Liquorice Honey (A Draco Malfoy x Reader fanfic)

4: Bright Eyed and Fluffy Feathered

(Y/N) had to keep running to keep up with the owl, who actually ended up leading her to the Slytherin common room, and then to what (Y/N) supposed was the witch's dorm room instead of the courtyard like they'd initially planned. (Y/N)'s eyes immediately fell on the beautiful tea set in the corner; every cup, and the teapot, was painted a delicate lavender and each had a different, intricate painting of an owl on it. It had obviously been charmed, as the tea began to pour as soon as the owl entered the room. And then the main event began; the elegant owl changed form into an equally elegant looking student seconds after she entered the room. A tight, but not too stuffy looking bun sat on her head, and her knowing mint eyes were neither demanding nor ignorant. A gentle smile crossed her face as she ushered (Y/N) to sit down, and then she spoke. Her voice was curious but kind, much like a sweet grandmother; ''Hello, (Y/N), my dear. I'm so sorry to pull you away from your friends,'' she shook her head, ''I hate to sound harsh, but I honestly didn't think you'd have made any. And although I do question why you'd want to spend time with Mud- ahem, Muggleborns and a Weasley, I shan't call you out on it.'' (Y/N) was fairly certain this girl had stepped out of an 1800s fairy-tale, as her speech sounded like poetry; but then again, many Pureblooded girls spoke like that. ''Nah, it's fine...'' (Y/N) paused as she remembered that she still didn't know the girl's name. She giggled lightly. ''Opal Hornsby-Umbridge, but please call me Opal. It's ever so tiresome to have 'Hornsby-Umbridge' yelled at you down the corridors...'' she intoned gently. (Y/N) went to reply, but was cut off by Opal; ''And you're (Y/N) Silverlie. A lover of creatures both magical and Muggle, who chose to live as a house elf instead of a very, very affluent young witch,'' (Y/N) blushed deeply; her house elf was her first and best friend, so of course she was with her a lot, but...no, that was too far. ''You, like most of your family, were sorted into Slytherin, but you feel misplaced...am I correct?'' (Y/N) had to take a moment to process everything Opal had said. It was obvious she'd been keeping an eye on her for a while before (Y/N) started at Hogwarts; when asked about that, though, Opal herself got embarrassed. ''I never really...well, I get rather bored in the holidays. I live with my aunt, and she's always busy with this or that in the Ministry, so I spend a lot of time alone. I actually first met you in Diagon Alley in my first year.'' (Y/N) thought for a second, and then gasped.

''Give...give it back, Draco! That's mine!'' The small girl, having not yet had her growth spurt, struggled to get her necklace back from her blonde tormentor's grasp. ''My family gave it to you, so it's ours! I'm just taking back what's mine!'' (Y/N) felt tears forming in her eyes as she continued to struggle; her mother was never of any help, so this was her battle to fight. ''I'll...I'll tell my father about this, you know! He'll, uh...he'll get you banned!'' Malfoy shot a confused look back at the mouse of a girl, retorting, ''Banned from what?'' (Y/N) had to stop reaching for a second to think, but she instead just yelled back, ''I don't know, but I thought it would be fitting to tell my father, as you're simply obsessed with telling yours everything!'' Malfoy let a slight pink tinge his cheeks as he struggled to think of a riposte, instead simply holding the necklace higher. He only faltered when the beating of wings from somewhere he couldn't see put him off; and, as if on cue, an owl swooped by and snatched the necklace from Malfoy's hand, dropping it on his head and snatching a clump of his hair. (Y/N) burst out laughing at the poor boy's attempt to take his necklace tiara off without it smashing to the ground; it eventually did, causing pearly beads and green charms to spill all over the floor. The two children stared at it in anguished silence; ''I won't tell my father if you won't tell yours.'' (Y/N) mumbled. ''Fine. I doubt my father would believe you summoned a rabid owl anyway...'' With that, he slunk off back to his parents. (Y/N) caught the owl's eye, and watched as it returned to its owner. She looked very much like a Hogwarts first year, shopping with a family member of some kind.

(Y/N) supposed that Opal had learnt how do some clever trick to make it look as if she landed in a cage.

''I'm still sorry about the fate of the necklace, (Y/N). Perhaps you'll buy one another a new one someday?'' (Y/N) went pink, replying with embarrassment in her voice, ''I don't even want to go near him, never mind buy him something! And I bet he feels the same way!'' Opal giggled lightly, mumbling something to herself under her breath. ''Well, my dearie, I think it's about time you went to your dorm. I'm fairly sure everyone will be piling in for bed soon, and I know you don't want to start another argument...'' (Y/N) was ushered out of the room suddenly, and she saw Opal scribbling something down in a fluffy purple notebook. 'That was strange,'' she thought to herself, 'she was so desperate to see me, and then desperate for me to leave, too...' (Y/N) walked back to her dorm room in a haze, only to be unable to get in due to a conversation going on in her doorway. 'Bloody brilliant, just what I need.' (Y/N) tried her best to slip past Pansy, and although she did, she was met with insults; because who else would Pansy have been talking to at half nine in the evening? ''I see you're back from cleaning out the Owlery, (Y/N). Is that why you smell so bad?'' (Y/N) threw herself down on the bed, yelling back, ''Really not in the mood now, Malfoy. Can you two make out somewhere that isn't our doorway?'' Pansy smirked at her tired, bewildered roommate; ''No. I know you're jealous of us.'' (Y/N) rolled her eyes. ''Wow, you can have a conversation with Draco Malfoy. I'm SO jealous.'' Pansy was suddenly pushed aside and (Y/N) was met with a look of triumph from the doorway intruder. ''Oh, but you are.'' (Y/N) picked up her book from the bedside table and replied shortly, ''No, I'm not. Now go to bed. You need beauty sleep if you want to preserve your so-called pretty face.'' (Y/N) rolled over, signifying that the conversation was finished; Malfoy couldn't enter the girls' dorm room, so (Y/N) was safe. Amorita even jumped up on (Y/N) to absolutely prove she was unavailable. ''Okay then, fine. But when you come asking for me later in life—'' Amorita hissed angrily, and, knowing the consequences of Amorita's anger well, Malfoy left hastily. Pansy slammed the door behind her, obviously angry, but then said; ''Hey, fur—I mean, (Y/N). I think I need one of those Kneazle things, you know, to scare off other girls from my Dra—'' (Y/N) cut her off abruptly, ''You need a license. And the time to let them like you. I really don't feel like giving you a lesson right now, Pansy.'' She huffed angrily, ''Fine then. I was just trying to make conversation, furball.'' (Y/N) huffed back, slinking off to put on her pyjamas; she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow that night. The next day was rather strange. (Y/N) saw Opal speaking with students and noting things down in her fluffy notebook almost all day, and a few times she even scared the souls out of some first-year Hufflepuffs by appearing from seemingly nowhere to ask them things. (Y/N) was rather skittish about this, and Hermione even whispered over to her if she was okay during Potions; she whispered back, ''I'll tell you later'', and lost Hermione ten house points. (Y/N) couldn't help but feel relieved she was in Professor Snape's house in that moment; she wouldn't have been able to deal with losing house points. She'd probably be spit roasted by Malfoy and friends if that happened. After what felt like an eternity of lessons, in most of which Hermione taught her more than the professors, end of the day came and (Y/N) had a free moment with her friends. She was immediately brought to questioning by Hermione. ''How was it? Did she explain why she wanted to see you? What happened exactly—'' (Y/N) shrugged. ''It was...extremely strange, actually. Apparently she's been watching me for years or something, but before she could really explain, she ushered me out and started scribbling something down...'' Hermione's expression immediately became more worried than it was, as she mumbled something under her breath. The four sat on the grass as (Y/N) was probed for information. ''Her name was Opal Hornsby-Umbridge, and she mentioned she lives with her aunt, who works for the Ministry...she was rather intent on talking about me and not whatever she was writing afterwards.'' The boys shrugged, with Ron commenting, ''It's probably just a diary. Probably wrote about how she made her first friend or something...'' (Y/N) nodded. ''Probably. Honestly I wasn't scared until Hermione made me scared about it.'' Hermione sighed, replying, ''I just wanted to make sure you weren't in trouble, (Y/N). I do worry about you, being stuck with those awful Slytherins and all...'' Harry nodded, and then asked, ''Talking of, are you okay after what Malfoy said yesterday?'' (Y/N) nodded, replying, ''Yeah. My parents don't have the mental capacity to hate me, and I don't care what his parents think.'' (Y/N) stood up hastily, adding, ''Right, I think I have homework to do tonight, and I kind of want to get it done before Pansy gets in...'' The three nodded, with Hermione exclaiming some help after her as she went. Surprisingly, (Y/N) walked into the common room to find almost everyone reading the Daily Prophet; and smirking at her over the pages as they did so. (Y/N) tried to ignore it, but this was impossible after a copy was thrust into her hands by Malfoy. ''It appears that furball's precious mother has gotten herself into a bit of trouble...''. A devious smirk spread across his face.

(Y/N) felt her breath hitch in her throat as she read the headline.

This was why Opal had taken a liking to her.