House Rivalry: Draco Malfoy X OC

05. A Friendship Blossoms

"Care to have this dance?"

All Greta could do was stare at Malfoy in disbelief. Did he seriously just ask her to dance?! She was about to say no, but her polite instincts kicked in almost immediately.

"Um, sure…" Greta agreed suspiciously. She cautiously took Malfoy's hand and allowed him to help stand her up.

"Excellent! Let's get going, shall we?" Malfoy smiled. He led Greta out to the middle of the ballroom where all the other couples were dancing and placed his hands where Professor McGonagall had instructed a few days before. Greta did the same. Then they started dancing.

"Why are you suddenly being so nice to me?" Greta questioned. 

"I may tease you a lot, but I don't want anyone else to hurt you. I would much rather have you all to myself," Malfoy laughed.

"Ok…" Greta mumbled. Her face felt hot.

"Ha! Don't be so serious, Clayton. This is a party after all," Malfoy said with a glimmer in his eyes. That made Greta laugh a little. She had never seen this side of him before and it was nice.

"Sorry I slapped you the other day," Greta apologized suddenly.

"No hard feelings," Malfoy assured. "I deserved it anyways. I was being a bit too harsh."

"Ok. If you say so…" Greta said unsurely. "That won't stop me from feeling bad about it though."

Malfoy laughed, "Like I said, it's not a big deal. You don't have to worry about it."

"Where's your date?" Greta asked Malfoy. "Shouldn't you be dancing with her instead?"

"She was being a bit too clingy, so I told her to shove off," Malfoy replied.

"Oh, ok," Greta mumbled. Then, the music ended and the couples began to separate a little bit.

"Well, I guess I have to go now. I'll see you around, Clayton." Malfoy waved goodbye then disappeared into the crowd of people before Greta could stop him.

Just as Greta was going to go on after him, she heard Hermione's voice shriek, "What are you doing, Ron?! Can't you just leave Viktor and I alone? You are the worst!"

Greta thought before she approached Hermione. It would be really difficult to calm Hermione down in this scenario, so Greta decided to leave the ballroom to keep a good distance away from the conflict. After hanging out in the hallway for a few minutes, Greta looked out the window and saw a figure walking towards the astronomy tower.

I wonder who that could be? she thought as she headed to the astronomy tower herself.

As she quietly climbed up the staircase to the top of the tower, Greta felt really nervous and hoped that the person up there wouldn't yell at her. Just as she reached the top, her eyes widened when she saw that it was no other than Malfoy standing at the balcony, looking quite lonely.

"Malfoy?" she called. "Is everything ok? Why are you up here by yourself?"

Malfoy jumped and turned around, his expression softening when he saw that it was Greta.

"Oh, nothing's really going on. I'm just… thinking," Malfoy said.

Greta made her way next to Malfoy. "What're you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking about how much of a jerk I am," Malfoy replied sadly. "I just can't believe I would hurt you like that."

"It's ok, Malfoy," Greta began. "As long as you're sorry about it, I'll forgive you."

"Really? You mean it?" Malfoy asked. He looked into Greta's eyes, feeling unsure.

Greta wrapped her arms around Malfoy and said, "Of course, Draco. I try to see the good in everyone. You're not an exception."

That was the first time she had ever called Malfoy by his first name. It felt strange, but Greta liked how it sounded.

Draco hesitated but gratefully hugged Greta back and said, "Thank you, Greta."

After they pulled apart from their hug, Draco awkwardly asked, "Hey, can we have a fresh start? I feel like the only way to make this up to you is by becoming friends."

Greta was taken completely off guard but this. Did the Draco Malfoy just ask to be her friend?

It was a lot to take in but Greta happily chirped, "Sure! I'd love to."

Draco beamed and said, "Great! Er.. thanks a lot."

Greta laughed, "It's nothing, really."

"Er, uh, here! Let's meet up tomorrow and get to know each other a bit better. Where should we meet each other?" Draco suggested.

After thinking for a bit, Greta came up with a solution. "How about that one place in Hogsmeade? You know, that place with the Butterbeer."

"You mean The Three Broomsticks?"

"Yeah! There. So you think that would work?"

"Y-yeah, definitely," Draco smiled.

"Sounds great! We'll go at… noon," Greta clarified.

Draco nodded in agreement. The two started to walk down the staircase to the astronomy tower together in an awkward silence. They had never really started a friendly conversation before, so it felt weird to chat like friends yet.

When they reached the bottom and started to make their way back to the school, Draco asked, "Hey, did I ever tell you that your dress looks great on you?"

Greta stuttered, "N-no, you didn't. Th-thank you." She could feel her face go red. Thankfully, it was too dark for Draco to notice. "Y-you look great in your suit, Draco.

"Thanks!" Draco chuckled. They went back to silence. Then, they reached the Gryffindor common room.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow at noon then," Draco smiled. He embraced Greta gently. "Take care!"

"Thank you," Greta replied. Draco let go. "Take care!"

Draco waved goodbye and walked away. Greta clutched her heart. It was feeling a bit strange. Probably out of embarrassment because Draco had flattered her so much. Nothing more than that. She felt really good that she had finally turned her enemy into a new friend. However, that feeling sunk beneath her chest. A new feeling of dread appeared when she remembered that she had left Harry behind at the Yule Ball.

Greta slapped herself in the face.

"I'm such an idiot! How could I have done this?! He's all alone now and doesn't know why I left. I'm such a jerk!" she scolded herself.

Out of sheer panic, she quickly recited the password to the common room, changed out of her gown, and lay down on her bed to stare at the ceiling. Lucky Charm mewed at her constantly, trying to get Greta's attention, but Greta wasn't in the mood. Suddenly, Greta's eyelids were droopy and she felt herself falling asleep.

Word Count: 1096