My Father Can't Hear About This | Draco Malfoy

The Piano Room

I pull away from Cedric and gaze at him. His eyes were red, and his lips were quivering. "Eleanor, you could've died."

"Yes, but I didn't, thanks to you Ced." I was still in shock, but managed a soft smile on my face. I peek up at the sky. The Dementors were trickling away as students ran them off one by one with their spells. Cedric's hand is still in my hair, lightly stroking my scalp, as if he had to feel that I was still alive in front of him for his own proof. 

A cluster of footsteps can be heard headed in our direction. 

"Well well, the bumblebee has himself a girlfriend." Crabbe interposed, laughing alongside Goyle. Cedric stood up, grasping my hand to pull me up with him. Following Tweedledee and Tweedledum were the usuals - Pansy, Blaise, and Draco right at their flank. They stop once they caught sight of us. 

"The girl can't even fend for herself. She has to have a Hufflepuff of all people protect her. That's so sad." Pansy gestures a crying motion towards her face. 

I look over at Draco, who only stared at the scene. I waited for any witty remark from him, but he never gave. 

"Let's see you fend for your life without a wand, Parkinson." I nod at her. 

"You're on." She immediately flings her wand to the ground and progresses towards me, ready to fight. I hold my ground as I wasn't even close to feeling threatened by her. 

"Woah now." Draco grabs her by her collar and holds her back. She began screaming to let her go, but he didn't budge. "Don't embarrass yourself there, Parkinson." A smile creeps to his face. 

"Oh so now you're defending the little mudblood?" She turns back at him. His face changes back to a cold, lifeless state. He releases her and shifts his gaze between me and Cedric. Without adding a word to defend himself. He storms off. 

"Huh. Speechless Draco. That's a first." I mumble, loud enough to where they could all hear me. 

I snatch my broom from a few yards away, thank Cedric once more for saving my life, and flew back into the castle. They were not continuing the game in these conditions. Some students had to recover. And there was no good way for me to thank Cedric enough for how brave he was for saving me. I had no control of my body at the time, and I couldn't get to my wand to save myself. The fact that he had jumped between me and a Dementor was just mind boggling to me. No one had done anything like that for me before.

~

"Hey Eleanor," Cedric found me in the hallway between his classes. "Do you want to hang out and catch up soon? Or are you busy?" His hand rises behind his head to nervously scratch. 

"I'm about to go play piano right now. So not technically busy at the moment but.."

"You're not going to your next class?" He looks around as everyone else around us speeds to their next class.

"Nah. I need to get my mind off of things and class is not going to do that for me right now." I fiddle with the seams inside my robe pockets. 

"I can come watch you play if you'd like. If it wouldn't be trouble of course." He suggests politely. "I absolutely loved your talent show performance."

"Thank you. And you can join if you want. No problem." I start towards my practice room. 

Once there, I sit on my bench and begin pitter-pattering on the keys. Cedric sits on a stool by the piano and watches me set my hands on the piano. 

"I'm just going to mess around on here for a few, okay? So don't expect something spectacular." I giggle as I play my first note. I began to fumble around with the melody of Für Elise by Beethoven. He was a very popular composer in the muggle world, and clearly I loved to play him. My fingers frolick from key to key, from lower notes to higher notes in a rhythm that many can't understand. When I play, I feel relief. It's like another part of me comes alive.

I could sense Cedric's fascination with the music I was creating, as if he had never heard music before. I was zoned in, playing better than I thought I would have after all that had happened recently. 

"So you two lovebirds are skipping classes now?" My melody was interrupted by someone at the door. A tall silhouette stood propped up in the frame. 

"Well Malfoy, you aren't in class either, so don't be a hypocrite." I spat. 

"Get out."

"Excuse me?" I question. His head sat high above his shoulders as if trying to radiate confidence or dominance or something of the sort. 

"Not you. Him."

"Me?" Cedric stands. "Why me?"

"Don't ask questions you filthy oaf. Just get the fuck out." Wow, Draco was an ass.

Cedric glances back at me and I can't help but roll my eyes at the situation. He turns back towards Draco and inches closer. As he passes next to him in the doorframe, they both exchange looks that could kill. Draco waltzes in and shuts the door behind him.

"What do you want?" I ask him as I rest my hands on the piano keys again, tinkering with them gently. 

"You're really skipping classes with that Hufflepuff dork?"

"He saved my life." I rebut. "And at least he's a nice person. He's already done more for me than you have. "

"He's a fucking pushover is what he is." He rolls his eyes and sits in the same stool Cedric was in moments ago.

"Easy for you to say. You can act like I mean something to you while you're mindlessly fucking me and you can't even defend me the next morning. Bloody hell, you can't even defend yourself according to what I saw on the Quidditch field earlier."

Draco's hands tensed up with anger. "You are something else, you know that Granger?"

"Yeah. I know." I turn back to the keys in front of me and begin to play. 

"I'm serious. Do you think it's easy for me? To see you with him? To see you everyday knowing that I am the worst person in your life and there is nothing I can do about it."

"At least you're somewhat aware of the situation.." I mutter under my breath, though I know he heard me.

"Eleanor. I'm sorry. I can't change what I am. I can't change what I've done to you. I wish I could."

We sat in silence as he waited for a response from me. I pondered all of our situations, from every time he called me an ugly name, to every kiss we've shared. He has wrecked me. "When are you going to stop apologizing and actually do something about it?"

"You know I can't be with you. I've got.. the mark.. and my father would quite literally banish me if he found out you weren't pure." He fidgeted with his sleeve, as if trying to cover up the mark on his arm that was already covered - the mark I had already seen. 

"Then there's no point in apologizing. You can leave now." I point my wand at the door, unlocking it. He turned to look at the door, and back at me. I nod my head towards the exit to encourage him to leave. He stood and straightened his posture, and left without another word. Only a rather sad face was plastered on his face as he left.

 Maybe I did have some sort of trance on him. The Draco Malfoy that the entire school knew would have forced another word in. He would have made sure the conversation went the way he wanted it to go. He would not have apologized the way he had just apologized to me. He wouldn't have revealed himself to me, as I was only a muggle-born. 

But I thought I really knew Draco. I thought he was special. And I thought I could be special enough to him to work his kinks out. I just needed to work with him. I just needed him to care about something other than himself. But Draco was now a lost cause. He would never show the side I knew to anyone else. He would never disclose that I ever meant anything to him. He would kill for the Dark Lord, but he wouldn't even stand up for me. 

I place my fingers amidst the black and white keys and distract my brain from a subject that was bringing tears to my eyes once again.