Wizarding World One-Shots!

Secretly Falling (Draco Malfoy x fem!reader)

Draco Malfoy was absolutely not the nicest boy in your year. In fact, he could be downright mean to some people. You blamed it on the ideals his father had been pouring into his head from birth. Either way, Draco was the last person on earth you ever expected to help you. And yet, here he was, standing in front of you, offering to tutor you.

You struggled in certain subjects, like most people. Now, you weren't terribly clumsy like poor Neville Longbottom. Nor did you have a penchant for blowing things up like Seamus Finnigan, but you struggled sometimes as was obvious by the poor marks you'd recently received on your essay. You let out a sigh and wanted to bang your head on the table. That was when Draco leaned over and told you to meet him in the library that evening and when your secret tutoring began.

It was never made plain why Draco insisted on keeping your tutoring a secret. Probably because you weren't pure-blood. Or maybe it was because you were friends with the Golden Trio as everyone called them. You didn't know, but you were grateful for his help anyway. And it worked. Tutoring with Draco improved your marks within just a few weeks. You had no idea that poor Draco was waging a war in his own heart.

He didn't even know why he'd offered to tutor you at first. It was probably because he found you pretty. Or maybe it was because you didn't look at him the way your friends did. Or, quite possibly, it was because he sat next to or near you in most classes and didn't want to end up a casualty in your failures. Whatever the reason was, it changed drastically within the first few weeks of tutoring you.

After a few weeks, Draco began noticing some things. Not the least of which were his feelings for you. You had somehow managed to wiggle in and take over the part of his heart that had been, so far, left untouched. The part that would be saved when Snape killed Dumbledore in his place. The part that would completely thaw the rest of his heart after Potter saved him from the Fiendfyre.

*During the Battle of Hogwarts*

When Draco was safely out of the Room of Requirement, his only thought was finding you. He'd already lost one of his only friends. The only two people that mattered to him now were his mother and you. His mother was temporarily safe, pretending to be loyal to the Dark Lord. That meant that you were his priority.

As he ran through the crumbling corridors, Draco let his grey eyes wander over every person he passed. His heart sped up faster when he didn't find you. Was he too late? Death Eaters weren't known for their mercy. Finally, however, he heard your voice and almost breathed a sigh of relief. Almost. You at least sounded like yourself, threatening anyone to come near you. But when he saw you, Draco's sigh died in his throat. Of all the Death Eaters that could have found you, it had to be Greyback. Without even thinking, Draco hit him with a Stunning Spell and ran over to you.

"I had it sorted," you snapped before you actually looked up to see Draco there with you. "Draco," you breathed. You didn't give him a chance to respond as you threw your arms around him, one hand coming up to slide into his platinum hair. He melted in your arms. Even with the world falling apart around you, this felt right. Still, Draco knew you couldn't stay there long.

"We have to go. H-He will be here," Draco muttered out and you pulled away with a frown. You studied his eyes carefully and nodded. "I know." You grew quiet for a moment before speaking his name again. He arched a brow at you and you smiled. "Nevermind. Let's go." You moved passed him, leaving him walking behind you confused. What was it you were going to say?

The next little while was probably the toughest time Draco had ever been through. Between trying to keep himself alive and worrying about you, Draco was exhausted. And when the Dark Lord appeared with a beaten and bloodied Hagrid carrying Harry Potter's body, Draco nearly collapsed right then and there. His eyes met yours briefly when he walked over to his mother and father. He thought he'd see a frown on those enticing lips of yours, but no. You gave him a soft and understanding smile instead. That was almost worse.

Draco wasn't sure when it happened, but chaos suddenly broke loose when Potter threw himself out of the half-giant's arms, revealing that he was in fact still alive. Once more, your eyes met Draco's. That was all it took for him to make up his mind. Potter had no wand, but Draco knew something the Dark Lord didn't. Without even thinking about it, Draco called out to the Boy Who Lived, tossing him his own wand before running over to you.

Your arms instantly opened for him. Draco buried his face in your hair and choked back a sob. He'd just betrayed everything he'd ever known growing up. He was broken and relieved. Potter would end this and Draco would figure out where to go from there. But right now, he needed you. His father would be furious, but he couldn't think about that right now. All he cared about was that you were safe.

"Draco, we have to go!" you urged him as dueling once more broke out around you. Draco tried to stop you from pulling away, but you huffed. "Draco, I love you, but you don't have a wand. We need to get out of here." Draco's eyes widened. Had you just said that? He couldn't even think about anything else going on around him as he let you grab his hand and practically drag him away from the thick of things. You hexed every Death Eater that got in your way.

The final battle between Potter and Voldemort didn't last as long as everyone thought it would. Soon, it was over and everyone breathed a sigh of relief or a sob in some cases. You were nearly overcome with grief when you saw Fred Weasley, one of your very best friends.

Draco's gaze met that of Molly Weasley and he flinched a bit. But she merely gave him a broken smile and nodded her head at you. She was too tired and too broken to think about the Malfoy family's part in all this. Draco got the hint and escorted you from the hall and away from your friends.

You didn't say a word as Draco tried to find a safe place that wasn't crumbling down around you. When there didn't appear to be anywhere in the school, Draco did the only thing he could think of. Thanks to the current state of the school, you could now Apparate in and out so that's what Draco did. He took you to the only safe place he could think of. Snape's old home.

Once there, Draco gently took your wand from you and placed protective charms around the home as well as started a fire in the fireplace. He lead you to the nearest sofa and sat, not letting his arms fall away from you. You leaned into him. He rested his cheek on the top of your head. "Draco?" He hummed in response. "I meant it. When I said I loved you." Draco felt his heart pick up speed. He cleared his throat and, in a smug voice he no longer recognized, replied, "How could you not?" He could practically feel you rolling your eyes as you laughed lightly.

Draco felt himself relax for the first time in who knew how long. The fire crackled in the hearth and you felt warm against him. You took your wand back and conjured a blanket. Neither of you cared that you were covered in dust and sweat and blood. (Though you were certain that Snape would have had a fit if he were still with you.) The only thing that either of you cared about was enjoying the moment of peace. Draco held you closer and whispered, "I love you too."