Pyrrhic Victory

sixty five.

Year Four
sixty five. An Actual Hogsmeade Date

"MAGNOLIA MALVORSEVE GET YOUR ARSE DOWN HERE!" Lucille screamed from the bottom of the girls dormitory stairs in the Slytherin Commons. A first year had let her in as she was fuming, and no one had rarely ever seen a Hufflepuff that angry before.

Magnolia peered around the corner when she saw her best friend. She walked down as Lucille stood there with her hands crossed, glaring at the girl.

"We need to talk." Lucille demanded to the girl who smiled innocently. "Yeah, what's up?"

"Privately." Lucille scanned the room as Magnolia groaned, taking Lucille upstairs to her dorm. As soon as Magnolia closed the door behind them Lucille started going off.

"Why did Draco ask me on a date? To Hogsmeade? With you and Fred?" Lucille glared at her best friend who should've known this reaction was coming. "Well- I-,"

"Maggie, I don't need your help in my love life. Leave it alone!" Lucille begged for her friend to stop meddling around with her personal relationships.

"Also, I need your help picking out what to wear..." Magnolia smile grew back on her face as she realized that Lucille had agreed to go. The two girls had picked out cute outfits, but since it was still early March in the Scottish highlands, it was freezing. They bundled up before walking to meet their dates.

Magnolia had smirked at Draco as they met up, he rolled his eyes at her but he was glad that she had invited him to go on this "double date". The only thing they had to worry about was Fred and Draco getting along.

"Does he really have to come with us Mags? Couldn't you just convince him to take her alone?" Fred whispered to Magnolia as the two of them walked infront of the Hufflepuff and Slytherin who stayed quiet behind them.

"They wouldn't have done it. It's just this once Fred. Be cordial, please? He's my friend." Magnolia pleaded as Fred smiled, he would do anything for Magnolia so he didn't even know why he was protesting in the first place. She got whatever she wanted.

"I was thinking we'd head to Hog's Head first for some Butterbeer, and then stop by Honeydukes." Magnolia tells the group as they continued their travels to the all-wizard inhabited village.

"Draco, I don't know what Maggie did for you to have to pay her back like this but you didn't have to-," Lucille started to tell Draco. He had stopped her in the middle of her sentence though.

"No, Lucy, I wanted to go. I don't owe Maggie back for anything." He plainly said which made Lucille cheeks light up a dark pink. Thank Merlin for the invention of scarfs or her two year long crush on him would've been revealed to the whole village.

Draco's demeanor towards Lucille had seemed to almost flip this year. Ever since they were almost caught by Filch at the beginning of the year, Draco hasn't been as mean to Lucille. Lucille thought at first it was just Draco finally accepting Lucille as one of their friends, but they went to the Yule Ball together, he agreed to go on this date with her? Could Draco really like her? No way, she was a Hufflepuff and he was a Slytherin...

Lucille looked up at Fred and Magnolia who were ogling at each other. Magnolia and Fred were together, well sort of, and she's a Slytherin, he's a Gryffindor. They make it work. Lucille then quickly glanced at Draco. She wasn't a pureblood though. The Malfoys would never accept her. Elizabeth Vagabonde also hated Lucius Malfoy guts. That would make for an awkward wedding, Lucille thought to herself.

The four of them entered Hog's Head, Fred sticking out like a sore thumb within the group, but he didn't really mind. The four of them sat down and while Fred and Draco didn't really engage in much conversation together, they didn't fight either, which was a plus.

"Merlin I love Butterbeer!" Lucille announced to the group as she finished her cup.

"Luc, do you remember when your mum made us homemade Butterbeer at the sleepover we had over the summer? It was so good!" Magnolia recalled as Lucille smiled widely. Magnolia and Lucille's friendship broke so many norms at Hogwarts, and it made the two boys next to them feel a little better mingling with the people outside of their house.

—

"Maggie, can I ask you something?" Draco questioned the girl as the two of them walked back to the Slytherin dungeons. They had just dropped Lucille off and Fred had parted his way when they reached the castle. Magnolia looked up at him as she waited for him to continue.

"You and Weasley... how do you do it? Being in different houses and such?" Draco questioned the girl and her eyes widened.

"Draco? For once not insulting me on my boyfriend, who's not my boyfriend, but like is my boyfriend?" Magnolia smirked which caused Draco to roll his eyes in annoyance. He should've known the snarky response he'd get back, this was Magnolia Malvorseve after all.

"Why should I let it bother me? I'm a Slytherin, he's a Gryffindor. You're acting like I'm some big death eater and Fred's the auror trying to put me away." Magnolia giggled but Draco shuddered at her comment. His mind flashed back to this past summer. His father and their meetings. Xayne Malvorseve was there but, of course, he'd never tell Magnolia that.

"Do what makes you happy Draco. I know deep down in that icy cold heart of yours that there is love." Magnolia started up the stairs to the Slytherin dormitory before she stopped and turned on her heels to face Draco again, her blonde wavy hair flipping behind her.

"We are Slytherins, remember? We get what we want." She winked as she continued up the stairs leaving Draco speechless and even more confused on his feelings, and more so what he was going to do about them.

[ a/n - I hate this chapter sm but I'm too lazy to rewrite it. 😚 ]