Hey guys! Sorry this took a little longer than I intended. I got sidetracked with some of my other stories and work was a bit crazy this weekend. Ended up working a double on Saturday, so that was fun. Anyway, I have the next five(ish) chapters outlined right now, so I hope I'll be able to keep the momentum going. Soon I'll be down to just this and Shine Again as my only stories, so I should be able to update a bit more. Just got to get The Luck of the Irish finished...

Without further to do, here's Chapter 20.

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Much like the day before, it was snowing. It wasn't nearly as bad, but it was still enough that Vanessa was regretting coming to the Quidditch game. Not that she had much choice. Sure, she could skip the game and stay back in the dormitory, but what would be the point of that? All her friends were at the match- even Artemis who as a general rule detested sporting events- so she would've been there alone. While Quidditch game attendance was voluntary, skipping a match was detrimental to your social life, and sometimes Vanessa hated that.

So there she was, sitting in the stands, freezing as she was squished between Draco and Artemis. Typically you sat with your own house at a Quidditch match, but that was not always the case. The little group they had gathered in the stands was proof of that. Kendall and Amber sat behind them, and Emily sat in the row in front of them, chatting aimlessly away to Seamus beside her. Vanessa wasn't sure when the two of them had become a thing, but here they were. She had known Emily was fond of Seamus for a while, but the last she knew, Emily had been too shy to say anything. Vanessa guessed in the midst of all her personal drama, her friend had found some courage. The two of them seemed oblivious to anything else going on, even the game. Vanessa was admittedly a little envious of that.

Draco was quiet again, and hadn't said much of anything during the match. Vanessa wasn't sure if he was just focused on the game, or if there was something else going on. Either way, he likely wouldn't tell her. She was beginning to really dislike the drastic swings in his emotions and behavior. Vanessa just wanted a normal, happy relationship for once.

Alex sat on the other side of Artemis, and was being more vocal about the match than usual. Sure, Ravenclaw was facing off against Hufflepuff, so there was a sense of house pride and all that, but even that wasn't enough to describe how rambunctious Alex was being at this game. Vanessa thought that there was a good possibility that her friend was merely showing off how much she loved the game, in hopes of getting Ron Weasley's attention. Vanessa thought her friend's efforts were likely futile, but when Alex was determined, there was no telling her no.

Even though Alex now knew he was seeing Lavender Brown. Apparently when she went to the Gryffindor Quidditch practice after their unauthorized excursion to Hogsmeade yesterday, she was there and the two of them were quite affectionate. Alex came back a bit hurt, but now was back with a vengeance. Vanessa swore her friend had a death wish. Lavender seemed to be the possessive type, and the last thing Alex needed was to be dealing with a cat fight, even if there was a pretty high chance she would win. Again, no telling her that though.

She only wished she could've been as happy as her friends were.

Vanessa shook her head, trying to ignore Alex's cheers as she put her focus back on the match. Ravenclaw was winning handily, and as long as Hufflepuff's seeker didn't find the snitch first, they had this game in the bag. Maybe if she actually watched the game it would distract her from her misery.

One of Ravenclaw's chasers scored another goal, and Artemis sighed, annoyed. "Chang needs to hurry up and catch the snitch," he muttered. "I have other things I'd like to get done today."

Vanessa looked over at him. "Homework, I presume?"

Artemis nodded. "A lot of it, I'm afraid."

Alex snorted, seemingly not paying full attention to the game for a moment. "You've got no one to blame for that but yourself," she said unapologetically as she continued to look out at the game. "You're the one who signed yourself up for all these extra classes you don't need. You could've just taken the minimum like a normal person."

The boy rolled his eyes. "Send me an owl in a few years; let me know how slacking off worked for you," he snapped.

Vanessa couldn't resist laughing. In general, she had a hard time not laughing at Artemis' snark, so long as she wasn't on the receiving end of it. "Damn," she muttered, covering her mouth with a gloved hand as she kept laughing.

"How the hell am I slacking off?" Alex shot back, looking over at her friend with an incredulous look plastered to her face. "Just because I'm not working myself to death like you doesn't mean I'm slacking off. You need to take a damn break."

Vanessa hated to admit it, but she thought Alex had a good point. Artemis definitely needed a break from his studies, but he was too stubborn to admit it. The dark circles under his eyes betrayed him. Artemis almost always had dark circles under his eyes, but they seemed to be much more pronounced as of recent. Surely it couldn't be because he was balancing seemingly a dozen classes and still trying to manage a normal life on top of it. He swore he was managing fine, but Vanessa was often not so sure of that.

"I'll get a break during the holidays," Artemis assured. "I think I can wait three weeks."

That reminded her. Time was certainly ticking. Vanessa had to figure out her plans for the holidays. Every day brought them closer to the Christmas holidays, and she still hadn't asked Draco what he was doing. Was he staying at Hogwarts, or would he be returning home? The longer she waited, the worse this conversation could go. As Alex continued to argue with Artemis, Vanessa sighed and looked to her left at Draco. Might as well get this over with.

"So I've been meaning to ask you," she started, "what are your plans for Christmas break?"

Draco finally looked away from the game and back at her. She thought Artemis looked exhausted and worn out, but Draco looked much worse. Both boys were normally pale, and while Artemis hadn't gotten any worse in that aspect, Draco's skin looked more gray and sickly than anything. Vanessa was beginning to worry about him. Something was going on, but she knew he wouldn't tell her what it was even if she asked.

"Honestly I'm not sure," he responded, breaking her thoughts. "Haven't quite decided if I'm going home or staying here yet. Why?"

Vanessa shrugged casually. "Just trying to figure out my own plans, I guess," she replied.

"I assumed you were going home?" Draco stated.

"I could, but I would be the only one there. Dad's got a big project out of town," she explained. There was a loud cheer over something happening in the game, so she waited a moment for it to die down before she continued. "He told me I could go home, stay here, or I could go with Alex or Artemis to one of their places, since he knows their families and all that."

Draco nodded slowly. "Makes sense. I'll let you know soon what's going on," he answered. He sighed as he looked back out to the game. "I want to see mum, but I don't know if I want to be at home."

Vanessa squinted at him in confusion. Draco had never said anything about not wanting to be at home before. She had been under the impression that the Malfoys had a picture perfect homelife. Draco always made it seem as if everything in his family was absolutely fine. He always bragged about his family, their wealth and status... What could possibly be so wrong that he wouldn't want to go home?
   
She hesitated for a moment, knowing this question could very well start another fight, but then asked anyway, "Whyever not?"

Draco kept his focus on the game, only giving Vanessa a quick glance as he answered her. "It's complicated," he replied. He took a deep breath and sighed. "I don't really want to talk about it."
   
Vanessa frowned. Yet another thing Draco wouldn't give her a straight answer to. First his mysterious arm injury, then what he was doing on the day of Slughorn's party, then why he thought Potter was following him, and now this. A lot of things were not adding up in her mind, and it was starting to piss her off. She was supposed to be his girlfriend, someone who was supposed to know him like the back of her hand. Yet there was so much she didn't know about him, mainly because he refused to share anything with her. It was hard for her to not believe the rumors about him being a Death Eater when he couldn't even tell her the simplest things.

But to avoid a scene, Vanessa bit her tongue and said, "Alright. Well I guess when you figure out what you're doing, let me know so I can figure out what I'm going to do."

"I will," Draco said quietly.

Vanessa said nothing more to this as she shifted in her seat slightly, bumping into Artemis on accident, causing him to look over at her. He must've overheard her talk with Draco, as he offered her a small sympathetic smile. She was sure the two of them would have a chat later. Artemis seemed to be the only one of her friends who she could confide in without him passing judgement, and that is what she so desperately needed right now. The girls were all caught up in their own personal dramas, or were incredibly biased in one way or another. Kendall and Amber loved Draco; Alex hated his guts. Emily was indifferent, but Vanessa hated seeking the younger girl out for advice. Not to mention she'd feel horrible for interrupting her time with Seamus for her relationship problems.

So as much as he probably hated it, that left Artemis to be her level-headed voice of reason.

But for now, that would have to wait. She put her focus back on the game, trying her best to keep her composure. Her blood boiled, yet at the same time she was on the verge of tears. All because once again she wasn't good enough to know what was troubling her boyfriend so badly. Even as Draco took her left hand in his, it was not enough for her to forget all the secrets that he was hiding from her.