THE STRANGEST OF PLACES - Chapter Four
draco x fem!ravenclaw reader / postwar au series
warnings: draco opening his big mouth, some strong language
wc: 3183
masterlist
pls let me know if you want to be tagged!! tags below:
@slyth3rin-princess @lovesanimals0000 @cappgyuccino @lightning1ce @onlygetaway @honeyyypeach @namelesslosers @ghostyv @mikadorbs @redactedhimbo@morganadpl @scarecrowscaresthomas @camille-1019
Chapter Four: Draught of the Living Dead
The strangest Christmas had to end with the strangest night, and no other night got much weirder than this. After you were done stargazing, you helped Draco clear away the mess before heading to your room for the night. You share a rather awkward goodnight before separating, and now you were staring at the spare clothes Draco had put out for you. It was just sweatpants and a jumper, but they belonged to him, and it felt wrong putting them on. At this point, however, your body had consumed enough alcohol and unhealthy snacks to last a lifetime, and bed sounded like a good option right now.
Slipping on the clothes, you could tell immediately that it wasn't cheap fabric. You crawled into the giant king-size bed, and the covers surround you as you sigh deeply, head hitting the pillow and eyes closing. Today had been long and full of surprises, and you were ending it in a spare bedroom inside Malfoy Manor. You open your eyes, your mind suddenly alive with thoughts, and see that it was snowing outside once again.
"Weirdest Christmas break ever," you mutter to yourself, watching the snowfall as your eyes grew heavier, and heavier.
When Boxing Day broke, you were up and in the same dress as yesterday when you followed your memory back to the drawing room. Draco was already awake, sitting with a book and a tray of tea. He looks up when you darken the doorway and smiles sheepishly.
"Morning," he says, his voice a little deeper from sleep, "you can help yourself."
"Morning," you repeat back, taking a seat on the couch opposite and pouring a cup. It was English Breakfast, just nice and simple to start the day. You hum as the warm substance coats your throat and tastes both earthy and refreshing.
"Sleep alright?" he asks you, continuing to read as he did.
"Yes, thanks," you say, placing the cup and saucer down, "I better be going soon though, mother will be worried if I don't get back."
He just nods slowly, fiddling with the page of his book and bouncing his leg. He seemed a little nervous, or off, and you didn't think staying much longer was a good idea. It was all a little too intimate towards the end of the night, and just thinking about to two of you stargazing and sharing life stories made you a little hot in the face. Perhaps he was feeling the same.
"Thanks for putting me up," you said, drinking the rest of the tea and slipping your coat on, "I had a nice time. I'll see you in a couple of days for the last potion?"
He closes his book and places it down on the coffee table, resting his elbows on his knees and smiling thinly across at you.
"No worries," he says, rubbing his hands together and looking elsewhere, "I had a good time too."
You smile, mostly to yourself, at how rubbish he is when it comes to conveying any kind of feeling.
"Good. Well, I'll be seeing you. Thanks again."
Getting up to leave, you take your bag and ready your wand, just getting past the doorway when you turn back to see he was staring ahead into the fire.
"Bye, Draco."
His head snaps towards you, clearly having been in a trance just now, and he stands, shoving his hands in pockets and rocking a little. So many nervous tendencies.
"Yeah, bye, Y/N. See you in a few days."
When you were gone, he relaxed his shoulders and felt tension leave his entire body. All night long he'd been thinking about how close you had gotten to seeing him, how easy it was to tell you things under the night sky like he'd known you his entire life. In a matter of days, you had gone from being a mere project partner to sharing a moment he wouldn't have with just anybody. Had it bothered him? Perhaps. Was he worried that you were becoming a constant and he didn't know how to deal with that? Definitely. Draco didn't have many of those, so the first sign of anything becoming more than a fleeting moment scared the living hell out of him.
Your mother wasn't exactly happy when you showed up at the door the next morning in the same dress. She gave you a long lecture about keeping her informed, no matter the time you should send her an owl with your whereabouts. She went on about how the Malfoy family weren't exactly golden, and that she isn't surprised their son had kept you out all night without letting your poor mother know what you were doing. You had tried to explain that nothing was out of the ordinary, you only stayed because it was late, and Draco was kind enough to lend you a bed for the night.
"Mother, I stayed in a separate room, three bedrooms away from his," you spelt out for the hundredth time, "we just hung out, that was it. Stop making a big deal out of it."
"You were gone all night and not a single word from you," she waved the spatula she was cooking eggs with right in your face, "what am I supposed to think? He's a young boy, after all."
You visibly cringe at what your mother was trying to imply, but as soon as you began justifying yourself again, she dismissed the conversation and told you to get changed. You were happy to.
After a much-needed shower, you brush through your hair at your vanity, an old polaroid of you and Hermione stuck in the corner of the frame catching your attention. You smile widely, taking it and looking at the captured memory. She was wearing Harry's Quidditch jumper, and you were wrapped up in a Gryffindor scarf after one of their victory matches, butterbeer bottles in your hands and arms around each other. You wonder what she'd say if she knew what you were doing last night, and you could hear her in your head.
"Malfoy?" she would say, "are you serious, Y/N? He's a total moron."
You laugh to yourself, placing the picture back in its rightful spot and putting your chin in your hand. Maybe you wanted to be Draco's friend. Maybe he was fun to be with last night and you'd like to do it again. Would it matter if you did? He's just a boy. There isn't anything stopping you from getting to know him, other than himself, which has proven to be difficult. One more potion and then you can go your separate ways and never speak again if you so wanted.
If only that thought didn't make you feel a little sad.
————————————
A day passed and you soon found yourself back in Draco's kitchen, stirring ingredients he was preparing into the cauldron. Upon your arrival it was him that greeted you at the door that morning and not the tiny house elf. He had also gone to the trouble of brewing tea and offering you leftover Christmas cake, which you nibbled on happily as you stirred. He seemed a bit more relaxed than when you left him on Boxing Day, but then again so were you. Perhaps you both just needed time to process that night.
"So," he starts to say, "did your mother murder you?"
"Well, if she did, she's done a bad job, hasn't she?" you joke, and Draco snorts quietly, "she gave me a long lecture about being out late and not owling her. That's about it."
"Was she mad that you were with me?"
You look up from the delicious Christmas cake to see he's chopping away at some Valerian root.
"No, not at all," you lie a little, knowing that your mother was mostly narked about the fact it was a Malfoy that had kept you out, despite it being her idea you go in the first place, "she was just annoyed because you're a boy."
"That I'm a boy?"
"Yeah, you know," you go on, popping some icing into your mouth, "all mothers are the same, as soon as a boy is in the equation, they immediately think something's going on."
Draco looked a little perplexed, but then the realisation hit him.
"Oh," he laughs, "she thinks we're a thing? That's hilarious."
"Hilarious?" you repeat, looking across at him sniggering to himself. His choice of words had started a little fire in your chest, and you needed him to explain what was so amusing.
"Don't you think so?" he continues, scooping up the Valerian root and adding it to the mixture. No, in a matter of fact you didn't find it funny. You had always thought yourself rather interesting if you were honest.
"No?" you say, sounding more like a question, "what's so funny about dating someone like me?"
He looks up at you over the cauldron, still smiling, and furrowed his eyebrows.
"Did I say that?"
"Well, you said it was hilarious to imagine so I just want to know how, exactly."
"You're taking it to heart," he says, waving a dismissive hand, "you know what I meant. We're just friends. Seems weird to think otherwise."
You huff in annoyance as he goes back to the chopping board to clean it. You watch him with narrowed eyes, and he feels it.
"What's wrong now?"
"You've dated girls like Parkinson," you go on, and hear him audibly sigh, "don't you think that is hilarious?"
"Look, just forget I said anything, alright?" he said agitatedly.
"No, actually," you say a little louder, gaining his attention from the sink, "I think I'm a rather good option, even if you don't."
He runs his hands through his hair and turns to face you fully, a look of exasperation on his face.
"What do you want me to say? Do you want a compliment?"
"Excuse me?" you bite back, "of course not, especially not from you."
"Then what?"
"Honesty," you cross your arms and stand up straight, knowing that this was about to get messy, and you were going to end up hurt, "what do you honestly think about me?"
He goes to argue with you, you could see that, but instead he bites his lip and lets out a deep sigh.
"I wouldn't go for you, no," he admits, but something doesn't feel right about what he's saying, and when you're face drops slightly, he wants to take it back, "we don't mix well, you know that. Besides, you're not like the other girls I've dated."
"What do you mean?" you push, feeling your palms get sweaty and heart heavy from the rejection you didn't know would bother you so much. He hesitates, looking for the right words and finding nothing. You stare at him with a hint of hurt.
"Well, you know, you're a lot more bookish," he shrugs, "and I go for girls that are more, I don't know, fun, I guess."
He immediately regrets that because you scoff lightly and turn away from him. He'd upset you, that was obvious. But he wasn't lying, you were different, and not in the way he was making it sound. Draco is just terrible when it comes to conversation.
"Right, I see," you say softly, going back to stirring, "my fault for asking."
"I didn't mean it in a bad way," he started saying, but realised he was fighting a lost cause and instead went back to washing his cutting board, "you just take stuff way too seriously."
No answer, but the silence was deafening. Why did you have to ask him? You had a clear idea about what he was going to say. Wine talks for you, and besides, you didn't even like him like that. The two of you had just become friends, what would his opinion on your attractiveness mean to you?
A whole lot, apparently.
The rest of the afternoon went by slowly, taking it in turns to stir the mixture and write up notes. No more than four words had been exchanged between you since, but Draco was itching to get you to talk to him again. He felt so terribly guilty every time he looked at your face. Just a few days ago he was staring at you and drunkenly thinking how pretty you were up close, and then how nice the moonlight looked against your skin and how he wanted to see you more, and more and then he woke up feeling nauseous from the number of complicated feelings. Draco could barely look at you that morning, and he worried that you had noticed his strange behaviour, but you had no idea how much you had invaded his mind that night. It was sickening, in fact. He doesn't see you that way. He wants to be friends with you, and right now it felt like he'd blown his chances. Clearing his throat, you stop note taking to glance up at him sitting beside you.
"I get why you aren't talking to me," he says, and you could see how much his brain was working to make sure he didn't say anything to make it worse, "but I didn't mean to offend you. Whoever you end up with will be, uh, very lucky. Yeah. They will."
You raise your eyebrow, not looking entirely satisfied with his attempt at an apology. He tries to think of something else to say, anything to make this situation end, but you're still looking at him like he's completely missing the point.
"Are you still mad at me?" he tries asking, but you just sigh and close your notebook, swivelling in your chair to face him fully. He suddenly looks very nervous, like you're about to yell at him.
"No," you say, smiling lightly, "I guess I was asking for it. Don't feel bad for telling me the truth, I don't even know what I was expecting."
He looks a little relieved, and his shoulders slump slightly.
"Still buds?"
You giggle, and it makes him smile. How come he smiles when you giggle? Is that weird? Is this turning into something he can't handle? His neck starts to feel hot, but then you get up off your stool and stand before him, opening your arms wide and suddenly he can't breathe anymore.
"What are you doing?"
"We're friends," you say simply, "friends hug things out."
He's hesitant for a long moment, and you begin to look disheartened and start lowering your arms, but his mind is racing and all he can think to do is pull you in to avoid upsetting you again. You fall against him, arms wrapping around his neck and body flush with his. He rests his chin on your shoulder, tugging his arms around your waist and holding you there between his legs. It starts off a little awkward, but then he calms, letting out a deep breath and relaxing against you. You feel his body untense, his muscles aren't taught, and he seems... comfortable. You rest your head against his lightly, testing the waters, but he doesn't move away. In fact, you stay like that for longer than anticipated. Draco's jumper is soft, and you like being in his arms, but that thought soon makes your hands sweat and heart race and suddenly you're breaking away and he's looking at you, so close, his hands still on your waist and it's all so intense and the room is hot and you a become fumbling, stuttering mess.
"I just, uh, I need the um, the bathroom?"
"First door on the left," he directs, somewhere between scratching his neck, putting his hands in his pockets, and tugging his hair. You rush off, leaving him alone in the kitchen, shutting the bathroom door behind you as if he'd been chasing you down the hallway. Falling back against it, you catch your breath, heart slamming against your ribcage. It was just a friendly hug, you tell yourself, what on earth is wrong with you?
Draco leans back against the kitchen counter, feeling like someone had just sucked the air out of his lungs momentarily. Did he make you upset you again? Was him being comfortable making you uncomfortable? His mind is going in circles, thinking about how snug you fit against him and then vigorously shaking his head as if the thought will just tumble out of his ear. In the midst of his confusion, the most putrid smell starts invading his senses, and then he remembers.
"Shit, the potion," he practically sprints around the counter to the bubbling cauldron, peering inside to see a gloopy, grey mess occurring in place of your Draught of the Living Dead.
"Oh fuck," he curses under his breath, grabbing any utensil handy to scoop out the lumps of congealed goop. It smelt so horrid he pulled his jumper over his nose and continued to rid the potion of the mess, until it looked somewhat like it should. With a sigh of relief, he binned the disgusting clumps and goes back to stirring it. In the bathroom, you were patting your face dry after splashing yourself with water ten times to try and get your act together when you started to smell it. Almost skidding around the doorway to the kitchen, you see Draco attending to the potion with his nose covered.
"What is that smell?" you ask, gagging slightly the closer you got to the cauldron.
"We'd left it too long without checking," Draco mumbles through his jumper, "don't worry, I think I've saved what I could of it."
"Do you think it's okay to submit?" you pinch your nose to avoid smelling it.
"It's fine, I think," Draco mumbles again, "let's just bottle it and call it a day."
You gather a glass vial and hold it underneath the cauldron as Draco pours the substance in. There's still a faint smell of roasted ferret, but you both choose to ignore it. Once that was done and put away with the others, you both begin clearing away. This was the last time you had to see one another, anything after this was voluntary. You keep looking over at him scrubbing away at the cauldron, wishing you could get inside his head, just once.
He passes over your coat as you're packing your books away, and you thank him softly, pulling your arms through the sleeves and placing your bag on your shoulder. He walks you out, like he has before, and the giant Christmas tree is still lighting up the entryway when you head to the door for the last time.
"Well, this was better than I expected," you tell him, and he chuckles, "you're not a bad potion partner, Malfoy."
"Neither are you, Y/L/N," he plays along, leaning against the doorframe as you stand in the cold beyond it. There's a moment of silence where you just look at one another.
"I guess I'll see you at school?"
He nods slowly.
"See you at school."
You're almost down the steps and into the open, ready to apparate when he calls for you again.
"Y/N," you turn to see him stood in the huge doorway, shoving his hands into his pockets, "thanks. And have a good new year, yeah?"
You smile at him, small specks of snow falling onto your hair. He thinks it looks nice, you, standing in the snow, smiling at him like that. His mouth curls into a lopsided smile.
"Have a good new year, Draco."
disclaimer: i do not own hp or any of the characters in this story
dividers from: @firefly-graphics & @happy-ash-edits
205 notes
·
View notes
april tbr post yayy
rereads are marked by a ☆, new reads are marked by a ♡, and new acquisitions are bolded
physical tbr: 20
what moves the dead - t. kingfisher ♡
an education in malice - s. t. gibson ♡
juilet takes a breath - gabby rivera ♡
stories of people and civilization, greek ancient origins - lindsay powell, j. k. jackson ♡
rebel girls - elizabeth keenan ♡
the silent stars go by - dan abbet ♡
touched by an angel - johnathan morris ♡
dracula - bram stoker ♡
dune - frank herbert ♡
dune messiah - frank herbert ♡
frankenstein - mary shelley ♡
sense and sensibility - jane austen ♡
hippie - barry miles ♡
evernight - claudia gray ☆
stargazer - claudia gray ♡
the handmaids tale - margaret atwood ☆
the testaments - margaret atwood ♡
aristotle and dante discover the secrets of the
universe - benjamin alire sáenz ☆
would-be witch - kimberly frost ☆
the ballad of songbirds and snakes - suzanne collins ☆
digital tbr: 2
pandora's jar: women in the greek myths - natalie haynes ♡
wild is the witch - rachel griffin ♡
read: 7
a million kisses in your lifetime - monica murphy - dnf
i got like 80 pages in and then just,,, could not continue. no shade if u liked this book it was just solidly, solidly not my thing.
my monster valentine - various authors - 3/5
debated putting this on here for obvious reasons but i neeeeed to be accurate i guess. i only read about half of the stories in this collection and they were pretty hit or miss. it was free though so yk. vibes.
high spirits - camille gomera-tavarez - 2.5/5
this book was pretty alright! i don't have much to say about it (hence the middling rating) but i would reccomend it if you're looking for a fast read :D
the coldest touch - isabel sterling - 4/5
THIS WAS SO CUUUUTTTTTEEEEE!!! i liked the way the author portrayed the genuine hell that being stuck at 17 would be. please get me out of here i want a fully developed frontal lobe. AW and all of the characters were super likable. truly so adorable i was squealing the whole time.
im knocking a point off for the romance being a littttllllleeeee rushed and the character descriptions feeling off (it felt odd that both pov characters categorized every single person into a specific race? i think its good practice to make a characters race clear, but idk if that applies to a random teacher with no dialogue). to be so real though i loved this book enough that it didn't bother me too much.
beastly & bookish - catrina bell - 5/5
did i finish this book in one sitting? yes. did i stay up until 1am doing that? ...mind your business. honestly, im maybeee being a little bit generous giving this 5 stars but !! i really liked it!!! rom was soo mecore. i'm excited to read the rest of the books in this collection (even though they're all christmasy), and i can't wait for my physical copy to get here!!
holly's unjolly christmas - lark green - 2/5
this book was truly just fine. like, the definition of pretty alright. the tropes weren't my thing and the romance felt wildly rushed, but the writing style was easy to read and there were some funny bits. i also felt like the demon characters fell pretty flat? idk felt mid overall. (tbh the highlights of this book were when rom and noelle showed up. my babiesssss)
holidays ablaze - lucy limon - 3/5
v cute 👍 i love samite he's so autistic 💗
last months goal: finish dune
hmm ok. so i did not finish dune. i don't know why i thought i could. whatever possessed me to believe i could finish an 800 page sci-fi book in one month was truly of the devil herself. what the fuck. that was a blatant temptation towards hubris and I FELL FOR IT. anyways i hit 300 pages. everyone clap.
this months goal: finish a re-read
i have a lot of books i'd like to re-read but!!! i just never get around to it!!!! there r always newer shinier books that grab my attention!! i'd also like to carve away a more sizable chunk of my physical tbr this month because i have officially run out of space on my bookshelf TwT. everything is so so crammed in there, i truly cannot afford any more physical books. public library here i come!!
2 notes
·
View notes