The Malfoy Diaries (A Draco Malfoy Fanfiction)

n i n e t y - o n e 💛

Ginny hadn't meant to fall asleep in the Gryffindor common room, but that was what had ended up happening anyway. She had stayed up all night waiting for Harry, but he must have still been out with Fred and George, as she hadn't seen him since bidding him a goodbye the previous evening. Ginny wasn't one to get anxious about things like this, but she was slightly concerned about Harry's whereabouts. Either way, she was sure that she would see him soon enough and so she decided to get ready for the day ahead and then began to make her way to the Great Hall, where she soon found Neville sat down at the Gryffindor table. 

She walked over to him and sat down beside him with a pleasant smile upon her face. 

"Don't you just think it's a wonderful day?" she asked energetically, as she took several slices of toast for herself. Much like her brothers, Ginny could certainly eat a lot and she was proud of that fact, too. "I definitely want to play Quidditch later, when my brothers get back. Just where on earth have they got to anyway?" Ginny asked. Some frustration crept into her voice, but she chose to ignore it. As much as she loved her mother, the last thing she wanted was to sound like her.  

"Yeah, it'll be good! You've always been really good at playing Quidditch, Ginny," Neville said. 

Ginny grinned at that. 

"Aw, thanks Neville! So, I need the details, how have things been going with you and Hannah?" Ginny asked, with apparent interest in the matter. 

"Oh things have been great! Thanks for asking. It's just...she hasn't been around much recently. After the war, her parents wanted her to return home as soon as possible," Neville explained. 

In response to that, Ginny gave a nod of her head in understanding. She knew that Hannah's parents weren't the only ones to have their concerns about Hogwarts reopening, but she knew that she couldn't imagine a life where it didn't. Besides, she and the other students had spent countless hours performing reparation spells and defense spells just so that the school would be safe for when it inevitably did reopen. Everything was going to be just fine, Ginny believed. 

"And when exactly is this miserable school going to reopen?" Pansy asked, with a cynical tone of voice, as both she and Draco passed by the Gryffindor table. 

Draco wasn't sure where Aria had got to, but he knew he really was beginning to miss her. 

"Pansy, it's not a miserable school. It's actually pretty good here," Draco said. 

Pansy scoffed at that. 

"Sure it is. Are you feeling quite alright, Draco? Since when do you actually think that Hogwarts is a good wizarding school?" Pansy asked, as humour crept into her voice and an expression of disbelief became present upon her face. 

"I guess I just have opened my mind a little beyond hating Dumbledore and Hogwarts and everything it stands for," Draco admitted. 

Pansy's expression shifted then, as it became a little more serious. 

"Right, it's perfect here," Pansy said. Her voice was filled with sarcasm. 

Draco chose to ignore it, as he continued on past the Gryffindor table and towards the Slytherin one. 

It felt so incredibly empty, but Draco was just glad that the school was safe again. 

"I still think you could do with taking a no-nonsense potion for your head right now," Pansy muttered, as she took a few slices of bread from the plate in front of her. 

Draco smirked as he gave a small shake of his head. 

"I don't believe that will be necessary, Parkinson," he replied casually. 

"I don't think you're being quite practical here, Draco. I mean, you were supposed to be a Death Eater. Surely you would want to finish off your father's work, rather than turning away from it completely?" Pansy asked. 

At this, Draco simply shook his head once again. 

"No, Pansy. I believe that my father has caused quite enough suffering, don't you think?" he asked, as he took a slice of toast for himself. 

Before Pansy could say anything in response to that, Aria wandered over to their table and looked towards Draco with a slightly nervous expression on her face. 

"Draco," Pansy said, as she elbowed him slightly. 

Draco looked up from his slice of toast and his grey eyes locked with Aria's honey-coloured ones again. 

He swiftly swallowed down his bite of toast before he spoke again. 

"Hi, Aria," he said. 

Aria managed a small smile, as she replied. "Hi Draco. Is this seat taken?" she asked. 

"By all means, go ahead," Draco said, as he gestured to the seat opposite him. 

Aria released a subtle breath of relief, as she sat down opposite Draco and Pansy. She had to admit, it was a little intimidating sitting directly opposite Pansy Parkinson after everything that had happened, but she mostly chose to ignore it. 

"I needed to do something today but for the life of me I can't remember what it was," Pansy said to Draco, as she watched Aria take her own slice of toast. 

"You've always sort of been a scatter-brain, Pansy," Draco pointed out, which caused Pansy's lips to twitch up at the corner. "Maybe you needed to grab some books from the library," he suggested. 

"Right. Well, I'll do that later. What are you doing today, Aria?" Pansy asked, as her dark eyes glanced towards Aria's yellow and black striped tie. 

"Ginny wanted me to go and watch her play some Quidditch later, so I'm not about to miss out on that," she said. 

Pansy considered Aria's words for a couple of moments, before she spoke again. "You know what? That actually doesn't sound that lame. I might just have to come along to watch this Quidditch game. After all, it'll give me something to do after I've collected those books." 

Aria smiled despite herself. 

"You know you're not so bad, Pansy," Aria said. 

Pansy rolled her eyes. 

"Of course, I'm not so bad. I'm me," Pansy said. Then stood up, grabbed a bunch of grapes and made her way away from the Slytherin table. 

Draco met Aria's gaze and released a gentle laugh which Aria couldn't help but smile at in her own gentle amusement.