NEMESIS || Draco Malfoy

37

"Why so tense, Hayes?" My gaze strictly angled downwards, finger tracing the carvings in the wood and conversations around me drowned out as I worried about the blond beside me; he interrupted my doing with his words.

My eyes snapped in Malfoy's direction, and he gave me his best smirk, a brow quirked with his blond hair neatly laid on top of his head. He leaned back in his seat leisurely, eyes not wavering from mine as he took a sip of his butterbeer.

His head tilted, placing the pint glass on the table in front of him as his other hand moved to wipe the residue above his upper lip away in one swift motion. His tongue flicked over them once for good measure.

"Hm?" He urged once more, and my eyes snapped from his pink lips up to his.

Ignoring his question, I motioned towards the corner of his mouth, saying nothing but, "You missed a spot."

He didn't.

In a hurry, and a lot less composed than he did just a moment ago, he wiped over his lips once more, this time using his whole hand to make sure he reached every corner of his mouth in one motion.

I watched in amusement, a content smile on my lips as he shot me a quick glare. To my surprise, his features softened just a second after.

"Very funny," He sighed, his brows raising before my eyes diverted. I tried my best to listen to Pansy, Theo's and Blaise's conversation; wanted to involve myself in it as soon as I found a proper moment to do so.

Instead, though, my mind nagged on and on about Malfoy's particularly strange — in his case positive, and dare I say happy — attitude when he was usually nothing but a moody pain in the arse.

And I couldn't help but wonder why.

"Why are you so damn happy?" The words slipped past my lips before I could really stop them, and my eyes were on him in an instant as they narrowed in on his.

He smiled, and it only irritated me further.

Exhaling, a content sigh leaving his mouth, he nodded slowly. "Let's just say... things are going well for me, Hayes," He shrugged, a cocky tone in his voice as he acted the part, too.

Irritation flickered over my features — only for a moment, though seemingly long enough for him to pick up on it. "Don't be jealous, now," He tutted, voice lower to make sure the others wouldn't pick up on our conversation as they were still involved with theirs.

After flashing me a smile with a tilt of his head, he leaned closer to me, his hand landing on my thigh as his mouth found itself by my ear. My body reacted to his touch almost embarrassingly quick, and my nose twitched in annoyance at the way he noticed.

He huffed, hot breath tickling my ear before he whispered in a low, almost scruffy, voice, "Maybe you can be His second choice— after me, of course." The self-satisfied smirk plastered across his face as he leaned back into his seat was a stark contrast to me desperately trying to keep my face from crumbling into a panic.

My heart sank into the pit of my stomach at what he was suggesting; My hands fiddling with the sleeves of my jumper and my breath growing heavy with anxiety.

Because — for the first time since this whole nightmare called Draco Malfoy had started — I felt like he might actually have a shot at this; that he might actually beat me. The thought alone made me shiver.

It was embarrassing, really.

And I knew I couldn't just sit here and watch; soak in self-pity simply because there was no way I could get that music box to Dumbledore until after the holidays. The last full moon was on the 24th of December — Christmas Holiday's in full swing, and hardly a student left at Hogwarts. I'd be there, though. And it would be painfully obvious as to who killed the old man, if I was the only one staying, in the first place.

The dark lord had said that if I was to succeed, I should do so anonymously — giving him a source right in the middle of it all in the months to come.

I thought I'd simply have to make sure Malfoy wouldn't get his chance to do anything, either.

And so, hoping he didn't notice my moment of hesitation while I thought, I straightened my back, set my eyes on him and curled my lips upwards. My finger curled, motioning for him to come closer.

And he did. To my surprise, relatively quick, even.

And my mouth was by his ear just like his was by mine mere minutes ago. A humoured huff escaping my lips, taking my time to say what I really wanted to say — taking in the way he reacted to my close proximity;

Body tense as he swallowed thickly.

He smelled of apples and cologne — the scent mixing in my nose as my lips barely brushed past his ear, and he drew a sharp breath.

I smiled. "I'm never anyone's second choice, Malfoy."

The reminder slipped past my lips elegantly, and I made quick work of bringing distance between us for our eyes to connect. "Don't underestimate me— you've made that mistake before, haven't you?"

"What? Are you threatening me?" He asked, voice laced with amusement as the words escaped his mouth. He shook his head with a deep exhale. "You don't scare me, Hayes. You can hardly keep it together around me as it is. " His tongue poked the inside of his cheek, a devilish grin on his lips, proud of what he had said.

His words made my brows shoot upwards, taking a second to repeat them in my head before it tilted and my lips parted in silent disagreement— maybe surprise, even.

"Excuse me?"

"What?" He muttered, humoured expression on his face. "Should I just ignore how much you want me? Hm?" The words left his mouth in a low hum, and my brows furrowed at the statement. "Or what do you suggest?"

Before I could come up with a snappy remark cruel enough to shut him up for the rest of the afternoon — growing tired of his attitude and the way he had almost left me speechless twice already — he followed his words up.

"All you have to do is say the words."

And at that, as if it was all I needed to hear, I knew what I had to do— knew how I'd still stand a chance to kill Dumbledore before him.

At the plan quickly forming in my head all by itself, I smiled.

"I might just do exactly that." 

A/N: Hi besties! 

Are there any scenes you wanna see in this book? Any inspo or cute ideas? I'm always open hehe 

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)