Innocent | d. malfoy

- 𝐟𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐲 𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞 -

A/N- yall pls after this there is only one more chapter and an epilogue- anyways (it's too late for editing so let's play a game... "for each mistake/typo you find you get an imaginary cookie" yayyyy now go out and find them besties)

Mature content ahead...

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Aria Rowen

I sat at a table in the library, which had been mostly empty for the past few hours— despite the fact that our N.E.W.T. exams were coming up.

I fidgeted with my wand, spinning it back and forth between my fingertips, doing just as I'd seen Draco do over and over again with his own many times before.

He was now seated beside me. His gaze was focused upon the textbook in front of him. Draco looked so calm sitting there, his elbows propped upon the table as he held his head in his hands. I could tell that he was trying hard to comprehend whatever it was he was studying because his eyes were slightly squinted as he read from the book.

It helped me relax just by watching him work. He was so organized— much unlike me. His papers were sorted into different piles for each subject. His textbooks were stacked neatly in front of us. His jar of ink and spare quills sat at the far end of the table. Draco was the pure definition of perfection— yet at the same time he could be utter chaos.

He would occasionally glance up and look at me, probably making sure that I was fine and didn't need anything. It was far past 10pm and we'd already been at this for hours.

My own textbook sat beside me. I was unwilling to pick it up, just like I had been for the past few hours due to a lack of motivation. Draco's N.E.W.T. exams were in two days but mine weren't until next week— which left me with a decent amount of time to study and prepare.

"—Isn't your birthday in a couple of weeks?" Draco's voice broke through the comfortable and calming silence, but he didn't look up from his work.

"Um yeah... at the end of May— the 31st to be specific, why do you ask?" I bit my lip as I pulled my potions book into my lap. I knew that Draco would be gone from Hogwarts by the time my birthday came around so I'd secretly been hoping that he wouldn't bring it up.

Knowing him, he'd probably be disappointed about missing something like that— unlike I would be. Don't get me wrong, I loved Draco, but I just wasn't too big on celebrating birthdays.

"Do you have anything planned?"

"No... not yet," I mumbled my response and began to flip through the pages of my textbook as I sat up. I might as well get something done rather than sit here and force myself to stress about other upcoming things.

I would most likely spend my birthday packing to return— well... I didn't know where I was going yet. I had a couple of weeks to figure this out... that shouldn't be too hard, right?

"Maybe I can talk to McGonagall and see if she would let me come back—"

"No— you don't have to do that," I gave a small laugh as I looked up at him. He'd now given his attention to me entirely, his gaze locking with my own. I found it nearly impossible to look away from him, yet at the same time it felt as if I should either hold eye contact even longer or break it and look back down at my textbook.

"Why not?" Draco raised his eyebrows as he continued to stare at me.

I shook my head and quickly changed the subject. "Look— you should be studying," I grabbed his charms book and slid it across that table so that it was between the two of us. "You only have a couple of days before—"