Snakes With Money (Draco Malfoy x Reader)

Chapter 4

Year One 

It had been a few weeks since the incident with Malfoy at the owlery, and you were finally falling into a normal rhythm. Most of your classes you had with Ravenclaw, which was awful, but when you went to the great hall to study, you always sat at the Gryffindor table with Hermione. 

You were surprised the hall monitors would let you sit there, considering most people just sat at their house tables. Anyway, you were sitting with Hermione at the moment; both of you nose deep in a book. 

You couldn't help but wonder, though, "Hermione, in my charms class some people were able to perform Wingardium Leviosa right off the bat, while others weren't able to do it at all. Do you think its because they weren't saying it right or...?"

You were feeling pretty bashful. After all, you couldn't get the spell to work.

Hermione gave you a sharp look and you almost recoiled. Just as you were about to ask if something was wrong she replied in a clipped tone, "Well it could be any number of things. They could be pronouncing it wrong or maybe they have a resistant wand."

"That's it," You gasped, "My wand has a Phoenix feather core, and it only has a slightly yielding flexibility. I can't believe I didn't think of that. I mean, when I got my wand it was perfectly easy to use. I never thought.."

You returned your gaze to Hermione and smiled, only, she didn't smile back. "Harry has a Phoenix core wand."

Her voice cracked a little, and you could see tears brimming in her eyes. Your brows bunched together in concern and your voice got all soft, "Hermione, what happened?"

She sighed out an airy sob and looked down at the table, "Ron wasn't saying the spell right, so I tried to help him. After class, though, he was walking with his friends and-"

Hermione sniffled, "He mocked the help I gave him and then he said to his friends 'no wonder she has no friends'."

You sat in shock for a moment. Surprise was written all over your face. You never thought Ron could be so mean.  You scoffed out loud before looking around the room to find Ron and Harry. They were sitting at the very end of the table, towards the entrance. You sent the bewildered redhead and his black-haired accomplice the most terrifying glare you could muster. They tensed up in sudden fear and visibly got smaller, as if trying to disappear all together. Hermione sniffled again.

You turned your gaze back to your distraught friend, "Oh Hermione. Don't listen to them. They're just silly little boys. None of them more mature than the next. Take Malfoy, for instance, his idea of a conversation is spitting out horrendous insults."

You stopped short, surprised you were even talking about that fair-haired snake. He made your blood boil. 

"A-hem," You cleared your throat and tried again, "What I meant to say was that you shouldn't take it to heart. They'll come around. You can't blame them for having slower mental processes than you."

Hermione gave a sad smile, "You're right, (y/n). Thank you for being such a good friend."

Her smile faded, "But I think I just need some alone time. I'll see you later, okay?"

She gathered her books and stood from the bench, wiping away a stray tear.

You looked at her in concern and you hoped that you hadn't said something to offend her.

"O-okay." You stuttered after her as she walked out of the Great Hall, "See you later then."

Talk about awkward....

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-Later At Dinner~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

You were sitting at the Hufflepuff table, enjoying the company of your friends and the great food set before you. Just like the first night, Cedric sat on one side of you, while Suzie sat on the other side. You couldn't understand exactly why Cedric Diggory still wanted to sit next to you, but it made you very happy, to say the least.

He had insisted that the two of you become friends, and a few days before he made you pinky promise to keep talking to him throughout the school year, regardless of the age difference. He didn't talk to you ALL the time, but the two of you had friendly conversations at the beginning of meals and when you saw each other in the common room. Sometimes he would help you with your classes.

"Hey (nickname), what's up?" Cedric grinned at you and popped a grape into his mouth.

You snorted, "The magical ceiling, of course."

"No. Not this again. Don't be such a smart aleck. I swear the hat should've put you in Ravenclaw." Cedric groaned.

"It should've put me in Gryffindor," You grumbled.

"What was that?" Cedric asked. You hadn't realized your monologue was so loud. 

"Um, nothing," You blushed.

"Okay then," Cedric cocked a brow and then you two were shoved into an awkward silence.

"So... how was your day, rookie?" He added the rookie mainly to get on your nerves.

You sent him a mildly irritated glare and he laughed.

"It was fine I guess," You rubbed your temples, "Ron was mean to Hermione and I haven't seen her since our free period. She hasn't showed up for dinner. I heard some Ravenclaws saying how she's in the second corridor girl's bathroom crying... and I bet she's been crying since our free period. I should really go find her..."

Before you could jabber any more, Professor Quirrel came running through the hall.

"TROLL!" He screamed, "IN THE DUNGEON."

Your heart sped up and you sent Cedric crazy eyes of fear. He simply gave you a laid-back smile and shrugged, you could tell by his eyes that he was a bit worried, though. Sometimes you wondered if he was actually human.

"TROLL!" Quirrel screeched one last time. Then he looked at a stonefaced Dumbeldore and his voice got all quiet in a sort of apology, "I just thought you should know."

At the end of his sentence,  the DADA teacher's shaky body collapsed onto the floor with a loud thud. You met Cedric's eyes again, and this time you could tell he was amused with Professor Quirrel's display of bravery. A moment of tense silence ensued, but then the entire hall was filled with great screams of terror and ruckus. Headmaster Dumbledore tried, in vain, to speak over the commotion. Ultimately, he was forced to bellow out a prolonged "SIIILENCE". The whole room seemed to turn into an ice age. People froze exactly how they were and looked over at Dumbledore with a "whoopsies, sorry" kind of expression. Well, everyone in Hufflepuff at least.

"Prefects, lead your houses back to the common rooms. Teachers, follow me." The older wizard's voice got quieter in an effort to seem calm. 

Your house quickly bunched together and started making their way to the dorms. When you were about to exit the great hall and swing towards the kitchen, however, you remembered Hermione was still in the bathroom. You reached out to grab Cedric and tell him that you were leaving and not to worry, but he got muddled around in the crowd and disappeared before you could.

"I guess I'll just hope someone comes for my body... eventually," You gulped and headed towards the girl's lavatory.

Before you could cover some decent ground, though, an unfortunate series of events occured.