Toxic

Floodgates

With a taste of your lips, I'm on a ride...

Draco took a deep breath as he walked up the path to Olivia's house. He stopped on the doorstep and then knocked, his anxiety growing as he waited. Soon enough, the door opened and Olivia appeared, a strained smile on her face. She had changed out of her work robes, he noted. For some reason, he found he liked this version of Olivia better. Laidback. Stripped of everything that made her part of the pureblood world.

Right, that wasn't what he should be focusing on right now.

She stepped back to let him in and he then quietly followed her through the house to the library. She didn't say anything until she got there, whirling around to face him rather suddenly as though she wanted to speak before she lost her nerve. And perhaps her laboratory was some sort of safe haven that gave her strength.

"Why do you want to help me?" she asked pointedly.

"I... what?" he asked, not completely expecting that question. She thought she would go for his past first, though he supposed going for his motives first made sense.

"Why do you want to help me in my research?" she asked, rewording it.

"Because it's possibly going to be one of the greatest potion discoveries in history," he said immediately. She continued to stare at him. "And... well... I know that it's important to you. I want to help you and your family."

"Are you planning to steal my work?" she then asked bluntly.

And there it was. While he had been expecting her to question his motives, it still stung and he couldn't help but feel offended. And well, he had hoped that his suspicions would be wrong - that Wood hadn't convinced her not to trust him.

"Take it that's what Wood told you I'd do, isn't it?" he asked, quickly masking his look of disappointment with a hardened scowl. "That the only reason I could possibly be working with you would be so that I could steal your work?"

"Well, are you?" she pushed, though he could see her resolve faltering slightly. But still, she wanted an answer, that was clear.

"No, Liv. I'm not here to steal your work. I'm here to help make one of the greatest discoveries of our time," he said tiredly, bringing his hand up to rub his temple. "But really, I shouldn't be surprised. That's what Death Eaters do, isn't it? Lie, cheat, steal? Kill? Torture?"

Olivia remained silent as he began pacing, years of anger and resentment boiling up. Draco had paid for his crimes, so why did the rest of the wizarding world insist on throwing it in his face every chance it got?

"You know, I've spent years... YEARS... trying to show that I'm not like that anymore. I've paid for what I did. Literally and figuratively. I built this damn department from the ground up to try and make a positive contribution to the world. But no one is ever going to let me forget that I allowed my father to coerce me into the worst mistake of my life, are they? Even you and you weren't even bloody here!" he shouted.

Olivia jumped, slightly startled, and then opened her mouth to speak, but didn't say anything.

"Do you have any idea what it was like?" he asked, turning to face her as he stopped pacing. "Yea, sure, when I was younger, I bought into all that shite. When I was kid and didn't know any better because that's what my parents taught me. And then I thought I had to! Because it's what a bloody, fucking Malfoy did! And then... fuck!"

He looked away as he ran his fingers through his hair, his heart racing like crazy. He wanted to keep shouting and to lash out. But he knew that it wasn't completely fair to Olivia. It wasn't her fault. She hadn't even been a part of any of it. But he needed her to understand. To hear it all - the good and the bad.