𝗦𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗡 ➣ draco malfoy (enemies to lovers)

𝟯𝟮- 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 (𝗽𝘁. 𝟮)

"𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙩𝙤?"

𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐀 𝐖𝐀𝐒 mere fingerbreadths away from the exit of the Gryffindor common room, taking measured, soundless steps toward her imminent freedom when one of her housemates, unfortunately, noticed her departing presence. She had been as silent as the dead to avoid any observation from her peers, yet somehow it wasn't quiet enough.

She froze in her tracks and fastened a wide, innocent grin on her lips as she pivoted around to come face-to-face with Harry Potter. She grimaced and tugged her bag full of study supplies further up her shoulder. Nerves bubbled in her stomach as she answered, "I'm going out to study."

"Oh, really?" Harry asked not unkindly, curiosity glinting in his green eyes behind his round glasses. "With who?"

She tried to devise some elaborate lie to spew to him, then decided he wasn't worth the effort. A half-lie, half-truth will suffice. "With Flynn. He's struggling with Defence Against the Dark Arts and needs help before tomorrow's exam."

Harry scrunched his nose with disdain at the mention of Flynn, and Serena had to try very, very hard not to get defensive. "I'm shocked you've forgiven him after what he did. After he blatantly disrespected you by becoming best mates with Malfoy out of the blue... I mean, the audacity-"

"It's okay," Serena cut in with an awkward laugh, "I told Flynn it's fine as long as he doesn't make me spend any sort of unnecessary time with Malfoy," As if she wasn't just about to spend hours of unnecessary time with Draco. In the intimate boundaries of his bedroom... "I don't want to be hyper-controlling."

"You have every reason to be hyper-controlling about it, Serena. He didn't just befriend a random Slytherin. He befriended Malfoy," Harry suspiciously defended.

Serena shrugged before pretending to check the watch on her wrist that she didn't actually have, "You're right. Well, I'm almost late..."

She was over ten minutes early. Her voice chimed through the common room as she hurried towards her escape route, "I'll see you later-"

"Wait," Harry's hand reached out to clutch her arm and Serena paused restlessly, looking at him over her shoulder. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry. For forgetting to help you with our whole Malfoy necklace scheme. These past few months have been very hectic for me, with the Triwizard Tournament and everything,"

Our scheme? Even though stealing Malfoy's ring was The Golden Trio's idea to begin with, Serena had honestly forgotten that they were even involved.

"It's okay. I understand," Serena affirmed with a tight smile and nod.

Harry shook his head, all guilt-ridden and sorrowful, "It's not okay. I feel terrible. To make it up to you, I'll confront him about the necklace tomorrow and try to badger him into agreeing to the deal again-"

"I've got it under control," Serena interrupted, her tone a bit more harsh than intended, "There's no need to worry about it anymore. I can handle Malfoy on my own from now on,"

Harry's eyebrows furrowed with concern. "Are you sure? He can be so intolerable and I don't want you to feel like you're in this mess alone-"

"Absolutely positive. Just focus on the third task. I'm rooting for you."

Serena didn't wait to hear his response before she promptly exited the confines of the common room, sticking to the shadows of disfavoured corridors. She held her robes closer to her body as she proceeded down, and down, and down one of the spiral staircases that led to the dungeons, the icy temperature of the castle's underground labyrinth infiltrating her veins and leaving her coldblooded.