Chapter 17: Hurtful words

when I reread this I thought I was about to cry I didn't know I could wright something so intense

The Black Lake stretched out before us, its surface frozen and unbroken, reflecting the gray winter sky. Snow drifted lazily across the ice, but the cold didn’t touch the fire building between us. “I don’t understand, Draco!” I shouted, the wind carrying my voice across the ice. “Why won’t you let me meet your parents? Is it… because you’re not proud of me?!” Draco’s blue eyes darkened, and his jaw clenched. “What? Melody, that’s not-” “Then what is it?!” I snapped, taking a step closer, my voice breaking. “You said they probably wouldn’t like me, and now… now it feels like you’re embarrassed. That you’re ashamed of me!” “That’s not true!” he barked, his voice sharper than I’d ever heard it. “Do you have any idea how much I’ve struggled just thinking about this? Do you have any idea-” “I do!” I screamed, tears pricking my eyes. “I do know! I know you’re hiding me. I know you don’t want anyone to see you with me. That’s why you won’t let me meet them!” Draco flinched at my words, his own anger mixing with frustration. “Melody, you don’t understand! It’s not that I’m ashamed of you! I-” “Then what?!” I yelled, my voice cracking. “You won’t tell me the truth! You won’t just say it! Are you… are you embarrassed? Is that it?” His hands twitched at his sides. “No! I am proud of you- more proud than I’ve ever been of anything! But my parents… they’re cruel, and extreme, and I can’t let them hurt you! You think I’m hiding you? I’m trying to protect you!” I shook my head violently, tears spilling down my cheeks. “Protect me? Or protect yourself from looking bad? You care more about what they think than me! That’s why you won’t let me meet them!” Draco’s shoulders sagged, his face twisting with frustration and helplessness. “Melody, that’s not true! Can’t you see? I love you! I want you to meet them, but I want to make sure it doesn’t hurt you! I… I can’t risk you getting hurt because of them!” The tears fell freely now, my hands shaking. “I don’t care about getting hurt! I care about *us*! I thought you trusted me… I thought we could be honest with each other!” “I do trust you!” he shouted, but his voice faltered under the weight of his own emotions. “But there are things you can’t understand yet! Things I can’t explain!” The wind whipped around us, and I felt my chest tighten. I turned away, my tears falling onto the snow, my heart breaking. “I can’t… I can’t do this right now.” “Melody-” he called, but I didn’t look back. I walked away along the frozen edge of the lake, boots crunching in the snow, tears blurring my vision. Draco stood there, frozen and tense, silent, as the distance between us grew. For the rest of the afternoon, we didn’t speak. The cold lake, the drifting snow, the gray sky above, everything felt heavy and unbearable. I cried silently in the quiet corners of the castle, thinking about how much I wanted him to understand, and how much I feared he never would. Draco didn’t come to find me, and I didn’t reach out. For the first time, the warmth between us felt fragile, hanging by threads that neither of us dared touch. The Black Lake had seen our fight, our words frozen in the winter air, and now it seemed to echo the silence between us. Hours passed. Evening came. But neither of us spoke. And in that silence, I realized something terrifying: sometimes love wasn’t just about standing together. Sometimes it was about surviving the moments when you almost broke apart.