Entranced (Draco Malfoy)

•nineteen•

Dove Taylor sits at Hufflepuff table, munching happily on a drumstick, unable to stop moving energetically. She's ready to get back to her dorm so she can get all of the gossip from Megan and Susan about their summers, as they'd said they had some juicy stuff to tell her that couldn't be told at the table.

Hufflepuff had gotten a few new students, a little less than normal, but it's no matter at all. Gryffindor had seemed to get the majority, a favored House as she's noticed over the years. She spots Draco, pushing food around his plate, not talking to anyone.

Her heart goes out to him. She feels awful for him. Crabbe and Goyle were merely his cronies, and now he doesn't even trust them. Blaise was considered his friend, but he's a suspect now. Even Pansy doesn't seem too interested in talking to Draco, which surprises Dove immensely. Isn't she in love with him? 

"I'm still surprised the Slytherin Prince is dating our lovely Hufflepuff Princess," Megan teases. 

"Who's the princess of Slytherin?" Susan asks inquisitively.

"Millicent Bullstrode," Justin snorts, causing them all to laugh. 

"Who's the prince of Hufflepuff?" Ernie adds.

"You," Megan winks, fluttering her eyelashes flirtily, laughing a moment later to show she's kidding. "You and our beautiful Dovelyn Taylor are the Hufflepuff Prince and Princess."

"Dovelyn?" Dove chokes a bit. "Don't call me that."

"It's your name," Susan reminds her.

"Yes, but it's weird," she frowns. "It's just Dove." 

"Dovelyn Lorraine Taylor," Megan says loudly.

Dove scowls, a bit of a pout on her face, "I'm ready for bed now," she snickers, unable to hold back her laughter.

"I like it," Ernie says kindly. "Dovelyn. It's very unique."

"Thank you, Ernie," she says with a genuine smile. "And that's why you're my favorite."

"Hey!" An upset chorus says irritably. 

"Ernie is the best and that's final," Dove nods at herself. 

"Have you been drinking fire-whiskey?" Justin asks skeptically. "I don't know how you went from being someone who couldn't look you in the eye to someone who now is dating Malfoy and is suddenly the most outgoing person I know."

"Rude," Megan mutters. "I'm the most outgoing."

"You're the craziest," he shoots back quietly, ducking when she throws a piece of chicken at him.

-

The next morning, Dove is awake bright and early, a big change from the summer. She gets dressed in her robes, grabs her bag, and heads out of her dorm before any of her roommates even begin to stir. 

She rushes down the stairs, knowing her boyfriend is waiting outside of her Common Room. When she arrives in the middle of the Common Room, she finds a lonely looking first year sitting on his own, simply looking into the roaring fireplace.

"Hello," she greets a little cautiously. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh, hey," he says, his voice a bit squeaky. It sounds almost as if he's been crying. "Yeah, everything is fine."

She looks longingly to the door, but after only a moment, she goes to sit next to him. The couch dips slightly as she takes her seat.

"I remember my first night at Hogwarts," she says, leaning into the comfy cushions. "I was scared. I missed my family so much."