Draco's Revival || Draco Malfoy

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Chapter 5

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It was exceptionally difficult being Draco Malfoy. No matter what he did, it always came back to him just to nip him on the arse. He guessed the saying, 'what goes around, comes back around' was correct. Karma was Draco's number one enemy.

As of now, Draco was finding it hard to interact with others. They seemed to ignore him, spit at him, or turn the other way. He knew people hated him before, but to actually see the hate on their faces was something entirely new. It saddened him.

Draco couldn't take the rude stares anymore, he was tempted to drop out of Hogwarts and head home; but wouldn't that mean that they had won? He wanted change and to prove to others that he had changed. Draco wanted to become a better man in hopes that he may one day, bear the Malfoy name without anyone scowling in disgust.

With a racing mind and hands tingling, Draco walked out to the Black Lake alone. The cold weather nipped at Draco's face, flushing his cheeks red. It was now October. The month of September had flashed by with few difficulties.

Draco thought he would have had at least one friend by the end of the month, but he never realized how hard it was making friends. His father had been the one to buy his friends during his early years at Hogwarts, not once did he ever make a friend by himself.

With a heavy sigh, Draco finds a grassy spot under a willow tree and sits down. His fingers instantly start playing with the tips of the grass, occasionally plucking one out of the earth. His sad silver eyes examine a strand of grass, lifting it up from the ground. He closed one eye and held the grass horizontally, lining it up with the edge of the lake where it met the mountain in the distance. Draco held it there for a quick moment before dropped it becoming bored.

The leaves above him rustled against each other in the breeze which caught his hair sending a few blonde strands to stick straight up. The waves of the Black Lake lapped against the shoreline creating a soothing sound. The dark clouds in the distance hid the sun causing the world underneath to be surrounded in a darker lighting. Draco could see the blanket of rain coming, it would arrive shortly in a half an hour, he guessed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone would be out here." A soft voice spoke from behind. Draco turned his head, his eyes landing on Araceli Danger. She was wearing a blue sweater with black jeans, over her sweater was a black cloak. Araceli held a sketchbook in her arms, a small purple pencil case in her hand.

"I'll leave if the sight of me is as displeasing as it is to others." He meant for it to be a joke but Araceli wasn't laughing. The way he said it made it sound like he was being serious, though he kind of was. Silently, she took a seat beside him leaving a good distance between the two of them.

"The sight of you is not displeasing. The only thing displeasing about yourself is whenever you open up that mouth of yours." It took Draco a few moments to realize she was teasing him. He blinked a couple times not knowing how to reply to her comment. Araceli crossed her legs and propped her sketchbook upon her left knee and began to draw something.

"You're left handed." He commented clearing his throat. Araceli glanced up at him before looking back down at her page continuing her sketching. She nodded her head slightly,

"All the best people are." Araceli mumbled.

"I'm left handed also." Draco attempted to keep the conversation alive while he leaned more against the trunk of the tree, lifting his head up watching the branches that swayed in the wind. Araceli scoffed and replied,

"Nevermind, it's a lie." Draco smiled to himself hearing the humor in her voice. Even if it was not humor he was hearing, he still liked the way she spoke to him. It made him want to laugh.

A comfortable silence killed the attempt of a conversation as Draco tried to think of more ways to speak to the girl beside him. He stared out at the lake and spotted the giant squid splashing around. It's tenticals stretched high into the air before colliding down onto the water. The water flew into the air before raining back down upon the squid. It squeaked out in pleasure continuing it's splashing motions.

"Do you have the time?" Araceli asked while twisting her hair up into a pony tail. Her brunette hair blew to the side, little baby hairs sticking up all over the place. Her brown eyes stared at Draco with raised eyebrows. He had been staring at her. Clearing his throat he looked away and dropped his head down at his watch, his eyes blurred slightly causing him to squint at the numbers. Maybe it was time to get his eyes examined? It almost made him laugh thinking about wearing glasses. How ridiculous would he look?

"Four-thirty." He answered. Araceli gave a nod of her head and closed her sketchbook. His heart dropped seeing that she was going so soon. They might have only spoken a few words but it was the longest interaction with someone he had had in a month. Draco felt stupid for being so needy for attention, but he was craving it. He wasn't about to stop her though, she had a life and a whole group of friends. He was sure of it even though he paid little attention to Araceli even when she was in most of his classes.

"Are you coming inside also? It's getting cold." She stood from the ground. Draco contemplates staying outside but notices the rain clouds growing nearer with each second.

"Uh, yeah I probably should go work on a couple essays." Draco hopped up and followed Araceli back towards the castle. On the way she hummed a soft melody he had never heard before. It was beautiful though, something he could easily hear every day without getting bored of it.

"Have you finished the Alchemy essay yet?" Draco shook his head no and held the door open for Araceli once they arrived at the side of the castle. She thanked him before walking through the abandoned classroom.

Again, Draco held the next door open for her before walking out into the hallway. A small crowd of students walked up and down the corridor, talking amongst themselves but soon stopped once their eyes land on both Draco and Araceli. He wasn't sure if he was the cause for their silence or if Araceli was?

"Would you like to work together on it later tonight in the library? There are a few questions I didn't quite understand. Professor Vector kept mumbling during the lecture." Araceli looked up at Draco with a kind smile on her face. Whatever annoyance she had towards him that one day during potions was entirely gone. Feeling a little awkward, Draco only shrugged his shoulders. "Meet me there after dinner."

"Alright, Danger." Draco smirked and watched her walk away, but his smirk fell off of his face once he caught the eye of Zanikin Raymond, a sixth year Gryffindor. He glared at Draco as he passed by, his shoulder clipping with Draco's. Quickly, Draco grips onto his wand, ready to hex Zanikin but at the same time Headmistress McGonagall turned the corner. She gave Draco a warning look causing his hand to drop to his side. Draco could hear Zanikin and his friends snicker from behind him, but he had no other choice but to continue his walk down the hallway feeling angry for not being able to defend himself.