Draco's Hufflepuff | Emerging

Sixty: Cursed

**

Tuesday, 11th February, 1997

"What is that on your tie, darling?" Draco asked as he pushed himself off the brick wall,

"I thought I would wear the serpent pin you gave to me last year, is that okay?" I looked down and smoothed down the silky yellow and black striped material,

"That is more than okay," Draco snickered, "I fucking love that you're wearing it, that I get to show off to everyone that you're mine,"

"Well, if that's not common knowledge by now, I don't know where everyone has been hiding," I said, my cheeks blushing as I looked up at Draco.

He put his arm around my shoulder and kissed me as we walked to breakfast together. It was our old-but-new-again-ritual, something that we obviously used to do back when we were alone last year. It was the one of the few times of the day where we could truly be alone.

**

Draco had to spend his break with his Quidditch team going over some sort of new strategy, because they need to get their points up somehow because of being disqualified from the last game.

Luckily, however, we had been given Charms off to go and study in the library, because Professor Flitwick needed to go to into Hogsmeade for a few hours. It was all very vague and last minute, but we all seemed to think it had something to do with Professor Dumbledore.

I was just about to go and meet Draco near the Slytherin common room, when Leanne came walking through, looking white as a ghost, and really shaken up.

Luke rushed up from where he was sat and abruptly left who he was talking to, and immediately put his arms around her shoulder. She seemed to relax into him, and although I'm not his biggest fan at the moment, I had to appreciate that.

"Leanne, babe, what on earth has happened? What's wrong?" Hannah asked, sounding very upset,

"It happened so quickly- I don't know-" Leanne cut her sentence short and grasped at her throat,

"It's okay, sweetheart, take your time," Luke said soothingly, in a way I'd never really heard from him before,

"Me and Katie- Katie Bell, you know, the Gryffindor in the year above us? We went into Hogsmeade for a Butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks, because she had a free period as well. She came out of the bathroom there with a package for Professor Dumbledore, she said it was urgent he receive it," Leanne took a deep breath, and her voice began to wobble, "It was some sort of opal necklace, and it was cursed. She almost died in front of me. It was horrifying,"

"It wouldn't have been on purpose. Bell, she's good, she wouldn't hurt anyone," Luke said, his eyes fixated on my friend, "You know that don't you, sweetheart?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course. I just don't understand why it happened. She was fine before she went into the toilet, and then it was like- I don't know- her eyes were glazed over or something, like someone had done something to her," Leanne shrugged her shoulder and began to cry.

It really must have been bad because Leanne was not a crier. I think in all the years I'd known her; I had only seen her properly cry two times.

"Is there anything I can do for you, sweetheart? Anything at all?" Luke asked Leanne in such a soft and kind way, it was easy to forget I was supposed to be mad at him as well.

I couldn't help but notice that was the third time he had called her sweetheart, and I wondered if the term of endearment, sweetheart, was their thing. I had to admit, they did look really cute together. It would be nice for Leanne to have someone, and I knew that Luke was really a decent person.