Chasing Shadows || Draco Malfoy x OC

Year 3- Ch.7

About a week after Hogwarts had their first quidditch game of the year, Hufflepuff versus Slytherin. After about forty minutes of the game Slytherin won with Draco catching the snitch.

The Slytherin students were going to celebrate their win that evening after dinner in their common room. But the celebration was cut early when their head of House, Professor Snape, came and told everyone to sleep in the Great Hall tonight.

He informed the students of his house that it was possible that Sirius Black infiltrated the school, so they needed to conduct a search.

Everyone changed into their sleep wear and headed to the Great Hall. It looked completely different from how it normally looks. All the tables were gone and replaced with rows and rows of sleeping bags.

Céline found a spot in the far end of the Slytherin section with Daphne, Tracey, and Pansy. The girls wore very different things to bed. Pansy wore a long sleeve black button up pajama set with dark green trimming, Tracey was in a simple oversized dark green T-Shirt with the Weird Sisters in the front and some plaid pajama pants. Daphne wore a light blue button up silk pajama top and matching silk pant bottoms. And Céline wore a long sleeve lilac colored rib-knit pajama set with black bows acting as the buttons for the top.

They happen to be setting up their spot next to the boys. Theodore wore a white T shirt and some dark green pajama pants. Blaise wore a Dark green linen pajama set. And Draco wore an all black silk pajama set.

"Oh Merlin, we need to sleep next to you?" Draco complained.

"Tu es la bienvenue pour déménager, chérie." (You're welcome to move, darling.) Céline said with a smirk and she plopped down on her sleeping back.

Draco narrowed his eyes. "I will not." He scoffed before sitting on his own sleeping bag. Then looking back at her in disgust, "Also, never call me that again." He hissed. Céline only laughed.

Their friends, except for Blaise and Tracey, look back and forward in between them waiting for them to translate.

"What did you tell him, Cél?" Daphne asked, whispering in her ear.

"He was welcome to leave if he didn't want to sleep there. And then I called him darling." Céline shrugged as she was looking down at her pillow, fluffing it.

"Can you two not squabble for at least a day?" Daphne said, rolling her eyes.

"That's really up to him." She simply said before laying down.

Hey all lay down on their sleeping back talking for a while, before the lights dimmed down they were told to sleep.

——————-

A few weeks passed by and it was nearing the beginning of December. Céline was walking down to the pitch with her umbrella, since the weather was a nightmare with heavy rain. There was a game against Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. She asked if the girls in her dorm wanted to know but was rejected and glared at by Pansy. So she instead met up with Hermione and Ron to go and support Harry.

Ron had finally warmed up a little to Céline. Probably not as much as Hermione and he was definitely not as close as Harry is with her. A couple of weeks into the year after Ron had told, what he thought was the truth, Céline that they would mostly like not get along, Harry insisted to Ron that he needed to apologize.

Harry had gotten to know Céline a bit after that interaction between her and Ron and concluded that she really was a very kind person, who just genuinely wanted to be friends with everyone. He honestly didn't know how she ended up in Slytherin.

After a long discussion and partial argument, Ron reluctantly agreed that he would try to be nice and get to know her. And after more pushing he also agreed to apologize. So when he saw her one day reading under a tree he went up to talk to her.

Needless to say it was an awkward interaction that had them laughing by the end of it.

Now the three of them are in the stand cheering Harry on in the terrible weather. And to their utter horror they watch Harry fly up above the clouds, chasing the snitch, only to see him free falling down to the ground. Céline and  Hermione scream at the sight of it. Thankfully Dumbledore was able to slow his falling before he reached the ground, where he was quickly rushed to the hospital wing, with the three of them in tow.

————-

Two days before their Christmas break, Céline had delivered all her friends gifts. She gave one to Daphne and Tracey, even to Pansy. She then gave a gift to Theodore and Blaise. Crabbe and Goyle received small little goodie bags with sweets since Céline didn't know what they liked. She even delivered her gifts to Harry, Ron, and Hermione during lunch.

When she was buying gifts, she thought about even getting Draco something. Knowing Draco hated her, she wasn't sure if he would have even accepted her gift.

She decided she would get him something anyway. So she bought him a self inking quill. She went up to him the evening before they went on holiday, when he was in the common room. He was sitting on the leather couch by the fireplace reading a book. She walked up to him holding her gift behind her back.

He looked up at her confused, "What do you want, Everhart."

"Well it'll be Christmas in a couple of days and..." She shrugged. He closed his book, crossing one leg over the other. As he leaned back against the back of the leather couch. He leaned his cheek against his fist that was propped up on the armrest.

"And you expected me to give you something?" He raised an eyebrow with a frown. Now it was her turn to look confused.

"What? No, not at all." She shook her head. "I just wanted to gift you something—"

"I don't want it." He interrupted, "you might have put a jinx on it or something. Leave me be." He opened his book again to start reading. She stood there dumbfounded. 

"I would never jinx a gift." She said, snapping out of it. "I got you something in the spirit of the holiday you git!" She huffed as she slammed down the gift on his book, "Merry Christmas, jerk." And stormed off to her room.

His eyes followed her silhouette as it disappeared into the hall and looked back down to the gift on top of his book. He was a black long rectangular box with an emerald green ribbon. He untied it and opened to see a beautiful dark green feathered quill with an intricate silver base where you hold it.

There was a small note on top with beautiful handwriting in dark green ink that read: 

Draco Malfoy,

Joyeux Noël

I wasn't sure  if I should have gotten you something, but I did it anyway. I hope it is sufficient enough for you, since you seem the type who likes to write.

Céline Everhart

He stared at the note for a long moment before looking back at the quill. He blamed the fireplace for his slightly flushed face due to being so close to it that evening.