Draco

It was the first day of the break, which meant that the party was that night. The next day everyone would be going home for the Holiday, whereas I stayed to work on that bloody cabinet, which was giving me the hardest time. As for the other part of my mission, I overheard Slughorn say that he was going to give a bottle of mead to Dumbledore for Christmas. My mum provided me with a small bottle of poison to help me out. So, the party would cause a great distraction while I sneaked into his office and spiked the damn thing. No one would know the difference. Piece of cake.

“Earth to Draco,” Blaise was waving a hand in front of my face. “What the hell is on your mind?”

I shrugged. “Just things,” I said, glancing over at the Gryffindor table. We were in the Great Hall eating lunch. The party started at five. Just a few more hours…

 “It’s been two weeks man. She seems to be over it,” Blaise said, glancing over his shoulder, but he was looking at Bella, who did look like she was over the break up.

I was looking at Hanna, who didn’t look totally over it. She was a little distracted from her group of friends, which included Bella, Gregory, Robbie, a red-headed guy, a brown headed guy, a red headed girl, and a blonde girl. I didn’t know the other four, not that it mattered anyway. All that mattered was how crushed and disappointed Hanna looked. It hurt to see her like that, but it was for the better. I honestly believed that it was for the better. Butterflies filled my stomach as she looked up and her eyes met mine. I didn’t break the contact, but she did. I sighed and looked down at my plate.

“No, she doesn’t, mate,” I mumbled, eating a bit of my soup.

He shrugged. “She’ll get over it in time. Hey,” he said, changing the subject, “are you going to Slughorn’s party tonight?”

I shook my head. “Nah, I wasn’t invited. You?”

“Nope. I’m not going somewhere that Bella will be,” he sighed. “It wouldn’t end well.”

I nodded. “I understand. I was just seeing if there’ll be a wingman there, but I’ll just have to go this one alone,” I drank the rest of my pumpkin juice in one gulp and wiped my mouth. “See you around.”

I was headed for the Room of Requirement to work on the cabinet some more but got delayed when I rounded the corner and saw Ron Weasley leaning up against the wall and saying goodbye to Lavender Brown. She was leaving the first day, not the second like everyone else, I was presuming. She was giggling and pushing her hair out of her face. He was looking everywhere else but her. Weren’t they dating? That was the last piece of Gryffindor gossip that I heard but didn’t really pay attention to. He didn’t seem interested in her and showed it too as he turned his head when she went to kiss him, and she ended up kissing his cheek.

“Bye, Won-Won!” she annoyingly waved and ran towards the entrance hall.

He sighed and watched her leave. “Finally,” he said with relief and turned to walk the other way.

Hanna then appeared at the other end of the hallway. She smiled broadly when she saw that Ron was standing there. Why would she smile like that at Ron? Was there something going on between the two? I mean, there shouldn’t be because he has a girlfriend, and she just got out of a relationship, a relationship with a rather bad ending, the worst ending. My fists clenched as I watched her giggle and smile at him. What was she doing?

“So, I’ll see you tonight?” he asked, loud enough for me to hear, and she nodded. “I can’t wait to see you in that dress.” You could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

She waved and headed back in the direction that she had come from. I was so angry. She was going to Slughorn’s party with Weasel? That made no sense. She was denying him in potions before. Why would she be open to him now? Just like Blaise had said, it had only been two weeks. Why would she even want to go out, especially with him? Of all people, why did it have to be Weasel? I guess it’s better than Potter, but still…

“Hey, Draco?”

I turned to see Bella standing there. I wasn’t expecting that. Not in the slightest. I had broken her best friend’s heart, and she didn’t fully understand why Blaise broke up with here. Why would she be nice to me? Then again, I never did fully understand Bella.

“Bella?” I asked, trying not to sound surprised.

She nodded. “Are you going to the party tonight?”

I shook my head. “I wasn’t invited. Why would I go?”

She shrugged. “I dunno,” she sighed. “Is Blaise going?”

“No, he’s not,” I said slowly, starting to realize what she was getting at. “You should move on, Bella. It’s for the best. Trust me,” I put a hand on her shoulder. “That’s all that you can do right now. If you and Blaise are meant to be, you’ll find each other again.”

“I don’t believe that. I think that he’s weaker without me. Do you know what I mean, Draco? I know that you feel weaker without Hanna. If I’m not in his life, he’s more vulnerable to You-Know-Who because he won’t be thinking clearly. I know that he still loves me. I see it every time he looks at me. Don’t you understand that, Draco?” Silent tears had begun to streak her face. “It hurts too badly without him.”

I sighed and pulled her into a hug. “I know, Bells. It hurts every time I see her laugh or smile with any guy. It’s like I should be the one doing that, like I was just two weeks ago.”

“Then why aren’t you still with her?” she asked, pulling away. “If you love her, you should be with her. It’s as simple as that, Draco.”

“No, it’s not. It’s a lot more complicated than that. If I can get over Hanna, then You-Know-Who can’t get inside my head and use her against me. He can’t use you against Blaise if he’s over you. Look, this is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Hanna is my first love, and I want her to be my last, but in order to do that, she has to be erased from my life until Good triumphs over evil,” I said with a shaky voice. It was everything that I wanted to say to Hanna, but if she knew that then she would never get over me. It was better that she stayed in the dark.

She nodded. “I understand that, but I don’t give a shit about You-Know-Who. I love Blaise, and nothing will get in my way to him. This is my choice, not Blaise’s. He has no power over me, and I say that I want to be with him.”

I sighed. “It’s your funeral then.”

“So be it. I would die for Blaise any day,” she said, wiping at her eyes. “Hanna would die for you too, Draco,” she added quickly before rushing down the hall towards the Gryffindor Tower.

I sighed and leaned my back against the wall. I know that she would die for me, and that’s the problem with telling her the truth. She would have the same reasoning as Bella. It was too risky. I couldn’t put her in a situation like that, not my beautiful Hanna. It brought tears to my eyes thinking about the night that I broke up with her and couldn't help but slid down the wall and cry.