Letters I Can't Send

11

Draco's POV

It's been a week. It's a Saturday, which means a Hogsmeade visit.

Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, Blaise and I waltz into the little village. I scan the crowd and immediately spot the ice cream stand. The man stands behind it, handing ice cream to a group of older Gryffindor girls. This is when I realize how old this man actually is. His hair is starting to gray and small wrinkles form around his eyes. I grimace at his elderly appearance.

"Let's get ice cream," I say to the group of us and no one protests, so we head to the stand. There's no line, so I go straight to the man behind the stand.

He greets us and asks us what we want. Every says they're order, then it's my turn. I'm practically throwing knives at this man with my eyes as I lean casually on the side of his stand.

"Sir? Can I take your order?" he asks me. I shrug and look back at the other four, shooing them away with my hand. The ice cream man looks at me with a very confused face as the four move away from us.

I check out my fingernails for a moment before looking up at the man, giving him my coldest look. "Sir...?"

"I have a question for you," I say.

"Okay...?" he pauses, but doesn't give me enough time to speak. "Is this some sick prank you and your friends are pulling? Because I don't have time for this shit, kid."

I huff. "And I don't have time putting up with your shit either. Is it fun for you? I bet it is." I glance down at his hand and notice a bandage wrapped around it. "How did you get that?" I point to his hand.

"Scram, kid. I've got other customers to take care of," he says, I can see the fury growing in his eyes.

"Oh, well with that in mind, I'll make it fast." I grab his collar and yank him forward, his nose making coming in contact with my fist. I hear a crack and him wailing like a child. Blood drips from his nose and I notice that it got on my knuckles too, but I don't have time to wipe it off.

"Let's go," I say to Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy and Blaise. They all look dumbfounded—they have no idea why I just did that—but they follow behind me, running back up to the castle.

"What the hell?" Blaise says, panting when we reach the entrance of the castle.

"I...I just needed to punch someone," I lie. What am I supposed to tell him? He raped my enemy and needed to be taught a lesson? Of course not.

I walk swiftly back toward the common room, the other four following behind, probably too confused to talk to me.

I mutter the password to the common room and stalk inside. I notice Y/n sitting on one of the couches with Quinn beside her. She stares at me as we walk in and her eyes dart down to my hand, where smudged blood coats my knuckles.

"Man, what's wrong with you?" Blaise says finally. "You can't just punch people for sport,"

My eyes narrow. "It wasn't for sport, Blaise." I stop in the middle of the common room, Y/n, Quinn and a few other Slytherins watching us.

"And the ice cream guy? Jeez what did he ever do you? You're mental, that's what," I take a threatening step forward.

"Stop talking right now, Blaise, unless you want to end up like the ice cream man." I say through gritted teeth in an intimidatingly low voice.

Blaise immediately backs off and puts his hands in the air as surrender.

I glance at Y/n, her expression is unreadable, but she's staring at me intently and I stare back, breathing hard.

I look away first. I fly towards the stairs that lead up to the boys' dormitories and I hear Pansy call out to me. I don't turn.

I'm in the bathroom of my dorm and I hear a knock on the doorframe. I look up to find Pansy smiling sadly at me.

"What," I say in annoyance. She walks in slowly and stops right in front of me. She takes the cloth I'm using to wipe up my hand from my fingers.

"What were you thinking?" she says to me.

"I was thinking to punch someone, Pansy," I clarify, trying to hold in the leftover anger from the past fifteen minutes.

"Yeah," she says. "You should really think things over before you do them, you know," she takes my hand and starts wiping it with the cloth I was just using and dabs it across my skin. What is she trying to do?

I snatch my hand away and avoid looking in her eyes. I know what she's doing now and I don't want it. I push past her into my dorm and tell her she should leave.

She scoffs softly and ducks out of the dorm.

..........

My anger leaks all the way into Monday and I can't seem to keep myself together. I can't seem to ignore her any longer either.

In Transfiguration, I take the seat next to Y/n, I don't give a shit if we just agreed only a week ago that we are enemies. That doesn't mean I can't talk to her and taunt her.

"I was saving that seat for Quinn," is all she says.

"No hello?" I tease, though there is no smile on my face.

"Hello, Malfoy, I was saving that seat for Quinn," she tilts her head to the side as she stares at me like I'm crazy.

"Well, the seat's taken now, isn't it, so I guess Carson'll have to find a different place to sit." I find myself starting to smirk at her. The anger I was feeling just a few moments ago, floating away.

She huffs and leans back in her seat, but thinks otherwise as soon as her back hits the chair. She winces and sits up again, avoiding my gaze. I'm not worried about her—that's mental. I'm not.

"You're insufferable, you know that?" she says with irritation.

I smile politely. "Don't need to inform me, love,"

She rolls her eyes. "I hate you," she mutters. This makes my smirk grow.

"Lovely."

She watches me for a moment. "How's Pansy? I heard you two got close the past week," my eyes narrow.

"Parkinson?" I scoff. "I don't know what you've heard, but she's mental,"

She slaps my arm with the back of her hand. "Shut up, she's your friend,"

Professor McGonagall clears her throat. "If Miss Ellis and Mr. Malfoy could please stop talking, so I could get on with the lesson,"

"Sorry, Professor," Y/n murmurs. McGonagall continues to speak. "Now you need to shut up, Malfoy," she hisses at me. I chuckle a bit at her insistence for me to stop talking.

"Hm." I hum. "But what if I don't want to?"

"Oh, Merlin. I'll punch you." she threatens and I hold back a laugh. I know she's only joking, but I bet it if she punched me, I'd be messed up for weeks.

"I'd like to see you try, Ellis," I say anyway.

"You can continue your conversation in detention, Miss Ellis and Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall says, obviously irritated.

Y/n tries to protest but McGonagall gives her a look that shuts her up quick.

This should be interesting.

a/n: RIP Maggie Smith =(

next chapter soonish