IMPERIO // Draco Malfoy X Reader

Chapter 23: Defense Against The Dark Arts Class

Draco was avoiding you.

He hadn't been in the common room when you, Lyre and Pansy had met up with the others to go to breakfast. He hadn't been at breakfast either - but no one had bothered to ask about his whereabouts this time around, thanks to his odd behavior. You hadn't seen him in class either, or in the halls between.

Part of you was glad he was avoiding you. You certainly didn't want to see him, and this way, you didn't have to worry about him getting back at you in front of everyone.

Part of you was a little worried. It wasn't like him to disappear entirely like this.

You sat down in Defense Against the Dark Arts, dropping your bag on the table next to Lyre. She was wrapped up in a conversation with Leo and Theo - still theorizing about who wanted to poison Potter.

You couldn't help but look at Leo and Theo differently, after hearing what you had heard that one night.

Snape glided into the room and all the conversations stopped as he began today's lesson. Vampires and their tricks.

You opened your book to the page written on the board. The pale drawing of the vampire made you think of Draco. You hoped he was alright...

You sighed angrily at yourself. You needed to stop this. What had he ever done for you besides take advantage of your feelings as a form of stress relief?

A rustle of parchment drew you out of your thoughts. Lyre was sliding a folded piece of paper between the pages of your book, glancing at you from the corner of her eye.

You pulled the paper loose, reading it under the table.

Her familiar loopy handwriting was easy on the eyes.

what's wrong you seem upset

You glanced back up at your friend. She looked at you, eyeing the quill to your right and then the parchment in your hand, a silent command for you to write back.

You quickly dipped your quill in your ink and went to scratch out a response.

What could you say?

I'm mad at one of our friends because he's been kissing me because he knew I would let him and he just needed something to take his mind off a possible murder scheme he's hatching?

No, that would be too much.

Instead you settled for the age old deflection;

i'm fine really. just tired.

Passing the note back to Lyre, you watched her read your response. She glanced back up at you, one eyebrow raised. Unimpressed.

She quickly wrote something else down and handed the note back to you.

you know you could talk to any of us right?

You highly doubted you could get Theo to sit still long enough to actually listen to anything you had to say.

But other than him, Lyre did have a point. Leo would be more than willing to listen to you pour your heart out - in fact, he had, back in third year when you'd been forced to stay at the school over Christmas as a punishment. Lyre and Pansy had done the same - there had been nights when you had cried yourself to sleep over less than satisfactory grades. They had been there for you.

Even Blaise, you supposed, if you really needed someone and no one else was available.

Could you come to them with this though?

Would they end up taking Draco's side, even if he was clearly in the wrong?

Who was more important to them? Him? Or you?

You picked up your quill again, writing back.

yeah i know

You handed the note back to Lyre, and turned to the lesson. You should at least try to get some of it down.

Within a few minutes, the note was tucked back between the pages of your book again. You plucked it out, unfolding it to read what Lyre had added.

i mean that alright? we've already seen you cry about your grades you don't have to be embarrassed about it

You smiled at the note in your hands. You supposed Lyre was right... there was really no need for you to be so apprehensive about going to your friends for support after you'd cried on their collective shoulder before.

But the thought that they would side with Draco still nagged at the back of your mind.

And maybe... this was something that you had to deal with yourself. They were your feelings after all, you should take some responsibility for them.

You twirled the quill in your hand, watching the feather move in the breeze.

Writing back quickly, you passed the note back to Lyre.

i know. i promise it's not actually anything important

Lyre huffed under her breath. You jotted down some of the notes from the front of the room as Snape droned on.

Soon enough the note was back again.

you're sure?

Were you sure?

You thought back to how you had felt laying in bed last night. Empty. A little used. But not really mad.

What had you even really expected from Draco anyway? You knew him. You knew how he treated people.

You knew how your other friends treated people as well.

Thinking about it objectively, it was a strange little group you were a part of. Bound together not out of true friendship - at least not in the beginning anyway - but because you were supposed to. You were supposed to talk to these people, because your parents talked to their parents. Because your parents worked with their parents.

Because your parents were in the same upper class pureblood circles.

And so you should be too.

Now, of course, you had grown to care for all of your friends. And they had grown to care for you, in their own ways. You were grateful that you had them, even if they could be a little mean sometimes. Still, you knew they didn't really mean anything by it.

You wrote back to Lyre.

yeah i'm sure