Wonder // Draco Malfoy

4. Fears and Martin

The week continues as normal. My feelings of betrayal are gone now, replaced with the worry for Martin. Something in me is telling me he's still alive, but I wish I knew where.

I step into the classroom where Professor Lupin is smiling next to a large wardrobe that is shaking. I can only assume that there's some sort of creature within that's trying to break free. Marcus is currently sick, so Rue and I have been walking to class without him. It's nice to be able to talk to just Rue. They've done a great job to make everything as it was before, which makes me entirely grateful. I just enjoy time with my best friend.

"Good afternoon class!" Professor Lupin greets. We return the greeting and he continues with instructions for todays lesson. He describes a boggart and how to defeat it. After we express that we understand the instructions, he scans the crowd for volunteers. His eyes land on Rue and he calls her to the front.

"Alright then, just stand in the front here with your wand ready," he instructs, moving Rue to stand about fifteen feet directly in front of the (still shaking) wardrobe. Rue raises her wand with a shaky hand. She's never told me what scares her the most, so I make my way to the front of the crowd to get a better look. "Ready?" Professor Lupin asks. Rue nods, refusing to take her eyes off of the wardrobe.

The doors of the wardrobe swing open, and out steps a bloody, torn-up pirate. One eye is missing, his skin is a discomforting shade of green, and his nasty smile reveals black teeth not completely filled. Rue squeaks and, with encouragement from Professor Lupin, screams, "Riddikulus!"

The pirate's arms shrink to the length of a babies and a pacifier manifests in his mouth. His skin is now smooth and his other eye appears. We all laugh at the odd sight and the pirate shies away from us. Professor Lupin then calls me to the front, and the boggart shifts to a small animal. I step closer and see Martin with a huge gash on his side. He growls at me similarly to how he did on the train with the dementors and I raise my wand.

"Riddikulus!" I yell. The boggart shifts into a healthy version of Martin and he begins to quack like a duck. Although I know it's a creature and not my actual cat, I feel relief to see him alive and well. My peers laugh and a Ravenclaw boy steps forward. I walk towards Rue, away from the giant shark in front of the class.

"You're scared of pirates?" I ask. Her face grows red in embarrassment. "Huh. I guess I've never thought of them as scary."

-

Marcus and Rue gasp in disbelief. I've just told them about my encounter with Draco at the quidditch match and they're just as shocked as I was. "Valentine, there's no way he doesn't like you. He would've left his own grandmother to stand alone at that time. I'm honestly shocked!" Marcus exclaims. He's trying his best to be quiet so no one else in the common room can hear us, but it's quite hard for us to be quiet about this topic.

"But how do you feel about him? That's the question of the hour," Rue asks. They lean in further, the three of our faces almost touching. I guess I've never thought about it. I've been too focused on how he's acting to think about how I feel about it. I mean, I could've pushed him away. But then again I didn't have energy. But did I hate it?

I shrug. "I mean, I honestly don't know. I've always thought he hated me. And it's hard to like someone if they seem to hate you," I reply. I lean back in my seat and try to think back to how I felt in those moments. Just confusion. I really wish I had Martin here to pet and kiss his little forehead - it's what I always do when I'm stressed.

"Well, it's pretty obvious he doesn't hate you," Marcus says. He also leans back in his chair and laughs. "It's no coincidence his little monkeys aren't with him when you run into each other. I bet he's scared to show them he's got a soft side."

My stomach flips at the sound of that. But I can't possibly have feelings for Draco. He's always been rude. I'm nice and care about people in school, there's no way we would be a match. Right? I rub my eyes and decide to go looking for Martin again. "I'm just gonna go searching for my cat," I say. I know they know I'm avoiding the subject, but I'm grateful when they let me go. I already have my wand on me in case I need a light to search underneath something.

I begin my search by looking near the caretakers office in case he found his way to his worse nemesis - the caretakers cat. When I feel there's no sign of him, I climb the stairs to the Ravenclaw dorms. Marcus was right, Martin does have a crush on a cat in here. Hopefully he is just smitten and decided to have an extended stay with her.

Luckily, a Ravenclaw student is outside of their common room about to go in. "Excuse me," I say. He turns to look at me and smile. I recognize him as the boy scared of sharks from class earlier. "This may sound odd, but my cat might be in there. His name is Martin - he'll respond when called! He's big and orange. Would you mind asking around about him? He likes this cat in there. It's Marshall Limewood's cat Angel."

"Of course! I love kitties. Too bad my dad's allergic. I'll tell Marshall and have him look too. Best of luck," he reassures. I thank him and walk down the stairs to continue my search outside.

There are many students outside, enjoying the warm sunny day. I smile at some of them and wave - I know a lot of them from classes. I travel around the castle to a courtyard not many students are in. I call Martin's name and look inside the holes in the trees.

"Is this your smelly fat cat?" A person behind me asks. I whip around and see Draco holding Martin, who is covered in dirt and cobwebs. He's purring and lightly kneading Draco's robes. I cry in relief and throw my arms around Draco.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I exclaim. I pay no attention to Draco's look of shock and I take Martin out of his hands. Martin gladly lays in my arms and licks my hand. I turn back to Draco. I can't possibly thank him enough. "Where did you find him?"

That's when I notice that he, too, is covered in dirt and cobwebs. "Wait, were you looking for him?" I ask. Draco immediately begins to deny my question.

"No way I'm looking for some ugly little beast! He was just so filthy it rubbed off on me, is all. Bloody thing came running at me like some wild animal."

I laugh at his lie - there's no way my cat covered him in that much filth. "Maybe you're not so cold after all, Malfoy," I say. He begins to blush but then looks down to hide it. I take a step forward and kiss his cheek, earning a look of shock I've never seen him make before. We stare at each other for a moment. "Seriously, Draco, thank you."

A/N
I love writing scenes between Valentine and Draco! There's more to come, so hopefully you're enjoying the pace.

As always, thank you to anyone who reads this.