enchanted • draco malfoy

Year 4: Disaster (Draco's POV)

okay guys another chapter in draco's point of view bc there's some explaining that needs to be done on his part so here ya go

Draco's POV

I was happy before I got that goddamn letter. I finally got the guts to ask her to see me, to speak with me. After all the back and forth taunting and flirting. I don't know whether or not she fancies me, or even whether or not I fancy her. But she was different. It felt different.

I was even going to avoid booing while Potter completed his task for her, before the letter. It was from my father, and simply read:

Draco,

Don't fool around with filthy blood-traitors. You're better than them and you know it. Do not tarnish our family name for the sake of a Longbottom. It would be a shame if she ended up like her parents.

I knew my father, and I also knew a threat when I saw one. I set the letter down as dread filled me. I knew what I had to do. I had to make her stop trying to see the good in me, stop trying to talk to me and give me chances. I took a deep breath and threw the letter into the fire. It flared up in the green flames before it was reduced to ashes.

I walked with Crabbe and Goyle to the stadium, nodding along to whatever they were saying. I spotted Felicity right away and turned my head to avoid eye contact. I sat through every match, glancing up at her occasionally. I accidentally made eye contact and she gave me a small smile. I swallowed and turned back to the arena, still able to feel her eyes on my back.

I watched in vague interest as the Horntail pulled free of it's chain and chased Potter to the castle, but even the prospect of his death couldn't make me smile. It only made me think of how crushed she would be. I tried to think back to when she suddenly started to matter so much. I looked up at her to see Finnigan's hand holding hers.

I was instantly angry. Jealous. I sent a glare their way before an idea struck me. That's how I'd do it. I'd use him to make it seem like nothing can happen between us. I need her to be pissed at me, and Finnigan just gave me a reason. And of course, since she's Felicity Longbottom, she'll choose her friend over some Slytherin.

I zoned out the rest of the match, only focused on the many ways tonight could go.

~*~

I arrived on top of the Astronomy Tower half an hour early, to think things through. I ran my hand through my hair, distressed and pacing. Sooner than I anticipated, I heard her steps on the stairs. For a moment, I thought I might be sick. But I steeled my expression into a neutral one as she arrived. She stood there, breathless for a moment, before murmuring, "Hey."

I braced myself before turning around to face her. I had a brief flashback to the last time we had been here together, and I could tell she was thinking about the same thing as she sent me a hesitant smile. I ignored it as I had at the First Task. Before I could balk, I said, "Has Finnigan confessed his love yet?"

I kept my expression bored and disinterested. The smile faded and her jaw dropped a little as she stuttered, "Wha- excuse me, um, what?" I continued, though my hands were clenched into fists behind my back. "You two looked awfully cozy at today's task."

At first she was shocked, then I could see her shock turning to anger, just as I predicted. "Okay, first off," she began, her eyes blazing, "What happened to a civilized conversation?" I opened my mouth to tell her that they couldn't exist between us but she interrupted me.

"And secondly, it is not like that with Seamus, nor will it ever be, Draco! He held my hand while I was panicking about whether or not my best friend was being eaten by a dragon, so pardon me if I needed some comfort!" I tried to ignore the way my name coming from her lips made me feel. She paused and inhaled deeply before saying, "And lastly, why do you even care about Seamus?"

She spat the last sentence, more venom in her words than in the Slytherin Serpent.

I chose not to answer her question, instead saying, "He's been pining after you for years now, Longbottom." 'And not very subtly,' I added in my head. "Oh, Longbottom, is it?" she asked incredulously, "Well, Malfoy, newsflash: some people actually find me desirable!"

Oh God, this was not how I was planning this to go.

So I only fired back with the first thing that came to mind. "Not for the right reasons," I said. I wasn't entirely wrong. Plenty of guys think she's mighty attractive, and are interested in her only because of her looks, even Slytherins. She was livid now. "Yeah?" she retorted, "And what are the right reasons?"

'Because you're smart and brave and kind and selfless and beautiful, to top it off.' I tried to keep my thoughts from showing on my face as I kept my mouth shut. She continued, her words each like needles in my skin.

"What the bloody hell did I do?" she demanded. "Why do you suddenly hate me so much?"

The words were out of my mouth before I could rein them in, before I could stop them. "You exist, Felicity." I didn't let the utter despair I felt from the pain now showing on her face twist my features. All the anger drained from her face, leaving only hurt. She stared, as if I had spoken in a foreign language. I kept my face the same, refusing to show even a fraction of the emotions warring inside me.

"Oh," she whispered. My heart broke a little. "Okay then. Thanks for the..." she stopped, searching for the right words, before she decided on, "... wake-up call." She turned away from me and ran down the stairs, but not before I saw the tears falling from her eyes.

I waited until I was sure she was gone before allowing the mask to drop. I took in a deep, shuddering breath, telling myself it was for the best. I trudged down the tower and back to my dorm before falling onto my bed and into a sleep filled with the tears of the girl who meant the more to me than I ever thought possible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

so yeah lucius is a prick

also draco is so confused on how he feels until he sees her in pain and then he's like well shit gotta protect the new most important person in my life

anyway there's your explanation as to why he was being especially asshole-y

~xo