.

As we arrived at the pitch, I noticed two figures sitting high up on the benches, both big and burley, though one was shorter than the other. It was Crabbe and Goyle. I ignored them but as we walked past, the shorter one yelled at us.

"There's the Mudbood," he called loudly in a sing-song sorta voice, snickering.

I was still trying to ignore them until I heard the sound of Crabbe grunt in pain. I turned around to see Malfoy sitting behind them. I must not have noticed him initially due to him being blocked by their fat heads. His hand was raised in the air while Crabbe was rubbing the back of his head, looking downcast and stupid.

I whipped my head back around and saw that Harry was staring at Malfoy.

"Why'd he do that?" he asked, a confused expression on his face.

"Who knows," I said quickly, pushing him onto the field. "Don't be distracted," I called. "Have a good practise!"

"You'll be watching?" he called back.

"The whole time!" I assured him, walking up on the stands.

About twenty minutes in, Ron had caused a lot of damage to the other players - it was almost painful to watch. There were nosebleeds and lots of screaming, but to be honest, I was only half watching. From the corner of my eye, I could see Malfoy continuously shifting in his seat, looking uncomfortable.

Eventually, I saw him get up and leave.

Without really thinking, I got up too and made to follow him out. No one noticed my departure - they were all crowding around the most recent of Ron's victims, Demelza Robbins, who was sporting a fat lip after being accidentally punched in the face. As I walked down the stairs, I could vaguely hear the sound of Ginny's voice calling Ron a prat, much to his irritation.

Once back on the grass, I looked around for Malfoy but couldn't find him. I looked around the stands incase one of the thick posts were hiding him. Fortunately, I saw his tall and lean figure almost half way back to the castle.

I started to speed-walk, chasing after him, though I wasn't sure why. Maybe a part of me wanted to quickly thank him for hitting his stupid friend on the head?

I reached the castle doors which I saw he had swung open just a few moments prior, but when I entered the castle, I had completely lost his trail.

Feeling an odd sense of sadness, I walked all the way back up to Gryffindor tower, completely forgetting about meeting the team after Quidditch.