~Sequentia~ (Harry Potter Characters x Reader)

Serpent's Constriction [Draco Malfoy]

Draco Malfoy x Reader

[Theme: Student]

From the very second we open our eyes for the first time, we are constantly learning and taking in our surroundings. We learn to establish what is right and wrong in life and how to abide by those principles. The leading figures for our early years are our parents. We see what they do and mimic their behaviour because we believe it to be correct. There isn't any possibility that they're wrong.

"You're just a filthy little Mudblood."

Their words and ideologies bind to you like a python; squeezing and suffocating you until you adopt them yourself. Outwardly, I played the role of being the perfect daughter of one of the wizarding world's pure-blooded families. Because of our history, we shined above the ranks of those tainted by dirt.

"You don't deserve to be here. I hope now that the Chamber's open that this whole school will be purged of your kind."

I believed it, as did many other people did in my shoes. What they don't tell you is that it all becomes an echo chamber. You find like-minded friends who encourage and support you. All sons and daughters of pure-blooded families and whose parents supported the Dark Lord. That was the bond of the Slytherin cohort of 1991, in terms of us who held the views close to our hearts. Malfoy, Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle, and L/N.  

"Oh look, it's Mudblood Granger and her traitor friends. You're as bad as the muck that runs through her veins."

We blindly followed what they told us. What happens when comes a time that we're forced to think for ourselves? When he returned, everyone was thrown into the same war. We could no longer hide and pretend that we were safe. It was then that I came to realise who my true friends were.

I believed Pansy to be my closest friend since first year. When the Dark Lord returned, she became much more radical. So radical that I could no longer stand her. I had harassed and bullied some Muggle-born students in my time at Hogwarts, but only verbally. I drew the line at anything involving magic or physical means. She disagreed with my holding back. We were still friends but the sense of mutual disgust held in the air like a gas cloud.

Despite it all, the main issue wasn't Pansy; it was Draco. Something changed in him, just as it had done for me. After his father's failures in the Ministry of Magic, the Malfoy family fell from grace in terms of their privilege in the Dark Lord's rankings. I think that affected Draco more than he let on. He became more reclusive, more prone to outbursts of anger and he was struggling more than usual in his schoolwork. 

For most people, they wouldn't be able to tell the difference. He was the same prideful Malfoy he had been since birth. But to me... someone who has been watching over him for the past six years and knew him from gatherings as children, I could see the changes. He wasn't okay. He went from boasting about his special task to having grey skin and he lost weight. He pushed everyone away, too.

.....

"He's sick again? Seriously?" Pansy spat as we walked over to the Quidditch field for the upcoming match. She carried a large banner over her shoulder ready to support Slytherin. "I wonder if he's faking it at this point; he seemed fine at dinner last night."

I sighed internally. She was clueless as usual. How she could claim to be in love with Draco for all these years but not notice these changes was beyond me. "I don't know, he didn't eat anything. Perhaps he has a stomach bug." I defended but I had a feeling it was something more.

"Ugh, it better not be. He and I sat together in Potions yesterday and we totally shared an ingredients pile." Alright Pansy, keep your lust to yourself, please.