The Malfoy Diaries (A Draco Malfoy Fanfiction)

t h i r t y - o n e 💛

For someone who didn't seem to want Aria around, she believed that Malfoy often put himself into situations where he had to be around her. He was wrong on what he had said in the hall, of course. Aria would never dream of having a crush on a Slytherin, much less a Malfoy of all people. Judging by Malfoy's diary entries, maybe it was he who had a crush on her. Aria's lips twitched in her amusement, as she considered the possibility. 

As Aria looked out towards the rainy forest from Hagrid's hut, she grew unsettled when she saw the shadow of a big black animal. It turned out it was just Fang, though, so Aria managed to relax a little. 

"Are you alright, Aria?" Hagrid asked her, in that gravelly voice of his. 

"I'll be fine, Hagrid. Thank you," she said, with a kind smile. 

At least, she really hoped that she would be fine. It was hard to know for sure anymore when Malfoy seemed to be around her all day. 

In all of Europe, he was probably the most frustrating wizard that she had ever met. He was certainly the most frustrating wizard in all of England, aside from one particular bald prick. That being said, Aria knew that she wouldn't change where she lived for a second, even if it did bring with it its problems. Of course, for Aria, her problems weren't exactly the same as the problems of the average seventeen year old girl. However, there was nothing average about Aria Honey and there never had been. 

 Aria was glad that the day was a temperate one because Hagrid's hut could often get cold in the winter months. Nevertheless, Aria had missed spending time with Hagrid and so she had decided to go and visit him.  

"Well, I'm sure everything will be good, Aria! You're a bright, young witch, after all," Hagrid told her, with a reassuringly warm expression. 

Aria felt a little more relaxed, now, although she couldn't take her mind off Malfoy completely. 

"Thank you, Hagrid. I better get going but I'll see you soon," she said, with a sweet smile. 

Hagrid nodded in agreement to this and then bid Aria a fond farewell. 

Walking quickly back up towards the castle, it didn't take Aria to come into contact with the one person that she had wanted to avoid. The other concern she had was that she still had Malfoy's diary. She hadn't been able to return it just yet. The last time she and Malfoy had met had sort of deterred her from doing so. 

"Malfoy," she said. 

"Hufflepuff," he replied, in a silk smooth voice. "I was just about to go back to the common room to sort through my library but what would you know? I still haven't found my diary," he said. 

Aria folded her arms in front of her chest and sighed. 

"Well, I don't have it," she said simply. Most Hufflepuffs weren't the best at lying but Aria had spent a childhood with Ron and Harry and it came naturally, now. She had to use lies sometimes to get herself out of trouble and she had no qualms with that. 

 "That's unfortunate. Usually, I'm so organised and this is ruining things," Malfoy said. 

Aria hadn't supposed that Malfoy would ever claim defeat but it seemed that way. She knew that she was going to have to return that diary soon enough, before Malfoy had her blood. 

"Check the Restricted Section. Maybe it's there," Aria said. 

Malfoy tilted his head as he considered Aria's suggestion but he soon shook his head again. 

"Why would it be there? I haven't been to the Restricted Section since..." he trailed off then. 

Why was he even telling Aria Honey, of all people, all of this? 

"I'll keep looking. I have to admit I'm pretty curious as to where it's gone, or rather, who's taken it. What would anyone want with my diary, anyway?" he asked. 

Oh, Aria had her reasons. She just wasn't exactly sure what they were anymore. 

"It makes me wonder who would take it in the first place,"  Malfoy said. 

"Perhaps, nobody took it, Malfoy," Hermione said, as she walked over to join Aria and him. "Maybe you dropped it." 

Aria turned to Hermione with an appreciative expression. It was a relief to see her friend again, especially when Malfoy had been asking her so many questions that she knew she couldn't answer. 

"I'm dropping this conversation," Malfoy said, with his lips a fine line, before he strolled away from Hermione and Aria, leaving them in the shadowy hall of the castle. 

Hermione turned to Aria. Her coffee-brown eyes soon scanned Aria's face with an observant expression. 

"What are you doing here?" she asked, "You know what Malfoy said about hanging around near him." 

"Hey, he intercepted my path," Aria protested. 

Hermione nodded at that. She would always trust her friends before she trusted anyone else. 

"I was just about to go to the library to get on with some work. I need to do more research on where this final Horcrux is. Ginny and I have been researching it for days but...nothing," Hermione said. Her voice fell a little bleak on the last word. 

"I'll come with you," Aria agreed, with a friendly smile. 

She was so glad that Hermione had been around to help her get out of another awkward conversation with the one and only Draco Malfoy. 

The two of them walked down the hallway until they reached the library. 

Hermione believed that the library had now fallen almost uncomfortably quiet. When she had been revising for her O.W.Ls, she had always grown frustrated by people talking and kissing and eating in the library but now...she almost missed how colourful and bubbly the atmosphere used to be. Everything was different, now. 

It didn't take long for Hermione to pick a book off one of the shelves. Aria had always known her friend to be extraordinarily efficient, after all. 

The two of them soon sat down at one of the nearby tables and began to read on in their search for clues about where the next Horcrux was.