This Town ⇢ Draco Malfoy

SEVEN

S E V E N

Draco laid in his bed, curtains drawn around the rectangular shape. His stomach seemingly sucked in, his hands resting on the crevice. It was early in the morning, probably around 2:00 AM, the air crisp and cold. Last night, his date with Zinnia was either a success or a failure. Sleep had alluded him since then. Class and dinner had gone on as normal, most teachers paying close attention to him. He was a Malfoy, if anyone failed him, their punishment would be severe.

Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle all slept soundly in the beds next to him. One of them was snoring, breaking the silence that otherwise would drown the room. Cold air beginning to nip at his body, he drew back the curtains and grabbed his heavier clothes. Putting them on, he decided to go to the Astronomy Tower and play guitar. The high peak was equally as calming as the lake.

This night, Zinnia didn't come to hear him play.

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Draco continued his day as usual, occasionally spotting Zinnia in the hallways. She didn't see him, or if she did, she didn't say anything. He wanted nothing more than to talk to her, the anxiety of his uncertainly eating away at him.

Lunch, or dinner, was agonizingly slow. Crabbe and Goyle rambled on, Pansy starting to cling to Draco once again. His mind was too occupied to eat, but the stares of some teachers compelled him to eat. There was no need to go back to the hospital for no reason.

"Zinnia!" Draco shouted, managing to break away from Pansy. She was just leaving the Great Hall, no one following her. With no response, Draco followed, determined to talk to her. "Zinnia! Can we talk?"

She continued not to reply, pushing her way into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Hesitant, Draco followed, knowing no other girl would be in there. "Uh, can we, um, please talk?"

"Draco, why do you seem content to talk to me?" Zinnia asked, leaning against the sinks in the middle of the room. The mirrors were covered, much to her pleasure. Her bag was slumped at her feet, books spilling out a little onto the floor.

"I-I care about you. I don't know how that meeting went and it's been bothering me and you seem bothered so I just wanted to make sure you were-" Draco began to ramble, unsure what to truly say. He was cut off by a body colliding with his, arms being wrapped around his chest.

"You don't want to know what happened, but I don't really want to be alone. You are a good listener and someone to sit here with, normally it's just Myrtle.." Zinnia said, smiling a bit as she moved away from Draco. Immediately, Myrtle appeared with an offended look on her face.

"I thought we had something good!" Myrtle shouted, surprising Draco that she actually used some humor. He had spent many nights before learning to charm the guitar with Myrtle, listening to her over dramatic moans of pain and despair. But, no matter how annoying, it wasn't so lonely.

"Don't worry Myrtle, this was the boy I told you about. The one that plays great music." Zinnia told her, the smile fading from her face as tears pooled in her eyes. Draco hesitantly put an arm on her shoulder, circling his arms around her once again.

"I know all about Draco, we've had some midnight chats ourselves," She winks. "I'll leave you two alone," Myrtle winks once again before disappearing down a drain.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked, leading Zinnia over to a wall to sit down. She did, nearly refusing to leave his arms at all.

"I told you, you do not want to know Draco. Just sit with me, please." She told him, wiping tears that were now beginning to run down her cheeks. They moved over the scars like speed bumps, Draco resisting the urge to wipe them away with his hands.

"Was it Pansy clinging to me? I know we aren't dating or anything or exclusive or whatever the hell that's supposed to be, but I wasn't with her. She was the one deciding to cling to me. I'm sorry I didn't move her away, I should've. Guess I'm just used to not doing that.. I'm so sorry." Draco rambled, trying to help, but seemingly only making it worse.

"You're sweet and this cuddling is a bit fast if you wouldn't mind maybe moving.." Zinnia started, causing Draco to immediately recoil with fear that he had screwed up again. "I'm not upset because of Pansy, it's other reasons. And about our date thing the other night, that went perfectly fine so don't worry."

Draco's heart fluttered with relief, glad he hadn't done anything to hurt her. 'What was this?...' He thought, sighing internally at himself.

"Sorry, is there anything I can do?... I need to go to class before the teachers notice and I get sent to St Mungo's, especially since I missed the end of dinner." Draco rambled, once again mentally cursing himself for rambling. Zinnia smiled weakly, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"You could tell me a story, something to distract me. I have a question to start it in mind.." She told him, moving her hand away. Draco shifted where he was sitting to face her better, crinkling his brows in confusion as to what about him could cheer her up.

"Yeah?" He asked, his mind racing at how different he was acting. Not keeping the Malfoy persona up 24/7 was really getting to him.

"Do tell me, since Myrtle hangs out only in the girls bathroom, how did you meet her?"

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A/N
Okay, so I had a harder time writing this chapter so it's really not the best. Actual story coming soon, promise! Hope you all liked it.