Not Again, Malfoy.

"Yo, what if Blaise is actually a girl and is pretending to be a guy because he is so desperately in love with you—"

This was one of my hundred ridiculous theories I had made up in the past hour, and Kenny was trying her absolute best to ignore me. I could see it in the way her jaw twitched, in the way her fingers tapped impatiently on the wooden table, but she refused to tell me to shut up. That was the thing about her—she knew. She knew I had been suffocating under the weight of my own misery these past few weeks, and now that I had finally managed to crawl out of that pit of darkness, she wasn't about to push me back in.

So, I continued.

"And oh! What if he's actually—"

A sharp yank on my arm cut me off, almost throwing me off my chair. My laughter immediately died, replaced by the rapid thudding of my heart. Before I could react, I was being dragged up with force, my arm burning from the grip of the person who had grabbed me.

"What the—Draco?" I shoved him back, my voice laced with shock and fury. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

His icy grey eyes burned into mine, his expression a mix of rage, betrayal, and something else I couldn't quite place. He looked livid, his chest rising and falling as if he had sprinted all the way to me just for this. The entire common room had gone silent, eyes darting between the two of us, sensing the tension crackling in the air.

Draco didn't care.

"Wait till your father hears about your little association with blood traitors," he spat, his voice dripping with venom, his eyes narrowing at Kenny, who stiffened beside me.

That did it.

"Excuse me?" I took a step forward, my anger flaring instantly, the suffocating emotions I had bottled up for weeks exploding. "Are you seriously—SERIOUSLY—pulling that card with me right now?" I shoved him again, this time harder, and he stumbled back slightly.

"I thought you'd at least have some self-respect," he sneered, brushing off his robes as if I had dirtied them. "But no, clearly, you'd rather spend your time with blood traitors and mudblood sympathizers—"

My hand moved before I could stop it.

SLAP.

The sound echoed through the common room. Gasps filled the space.

Draco's head snapped to the side from the force, his pale cheek blooming red with the mark of my hand. My chest heaved, my entire body trembling from rage.

"How dare you?" I hissed, my voice shaking. "After everything—after ALL we've been through—you stand here and call me that?"

Draco turned his face back to me, his eyes dark and dangerous, but behind all that rage, I saw the flicker of something else. Something that looked almost like... hurt.

I didn't care. Not now. Not anymore.

"I see what this is now," I laughed bitterly, shaking my head. "You don't care about me. You never did. All you care about is your stupid pride and your stupid blood purity. I was an idiot to think you were ever my friend."

Draco's jaw clenched. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Oh, I'm ridiculous? That's rich coming from you, Malfoy," I spat, using his last name on purpose. I wanted to hurt him the way he had hurt me. "You ignored me for weeks, got cozy with Sree, treated me like I was invisible—"

His eyes flashed with something unreadable. "Oh, and what about you? What about the way you've been parading around with Blaise and Kenny like I never even existed?"

"Excuse me? You ignored me FIRST!" I yelled, throwing my arms in the air. "And don't even get me started on Sree. The way you two have been practically attached at the hip—oh, but of course, that was just you trying to get back at me, wasn't it?"

Draco's lips pressed into a thin line. He didn't deny it. He couldn't.

I scoffed. "Pathetic."

"Pathetic?" He stepped closer, voice dropping lower, dangerously soft. "You want to talk about pathetic? Because from where I'm standing, you're the one who couldn't even own up to her own feelings."

My breath hitched. "What?"

"Oh, don't play dumb, Selene," he said mockingly. "You think I don't know? You think I didn't see it in your eyes every single time you looked at me?"

My heart pounded painfully against my ribs. I opened my mouth, then closed it, swallowing the lump in my throat.

Draco shook his head, his expression almost... disappointed. "You don't even have the courage to admit it."

I felt the tears prick at my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I refused to let him see me break.

"You know what?" I said, voice trembling. "You're right."

Draco frowned. "What?"

I let out a shaky breath. "You're right. I do have feelings for you."

The words hung in the air between us, heavy and unbreakable.

Draco's face went blank. He blinked once. Then twice.

"But you know what else?" I continued before he could speak. "I refuse to be treated like an afterthought. I refuse to be pushed aside whenever it's convenient for you. So, congratulations, Draco. You got what you wanted. You finally got me to say it."

Silence.

Draco just stared at me, his expression unreadable.

And for the first time in our entire friendship, I didn't wait for his response. I turned around and walked away, ignoring the way my chest ached with every step I took.

Kenny rushed after me, and as soon as we turned the corner, I let out a shaky breath, my hands trembling at my sides.

"You did the right thing," she whispered, squeezing my shoulder.

Then why did it feel like I had just lost something irreplaceable?

.................................................................................

It was probably the millionth time Draco had called out my name in Care of Magical Creatures class. Over and over again, my name, like an echo that refused to fade. I had ignored him every single time. I wasn't in the mood, I wasn't interested, and most of all—I wasn't ready to forgive. But he didn't stop. He never stopped.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, frustration boiled over, and I snapped.

"The fuck do you want?" My voice was sharp, loud enough that even a few Gryffindors turned their heads. I didn't care. Let them watch. Let them hear. I was done playing his games.

Draco took a step back, almost as if I had physically hit him. His pale eyes searched my face, and for the first time in weeks, I noticed something that scared me more than his arrogance, his cruelty, or even his betrayal.

I saw desperation. I saw pain.

"I—" He stopped, swallowed hard, then started again, quieter this time. "I just... I need to talk to you. Please."

I let out a cold laugh. "Oh? Now you need to talk? Now you decide that I'm worth your time?"

Draco flinched, and for a split second, I thought he was going to walk away. But he didn't. Instead, he did something I never expected—he let his walls crumble, right there in the middle of class. He let the weight of everything come crashing down, and it all spilled out in one breathless, unguarded confession.

"I fucked up," he said. "I fucked up so badly, Selene. I don't know how to fix it. I don't even know if I can. But I need you to know—I was wrong. About everything. About you. About her. About... me." His voice cracked, just slightly, and I hated how much that crack made my heart lurch.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Oh, you mean Sree?" I scoffed. "The girl you let replace me without a second thought? That one?"

Draco ran a hand through his hair, his jaw clenched so tight I thought he might break a tooth. "It was never about replacing you. It was never—" He exhaled harshly. "I thought I could make you feel what I felt. I thought if I got close to her, it would make you—"

"Jealous?" I finished bitterly.

He didn't deny it.

I shook my head. "You hurt me. You pushed me away, Draco. You made me feel like I was nothing to you. Do you even understand that?"

"I do now," he admitted. "And I hate myself for it."

I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood. I wanted to believe him. I wanted to let myself fall back into that friendship, into that bond that had once felt unbreakable. But I was still angry. Still hurt.

"I missed you," he said suddenly. The words hit me harder than I expected. "Every single day, Selene. Every time I saw you laugh with Kenny, every time I saw you walk past me like I wasn't even there—it killed me. And I deserved it. I deserved every second of it. But I can't—I can't do this anymore. I can't pretend like I don't care. Like you don't matter to me. Because you do. You always have."

Silence stretched between us, heavy and unspoken.

Draco took a deep breath and stepped closer. "I'm sorry, Selene. For everything. For Sree. For the things I said, the things I didn't say. For making you feel like you weren't the most important person in my life—because you were. You are. I'll do anything—anything—to make this right. Just... tell me how."

His voice was so raw, so unguarded, that for a moment, I wasn't sure if I was breathing.

The anger inside me was still there, but it was melting, bit by bit, under the weight of his words. And I hated that. I hated how easily he could still affect me. How easily he could break down the walls I had so carefully built up.

I turned away, blinking back the sting in my eyes. "I don't know, Draco. I don't know if we can go back."

"I don't need us to go back," he said softly. "I just need you to not hate me."

I closed my eyes, exhaling shakily. I didn't hate him. That was the problem.

I had never hated him at all.

And he knew it.

And maybe—just maybe—that was enough.

"Meet me tomorrow morning in the library."

That was all I said. Short. Sharp. No warmth, no hesitation—just a command. I didn't need to look back to see his reaction. I felt it. The shift in his stance, the way his breath caught for a second as if he hadn't expected anything but silence from me. He knew now—this wasn't over. But it wasn't a reconciliation either. It was a trial.

I left before he could say another word, the weight of the moment pressing into my chest like a stone. My hands were shaking slightly, my pulse erratic. I had spent weeks avoiding him, dodging every attempt he made to reach out, every lingering look, every unspoken plea in his silver eyes. And now, with one sentence, I had given him a chance—maybe his last one.

Kenny caught up with me almost immediately. She must have seen what had happened from afar because she grabbed my wrist and yanked me behind a pillar in the courtyard, her eyes wild with curiosity and something else—concern.

"You—what—wait—what did you just do?" she demanded, eyes darting between me and the direction Draco had been in.

I sighed, rubbing my temples. "I told him to meet me in the library tomorrow morning."

Kenny stared at me as if I had just confessed to committing a crime. "You—SELENE—What—ARE YOU—ARE YOU GOING TO KILL HIM? BECAUSE IF YOU ARE, I WANT FRONT-ROW SEATS."

I snorted despite myself, but the humor died quickly. My stomach churned with uncertainty. "I don't know, Kenny. I don't know what I'm going to do. I just—" I paused, looking past her, as if the answer would be written somewhere in the Hogwarts walls. "I just need answers. No more assumptions, no more second-guessing. Just the truth."

Kenny studied me for a moment before sighing, dramatically slumping against the pillar. "Great. That means I have to wake up early and be your moral support in case you try to strangle him with a book."

I rolled my eyes. "You're not coming, Kenny."

Kenny gasped, placing a hand over her heart like I had just betrayed her. "Excuse me?! So you're just going to leave me out of this historical moment?"

"Yes," I deadpanned.

"You are heartless."

"I know."

Kenny grumbled, but she let it go, though I caught her side-eyeing me like she was already coming up with a plan to spy from a distance.

That night, I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, my mind running in circles. Why did I even give him a chance? After everything?

But another part of me—the part that still remembered his laughter, the way he used to wait for me after classes, the way he would always lean closer when I spoke, as if he never wanted to miss a single word—whispered a truth I wasn't ready to accept.

Because despite everything, a part of me still cared.

..................................................................................

I was already seated when Draco walked in.

He looked different.

Not physically, no. He was still the same Draco Malfoy, with his sharp features, platinum blond hair perfectly in place, and his expensive robes that somehow always looked brand new. But there was something in his eyes—a kind of raw vulnerability that I had never seen before.

And maybe I had been avoiding him for too long, because seeing him now, up close, it hit me like a Bludger to the chest. He looked... tired. More than that—defeated.

I didn't move as he sat down across from me.

He exhaled sharply, like he had been holding his breath the entire time, before finally speaking.

"You actually came." His voice was quiet, careful, like he was afraid that if he spoke too loudly, I would disappear.

I tilted my head. "You thought I wouldn't?"

Draco scoffed, but there was no real amusement behind it. "You've ignored me for weeks. I wouldn't blame you if you decided to throw me off the Astronomy Tower instead."

I hummed, tapping my fingers against the wooden table. "Tempting."

Draco flinched, and for a moment, guilt coiled in my stomach. But then I remembered everything—Sree, the silent treatment, the way he had acted like I was nothing but a stranger, a nuisance, a distant memory.

So, no, he didn't get my sympathy just yet.

"Selene," he started, and I had to force myself not to react to how easily my name rolled off his tongue, how it sounded so much softer when he said it. "I don't know where to start. But you need to know something—"

"I need to know a lot of things, actually," I interrupted, leaning forward. "For starters, why? Why, Draco? Why did you cut me off? Why did you choose her?"

His face twisted, his hands clenching into fists on the table. "I didn't choose her."

I let out a cold laugh. "Oh, really? Because from where I was standing, you were all over her. You were fine without me, you looked happy—"

"I wasn't," Draco cut in, his voice sharp, raw. "I wasn't happy, Selene. Do you want the truth? Fine. I was a bloody mess without you." He swallowed hard. "I was angry. At you. At myself. At everything. And I—I did it to hurt you."

I inhaled sharply. "Well, congratulations, Malfoy. It worked."

Draco flinched again, looking down at his hands. "I know. And I hate myself for it."

Silence stretched between us.

When he finally spoke again, his voice was barely above a whisper. "I thought you didn't want me anymore."

Something in my chest cracked.

I stared at him, my mind spinning. "Draco, are you serious? You—YOU were the one who left me. You ignored me, you pushed me away, you acted like I didn't exist—"

"Because I thought you didn't care anymore!" Draco exploded, standing up suddenly, his chair scraping against the floor. "I thought you regretted everything! I thought you wanted nothing to do with me!"

I shot up from my seat, slamming my hands onto the table. "And you couldn't just ask me? You couldn't just talk to me?"

His jaw tightened. "And what would you have said, huh? That it was just a confession? That I got the wrong idea? That I was never anything more than a friend to you?" His voice cracked at the end, and my breath hitched.

Because that—that was what had truly broken him.

I clenched my fists, feeling my heartbeat hammering in my chest.

"Draco," I whispered, voice shaking. "I never said you were just a friend."

He stilled.

His eyes locked onto mine, searching, desperate.

I inhaled deeply, forcing myself to say the words that had been trapped inside me for so long. "I never said you got the wrong idea either."

The world around us blurred.

It was just me and him, standing there, in the middle of the library, with nothing but the truth between us.

And for the first time in months, I didn't feel lost anymore.