DRIPS OF FANCY - draco malfoy

↳ 𝑐ℎ𝑝．13

The next morning, Alvena trudged into the Slytherin common room, her thoughts still tangled from the night before. She had barely slept, and now the weight of uncertainty clung to her. The fire crackled in the hearth, but it didn't warm her the way it usually did. She moved toward the usual spot where her friends were sitting, exchanging quiet whispers, their voices lowered when they saw her.
She raised an eyebrow as she sat down with them. "What's going on?" she asked, trying to keep her tone casual, but something in her gut told her it wasn't nothing.
Blaise, Draco, and the others glanced at each other, but none of them spoke right away. Finally, Blaise broke the silence with a knowing grin. "So, how was your night with Theo?" he asked, a teasing glint in his eyes.
Alvena frowned, confused. "What do you mean? What's this about Theo?"
"Didn't you two have... a nice little chat?" Draco chimed in, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Or were you too busy storming out last night to notice?"
She stiffened, her face flushing slightly as she pieced together their implications. "What exactly are you all gossiping about?" she demanded, feeling the sting of something unspoken in the air.
Before anyone could answer, the door to the common room swung open, and Theodore and Mattheo entered, looking a little too relaxed for Alvena's liking. She caught Theo's eye, but his expression was guarded—different from how he had been the night before.
"We need to go," Mattheo said, breaking the awkwardness. "Snape's got us scheduled for a mandatory dance lesson right now. Get moving."
Alvena blinked, unsure of what was happening. "Dance lesson?" she muttered to herself as she stood up. Theo didn't meet her gaze, his attention on Mattheo, and she felt a strange discomfort at his distance.
As they walked out of the common room, Alvena noticed the gap between them. It was a subtle change, but she could feel it. The way Theo wasn't touching her, the way he seemed to be avoiding her gaze. The previous night's oddness had left its mark, and now she wasn't sure where she stood.
She reached for his hand, but just as she did, Theo turned to Blaise and started a conversation. Her hand dropped back to her side, and she sighed. The distance was palpable, even if unspoken. It wasn't just that he was avoiding her touch—it was like he was intentionally shutting her out.
When they arrived at the dance hall, it was clear that Snape wasn't wasting time. The students were split into two groups—boys and girls—leaving Alvena with a brief, unpleasant moment of isolation before Snape began his instructions.
"You should all already know how to waltz," Snape said, his voice cold as he surveyed the room. "This is a refinement lesson, so don't embarrass yourselves."
Alvena sighed quietly as Snape led Draco and her to the front, selecting them as an example. Draco looked at her with a raised brow, but there was a small, sardonic smile on his face.
"You'll do fine, I'm sure," he muttered, and they began to position themselves, standing close enough to make her acutely aware of the fact that this was, indeed, a dance lesson.
As they glided through a few steps, the sound of soft music filling the room, Alvena tried to focus, but it was hard with everyone watching. Her gaze flickered to Theo, standing nearby with Blaise. He was watching her, but there was a strange look in his eyes. His expression was almost unreadable, and she couldn't help but feel the shift in their dynamic. Something was off, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
Just as she was about to make another misstep, a voice broke through the music. "Can I cut in?" Theo asked, walking toward her and Draco, his gaze locking with hers. His usual teasing smile was gone, replaced by something more neutral.
Draco looked at him with a bored expression, then shrugged, stepping aside. "Sure, whatever," he muttered, clearly uninterested in the small drama unfolding before him.
Theo offered his hand to Alvena, and she hesitated for a moment before accepting. As their hands touched, she couldn't ignore the difference. The warmth of his touch, the confidence he usually exuded, was somehow muted.
They began to dance, moving in time with the music, but Alvena couldn't help but notice how different it felt. When she danced with Draco, there had always been an edge to it—playful, effortless, and full of that quiet tension they had always shared. With Theo, though, everything felt stilted. There was no spark. He smiled at her, but it didn't reach his eyes, and she could feel the distance between them growing even more.
Her thoughts wandered as they danced, and every now and then, her eyes found Draco's. There was something in his gaze—something calculating, like he could sense the change in her too. She quickly looked away, focusing instead on keeping in time with Theo's movements, but the feeling of being caught in some sort of emotional limbo lingered.
The dance was almost over when Alvena caught one last glance at Draco. He was watching her intently, and his expression was unreadable, but his eyes seemed to hold a quiet understanding. It made her heart flutter, but in a way that felt like both danger and relief.
When the music finally stopped, Alvena felt a strange sense of loss. She had been so focused on the tension between her and Theo that she hadn't realized how much she'd been missing in her connection with Draco.
The class ended, and the students filed out, the tension in the air thicker than before. Alvena was left with more questions than answers. What was going on with Theo? Why did everything feel so off? And why did she feel like she was walking a tightrope between two worlds—one that she knew and another that she wasn't sure she was ready to face?