Chasing Shadows || Draco Malfoy x OC

Year 4- Ch. 38

After dinner, Céline joined her friends again and headed to the library to start on their Ancient Runes homework. After passing a few bookshelves, Céline's eyes caught something. A familiar bushy brown haired girl sitting down surrounded by stacks of books.

Céline told her friends to go find a spot while she said hi to Hermione. She walked over to her quietly and tapped her shoulder. "Hey Mione."

Hermione jumped from the sudden interruption. "Oh Merlin." She gasped, "Céline you almost scared me half to death."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you, I just happened to see you sitting here... studying?" Céline looked at the books that towered around the girl. She read a few titles, they were all about house-elves and Wizarding law. "You're reading about house elves?" She then noticed the box filled with pins that read S.P.E.W and she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "spew?"

"Not spew. S.P.E.W as in Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. I've only just made it." She said matter-a-factly while picking up a pin and handing it to Céline.

"Is this about that house elf Winky?" She asked as she examined the pin.

"Not just about Winky, but— did you know that Hogwarts has the largest amount of house elves, over a hundred.— unpaid I might add and without pension and holidays. Elf enslavement goes way back, I can't believe no one has done anything about it."

"I thought they liked working like that? Telly never seemed unhappy about all of it."

"Of course she would never show it. She would likely be punished if she complained about wanting fair wages." Hermione said impatiently.

"I've never treated Telly poorly." She countered.

"But your parents, I'm sure, treat her poorly."

"My parents treat everyone they don't deem worthy poorly." Céline said, setting the pin in the table.

"Anyways, the short term aims for this group are to secure fair wages and working conditions for the house-elves. Our long term aims include changing the law about non-wand use, and trying to get an elf into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, because they're shockingly underrepresented."

"I see..." Céline said, "and how many members do you have now?"

"Two for now. Me and you. But soon, four ,once I speak with Harry and Ron." She said, picking up the pin again and handing it back to Céline.

"Me?" Céline's eyes widened, "wouldn't I be considered a poor candidate to become one because I have a house elf?"

"Nonsense, you're my friend. And I would still hope you can support the group. Maybe Telly can become one of our first paid elves." Hermione said, realizing that Céline wasn't grabbing the pin she stood up and pinned it onto her robes. "We need to start recruiting members, I was thinking of two sickles to join? That would buy them a badge and it would help fund our leaflet campaign. Maybe you can talk to your friends about it."

"Er— I'm not sure they would be supportive of it. And I truly doubt my parents would even entertain the idea of paying our house elf. " She looked behind her shoulder, seeing if she could spot her friends. They were out of sight. "I still think that they like being told what to do, though, the elves I mean."

"Nonsense, they just don't have the ability to speak freely about their problems." Hermione waved her hand dismissing the thought. "In a change of topic, I've noticed you've been avoiding us?"

"Not you," Céline shook her head. "Unfortunately you're just around the two who I'm currently not speaking with."

"I know, Harry told me about the conversation you had with them." She looked down sadly. "I won't lie, I was also a little upset about what you did, but after hearing that you had reprimanded Malfoy, and thinking back, you were trying to pull Malfoy away during the altercation."

"Apparently it wasn't enough for Ron..." Céline looked away.

"Don't say that, I know he feels bad about what he said to you, but you know him, he's stubborn. I'm sure he'll give in and apologize to you. Malfoy probably will too. I'm surprised he didn't do it right then and there."

She looked at Hermione confused, "what do you mean?"

"It's just that... You seem to be the only one Malfoy actually listens to. He usually does what you tell him to do, or rather you're opinion affects his next move. 

"Nonsense, he clearly does what he wants. He didn't listen when I tried stopping him the other day." Céline scoffed in disbelief.

"If you say so..." Hermione sang and she sat back down. "Now I'm sorry to cut this short, but I want to finish as soon as possible." She gestured to her S.P.E.W papers. Céline nodded and smiled at her friend waving goodbye and walking further into the library to find her friends.

She found them sitting at the very back of the library, at a desk hidden behind some bookshelves. She sat down and placed her back in the seas next to her, pulling out her book for her Ancient Runes class.

They spent the next couple of hours working on their homework ,before deciding to return to the common room before curfew. They hurriedly packed their things up and left the library and made it back with a few minutes to spare.

Upon entering their common room, they're called over by Theo who was sitting by the fireplace with Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, and Blaise.

"Hey girls! Why don't you come and join us?" Theo said from where he was sitting on the leather couch.

"Sure, but let us put our stuff away." Daphne said and the three of them walked up the stairs towards their dorm. They go to their room and put away their bags and hang up their robes, before heading back to the common room.

There were three leather couches facing each other in front of the fireplace, each sat three. Crabbe, Goyle and Theo sat in one couch, Pansy and Draco sat in the middle one and Blaise sat alone on the third couch.

Daphne and Tracy down on the couch with Blaise. Céline looked at the only available seat next to Draco, and decided to sit on the floor in front of the fireplace so she faced all of them. Draco frowned at her. It annoyed him so much that she was avoiding him so much that she would rather sit on the floor than on the couch where it was more comfortable.

"Why are you sitting on the floor?" Theo asked with an amused grin.

"It's the closest spot to the fireplace and I'm cold." She shrugged, avoiding eye contact with the blonde haired boy in front of her.

"Well if you're so cold, you can always sit on my lap, that'll warm you up." Theo wiggled his eyebrows.

Céline laughed, "no thanks, I'm perfectly comfortable and warm where I'm at."

The others laughed too, except Draco. Who didn't find Theo's flirting entertaining at all.

They all spent the next hour talking about different things until they decided to go back to their dorms for the night.