in the end ~ d. malfoy

Chapter Sixteen

tw: anxiety, racial slander (kind of), mentions of a breakdown, mentions of an abortion (very briefly) this is an emotionally sensitive chapter, but nothing dark......at least, not compared to chapter twenty, which i'll publish later today

𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟓

"I-I DON'T KNOW"

For the first time since he's met her, Maya Rajesh looks thrown, completely bewildered. Her mouth opens, then closes again, stuttering, as if she can't even form words. Draco Malfoy doesn't know how to feel about this — on one hand, he's enjoying being the one doing the throwing, but a small part of him is unnerved by her cluelessness and clear discomfort.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" he questions, tone slightly less abraisive.

She shoots him an annoyed look.

"I mean" replies Maya Rajesh, gritting her teeth, "There isn't.......a word.....for what I am"

"Well, what do you call yourself?"

"A warlock" she replies, hands running through her hair as a small groan erupts from the back of her throat, "But that's not accurate either — wait a minute. Why the sudden change of heart? Are you trying to lure me into another one of your brilliant schemes again, Malfoy?"

"As much fun as it would be to do that, " replies Draco, sarcasm dripping from his tone, "I don't want anything from you. I just want to know what you are, for......research purposes"

She raises an eyebrow. Draco feels an inexplicable pang go through his abdomen.

"Research purposes?"

"You know what I mean," he replies, irritation cutting through his tone at the way she's deliberately prolonging his question, "Quit stalling and give me the answer."

"Ask nicely and maybe I'll consider it" she replies, taunting him. Draco raises his eyebrows, internally groaning at having no choice but to rise to the bait. He's the one who's usually playing the games — Draco admits this truthfully, with no remorse — but he didn't expect her to dish it right back to him. A Gryffindor, of all people, coming down to his level.

She's definitely less righteous than he thought.

"Fine" replies Draco, fists clenching as he growls the word out, "Please, Rajesh — "

"Maya" she corrects, the taunting expression slightly vanishing from her face. Draco frowns — why is she suddenly asking him to use her first name? He searches for the answer in her eyes, but they're hardened, glazed-over in a way that makes seeing beyond them impossible.

"Please, Maya" he corrects himself, somehow liking the sound of her name on his tongue, "Would it be possible for you to kindly tell me what you really are?"

"There," she replies, smugly, "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Oh, for Merlin's sake — "

"Alright, fine, fine" she replies, exasperated, throwing her hands up in surrender, "I'll tell you. Though it's a bit of a long story — "

"I have time"

She narrows her eyes at him, sighing for a brief moment before she speaks.

"On my birth certificate, it says 'witch'," she replies, voice lowering, "But when I was born, the healers had no clue what I was. So they basically just wrote that as a fill-in. As I got older, I realized that I could do things that other kids my age couldn't — "