FHB: Chapter 23

Tanya pushed herself to a seated position on a table and waited. When Lucius remained silent, she said, “You can trust me.”

Lucius contemplated about telling her the truth. The idea itself was risky and to share such a secret could do more harm than good.

Finally, Lucius spoke with words as indirect as possible, “All you need to know is that my family is fighting for a cause, and I am as well.”

“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to.”

“What makes you think I don’t want to?” Lucius asked.

“You don’t look happy about it,” Tanya answered with a shrug.

“Even if I don’t want to, I can’t.”

“You have a choice Lu-”

“I don’t have a choice. A particular someone will not let my family go if I turn on him. I cannot do that to my family,” Lucius interrupted.

Tanya’s persistence and the lack of knowledge on his situation were starting to annoy him. Why couldn’t she mind her own business?

“Then we will find a way to help your family. The ministry can protect you and keep you hidden,” Tanya said.

“We Malfoys don’t need protection nor do we hide,” Lucius snapped.

He did not want to continue with the conversation, so he strode to the door ready to leave. Just as he was about to reach for the exit, Tanya jumped off the table and grabbed his arm.

“Wait! We’re not done!”

“We are done.” Lucius yanked himself free from her grip and added, “You and I, we’re done as well.”

Lucius left it as it is and stormed out of the room. He took the biggest strides he could take hoping to get as far away from Tanya as possible. With the hallways almost completely lifeless, Lucius was tempted to burst into a jogged. Unfortunately, before he could disappear around a corner, Tanya called out to him.

“Lucius, wait! What do you mean?” Tanya yelled as she chased after him.

Not bothering to take a look behind, Lucius kept on walking. It was only when she caught up with him did he stop.

“What do you want?” Lucius asked.

“I want to know what you meant back there,” Tanya immediately answered.

“It’s straight forward, Tanya. We’re not friends anymore. I don’t understand why you even want to be friends,” Lucius said before turning on his heels and continuing down his path.

Tanya did not follow after him this time, she simply said, “Because we’re the same.”

That itself stopped Lucius again. He needed to tell her she was wrong.

“We are not the same. You’re a mu…ggle born and I’m a pure blood. I have a duty to bring honour to my family. We are not the same.”

“Yes, we are. We are the same, Lucius. We’re both lonely. We’re lonely because no one is willing to accept us for who we really are. I act like a flipping coin that never lands, and nobody gets it. But you do, you’ve been-”

Lucius did not want to hear anymore, so he decided to cut her off.

“I don’t get you, Tanya.”

“But-”

“I honestly don’t. I put up with you because I need you. You’re the kind of flipping coin I wouldn’t bother guessing head or tails. You’re expendable, and I don’t need you anymore. Why else would a Malfoy befriend a,” Lucius paused before emphasizing on his last word, “mudblood?”

It was harsh, but he said it. He did not like the thought of being similar to Tanya in any way, and he wanted to make sure she understood it. When Lucius caught the pain in Tanya’s eyes, he moved his feet and never stopped until he reached his bedroom.

The journey back to isolation was a strange one. Lucius’ mind bore no thought until he took a seat on his bed. Only then did his last words replay in the silence.

Part of what he said earlier was true. He never understood why Tanya wanted to be his friend; she was strange and overly righteous. And though he felt bad for calling her a mudblood, he knew it was better this way. She could hate him all she wanted and he wouldn’t mind. As long as they were no longer friends, Lucius was fine.

One would think that ending any form of relationship would affect Lucius emotionally. To his surprise, he had no emotional response. He was not sad, nor was he happy about it. He simply did not know how to feel, so he did not feel at all.

The next few weeks were pretty awkward for him. He tried to avoid Tanya as much as possible, but if he did bump into her he would pretend he had not seen her. Lucius wished it was easier, and his wish soon came true.

During breakfast on a typical Tuesday morning, the Slytherins around him brought Tanya’s name to the table.

“Did you here? T. Lovegood is dropping out,” a girl said.

“How do you know that?” the boy across Lucius asked.

“The prefects were discussing about nominating next year’s head girl when they said Tanya won’t be around to take up the post.”

A few Slytherins listening in on the conversation turned to Lucius hoping he would clear things up, but when he remained silent they returned to their food.

After hearing her name, Lucius did not want to stick around any longer. The conversation was not for him and he left without a word. As he made his way to Herbology, he began wondering if Tanya’s leaving had something to do with him. Lucius was curious to find out why but he was not sure if he should.

To Be Continued…

(Leave a comment or vote on whether Lucius should or should not find out why!)

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