Whispers of the cosmos - Draco Malfoy

Be sneaky

Lyra returned to her common room a bit late this time. After finishing dinner, she headed to the library with Cedric, who promised to help her study for her upcoming Defense Against the Dark Arts exam. Despite proposing to Hermione to join, she was too stressed to study with anyone else. So Lyra enjoyed the precious help and advice of Cedric herself.

Entering the room, she felt a bit intimidated. It had been months since she thought everyone would have grown accustomed to having a Muggle-born as a fellow Slytherin, but apparently, nothing too exciting was happening in the castle, as no one seemed to stop caring or to grow used to her presence. As she had feared, everyone turned back to look at her like she was an intruder. She didn't even need to speak or act weird to be the center of attention; she just had to exist. That was really tiring. Daphne's shadow, Johanna, was the first to open her mouth with a rude remark, "Oh, look who's back. Hufflepuff or Gryffindor didn't welcome you in their space? After all, a Mudblood like you certainly doesn't have a place in our house."

An insult like "Mudblood" wouldn't go unnoticed anywhere in the castle, except in the Slytherin common room, where even if some could find the word offensive, they only dared to think it. She recalled the notes she received on Christmas morning, and right now was definitely the right time to start acting sneaky. After all, if they wanted to treat her as the center of attention, she might give them quite a show.

"Oh, funny to say from you, Johanna. Aren't you the one who doesn't know your mother? She may be a whore after all, who knows? And where would that cause your place to be, huh?"

She had no idea where this insult came from, and she was glad for once to be without any of her friends, as none would approve of what she just said. Pansy, her other roommate, was the first to break the silence, letting a loud laugh escape her mouth. Apparently, that made Johanna only more angry. It took five seconds for her to register what the girl said and five more for her to raise her wand. But Lyra's wand had already been at the ready for about four seconds. Lyra tried to act as nonchalant as she could, as if the imminent spell thrown at her didn't scare her the slightest. Before any of them could act, one of the third years put his hand on top of the girl in front of her and forced her to lower her hand. "Don't act like a snake if you're scared to be bitten back." The third year looked so serious saying it that no one dared to say a thing.

Just like that, everyone started to chat as if nothing had happened. Lyra let her arms rest on her side, feeling secretly relieved from the intervention of the boy. She stood there for a good five seconds, trying to regain her calm before heading to her room. However, she didn't get help from Draco in her attempt to remain calm when he passed next to her and purposely crashed into her elbow.

"See, I knew you could be sneaky, Lyra."

As soon as he whispered that to her, the boy continued his path. What did he just say, she thought? It took her a minute to connect the dots, as she focused; her hand raised itself to touch the headband on her head, and she remembered the note that was sent with the gifts: "Just show them how wrong they are and start acting sneaky." Well, apparently, the Sorting Hat was right not to place her in Ravenclaw because she just realized now that the gift without any name she received this Christmas was definitely from the blond Slytherin, and with what he said, it looks like he didn't even try to hide it.

When she entered her room, the girl took a seat and looked through her belongings for the notes. She felt her stomach flip. What was she supposed to think about Draco sending her a gift? It was so confusing; he hasn't been nice with her since their first day in the castle, well, he had been rude with her even before that. Well, as much as she thought she hadn't seen the boy be nice towards anyone anyway. Even with his friends, the boy looked like he was always ready to bite back.