My Father's Only Rule {DRACO MALFOY X SNAPE'S DAUGHTER}

Chapter Sixteen: Draco The Avid Reader

December 1997 - Hogwarts

Neville, Ginny, and Luna had failed to acquire the sword of Gryffindor. Not only that, but Neville's continued attempts to play the hero had resulted in him being tormented by death eaters in the school. He was covered in blood and bruises at any given moment. Much like Harry.

Draco and I were enjoying a cozy night snuggling by the fire in the common room. The holidays were just around the corner and we were feeling cozy and in love. And then Jane came barging in.

"Oh my god, Grace," she said, her copy of my recently finished Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban in hand. I panicked at the sight of it. Draco was not supposed to know about it.

"Grace, this is amazing," she said. "I've never been so invested in something. And I lived through these real events but you write about it like a magical fantasy." I tried to use my eyes to tell her to shut up as I noticed Draco's attention going to the book. I could only pray she wouldn't say Harry's name so hopefully I could persuade Draco it was about something else. "Knowing what was going in Harry's mind while Sirius was on the loose, I totally understand his behavior now. And then finding out it's his godfather?"

Well, shit.

Draco's head snapped to look at me. I could only hope Jane didn't mention how many books I'd written so that Draco wouldn't think I had invested too much time in writing these books about Harry.

"I can't believe you've already written three books."

Damnit.

"And in less than a year."

Shut up, Jane.

"What are you talking about, Jane?" Draco finally asked.

"Grace's books. She's been wr...oh, damn it." Jane realized that she had said too much when she finally saw my straight-lined mouth. "Well, I'll let you talk about it." She mouthed the words "I'm Sorry" before she ran away, but not before I flipped her off as she ran up the stairs. Draco turned to look at me.

"Books?" Draco asked. He didn't look mad. "What books?"

"I, uh, I've been writing some books. A series."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"I didn't think you'd like them," I said.

"Why not?"

"They're about Harry," I said.

"So?" he asked. "You wrote them. It's your work. Let me read them."

"I don't think that's a good idea," I said, trying to go to bed.

"Grace, let me read them," he argued.

"I won't make you do that," I said.

"Grace," he said, trying to reason with me. "We're going to be married soon. I want to support you. Let me read them." I sighed. I showed him where I hid my books in my room, and he stayed up all night reading Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone. I don't really know why I was so anxious about him reading them. But I was. And I was nervous about what he would think.

The next day at lunch, I was talking to Jane about my plans for writing the fourth book.

"Jane," I said. "I've been debating something."

"What's up?"

"I started writing the fourth book. And, you know, that's the year I came here. I was wondering if I should put myself in the story."

"Oh," she said. "Sure. Why not?"

"I just don't know if I'm really necessary," I said. "Plus, I'm not really essential to the story. It's about Harry's fight with Voldemort, not the romantic life of the students at Hogwarts."

"Well," Jane said. "You dated Harry for over a year. And give yourself some credit, Grace. You're more than just a love interest. You helped out Harry a lot while you were dating. Your presence is unavoidable. But maybe wait until the fifth book to do it."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," I said. "Plus, all my readers are going to love Cedric for sure. I broke up with him. They'd hate me."

Draco finally joined us at the breakfast table. An awkward tension existed between us that made it difficult to discuss the books. But I knew we had to. And I wanted to hear his thoughts.

"Hey, Draco," I said.

"Hey," he said, sitting down. Nobody was saying anything.

"Did you, uh, finish the book?" I asked.

"I did," he said. And nothing else. He didn't say he liked it or didn't like it. Or anything.

"Do you want to read the second one?"

"I did," he said. Already? And how did he really have nothing else to say about it?

"Do you want to read the third?"

"I already did," he said.

"Oh," I said. Seriously? "Did...did you, um, did you like it?" I asked awkwardly.

"Yeah," he said. He didn't look mad. He just...wasn't talking. It was so weird. Then suddenly he announced that he had to get to class early and walked out swiftly.

"That was weird," Jane said. "Like, really weird." If there's one thing I've learned about Jane, it's that she only said things if they were true. Hearing Jane confirm that the interaction we just had was weird, verified that it was, in fact, weird.