"Yeah," I reply, giving him a gentle smile. "Thanks."
He nods slightly and his hand trails my forearm, "D'you want to tell me later?"
"You will beat this fear, Seren," she tells me. Her nails dig into my scalp and bend my neck too far backwards, water runs down my face, bubbling out of my nose and into my mouth – I'm gasping, trying to swallow down air before she plunges my head under the water again. "Fear is weakness. Weakness means you will be annihilated by life."
I blink back at him, my heart beating too fast again.
"A Selwyn is strong, Seren."
My jaw hardens against words that I want to say. I raise my chin, stand up straighter, unclench my fists... "No, it's okay," I tell him, forcing myself to smile, stomping down on the memories I'll always have and the words I'll always remember. "It's just a stupid childhood phobia."
He frowns slightly, his lips parting to say something... but then Crabbe cackles loudly and jostles us both with a careless elbow.
Weasley was quaking in his boots before a giant hairy spider, several other people screamed. I sniffed at that, "Speaking of." I laugh.
Finally, Draco smiles, and then sneers, "Wimps."
-
Snow sprinkles from the mass of white cloud above us as we wait in a long, impatient line outside of the Entrance Hall with our permission slips in hand. After a rather eventful couple of months, our very first Hogsmeade visit was finally here and every single one of us was raring to get out of the castle.
It has already been postponed twice. Once - because the dementors decided on a pitch invasion last month during Gryffindor's first match - and twice - because Sirius Black broke into the castle on Halloween, and that, I must admit, was pretty terrifying. 
He didn't come anywhere near the dungeons but knowing that he was also fully capable of breaking into Hogwarts of all places as well as effortlessly breaking out of Azkaban and the fact that he murdered 13 people at the age of 21 - it makes me shiver at the best of times. In fact, the logical part of me wonders why we're even going out today – it can't be safe, surely?
"Permission slips?" McGonagall asks, sounding bored and exasperated. 
Draco handed her his slip whilst I rifled around in my pocket for the little square of paper that my father had signed and sent by owl 2 months ago – jesus christ, where is it?
When I finally found it and had passed over the very crumpled permission slip, she looked down her nose at us, piercing us with a sharp glare of warning, "Remember to be cautious today – do not wander off by yourself, always have somebody with you – preferably 3 or more people. Don't give the dementors a reason to harm you and they'll leave you alone, and as for Black-"
Draco and I glanced at each other, he wiped a fleck of snow from his cheek and bit his lip. 
"Should you encounter him, do not attempt to engage – you should run straight for a responsible adult," she says sternly, and I find it hard to keep the frown off of my face. "Myself and Professor Flitwick will be situated in The Three Broomsticks until 2 o'clock should you need us."
"Is it likely we'll encounter Black?" I ask.
The stern-faced woman regards me carefully, "In September, I might've said no," she says after a moment, her gaze unwavering, "But given recent events, I have no choice but to admit that there is a far greater chance of bumping into Black than there was at the beginning of the year."
Draco swallowed loudly and I dropped my gaze to my feet in order to hide the fear in it, my throat ran dry and my response did not make it out of my mouth.