𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥? 〚𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚏𝚘𝚢 〛

Chapter 29

I snatched a book from the library in hopes of understanding what exactly I was to do and spent a large part of the day reading it. It was only late in the afternoon when I snapped it shut with an aggravated sigh.

"Are you back in the mortal realm?" said Draco, looking irritated.

I bit my lip, suddenly aware that I had ignored him for a good part of the day. "I'm sorry. I just want to understand, you know?"

He sighed, swiped the hair out of his face and shot me a smile. "Yeah, I know."

I had the unexpected envy to kiss him. 

I blinked, realizing exactly what had been going through my tired mind. He was just being so damn adorable and comprehensive... it had taken me by surprise.

"How about I make up for it?" I asked cheerfully, trying to distract myself.

He raised an eyebrow, showing me he was listening.

"Coming back," I said, racing up the stairs to my room. 

I opened the chest at the foot of my bed with an ever growing smile, grabbing a cardboard box. My parents had finally discovered the joys of mail packages. Mildred took their letters and sent them to me via owls, which was a much better way of communication. 

Their last packages had contained two of my favourite board games. Games my family and I had spent hours upon hours playing at a high level of competition. Tears, curses and lots of laughter. I missed those times. 

I placed the board on a table in the common room as Malfoy curiously flipped through the rule book.

"Monopoly?" he questioned, looking utterly lost.

I grinned. "We need a few more players. Charles, Milicient?"

Draco looked around. "Zabini, Parkinson!"

They slowly got up, grumbled something about being busy, but joined us nevertheless. 

I explained the game to the best of my abilities, swatting Blaise's hand as he picked up the dies.

"Why the hell is there such a large book for so little information?" asked Urquhart, flipping through the pages himself with a puzzled expression.

I laughed and shook my head. "Muggles enjoy complicating things."

There was some dispute over the pieces, a few (a lot) of questions and so much cursing I had to block my ears. 

Very quickly, it was quite obvious who was winning. 

I was not doing so badly, considering I didn't have much luck. I was good at controlling people and had time to polish my strategies. 

But heck, even years of playing couldn't get me on his level.

"No!" screeched Pansy when Draco threw her in prison. "That is not fair!"

The silver haired boy smirked, stacking up his money. "I'm a businessman, Parkinson. Our world is a cruel place."

I made the mistake of stifling a laugh before rolling the die. Luck was definitely not on my side, but karma was laughing at my face. 

I swear I felt terror flashing in my eyes as clearly as I saw myself moving my piece onto one of Draco's properties. 

His smirk widened.

"There is no way I just rolled that," I stubbornly said.

"Don't worry, darling," he purred, leaning over the table. "I'm sure we can come to an agreement."