the boys of harry potter imagines.

draco malfoy.

y/n sat in her seat with eyes on the board,
although her mind was too busy to pay the slightest bit of attention to the words that were sprawled across the board.
she laid her head on the table and inhaled a sharp breath,
the sounds of shuffling around her becoming drowned out with the raging thoughts in her mind.
until the sudden gust of cold wind and expensive cologne lingered in the air around her.
the girl lifted her heavy head to see draco malfoy sitting next to her,
although he looked like he'd rather be anywhere else besides next to her.
he laid his chin in the palm of his hand and let out a loose breath,
turning his cold eyes to her.
"hey?"
she spoke barely above a whisper.
he scoffed and shook his head,
flipping through his spell book.
"can-can i help you?"
she asked as politely as she could,
wondering why out of all the empty seats in the class he chose the one directly next to her.
he pointed a finger to the board without taking his eyes off the words on the page.
she looked at the scrawl on the board and let out a breath.
partner work.
"so,"
she began,
waiting for his head to turn her way.
after a few more quiet minutes,
he lifted his head and turned to face her.
his eyes,
orbed with silver and grey,
were heavy with distance and sorrow.
"it's simple."
"what is?"
"are you incompetent?"
"draco, please,"
she sighed and lifted a dejected hand to stop him and his insults,
"i've got enough going on without your spiteful comments."
draco scoffed once again,
"can't imagine what you've got possibly going on that could be much worse..."
the words were hushed and barely audible,
but y/n heard his acidic tone and felt her cheeks rise with heat from embarrassment.
"hey...are-are you okay?"
draco stood frozen for a solid moment.
he had always been so familiar with these words but never on the receiving end of them.
people actually ask that?
he thought to himself rather pitifully.
"draco?"
"...yeah, i'm fine."
he shrugged and grabbed the cauldron at the same time she did,
her fingers brushing his cold and smooth hand.
draco pulled back and let his racing heart try and pace itself,
but his mind wondered why the contact suddenly restarted his once dull heart.
he had never felt it pump the way it just did.
it raced and sent an echo throughout his body,
only at the feeling of her fingers?
blimey...i wonder what the rest of her could do to me.
he amused himself and felt the corners of his lips turn up into a smile for the first time in months.
whatever y/n offered was something draco had yearned for.
and now that she restarted his heart and taught him how to smile again,
he was growing desperate not to let her go.
he needed to keep her around,
for his own selfish needs,
but maybe she'd get something out of it too.
"y/l?"
she turned her head to face him,
forcing him to recognize her beauty.
he had never had the opportunity to see y/n this close,
but now that he did he was awestruck.
she was....beautiful;
to put it simply.
everything about y/n was perfectly normal yet so unique and perfect.
"what?"
she whispered,
a little worried at his empty stare.
"you and i are going to hogsmeade this weekend."
she let out a loose laugh that sounded airy and warm,
making draco's body heat up.
"w-what?"
"deaf, are you? you and i. hogsmeade."
"are you asking or telling?"
he let the grin he missed so painfully play at his lips,
"it's your choice, after all. but are you really going to stand me up?"
"what is this for?"
"does there have to be a reason to go with a..."
the word seemed to catch in his throat.
but something about the word in the context of y/n seemed to be comforting to draco.
if that was the right word.
after all,
draco had only known misery.
especially in the past few months.
"friend,"
he finally finished with a hint of embarrassment at his now lightly tinted cheeks.
he had never known a true friend.
and he was damned to let y/n make a fool of him.
but y/n didn't laugh,
she didn't ridicule him,
she only nodded.
"okay. i'll be there."
draco was slightly stunned at her response,
although he wouldn't let it show.
the boy had only known loneliness;
it only grew more of overwhelming with months prior.
but now he had a friend,
or so he hoped,
and he was sure to make the best of it.
he suddenly felt alive again,
and he had y/n to thank.
***
y/n and draco sat awkwardly from across each other in the three broomsticks,
their eyes directing everywhere besides one another.
she drummed her fingers along the table and took a slow sip of her butterbeer,
then looked out of the window.
"oh my god, draco, look!"
she snickered and drew his attention to the boy outside the shop slipping and sliding through the ice,
then finally falling face first into the snow.
draco let out a low snicker and shook his blonde head,
secretly admiring y/n's cheerful laugh from across the table.
y/n looked over at him and saw the faint glimmer of hope in those eyes of his,
and felt her chest tighten with what felt like enamor.
but how could it be love?
especially so soon?
it seemed nearly impossible.
she thought rapidly.
"y/l, can i ask you something?"
she nodded in response.
"what's troubling you?"
she took in a deep breath and there began her story.
draco had only ever felt sorry for himself,
if he was honest,
but right here, right now, his heart sank to the pit of his stomach at her story.
y/n seemed so innocent and pure.
too pure for his world.
and hearing her tribulations of life made his stomach twist in a knot.
and as he stared at her flawless skin with no sign of trouble,
he felt the sudden need to protect her.
but almost as if y/n had read his mind,
her defenses came falling.
her lips fell from the smile she once wore so proudly and replaced it with a sudden frown.
her eyes were dim with hurt;
her under eyes dark;
and lines etched into her skin from permanent worry.
almost instinctively,
but against his better judgment,
he reached for her hand.
she was still with surprise for a second but soon melted into his embrace.
draco let his buried loving instincts take over,
which prompted him to squeeze her hand reassuringly.
although it's not bad as being a death eater and having to kill your professor, it's pretty bad.
he thought and locked his eyes with her,
as if she could hear his thoughts.
don't worry, y/n. i'm here now. i'll keep you safe.
and as quickly as her face fell,
it was back now.
her smile was radiant and her eyes were glistening in the pale sunlight,
while their hands still laid intertwined.
"draco?"
"hm?"
"i'm glad we're friends."
***
months had passed by the pair,
and although draco and y/n hadn't hung out again,
he still kept an eye out for her.
he'd torment and push everyone in his way,
besides y/n.
y/n was special and deserved to be treated as such,
he reminded himself,
trying to ignore the worst part of himself that wished to force her to the ground.
the girl had been the only one to show him true friendship and make him feel cared about.
and he wasn't going to risk that.
he just simply didn't want to get too close-
couldn't get too close.
there was too much at risk for draco and his family to go around making friends.
or worse,
develop feelings.
as much as that small part of him begged for her,
he refused to drag her under with him.
refused to have his own heart hurt even more than the damaged it already suffered.
no,
if he could spare y/n he would.
and so he was,
by keeping his distance.
and y/n seemed to understand draco better than he thought she would.
she wasn't pushy,
didn't beg him to talk,
she accepted who he was and what came with him.
draco promised himself if he ever made it out alive,
he'd thank her.
maybe do even more.

y/n walked past draco in the corridor and gave him a friendly smile that didn't make him weary of her company;
just simply acknowledged his presence.
she didn't know the exact reason why they hadn't talked or hung since that day in december.
but she didn't mind.
she, too, had a lot going on.
and though they were friends,
being friends from a distance was enough.
even though she knew she needed support,
like he had once given her,
she refused to pry on him.
he would come around when he was ready.
if he was ever ready.
***
"did you hear?"
hannah abbot whispered to y/n during their class.
"no, what?"
"draco malfoy. he's in the hospital wing right now."
"why?"
"dunno. someone said he got cut up really bad."
y/n's eyebrows raised at the words and felt worry for the boy settle within her.
not a word had been exchanged between the two since their date in december.
but y/n still felt that strictness in her chest when she thought about him.
and as soon as she got the chance,
she hurried to the hospital wing to check in on him.
when she arrived it was empty.
emptier than y/n had ever known it to be.
it was pitiful,
to be honest.
she began to remember the way this place was full of people when harry, hermione, or ron got hurt.
but yet here draco laid,
still and lonely.
it pained y/n to see him so alone when he needed it most.
so she decided, if no one else would be here, she would.
she took a seat next to his bed and realized his eyelashes were so long,
they fanned his cheeks when they were closed.
it was mesmerizing to see his pale skin still look so elegant in the faint light,
and how chilled his skin was.
she pulled the blanket up a bit higher to his neck then sat back,
growing comfortable for her night ahead.
***
draco laid still in the hospital bed,
his body throbbing with pains and sores.
fucking potter.
he cursed in his head loudly,
though his throat was too dry to get it out.
he refused to open his eyes.
he knew how the scene would look.
empty chairs with no friends around him.
he thought by now,
he would've grown used to it,
but the pain of being alone in such a vulnerable moment never stopped hurting.
until he turned to his side and saw y/n sitting in the chair,
fast asleep in such an uncomfortable position,
it hurt his body to even look at.
his once frozen body began to thaw at the sight of her.
he couldn't believe it.
"y/n."
she woke instantly with a start and looked at his eyes that were beginning to soften.
"hey! are you okay?"
those damn words again.
does she ever give up?
"i'm fine. just potter and his-why are you here?"
"well...you shouldn't be alone. not now, at least."
and just like draco had once done,
y/n folded his hand into hers and squeezed it tight.
he smiled a faint smile and closed his eyes.
"i'm here,"
she whispered and pressed his icy fingers to her warm and soft lips,
making him sink into the bed and fall fast
asleep with a heart full of warmth and gratuity.
no matter how he tried,
he would never be able to repay y/n.
draco could only hope his love for her would make up for it.