love, river ⬥ draco malfoy shortstory

love, river

❝fate could never bear her smile, for it was happier than anything else in the world❞

Draco Malfoy grew up in a mansion, with only his parents and one house elf.

He had a giant room that never quite felt like his own and meals with people he sometimes couldn't recognize as his parents.

They were often gone, and whenever they were, Dobby would hide, unless Draco called for him.

It's easy to feel lonely growing up with so much space and so little company.

That's why Draco loved Hogwarts. He would never admit it (it didn't fit the picture that had been painted of him), but the castle was more his home than Malfoy Manor ever was.

He loved the loud chatter and the warmth and the laughter that echoed through the halls.

But even in Hogwarts things weren't perfect. They couldn't be - Draco never had really friends. All he had were friends of his name, and their company hollowed him out, left him with a broken spirit and a lost, wandering mind.

There was one girl, though.

Her eyes were the deep colour of the sea, and they were always wide with wonder; her voice was soft, like a flowing river or the wind and there was a spark inside her that caught everyone around.

Not Draco, though. Never Draco.

Or so he thought.

But no one could escape River, not her, in her weird beauty and her warmth and her silent smiles - not even Draco. Actually: especially not Draco.

***

He didn't want to admit it at first, but he slowly lost himself in her.

He stared at her whenever he got the chance. River always noticed, but never said anything. She was good at observing - she knew exactly who Draco was, and who he could be. But she always knew that it wasn't the time. Not just yet.

It was a stormy evening in October when they first spoke. It was raining and the wind was tearing and pulling at Dracos cloak as he made his way back up to the castle.

There she was, standing in the rain, her head pulled back, doing absolutely nothing.

She must have been there for a while already, because she was soaking wet. But she wasn't moving; she just stared at the sky with her stormy, blue eyes and a smile, and she looked like she was where she belonged, and yet so lost at the same time.

Draco's breath was taken away.

Soon though, he found himself shaking his head, and he walked towards her.

"You're gonna catch a cold if you keep standing here!", he screamed through the rain.

It took a few seconds, and at first he thought she hadn't heard him, but then, finally, River looked at him.

She smiled; it was the softest smile Draco had ever seen, and he thought he would die of it, before she spoke. "That's okay," she assured. Her voice was warm and soft, like a pillow one wanted to cuddle and never let go of.

Draco sighed deeply and looked at her for a moment. He considered just leaving, but no thought in his entire life had felt so wrong to him. "Cmon, let's go inside," he offered her his hand.