Adeleine Potter: The Shifting Shadows, Draco fanfic

Part 7

The following two days and my training sessions with Draco proceeded just like the first one. Our chemistry was undeniable—if not on the ground, then certainly in the air.

I couldn't have been happier; I was at Hogwarts, and everything was exactly as I had dreamed. Well, almost. The script was different, and I definitely never wrote anything about being Harry's sister. And as for Draco Malfoy... he was the reason I was here. But he could never know that—such a revelation would be my undoing.

He looked exactly as I had imagined, his bleach-blonde hair casually tousled, those piercing, ice-blue eyes seeming to see right through to my soul. Sometimes, it felt like he could read me with just a glance. His hands, large yet gentle, were a contrast of warmth against the coolness of the metal rings he wore. And his scent—just as described in the books. If only he knew those books existed, his ego would swell to impossible heights, and I'd have no chance.

But do I have any chance at all? In my script, of course, I wrote that he liked me, but does that make anything real?

I felt a deep connection with Pansy, Theo, and Luna, as if I had always belonged at Hogwarts, as if I truly fit in. The only one who still occasionally eyed me with suspicion was Snape. Did he know something I didn't?

My thoughts were abruptly interrupted as Draco suddenly appeared before me on his broom, waving a hand in front of my face.

"Adeline? Hello? Potter?!"

The snap of his fingers jolted me back to reality, and I looked at him, bewildered. I was already standing in the middle of the Quidditch field—it was Thursday, the day of my tryout. My heart pounded in my chest, each beat echoing in my ears, and I struggled to breathe. But I couldn't let my nerves show. From the distance, near the changing rooms, I could hear the voices of the other team members. They were all here to see me. Oh God.

My chest heaved with rapid breaths as Draco approached me.

"I knew you weren't cut out for this, Potter."

I stared at him, shocked. One day, he was kind, and the next, he was like this. Before the tears could well up, I rushed towards the stands, needing a moment to catch my breath out of sight, away from the eyes that would judge my failure.

"Adeline!" A familiar voice called out. Luna, Harry, and even Pansy and Theo were hurrying towards me. Theo shot disgusted looks at Harry but held back for my sake. Blaise appeared behind them, offering me an encouraging smile.

"You've got this! Just believe in yourself," Pansy said, gently rubbing my arm.

"You're a Potter. Your brother fought the Dark Lord himself. If he can do that, you can handle this," Luna added in her calm, soothing voice as she settled onto a bench.

Harry approached me with a laugh. "Come on, I'd love to see what it's like to compete against my sister."

Finally, Blaise stepped forward, surprising me by pulling me into a hug without hesitation. He gently stroked my back, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear as he whispered that I looked incredible on a broom and that he'd be watching from up there too. Feeling a bit uneasy, I stepped back, giving him a polite smile.

As I turned around, I noticed Draco's eyes fixed on me, his brow furrowed with an intensity that was palpable even from a distance. I couldn't fathom the reason for his irritation, but the tension in the air was so thick it felt like it could explode at any moment. I mounted my broom and shut out everything around me.

The moment I mounted my broom and kicked off the ground, the world below seemed to shrink away, leaving only the vast, open sky ahead of me. The wind whipped through my hair, filling my lungs with cool air as I soared higher, the pitch spreading out beneath me like a giant, green canvas. This was where I belonged—up here, where gravity loosened its grip and freedom was only a heartbeat away.