Draco and Daphne had been the best of friends, the closest of confidants, for as long as Daphne could remember. They told eachother everything, from small things like their favourite colour or their first crushes to bigger things like fears and memories that they wish they could forget. But from the summer between fifth and sixth year something had changed and Daphne wished she knew what, so she could fix it or apologise or whatever was necessary for Draco to talk to her again.
It had happened so suddenly, they had said their goodbyes at Kings Cross, Daphne had given him a hug and a kiss on his cheek as usual. The first few weeks their routine remained normal. They sent messages to each other by owl and by those clever books Draco and Blaise had designed back in fourth year. But one day Draco had simply stopped answering. She had tried to reach out to him again and again and even tried to get into Malfoy Manor a couple of times, but the gates that at one point had swung wide open at her approach, now were impenetrably closed, the wards so energised you would think the building was under siege.
When she after weeks of worries and desperate letters came to the Hogwarts Express she tried to seek him out. But everywhere she went people said that she had just missed him. Why was he avoiding her? What happened? Had she done something to drive him away? She reread the messages she had sent his way in the book again, but no nothing in those was out of the norm for them.
The weeks flew by as the semester began. She did see him a couple of times but everytime she tried to talk he ignored her, sometimes he even looked scared at her approach and quickly looked around as if to see if someone saw that she was familiar to him.
It only got worse.
The dark circles that had been ever present on his face from the first time she saw him after summer grew deeper, his once impeccable appearance had become dishevelled and his alabaster skin had grown ashen, she decided that enough was enough, she had to confront him.
It was a saturday morning and she got up early as she knew he tended to do “a Malfoy never waste his days away” he used to tell her. She sat on the sofas waiting for him and even though she had gotten up at five that morning she did not have to wait long.
She heard his footsteps, so much quieter than they used to be, as if he was scared to make too much noise. As he got into the common room he paused a bit and rubbed his discoloured eyes, she grabbed the opportunity and got up before he could get away again, at the sudden noise of her movement Draco startled and turned.
When he saw her his eyes did that thing again, where they both looked guilty and terrified, and he tried to escape the room but this time Daphne was faster as she got a hold of his sleeve. “Draco please, just talk to me!” she begged as he tried to pry himself free with some desperation.
“Daphne” he said in a desperate whisper “ please let go of me”
But she wouldn't, not now not when she finally could talk to him “Not until you tell me what is going on!” she whispered loudly.
“I can't” he said in a defeated tone “please trust me that I can't”.
“I know something is wrong Draco! Please, we always tell each other! We always help each other! I can help you, please let me” Her voice was shaky now with the tears she desperately tried to hold back.
Draco looked so sad, so hurt, so alone “I wish you could” his voice was hollow “But you can’t, no one can”. He looked at her with a grave expression that she had never seen on his face before. “Please stop following me, and for your sake stop interacting with me” the last words were almost a plea.
He finally got free from her vice grip and before she could get another word out he was already running, her desperate shout of “DRACO!” bouncing against the walls of the dungeons.