"Sometimes the ones we care about the most, are the ones we'd never expect."

Chapter 4
It was that Monday, that Blaise came to Autumn and gave an apology for being a little nonexistent the past couple of weeks. September would be coming to a close next week and she was glad he came to get this out of the way before the month ended.

"Auts." He called over to her as she walked into the Great Hall at 7:45 on the dot. She was dressed for class, her bag slung over her shoulder, and her red hair down and straightened.

Autumn cringed visibly at the nickname, knowing there was only one mouth that name would ever come from. Anybody else's and they'd probably get hexed.

Her gaze immediately found the darker skinned boy and his cheerful smile. "Come here." He gestured her over, dark eyes meeting her brown ones.

Reluctantly, Autumn walked his way and dropped down in the seat next, flinching a little as he suddenly threw both arms around her. "Forgive me. I swear I'll never do it again. I didn't mean to. I love you so much. I promise I'll make it up to you. I'm hoping to make it up to you tonight—" He paused as if he'd realized how weird that sounded. "Ha! Draco can make it up to you tonight. I actually have something completely normal and non-sex related for you."

Autumn was so confused. She understood what he was apologizing for, but she wasn't sure how he was "making it up to her." It was Blaise so she was honestly a little scared. And then he made that little snarky comment about Dra- Malfoy. Or Draco. She didn't know what she was supposed to call him.

Speaking of the blinding blonde haired slytherin, she'd hardly spoken to him since that Saturday morning. Of course they'd had quidditch practice on Saturday but they hadn't really talked. And then she'd merely seen him at lunch, dinner, and breakfast if he even showed up.

"It's fine Blaise. Forget it. You don't have to make it up to me and Malfoy can keep his distance. I'm fine, I'm good, I'm great." Autumn gave him a smile that didn't quite meet her eyes but it wasn't completely forced.

Blaise shrugged his shoulders, turning to face his food. He shoved some eggs into his mouth then started talking with his mouth full. "Doesn't matter. I have a surprise for you tonight anyways."

Autumn wrinkled her nose and laughed as he chewed with his mouth open. "You're nasty." She shook her head, grabbing a piece of bacon and taking a bite of it.

"You're one to talk." Blaise quipped back and just like that, things were back to normal.

Blaise was always like this around her. So easy to talk to, so simple, so fun. Draco was completely different. He made her think twice about everything she was going to say. Hell, everything was so difficult for her to say around him, period. She enjoyed their conversations but she always second guessed what she said. Blaise was so different, but she also knew for a fact that he didn't act like this around all his friends. Autumn got to be different because she was his best friend.

As the time neared 8, Autumn bid Blaise goodbye and started walking to her transfiguration class. He'd dropped transfiguration after taking his O.W.L. Professor McGonagall had said he didn't need the class anymore.

So Autumn walked with Pansy Parkinson instead. Not by choice but by the coincidence they stood up to leave at the same time. Draco was also in her class, but he was nowhere to be seen so he wasn't an option to walk with. Gwenevieve Dunson was also in transfiguration with them but she'd apparently already left.

There were only four slytherin sixth years in the N.E.W.T transfiguration class. Then there were three hufflepuffs, five gryffindors, and seven ravenclaws. The class wasn't bad minus Autumn's lack of friends. Harry Potter was in the class, that stirred up some trouble between Draco and him. Ron Weasley was also in the class. Autumn had been sitting with Pansy though the past couple of weeks.

And again she sat with her today.

"So I heard from a non-reliable source that Draco's been talking about me lately." Pansy started up a completely different conversation as they took a seat.

"That's nice." Autumn commented blatantly as she stared straight ahead, giving off the vibe that she really didn't care.

But Pansy kept talking anyway looking directly at Autumn. "But I heard it from Crabbe so I'm not really sure I believe it." She laughed, waiting for Autumn to laugh with her, but Autumn didn't. So Pansy awkwardly cleared her throat.

"So um...what I was trying to tell you was that the only girl he's talked to me about is you. And he actually asked me if I was friends with you because he wanted to know if you hated him. And I told him I didn't know but that I'd ask you. Which is why I'm right here talking to you, right now. Because I need to know the answer so I can tell him because he needs to know the answer....you know?"

Autumn turned her head to look at Pansy, confusion clear across her face. "What?" She asked, Pansy's rambling making about zero sense.

Pansy huffed, rolling her eyes to be dramatic. "Basically Draco wanted to know if you hate him. So I'm asking you for him."

Autumn stared at Pansy for a moment before bursting out laughing at the stupidity of the situation. "If he wants to know he can ask himself. I don't even know why he'd care, it's not like we're close or anything." An image of Draco laughing passed through her head as she spoke, and she thought back to Saturday.

Then she shook her head. They weren't close. That morning had just been a matter of circumstance.

"Good morning class." Professor McGonagall suddenly spoke up, causing everybody's mouth to close. "Today we'll be working on a rather difficult spell." With that she explained what they were doing, then waved her wand causing the board beside her to flip around.

"On the board are your partners. Please go sit with each other. Once everybody is seated, then you may try to transform the desk. Take turns giving each other pointers. Keep in mind that you're trying to turn it into a board exactly like this one. Bigger things are harder so you must really focus on details." She paused for a moment, a small smile creeping across her lips as she saw everybody groan upon seeing their partners. "Remember, prelinio. Make sure to move your wand in a circular motion, then jab upwards."

Autumn unlike most people was not angry with McGonagall's choice of partners. Dean Thomas was who she was paired with and he was one of her closest friends outside of her house. She'd sit with him if Pansy hadn't dragged her into the seat beside her the first day. It was fine, Pansy could be fun to talk to...at times.

Standing up, Autumn crossed the room, returning Dean's friendly smile. "Hey Autumn."

"Hey Dean." She replied, taking a seat beside him. She took a moment to glance around the room, quickly realizing Draco still wasn't there. A small frown crossed her face but she quickly replaced it with a smile and turned to Dean. "You're up first Gryffindor."

"You're on ginger." He replied, rolling up his sleeves before testing the spell.

It did nothing.

The desk shifted about two inches and that was about it. Though everybody else in the room was trying and having similar results so Autumn couldn't make fun of him too much.

"Prelinio." Autumn tried with the movement and everything, but it only caused the legs to buckle and the table to collapse to the ground. Dean burst out laughing and Autumn shoved him, causing him to nearly fall out of his chair.

"Merlin Dolahov." He laughed as he sat up straight. "Look what you did to the desk."

"I want to see you try Thomas." She mocked him, tilting her head to the side as she waited for him to go again.

Like she expected, his attempt ended in failure too. However, his at least turned to a board of some sorts. The table stood up on two of the legs.

After that the two went back and forth trying to turn the desk into a board. Autumn was the first to do it and wasted no time rubbing it in Dean's face. She'd completely forgotten that Draco hadn't showed up to class by this point. "Ha! Beat that Thomas!" She grinned, the sound of the door opening going unnoticed by her.

Draco had arrived looking tired and awful. His eyes had dark circles underneath them and his posture was slightly slumped. His eyes darted around the room as he walked in, resting on Autumn and Dean for a moment, before he walked over to McGonagall.

Dean glanced to Draco, briefly making eye contact before looking to Autumn and rolling his eyes at her cockiness. "You only did it first because I've been distracted all morning."

Autumn didn't notice Dean look to Draco. It's not like it mattered if she saw him anyways. The only thing it would affect would be her mood because she'd be worried. Perhaps it was best she hadn't seen him yet. "Distracted by what? How bad you are at Transfiguration?"

Dean scoffed, snorting at her joke. "No. By my gorgeous partner." He flashed her a cocky grin, before attempting the spell and completing it flawlessly.

Autumn gave him a look before laughing. "Smooth. You get points for that Thomas." She laughed again looking around the room for McGonagall so she could give them the thumbs up. Her eyes landed on the back of Draco as she raised her hand. McGonagall and Draco were talking, probably about his absence. It wasn't until they finished talking that the professor started walking towards them and Draco turned around.

In her seat, Autumn froze. Her eyes were on Draco, her hand still in the air. He looked awful. His hair was messy and unkempt, black circles under his eyes, and slumped posture. He looked exhausted as if he hadn't slept.

"Good job Mr. Thomas. Miss Dolahov. Try the spell a few more times and then you both may start on your homework. A two page essay on the mistakes you made completing the spell the first time. It's due Thursday." McGonagall addressed them both before turning around and walking over to another group.

Dean groaned under his breath but Autumn was hardly paying attention.

Autumn's eyes were still on Draco, waiting for him to look her way. But he didn't.

Dean looked her way though and tried to get her attention. "Hey, you want to try a couple more times?"

Feeling his eyes on her, Autumn tore her gaze away from Draco and forced a smile. "Sure. Thanks Dean." She tried to play everything off sweetly, but she was mainly just concerned for Draco.

Dean had seen where she was looking and he felt as if he had to comment. "Malfoy's not a nice bloke Autumn. I would try to stay away from him and whatever reason he looks like that." He shrugged his shoulders, as he looked back at Autumn.

Draco's eyes shifted to Autumn and Dean as the Gryffindor and slytherin spoke. Was he jealous? No, of course not. He had no reason to be jealous of that nasty Gryffindor. Besides he had bigger fish to fry than one of his friends and her love life.

Yes his friend. He liked to think him and Autumn were that after Saturday. She'd say the same right?

"Oh don't worry, we're not friends. I hardly even talk to him." Autumn batted away the idea of her and Draco even being close. They what? Talked the one time in the forest and laughed together? Autumn could do that with anyone. Draco wasn't special. He was just nice to look at and fun to laugh with.

They'd been in the same house for years now, they'd never really clicked. So yeah, he was not special.

Dean shrugged his shoulders, glancing to Draco behind her. "I'm just warning you Autumn. He's bad news." He watched Draco who was practicing the spell on the desk and actually doing way better than he and Autumn had their first few tries.

He shook his head and looked back to Autumn with a smile. "You want to skip practicing the skill so we can work on our homework together?"

Autumn of course agreed. After all that night she had a surprise form Blaise, it would be nice to get homework out of the way even if she still did have three days to do it.

After class, Autumn planned to go talk to Draco but by the time her stuff was packed up he was already walking out the door. "I gotta go Dean. My next class is all the way across the castle." She lied easily with a sweet smile before flinging her bag over her shoulder and darting out the door.

Dean stared at the door she'd just disappeared afterwards as Harry and Ron came over.

"You ready to go mate?" Seamus asked, shifting his bag and his feet, anxious to leave.

"Yeah..." Dean nodded his head, trying to shake his thoughts of Autumn. But he couldn't really help it because he knew for a fact she'd lied to him. She had charms next which took about five minutes to walk to. And they had twenty minutes between each class because the castle was so big.

---

Autumn weaved in and out of crowds trying to find Draco so she could talk to him. Clearly something was wrong, though she didn't understand why she was so concerned in the first place.

He was gone. Poof. Disappearo.

With a heavy sigh, she decided to take the long way to charms because she had so much time and nothing to do. Apparently she made the right choice because as she reached the top of the stairs, she saw Draco which didn't really make sense. He had Charms too but why had he come from that way? Maybe he'd stopped at the common room but how was he already back here then?

She didn't ask though. She wasn't too concerned about logistics, when he looked like he hadn't slept in a couple days. "Ma- Dr- Blondie!" Autumn yelled unsure what name she was supposed to use at this point.

Surprisingly Draco turned to look back at the name and his grey eyes locked onto her brown ones. Then he looked back ahead, though he slowed his walk so she could catch up. Immediately correcting her when she did reach him. "It's Draco. Try again."

"Ferret." Autumn replied with a cheeky smirk, hinting back to the time their Professor had turned him into a ferret.

Draco rolled his eyes, but Autumn swore she saw a smile tug at the corner of his lips. "Oh want to play that game ginger? Chubs?"

Autumn gasped dramatically, shoving him lightly with her shoulder. "That is so rude. Did you just make fun of me for being chubby when I was younger?" She asked as if she couldn't believe it. But she was just being dramatic. Because she had been chubby and now she'd slimmed out and was proud of that.

Draco laughed, managing to keep himself balanced. "Don't worry. You've definitely thinned out Autumn." He paused for a second, his eyes darting quickly down her body. They were side by side so he looked out of the corner of his eye and thankfully it wasn't too noticeable. Unless she was being really observant and did notice him subtly check her out. "See? Autumn? I called you by your first name. Try again."

Autumn pursed her lips playfully, giving her head a small shake. "I don't know if I can use your first name. It's so boring when there are so many better names to call you!" She was acting all playful but now that she was so close, she could take in all the details of his face. And his usual handsome face was a mess. He looked exhausted.

"Like what?"

"Oh I don't know..." Autumn trailed off as if she didn't have a whole list in her head. But then straightened a little, a grin spreading out across her face. "Ferret, blondie, The Slytherin Prince, Flashlight for hair, Count Dracola, the human lamp, Big D, the silver streaker, Old man, Snowman, Snowflake, Lumos-" There were more to come but Draco had cut her off.

"Shut up." Draco groaned, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "Half of those were just jokes about my hair and not very funny ones at that." But despite his best attempts to not look amused, he was grinning.

Autumn pretended to shield her eyes from his hair. "Stop! Put it away, it's blinding." She said dramatically.

Draco rolled his eyes and shook his head still grinning as he playfully shoved her hand away. "The silver streaker?" He asked after a moment, trying not to laugh and encourage her. But then he laughed. "That's awful."

It felt so good to make Draco laugh. Autumn didn't know why, maybe because he seemed in distress earlier in transfiguration and still looked like he hadn't slept since they last talked on Saturday. It was Monday now. Why did he look like this between those two days?

"Hey are you okay?" The words left her lips before she could think too much about them. All she could do was hope he wouldn't get mad at her for asking. Though it was Draco so she didn't know what to think.

He didn't speak right away which only made autumn more nervous. He looked like he was struggling to find the words he needed to say. Or maybe he just wasn't sure what to say. Either way he looked like an idiot and Autumn would've made fun of him for it if he didn't already look like such a mess.

"Something's wrong Draco." There was genuine concern in her voice and she used his first name to establish that she actually cared.

Draco did look sideways at her. But only because she used his first name and that actually caught his attention. "I'm fine." He told her. "I just haven't been sleeping lately. Stuff going on at home."

Autumn opened her mouth to pry a little more, worried about him in all honesty. But he spoke before she had a chance to. "I'll talk to you later, okay?" He gave her a quick fleeting smile before turning into the boy's bathroom and disappearing behind the door.

Autumn stared at the spot he'd just stood in for a couple seconds, then looked away a little upset. Something was up and he hadn't wanted to talk about it. Whether it was going on at home or not she didn't know, but he was upset. Something was wrong and she wanted to help him. But what was she supposed to do? Stalk him? Truthfully she shouldn't even care. What did she keep telling people, yes that they weren't close. So it was time for her to start acting like that.

She had stopped walking to watch the spot where Draco stood, but she started walking again once she'd sorted through her thoughts a little. Spotting Aubrey Wendell, a ravenclaw in her year right down the hall, Aubrey sped up a little and made a couple decisions in her head on the way.

First, to walk with Aubrey to potions.

Second, to meet up with Blaise tonight to see how he was making up for being a bit of a nonexistent friend lately.

And third, to revisit the topic of Draco Malfoy another day.