Professor Malfoy?

Chapter 11

Well, perhaps malicious wasn't exactly the right word for it.

Y/N ended up outside of Professor Malfoy's classroom door that evening, silently seething. She raised a clenched fist and knocked briefly on the mahogany door, but didn't even wait for his response before she barged in.

Was she nervous? Absolutely. But that didn't matter right now. Right now, she had to make sure that someone other than her wasn't bent over his desk right now. So, with her eyes set on the prize, she stepped into the classroom and looked around.

However, Professor Malfoy wasn't participating in any of the activities she had feared. Instead he sat calmly behind his desk, a few papers scattered in front of him. When he looked up, he seemed surprised to see her.

"Y/N?"

Y/N pressed her lips together and scanned the room. There were at least seven others in the classroom, one of them being the Gryffindor girl from earlier. She sat towards the back, looking rather annoyed. Everyone but her were quietly writing lines on a sheet of parchment.

"Oh— I'm sorry," Y/N apologised softly, turning back to Professor Malfoy with those eyes. His expression softened as he listened to her. "I didn't realise you were busy."

Professor Malfoy leaned back into his chair, looking about ready to kick everyone else out. Y/N was just relieved he wasn't doing anything with her. "Don't worry, sweetheart. I just have these few detentions and then they'll be on their way."

Y/N tried not to blush at the nickname he used so openly. The Gryffindor girl at the back had now looked up and was glaring daggers into the side of her face. "What happened?" She asked softly, playing with the hem of her skirt. He was not meant to make her nervous this soon.

Malfoy sighed and drew a finger along his lips while he stared at her. "Oh a handful of things," He said, looking quite peeved. He just wanted to be able to reach over and pull Y/N in by her waist, but he couldn't. Not here. Y/N on the other hand, wanted to brush a hand through his hair and soothe him for the night.

"Billy, you can go." He called suddenly, looking towards a tiny first year in the far corner. He stood from his seat and squeaked a quick, "Goodnight, Professor!" Before scrambling out the door. "Bless him," Malfoy sighed, watching him disappear. "Sweet kid. Nearly started crying when he got the detention."

"What did he do?" Y/N asked quietly, protectively crossing her arms around herself. She was beginning to grow uncomfortable with how long the Gryffindor girl was glaring at her for.

"Put a handful of Cockroach Clusters in another kids potion. Never seen so many little ones scream so loud in my life." Professor Malfoy leaned further back in his seat, chuckling while he ran a hand back through his hair. Y/N smiled and shook her head.

"Not the most unusual thing that's happened in this room," She said, making Professor Malfoy look at her. "Do I want to know?" He lifted a brow. "Definitely not." Y/N laughed.

Now it was Professor Malfoy's turn to shake his head, pulling sharp breaths in and out through his nose. "So, is everything okay?" He finally decided to ask. "What brought you down here at this time?"

"Oh," Y/N nervously looked down, squirming on the spot. She hadn't exactly thought this far ahead. She was originally expecting to hex a witch or two and leave. "I just— I thought I'd come see you."

Professor Malfoy stared at her for several seconds, then without a word, leaned forward and gathered his pile of papers he'd been marking prior to her entry and shoved them into his bag.

He gestured for her to come closer with the tilt of his head, so she did. "The rest of you can go. Enjoy your evening."

Everyone looked up, seeming pleasantly surprised, but stood from their seats nonetheless. Y/N watched as everyone cleared the room, all except for one.