Muffliato (Draco Malfoy)

16 - CHALKBOARD

VERY MATURE CONTENT WARNING

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Alora Lin

Cho hasn't spoken to me since the second Triwizard task. She had been furious that I was Cedric's hostage instead of her. Consequently, she accused me of seeing him behind her back.

"I've seen the way he looks at you," she had cried. "I always knew there was something going on."

I gave up trying to explain myself to her after a few days. Cho and Marietta have been ignoring me ever since, but luckily, I still had Padma and Anthony.

It was now a beautiful Saturday morning in early March, and the three of us were sitting in the common room doing homework. Anthony was sitting beside me with his arm draped around the back of my seat while Padma was sitting across from us.

"Alora, are you sure you don't want to come with us to Hogsmeade?" Padma pleaded. "It'll be so much fun!"

"Yeah, please?" Anthony turned to me, curving his lips into a pout.

I rolled my eyes at the two of them and smiled, "As much as I'd love to, I encountered way too many near-death experiences last month whenever I went outside. So I think I'm gonna stay in today."

They chuckled as a response and nodded in understanding.

Once the three of us had gotten a good amount of homework done, the two of them got up from their seats and waved their goodbyes.

"Try to stay out of trouble, alright?" Anthony teased.

"Yes, mother," I innocently looked up at him.

He cracked a smile, leaning down to give me a quick kiss on my forehead, before heading out of the common room with Padma.

I decided to pack up my books and drop them off in my dorm. My head was getting fuzzy with all the spells and potions I had been trying to memorize, so I thought it most appropriate to take a break and go on a stroll through the castle.

The further I got from the Ravenclaw tower, the more nervous I became. Although I hated admitting it to myself, I knew exactly why my knees were buckling and my fingers were trembling.

I was anxious of running into Draco.

I hadn't seen much of him since he saved me from the Great Lake. I had wanted to thank him once he and I had made it out of the water, but he departed so quickly that I never got the chance.

Doors and hallways passed by me in a blur. I had no idea where I was heading and no clue of my whereabouts given that my mind was elsewhere.

That was, until I turned a corner and spotted a flash of blonde hair out of the corner of my eye. Circling towards the source, I saw Draco walking in the opposite direction—his back facing me.

Before I had the opportunity to think about what I was doing, my voice acted of its own accord, "Malfoy!"

Draco stopped in his tracks, spinning around to face me. He stared at me with a blank expression on his face.

"I- um..." I started, fiddling with my nimble fingers. "I just wanted to thank you... for saving me from the lake the other day."

He continued to gaze at me, completely emotionless. I was struggling to read him, unsure whether he was about to smile and say you're welcome or scoff and turn his back on me.

My breath hitched when he began walking towards me. His eyes narrowed, showing a mix of anger and lust. It felt like my heart had gotten lodged at the bottom of my throat. Fiddling with my fingers, I prepared for the worst while he advanced closer to me one step at a time.