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iamnmbr3 · 3 days ago

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Let me start by saying that I adore your meta. It's some of the most thorough, well-reasoned hp analysis I've come across & you have a talent for tenderly mining and polishing canon connections I've never considered. You've put into words so many of my feelings about drarry, hinny, and the characters as a whole -- why I love them, why I struggle with them, and why they still compel me after all these years. I'm slowly chipping away at your blog and won't stop until I get to page 1 I've found myself very taken with the Slytherins lately--especially characters like Millicent and Daphne, who are either offhand names or caricatures, as well as some of the older Slytherins we see mentioned, who seem to stay largely out of the war (or at least aren't important enough to it for a mention). There are a lot of widely accepted fanon personalities/interpersonal dynamics for the Slytherins, and they're always fun to delve into. But I often find myself struggling to separate canon from fanon. Do you have any thoughts on what we can extrapolate about the Slytherins in canon (apart from "mean, ugly, & stupid/vapid" as jkr describes nearly every Slytherin but Draco)? And if not, do you have any blogs/posts to recommend on the topic?

Wow. What can I even say. I've been staring at this ask since I received it feeling so warmed by your words. Thank you very much for such high compliments. It always thrills me to hear that people get some enjoyment/mental stimulation out of this blog and that my little ramblings are of interest to others.

To some extent, since the other Slytherins aren't that well developed (due to the fact that Harry was too busy constantly staring at Draco to notice anything about them - I mean he literally doesn't even know Theodore Nott's NAME till he sees him spending more time with Draco) there's a lot of room for people to come up with their own interpretations of their personalities.

That said, there is some info in canon we can go off of. For example, we see Pansy hanging out with Draco a lot more than Millicent or Daphne. We also know that none of their parents were Death Eaters. And given that Millicent and Daphne seem to stay away from Draco more later, maybe their families aren't quite as into the whole blood purist stuff as Pansy and her family are. Especially Daphne does not seem to really participate in any of the bullying we see a lot of the Slytherins take part in.

Personally, I always headcannoned that Daphne never liked Draco very much and that while she did hold some anti-muggle and anti-muggleborn biases (similar to those held by most of the wizarding world), her attitudes were more on the level of those held by Fudge or Crouch and she never actually went in for any of the extremist blood purist beliefs or supported the Death Eaters or even had attitudes as extreme as Walburga Black (who thought the Death Eaters mostly had the right idea even if they went about it the wrong way). I also think she didn't much like the pettier behaviors Draco engaged in - the boasting, the bullying, the mockery, not to mention the weird Potter obsession - (or that the people Draco hung out with engaged in). I think she probably found him stuck up and arrogant and vaguely unsavory and tended to avoid him, even if she wasn't as horrified or enraged by him using slurs like Mudblood as someone like Ron or Harry would be.

I like the idea that after the war she and her sister changed their minds about their beliefs about muggles and muggleborns - even if they were never quite as extreme to begin with as those held by some. I headcanon that they two of them were both back at Hogwarts during Draco's 8th year - and that they actually ended up striking up a friendship - once the realized that he'd changed. After all, they were housemates for years. Plus they ran in similar social circles. And they all changed their minds, so that's a common bond. Daphne tells Draco point blank that she always thought he was a stuck up twat and Draco agrees that he was, which breaks the ice.

As for Pansy, I actually think she was more of a hanger on than a true friend. I thinks he and Draco drifted apart in 7th year. I don't especially like characterizations that whitewash the bad things she did - either the bullying or the bigotry or the "rying to hand harry in to Voldemort thing - or that turn her into some ooc mary sue girlboss with no personality other than being a genius who is great at everything and also getting to be mean with no consequences because she's so cool so no one cares I guess. That's not to say I don't enjoy fics with Draco/Pansy friendship if it's done right. But yeah, based on actual canon I see her moving on to the next person once Draco's fortunes were shown to have irrevocably fallen by book 7. Plus it's arguable that she always expected to marry Draco since he was the best match (thru book 6 anyway) but that she always secretly harbored feelings for Blaise. And after the war she got to act on that. After all, in the train scene in book 6 she seems awfully interested in what girls Blaise likes.

For Millicent we have even less. We know she was a bully. I don't like seeing that ignored or seeing her girlbossified. I do like the idea of her going thru her own little redemption arc and trying to make something of herself. I also imagine that she and Draco kind of drifted apart though. I think she ever became a completely nice person, but I like the idea of her apologizing to Hermione and them ending up at the Ministry together and kind of tolerating each other - just one of the many instances of strange, uncomfortable relationships that pop up in the post-war wizarding society as it tries to put itself together.

As for Crabbe & Goyle, I really hate how often fandom seems to forget or gloss over the fact that both of them were actively participating in torturing other students and seemingly very into it. I think the way Draco treated them - as henchmen/servants - always grated on them but they accepted it due to the relative statuses of their families. When the power dynamic between them shifts though, starting book 6 but really post book 6, they seem to revel in Draco's degradation and fall from grace (and we even see hints of that earlier, like them laughing when Draco gets beaten up by Harry in book 5 and not intervening). I find that super fascinating, and I think they are darker, more twisted characters than people tend to give them credit for. Given all this, I don't see Draco and Goyle staying friends post war and I never get why Goyle having been an enthusiastic participant in the Death Eaters' crimes (in a way that Draco never was) so often gets forgotten. Usually post war he gets reduced to a simple minded sad boi who Draco needs to look after. And I'm just like ??? Where?? Especially given that the alternative provides so much more interesting story fodder.

#asks #Harry Potter #Harry Potter meta #Millicent Bulstrode #Draco Malfoy #Pansy Parkinson #Gregory Goyle #Daphne Greengrass #Slytherins #Slytherin #my meta

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fallingforfictionalcharacterss · 1 year ago

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heyy! how are you? Could you write a story in which reader and there close friends get into a serious argument which ruins there relationship and there close friend reveals that reader has a crush on Draco and reader somehow runs into Draco and then cries into his arms as he comforts her. This happened to me (the first part not the second part, my crush sided with my friend) and I feel like it'd help me cope xx make any changes as suitable!

Sorry if this is too long to read and if you have a similar request then ignore this xx

Love your writing btw xx

First of all I want to say that I am really sorry that this happened to you and I hope that by now everything turned out somewhat good again. Much, much love and strength to you and I really hope I got everything right and that you will like this fic!

I really suck at making up fights out of nowhere, so this kinda felt like I forced it to escalate but I hope that it all still makes sense and you enjoy reading (even though I´ve done some characters really dirty in this fic).

False friends and true love

You stared into the fire crackling inside the fireplace of your common room. You felt your eyes getting heavy as you watched the flames dancing, and the chattering of your friends lulled you in. You sighed comfortably as you snuggled up even more into the cosy blanket covering you, your eyes lazily drifting from the fireplace to your friends who had spread on the couches and armchairs next to you, talking about the latest Quidditch matches, homework and the upcoming exams.

You barely even noticed how you became dizzier and dizzier, slowly drifting off into sleep, until suddenly, your head fell to the side, hitting something hard, making you jolt up again, looking around in confusion.

“Easy there, (Y/n).”, you heard a voice chuckling next to you.

You turned your head and blinked at Draco in confusion, who grinned at you with a smug look on his face.

“Sorry, almost fell asleep.”, you mumbled, your face heating up immediately as you realized that your head had fallen, out of all the possibilities, on Draco´s shoulder.

“Nothing to be sorry about.”, your friend answered, the smile on his face only growing wider. “I´m glad to serve as your pillow. Even though I consider myself quite disappointed that apparently, our company isn´t entertaining enough to keep you awake.”

His snarky remark made you return his smile immediately.

“If you want to put it this way. But you could also argue that it is so soothing that I even feel safe enough to fall asleep.”

“I think I like this version much better, love.”, Draco chuckled.

“But regardless of your comforting company, I think I still prefer my own bed. So have a good night.”

You wanted to stand up, but Draco held you back.

“Are you sure you already want to leave, (Y/n)? You know, I wouldn’t mind functioning as your sleeping place once more.”

You let out a small laugh.

“I bet you don´t. But I feel like my neck wouldn’t benefit from this.”

“Well, if you should change your mind, you know where to find me.”, Draco winked, making the blush return to your face.

“Whatever.”, you huffed, quickly turning away from your friend, hoping he wouldn’t notice your flustered state. “Goodnight y´all.”

“I´ll join you.”, Pansy stated and quickly got up as well. But the mischievous look in her eyes already told you that she wasn’t doing so because she was tired.

And you were right. As soon as the door of the dorm you shared with your friend closed behind you, Pansy crossed her arms in front of her chest and stared at you with narrowed eyes.

At first, you seriously considered ignoring your friend, but soon enough you realized that this strategy wouldn’t get you anywhere. You knew Pansy was rather determined and once she had something on her mind, she wouldn’t rest until she had gotten what she wanted.

You sighed as you let yourself fall onto the bed, looking at Pansy, while tilting your head.

“Alright, what is it?”

You already had a faint suspicion, still, you weren’t willing to give in that easily.

“Are you for real? Isn´t it obvious?”

“Obviously not, so would you care to enlighten me?”

Pansy walked up to you and dropped onto your bed right next to you. With the slyest grin, she looked at you.

“Draco and you?”

“Draco and me what?”, you asked, trying to act the innocent, even though you knew you failed spectacularly.

“Merlin, (Y/n). You could have cut the tension with a knife back in there. For a second, I thought that boy would just take you to his dorm immediately.”

“Pansy!”, you snapped, slapping her arm, but your friend just laughed.

“Tell me I´m wrong and tell me you wouldn’t have gladly joined him.”

“Obviously I wouldn’t.”, you said, but it was a lie and Pansy knew it just as well as you.

You had had a crush on Draco ever since you could remember and ever since you could remember, Pansy teased you about it. At first, you had really tried to deny your feelings for Draco, not only in front of Pansy but also yourself, but there was absolutely no point in lying. Neither to yourself nor to your friend. Pansy knew you like the back of her hand and to her, you were like an open book. She had often encouraged you to try and talk to Draco, assuring you that she was rather sure that he shared the feelings you held for him as well, but until now you had never dared to do so. Still, Pansy had never given up. And neither did she now.

“You could have just stayed and cuddled with him. He even told you he wouldn’t have minded. And you can´t tell me that there´s a single guy out there who would let you do so unless he is all over you.”

“Or unless he´s a good friend.”

“Oh yeah, because you cuddle with Blaise all the time. Or Crabbe. Or Goyle.”

“That´s different. They just ain´t that much into it.”

“But Draco is?”

“Well, obviously.”

“But only with you.”

“That´s not true.”

“So have you ever seen him cuddle with someone else?”

You hesitated for a moment. Because even though you hated to admit – Pansy was somehow right. You really had never seen Draco comfortable with anyone else being near him in that way before. Actually, most of the time, when other people came close to him, he backed up immediately, pulling a face in disgust. But when it was you, he only pulled you closer, from time to time -when no one else was around- actively looking for your closeness, acting so much more relaxed and loosened up, when he held you in his arms. Your relationship was for sure different from the friendships the two of you held with others, but that didn’t mean that there were any romantic feelings involved from his side, did it?

When you didn’t answer, only staring into the void with a faint smile on your lips, Pansy grinned superiorly.

“That´s what I thought.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.”, you brushed her off, hiding your face in your hands.

“Well, if it doesn’t mean anything, you surely won´t mind if I get Draco here so the two of you can continue where you left off.”

You gasped as you looked at your friend, still grinning at you.

“Don’t you dare, Pansy!”

“I´m just saying. I don’t mind sleeping in the common room tonight. And I could send Draco up here and tell him that…”

“You won´t tell him, Pansy. None of this, alright? Never! You have to promise.”

Pansy just rolled her eyes.

“Obviously I won´t. What kind of friend would I be if I couldn’t keep a secret?”

And with that, she definitely had a point.

You slammed your book shut and groaned as you leaned back in your chair. The bushy-haired girl on the opposite side of the table did so as well, only that she was closing the book so carefully that you could have suspected it was a rare and precious relic and not only an old schoolbook.

“This wasn´t that bad after all, was it? We´re already halfway through.”, she spoke up.

You gasped in disbelief.

“Only halfway? I thought we were close to the end. We´ve been sitting on this for hours. I feel like my head is going to explode.”

“Well, you asked me for help because you wanted to do it right. So we will do it right.”

“Whatever.”, you huffed.

“Tomorrow at the same time then?”

“Tomorrow already? Can´t we take a break?”

“The longer we wait the longer it will take us to finish that. So we better be quick. I also got other things to do.”

“Alright then, see you tomorrow.”

You grabbed your books and threw them into your bag carelessly, making the girl in front of you frown.

You were already halfway out of the library when you turned around once more.

“And Granger?”

The girl with the red and golden tie around her neck glanced at you distrustfully. You forced your lips upwards into a small smile, even though you were quite sure it looked rather wry.

“Thanks for your help. I…” You bit your lip, trying to make the words not sound like the worst insult. “I really appreciate that.”

Carefully, the Gryffindor returned your smile.

“You´re welcome.”, she said, before turning to the books in front of her again, closing the one you had just used for your Ancient Runes essay and replacing them with the ones you used for History of Magic.

You shook your head in disbelief as you made your way to your common room. Your eyes already felt heavy and your mind groggy after the hours of work you had put into your one essay. How Granger could now continue to work on yet another one was just incomprehensible to you.

When you had finally reached the door to your common room, every thought about the Gryffindor was however replaced with the ones of a cosy spot in front of the fireplace and the much more pleasant company of your friends who would talk about much more interesting things than why the unicorn presented the number one, the graphorn however presented the number two in the language of the runes.

With a faint smile on your lips, you entered the room, heading for your usual seats. You already spotted your friends sitting there, engaged in a conversation.

You let yourself fall onto the expensive material of the armchair with a heavy sigh, stretching your stiff limbs.

“Sorry it took me so long.”, you stated. “I was sitting on that damn essay until just now. And we haven’t even finished it. Can you imagine this? Hours of work and no results yet. Merlin, this Gryffindor know-it-all all really had me on my toes. But at least it wasn’t as bad as I imagined it. I just hope that in the end all of the work will pay off. I really can´t afford yet another bad grade.”

You placed your feet on the coffee table in front of you and looked at Pansy and Blaise, who were sitting on the couch next to you, expectantly. But instead of some understanding words, you were only met with icy silence. Pansy didn’t even look at you, while Blaise´s glance shifted between you and your friend.

“What? Are you lost for words?”, you chuckled, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

“That´s one way to put it.”, Pansy muttered under her breath, her eyes shooting daggers into your direction.

You narrowed your eyes in confusion as you returned her look. Pansy was a master at daunting other people and making them feel like they had just committed a war crime just by looking at them, but normally, she reserved those glares for the people of other houses, especially the Gryffindors. And if she looked at one of her best friends like you had just drowned some kittens, you must have screwed up something really bad. But for the love of Salazar, you couldn’t figure out what it was. Your gaze shifted to Blaise, silently seeking for help, but the boy just pursed his lips and looked away.

You sighed and sat up straight, returning Pansy´s glare without blinking once.

“Alright, tell me, what is it then?”

Your friend raised an eyebrow mockingly, but there was no actual amusement in her voice as she said: “Really, (Y/n)? You can´t think of anything? You must be down even worse than we thought.”

“Down for what? What are you talking about? Is something wrong?”

“Certainly.”

“For Merlin´s sake, Pansy! Just quit your games and tell me already!”

“Why should I? If you don’t get it yourself, I´m afraid we can´t help you anymore.”

You groaned in resignation. You wouldn’t be able to get out of her what you wanted to know like this. Pansy had closed up completely and it looked like she wouldn’t open up that easy again. And you knew for sure that trying to get something out of Blaise was impossible in almost every state. Yet you took a deep breath and forced yourself to smile sweetly at Pansy.

“Alright, I see where this is going. So what does my best friend in the whole wide world wants me to do for her so she will finally tell me what I did to upset her today?”

Pansy crossed her arms in front of her chest, still glaring at you.

“Well, I can´t tell you, because by best friend you obviously can´t be referring to me.”

Your face fell.

“What?”

Your roommate smiled at you so calmly as if she hadn’t just given you evil tidings.

“I think you heard me correctly, (Y/l/n).”

Even though the fireplace was still lit up, the fire inside burning brightly, you felt the temperature dropping by a few degrees at her words.

“Quit the show, Pansy. Either tell me what´s wrong now or stop behaving like this, this really isn’t funny.” You heard your voice shaking.

Pansy stood up from her place, walking up to you slowly, before she came to a halt right in front of you, towering over you. To her right and left you could see some people shooting you some curious glances.

“You´re right, (Y/l/n), this really isn’t funny at all. All of those years I shared my room with some filthy bloodtraitor who brought so much shame to the entire house of Slytherin.”

By now, you were absolutely sure that whatever this was about, the situation was certainly serious. Because Pansy knew better than anyone else that this insult wasn’t something to make fun of. Bloodtraitors were the worst witches and wizards to ever exist, in your opinion, willingly abandoning their rights and obligations and betraying the people closest to them, disgracing their entire bloodline. You tensed in your armchair, straightening your back as you glared up at your friend.

“What did you just say?”, you asked, still hoping that you had just misheard what Pansy had said. Your voice was dangerously low because even though it was your best friend standing right in front of you, you couldn’t guarantee that you wouldn’t hex her nastily if she would repeat what she had just said.

But Pansy didn’t seem to be impressed because she looked you dead in the eyes and said: “Do you really want me to repeat that, (Y/l/n)? Isn´t all of that already embarrassing enough for you?”

“Alright, Pansy, tell me who knotted your wand or quit the bullshit and leave me alone.”

The girl let out a humourless laugh.

“I certainly won´t leave. But I will gladly help you pack your things if you want to.”

“Why should I? This is my home just as it is yours.”

“Not anymore. You lost your privilege of calling this place home the second you got involved with that filthy mudblood.”

Now you couldn’t help but laugh yourself.

“Hold on, that´s what this is about? That I work on that essay with a Gryffindor?”

“A Gryffindor, a friend of Potter and a mudblood.”, Pansy spat out.

You shrugged your shoulders.

“So? It´s not the first time we use others to get us some good grades, is it? And if I remember it correctly you even encouraged me to do so, because you couldn’t help me.”

That was true indeed. When you had a good cry on Pansy´s shoulder about how you didn’t know how you would pass the class, she had actually told you that you should just ask the person who was on top of the class for help, since none of your friends had taken the class this year and you were on the edge of a breakdown. And the person who was the best in your class happened to be Hermione Granger. And when you had realized that there was no way of talking her into doing your work for you, you had grudgingly agreed to partner up with her for the class, something neither you nor the Gryffindor had exactly been looking forward to, but your teacher had however been delighted about. And now Pansy actually wanted to blame you for taking her advice?

“I told you to look for someone to do your work, not to become best friends with.”

“What do you think we were doing? We were studying, Pansy. Not braiding each other’s hair.”

“Yes, you were studying. And you talked with her. And smiled at her. And in the end, you even thanked her. Millicent has told me all about it.”, Pansy snapped.

Your gaze fell on the said girl, who was sitting in a chair not far away, her arms crossed in front of her chest, as she looked at you disapprovingly, thrusting her jutting jaw forward.

“So am I supposed to keep a straight face for hours, showing everyone how much I hate studying with that girl and in the end not even thanking her for helping me out, even though I still need her?”, you asked in disbelief.

Pansy just shrugged her shoulders.

“Ain´t that hard, is it?”

“Pansy, you know I need a good grade in that essay or I´ll fail that class.”

“So?”

“So? I need this class. I need those grades. I´m really sorry if you don’t like that, but right now I need to set my priorities and they certainly aren’t keeping you content with me all the time.”

“So you choose your work with a mudblood over your friends? Your family?”

“No, Pansy. I choose a good degree over your personal vendetta.”, you answered, before you stood up, now being face to face with the girl you had always thought had been your friend. “Tell me when you can think straight again, but until then just leave me alone. I really can´t deal with that childish behaviour right now.”

You wanted to pass her, but Pansy stepped in your way.

“You might consider this childish, (Y/l/n), but I´m just loyal to my house. Something that you don’t seem to care about anymore.”

“How dare you call me out like this?”, you responded, raising your voice. “I am just as loyal to this house as everyone else in here. Salazar, you know I wouldn’t be a Slytherin if I wouldn’t be.”

“Seems like even the sorting head can be wrong from time to time.”, Pansy scoffed, looking at you in disgust. Then she stepped to the side, finally paving the way. “And now get out of here, we don’t want to see you in here ever again.”

You raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, so you´re talking for everyone now?”, you mocked, convinced that the others wouldn’t share Pansy´s opinion, but as you looked around, your confidence was crushed rather quickly.

The entire common room had witnessed Pansy´s and your conversation and everyone seemed to have a clear opinion about what had happened. But not in the way you had hoped. You could see the disappointment and disgust in the eyes of the people you had shared the biggest part of your life with over the past few years, noticed how they shook their heads in disapproval, crossing their arms in front of their chests as if they wanted to build a barrier between you and the people you had considered your family. Lastly, your gaze settled on Blaise, who was still sitting on one of the couches, his face showing no emotion.

“Oh, c´mon, you all can´t be serious, can you?”, you asked, trying to force yourself to smile, but failed terribly.

“You know the rules, (Y/n).”, Blaise spoke up, his voice sounding almost bored, even though he knew very well that his words would shatter your heart. “No encounters with mudbloods. No encounters with Gryffindors. No encounters with people who threaten our world. And you did all of these things.”

By now you could feel tears pricking in your eyes, but you blinked quickly to prevent them from falling.

“You should really leave now.”, Pansy hissed, the grin on her face making you suspect that she enjoyed this situation way too much. And it broke your heart that she did so.

“Come back when you remember where you belong.”, Blaise added.

“That´s not on you to decide. You can´t just kick me out.”, you rejected.

“Well, it doesn’t look like anyone minds, does it?”, Pansy responded.

And when your gaze flickered through the room once more, you hated the fact that you had to agree with Pansy. Right now, no one seemed to be on your side. You had done nothing wrong, yet they all treated you like a leper.

“But Draco. Draco isn’t here. You can´t decide this without him.”, you started one last weak attempt, not only clutching at straws that Draco would understand your situation and support you, but also knowing that every Slytherin respected the boy and wouldn’t dare to speak up against him.

But while you saw some people looking rather uncertain at the mention of the Malfoy heir, Pansy just giggled maliciously.

“That´s just so sweet, (Y/l/n). You really think Draco is going to save you?” Her voice was dripping from fake petty. “You really think that he isn´t going to be disgusted when he finds out that you encounter the enemy? Out of all the people you think that Draco will understand your friendship with a mudblood who is also Potter´s filthy girlfriend?”

“She isn’t….”, you tried to contradict, but Pansy continued unbothered.

“You really think that he won´t hate you just as much as we all do by now. That he won´t hold your betrayal against you?” She giggled again. “You know, I will almost feel sorry for you when Draco finds out, you know that? It´s really going to break your little heart when he abandons you as well. It´s quite the opposite of what you were hoping for, isn’t it?”

You felt your heart in your mouth. You knew that all of this was just a big misunderstanding. You weren’t quite sure yet whether Pansy intentionally hurt you or if she actually thought that you had betrayed your house the way she had portrayed it, but you knew that even after everything she had said, you still loved her. She was still a part of your family and you just knew that you would be able to forgive her her cruel words one day when she would realize the mistake she had made and would beg you for forgiveness. But if she would actually reveal what you were really feeling for Draco, now that the entire house of Slytherin was listening, you knew that your trust in her would be damaged lastingly.

Your eyes were locked with Pansy´s, silently pleading to not say something that she couldn’t take back, but Pansy´s glare wasn’t affected by it. She returned your gaze without blinking once when she said -loud enough for everyone to hear-: “Merlin, (Y/l/n). You had a crush on this boy ever since the first day and now you´re throwing it all away for some stupid mudblood. That´s really pathetic.”

The room around you started to spin, slowly at first and then faster and faster, when the buzzing in your ears mixed with the whispering and laughter of the people around you. All you wanted to do was to break down right away, run to your dorm, lock the doors and never get out again, but when you saw Pansy grinning at you, apparently enjoying the effect her words had had on the room, you knew that you wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.

And when you spoke up again, you were pleasantly surprised by how calm your voice sounded, when you said: “You know what, Pansy? Even if this was true, it wouldn’t be half as pathetic as throwing away a friendship over some stupid rumours and not even listening to the person you have always called your best friend.” You waited a moment until the echo of your words had vanished in the room that had fallen quiet again, eager to listen to what you had to say, before you took a deep breath and added: “And about your question what kind of friend you would be if you aren’t able to keep a secret; the answer is you ain´t one at all.”

Just for a second, you thought you could see some regret shimmering in Pansy´s eyes, but you didn’t look at her long enough to be sure of it. You just walked past her, ignoring the glances of the people around you, as you tried to prevent your legs from giving in, at least until you would be out of sight for the people that had until this very day had meant the most to you.

But while you were rather proud of yourself for not letting your guard down while you had still been in the common room, the moment the door had closed behind you, the tears had started to fall and until now they hadn’t stopped yet. Ever since you had walked away from the common room almost half an hour ago, you had wandered around the castle aimlessly. It was sheer luck that you hadn’t crossed ways with some other students or -even more likely since it was almost curfew- any of the professors or Filch. You had absolutely no idea where you were going or how you would explain to anyone why you were still out, with puffy eyes and looking like an absolute mess. All you knew was that you certainly wouldn’t go back to your dorm tonight. Maybe if you would go to the Hospital Wing, Madame Pomfrey would allow you to stay the night if you would claim to feel sick or have a bad headache. You knew that Madame Pomfrey wasn’t easy to get fooled but given your pathetic appearance you were quite sure that she wouldn’t ask too many questions. And how you would continue from that point on, you could still think about tomorrow.

For now, there was a much more important question occupying your mind. After the entire common room had heard what Pansy had blurted out about your feelings for Draco, you were absolutely sure, that the latest by tomorrow, the entire school would know. If you were honest, you didn’t actually care about your stupid classmates gossiping about how (Y/n) (Y/l/n) was hopelessly in love with Draco Malfoy, you knew that these kinds of rumours had spread across the castle´s grounds rather often already, but what you did care about was what Draco would think about it if someone would tell him in every small detail - and probably some rather subjective interpretation - about the entire situation and Pansy´s words.

After Pansy had exposed you like this in front of everyone and didn’t even seem to be sorry about it at all, you had already kind of accepted that you had lost your best friend – probably forever- but after everything she had said tonight, you weren´t even as sad about it as you thought you should be. Pansy had made her decision. She had decided to believe some stupid rumours without even questioning them, had decided to let her pride and her prejudices ruin one of the longest and closest relationships both of you had ever had. This was on her. Not on you. But with Draco, it was different.

Not only because you loved the boy in a way so different from everything you had ever felt before, but also because Draco would – the moment he would walk into the common room – be assailed with narratives of all the people he trusted the most and who had already formed an opinion about what had happened. And an opinion about you. And you were rather sure that most of them wouldn’t be exactly well for you.

At the mere thought of what Draco was thinking about you maybe at this very moment, if he had by now already entered the common room and heard all those nasty things about you, you felt the tears welling up in you all over again. Draco would be so disgusted by you. Maybe he would even hate you. But the worst thought about this was that he was probably disappointed in you. You could vividly imagine how the blond boy was sitting in his usual armchair, staring into the fireplace, while Pansy would tell him how you had betrayed them all. How you had betrayed him. And when Pansy would be finished, Draco would look at Blaise, hoping he would contradict, but Blaise would just shrug his shoulders and say something like: “I know, man, we all didn’t expect it. But Millicent saw them in the library. And Montague as well.” And then Draco would shake his head and let out a sigh, wondering how he could have ever been fooled by you like that. And the next time you would see him, his gaze wouldn’t be full of affection but would be cold, maybe even indifferent. And he would walk towards you, but instead of coming to a halt in front of you, he would just walk past you, probably giving you a small nod and say: “(Y/l/n)”. And then he would punish you with his neglect, knowing that this would be the worst thing that he could ever do to you.

Your vision was blurry, and your hands were shaking when you turned around the next corner, still not knowing where to go. But your walk was curbed rather harshly when suddenly, you bumped into someone.

“Easy there, (Y/n).”, you heard a deep voice chuckling.

And it was the same voice you had just played in your head over and over again. Only that now that he was actually standing in front of you, Draco´s voice didn’t sound as cold as you had imagined it but was as warm and affectionate as you were used to it. And when you glanced up at the tall Slytherin through the haze of your tears, you could see him smiling down at you without hesitation. You gulped heavily. Probably, Draco hadn’t met any fellow Slytherins yet who had told him what had happened back in the common room. This was the only explanation for why he kept so calm around you.

“I was already looking for you, love.”, Draco continued. He brushed some strands of hair out of your face, his smile unfazed.

For a moment you felt some irritation welling up in you. Why was he looking for you? Did he already know after all? But if he did, why was he still so gentle around you? But either way; why was he smiling at you while you were obviously upset, with tears still running down your face? Did he already hate you so much that he enjoyed seeing you like this?

But all those thoughts were pushed back because you forced yourself to savour every moment, he would still be nice to you. With all your willpower, you tried to imprint the softness in his eyes and the way his voice sounded when he called you by his favourite nickname for you into your mind, in case it would be the last time.

Draco however didn’t show any intention of pushing you away anytime soon. Instead, he pulled you to one on the windowsills, hidden behind one of the permeable walls of the castle, where you were shielded from curious glances. When the boy took your hand into his bigger one, you followed him without hesitation, until he sat down on the sill and signified you to do the same.

Draco just stared at you, his face showing no emotion, when you sniffled quietly, trying to wipe away the tears, still burning in your eyes. Only when you had finally given up trying to fix the mess the tears had done to your face, the Slytherin finally cleared his throat.

“So, do you want to tell me what happened?”

“You don’t really want to tell me you don’t know yet, do you?”, you responded. You didn’t intend your voice to sound that bitter, but you were just too exhausted to try and hide it.

Draco shrugged his shoulders.

“I heard quite a few things tonight. But I want to hear it from you as well.”

You let out a small laugh.

“Well, you´re the first one.”

You didn’t know why now that you finally had a chance to explain yourself, you got as defiant as you did now. But when you glanced at Draco, he just looked at you, not seeming to hold your words against you and waiting patiently for you to explain yourself. And at that moment you suddenly knew that you just had to take this chance. Obviously, you couldn’t be certain how Draco would think about the entire story, but for some reason, you just knew that the bond between the two of you was way too strong to be destroyed by all the things that had happened today. Draco and you had always sticked together. And that wouldn’t change today.

The moment you came to that realization, the words started to tumble over your lips. With every word you spoke, the pressure that had been put on you was falling off more and more. And Draco listened patiently to everything. From your fear of failing the class, to how you may or may not had been a bit friendlier to Granger than you had been supposed to and finally how everyone was holding exactly that now against you, even -or more precisely especially- Pansy, who had not only broken with you but had also said some things you had told her in confidence. That however was the only point where you left out some details. Even though you strongly suspected that some idiot had already told Draco how you were actually feeling for him, after all the time you had been keeping it from your friend, you just couldn’t bring yourself to say those words out loud in front of him.

When you had come to the end of your report, the tears, that over time had almost dried, came back in full force.

“I just don’t get it.”, you sniffled. “She is – she was my best friend. And now I don’t even know if any of this has ever been real. I mean if it would have been, she wouldn’t have done this to me, would she? Salazar, Pansy hates me so much, Draco. The entire house does now. Everyone does.”

Your voice broke down and you lowered your head when yet some other tears were making their way down your cheeks.

Until now, Draco had quietly sat on the windowsill, looking at you with narrowed eyes the entire time, his eyes not leaving your face for once. But now that you had fallen silent, he quickly stood up, and with one large step, he was standing in front of you, grabbing your hands to make you get up as well, before pulling you into a tight embrace. You buried your face in the crook of his neck as he wrapped his arms around you, holding you as close as humanly possible.

“I don’t hate you, (Y/n).”, he mumbled into your hair. His voice was low and you could feel the vibration of the words in his chest, making you shiver. “I don’t hate you and I never could. And if the others actually think like that, they´re all idiots. Merlin, forget it. They´re idiots anyway. You´ve done nothing wrong, love. Trust me, this isn’t on you.”

“But why does it feel like it is?”

“Because everyone has told you it is. And now you start to believe it yourself. But I´m here to tell you that you´re not.”

“How can you be so sure of that?”

“I know you, (Y/n). Salazar, you´re one of the best people I´ve ever met. All you did was ask for help.”

“Exactly, I showed weakness. In front of a mudblood.”

“Sometimes you can bend the rules a bit, love. You did it because you had to. There´s nothing wrong with that.”

You couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle and felt yourself relax into Draco´s arms a bit.

“Says you.”, you mumbled.

“Exactly. And if even I can say that, then it has to be true, doesn’t it?”

You were pretty sure that under every different circumstance and with every different person, Draco would have probably given them hell for even talking to someone like Granger at all, let alone working with her. But maybe this was the reason his words calmed you down even more. The Slytherin was willing to go against those values he believed in so strictly just to cheer you up. And it worked better than you would have guessed.

Draco and you stayed in the embrace for a couple more minutes, until even the last tears had dried up and most of the tension had left your body. And even though you now felt just exhausted and would have done anything for him to keep on holding you like this for just a bit longer, you pulled back slightly, until you were able to look Draco in the eyes again. When his eyes met yours, he smiled softly, holding a tenderness in his eyes you had never seen in him before.

“Thank you.”, you said. Your voice sounded slightly raspy.

The smile on Draco´s face only widened.

“There´s nothing to thank me for, love.”

“No, for real, Draco. I… I felt really shitty about all of this but now I feel… like maybe there is a way to work it all out.”

“And if there isn’t one, we´re going to make one.”

You looked at him hopefully.

“We?”

“Of course. We´re in this together, don’t you think?”

“Why?”

“Purely selfish reasons.”, Draco smirked. “I want to see that pretty smile of yours again as soon as possible.”

You couldn’t help your lips twitching up at his words, making Draco grin smugly.

“See, my life would be a lot worse without this.”

You nudged him.

“Oh, just shut up!”

“Why? It´s the truth.”

You let out a small giggle before you grew serious again. Because with all the affection Draco was showing you now, you were reminded of another certain detail, one you would rather forget but you knew that it was probably for the best if you would bring it up before anyone else would.

“Draco?”

“Yes, love?”

“You… you said you heard a few things about what happened back in the common room before you came looking for me.”

Draco nodded, now looking a bit grimmer again, as he remembered all the nasty things he had never imagined anyone could ever think - let alone speak out loud - about you.

“And did you… did they… I mean, have you also heard something about you. About us I mean. Not that there is much to say, but I just… I don’t know… Pansy said a few things earlier and I just want to make sure that this… I just don’t want you to get something wrong about it.”

Draco nodded again, his eyes never leaving yours, as he brushed some strands of hair out of your face, letting his fingertips ghosting over your cheek, making you shiver.

“We don’t have to talk about this now, (Y/n). There´s pretty much been going on tonight and if you´re not ready for this now…”

“No! No, it´s alright. Just… What did you hear?” Even though you were scared of what would happen next, even though you were scared that you might lose the last person who you were still meaning something to by this as well, you knew that none of these things would get any better if you waited any longer or would just ignore it. “If you want to tell me of course.”, you added quickly, as you noticed the indecisiveness in Draco´s eyes.

“Well, a few people came up to me and told me that… Apparently, you told Pansy that…” Draco shook his head and took a deep breath. “No, you know what, it doesn’t matter what she said. What any of them said. This… should be about us.”

You just nodded, your eyes flickering anywhere but meeting Draco´s, until suddenly you felt a hand under your chin, gently forcing you to look up at the blond boy again, who was looking at you intensively.

“(Y/n), do you have a thing for me?”

You gulped heavily at the straightforwardness of his question. There was not much to beat around the bush, so you just nodded. The nod looked a bit rigid, also given to the fact that his hand was still placed at your chin, but it was unmistakably a nod.

Your head was running wild, imagining all the things that could go wrong about this, from Draco feeling betrayed by you, to taking back everything he had said within the last minutes, but none of those things happened. Instead, a small grin appeared on the boy´s face again, spreading more and more with every second passing.

“Then you might want to know that I have a thing for you as well, love.”, he said in a husky voice, sounding as if the confession had almost knocked the air out of his lungs as much as it did to you.

You blinked at the boy in confusion, having to take a moment to let his words sink in.

“You… you also…”, you stammered when you had finally found your voice again.

Draco nodded.

“One could say I am stupidly in love with you, as some of these people have expressed so elegantly. So yes, I also.”

You looked at the Slytherin with widened eyes, feeling a warmth flushing through your entire body, you had never felt before.

“Are you going to let me kiss you now, or what?”, Draco chuckled, when he saw the still perplexed look on your face.

Still too stunned to speak, you just nodded.

And when Draco finally gently pressed his lips on yours, you couldn’t quite remember anymore why you had thought that this day would end so miserably in the first place. All that you could think of at this moment were Draco´s lips on yours and his hand wandering from your chin to your cheek, cupping it, before continuing its way to the back of your head to pull you even closer to him, while his other hand sneaked around your waist, striving the same. He never loosened his grip once, only trying to pull you even closer than before, his touch comforting you, reminding you that you were anything but alone in this world. Because Draco would stay with you, no matter which challenges you would have to meet in the future and with him by your side you were positive that you would master them effortlessly.

Only when your lips were swollen and your lungs burning, you finally pulled back slightly, still his arms stayed where they were, not wanting to lose the feeling of closeness completely.

“We should probably get back soon.”, Draco mumbled. His lips brushed against yours as they moved. “It´s already after curfew and you need to get some sleep. This was a long day.”

Unwillingly, you tensed under his touch as you shook your head.

“I can´t go back there. How am I supposed to sleep in a dorm with her after everything that happened? After everything she said?”

“Well, at least some of it turned out to have a positive outcome after all, didn’t it?”, Draco responded, pecking your lips, but he quickly grew more serious again when he saw you shooting him a deadly glare. He sighed. “Alright, love. Maybe I got a different idea.”

You raised an eyebrow, looking at him questioningly as Draco smirked at you.

“What if I told you,”, he said, as his thumb brushed over your lips tenderly, “that there is a place that will make all your dreams come true and I can promise that Pansy won´t be nowhere in sight?”

You gasped and slapped him against his chest lightly.

“Draco Malfoy, if you´re suggesting I´ll get back with you to your dorm, let me tell you that I certainly won´t…”

“Even though this idea sounds more than tempting”, Draco interrupted you, “that isn’t what I have in mind. I mean a room that will literally shape into everything that you are wishing for. And I´m sure, a cosy bed won´t be an exception. And tomorrow morning, I´ll get you your school supplies and after class, we´ll think about how we´re going to go on, alright?”

You looked at the boy in front of you with narrowed eyes, but at this point, you were actually too exhausted to argue and Draco´s idea actually sounded just way too good to question it. So you just nodded.

Draco grinned at you smugly, as he took a step back, letting go of you, before his hand found yours, intertwining your fingers.

“Follow me then, my love. I promise you won´t be disappointed.”

You returned his smile without hesitation.

“As if you ever could disappoint me.”

“Obviously. As long as we´re together, everything will turn out just fine.”

And when you followed Draco, you just somehow felt that he was right. One way or another, everything would work out. You were sure of that.

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