Friday's Child // Draco Malfoy

3:

"You're a natural," She laughed, leaning over and running her fingers through the niffler's fur.

"He can probably sense I have plenty more coins,"

"I didn't really take you as a soft-touch," She teased.

"How could I not be with something as cute as this? I've always liked animals, Father never let me have any-"

"You could get one for when you're at Hogwarts?"

"And what do I do with it when I'm at home?"

"Get creative, Draco, you're a wizard aren't you? Or, I could look after it, I always have time for more creatures,"

"Now's not really the time to be getting pets," he sighed, eyes glued onto the creature on his lap, chewing the inside of his cheek nervously, "I can't imagine life is going to be so peaceful much longer, we're going into a war you know,"

"I'm sure one day you could have an entire zoo of magical creatures," she smiled assuringly.

"Yeah," he shrugged, avoiding her gaze.

"These are beautiful," She hummed, changing the topic, inspecting Draco's discarded rings, running her fingers over the embellishments, admiring their antique beauty.

"Family heirlooms, mainly," he responded, glad of the new conversation, his attention still fixated on the creature. She particularly focused on one signet ring, engraved with a snake, a piercing emerald for the eye. "That's a classic Malfoy one, been in the family since the family began," he chuckled, "Very house proud, can you tell?"

"It's stunning,"

"There's a matching chain and pendant somewhere, I don't like to wear that though, it's back at the manor-"

"You should wear it," she gasped, handing the rings back to him, "it would look good,"

Her sincerity made his heart warm, he didn't think he'd ever heard a compliment that wasn't loaded; he made a note to look for the chain the next time he went home.

"Thank you," he hummed, the words tumbling from his lips before he could stop them. She merely smiled at him, tucking her legs to her chest and resting her head on her knees, observing as he interacted with the niffler. "You're the only person I can relax around. Probably all the muggle herb you smoke. Most people either fear me, or admire me, or hate my guts, it's nice- it's nice to just be me,"

She took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, smiling softly at him. "I like your company,"

So, with that, a tradition was set.

Every week the two would meet down by the lake on a Friday afternoon. Sometimes they'd chat, sometimes they'd do homework, sometimes he would rant about his status, and his family, and the school, sometimes she'd take him to see some of the creatures she had befriended, other times they'd merely sit in silence, eyes cast out on the lake, drinking in the varying skies. Their friendship was exclusive to Fridays. In the castle, they seldom looked at each other, merely nodding at the other if they ever made eye contact, which was rare. Neither minded. It was a cherished secret. Their friendship became sacred. Both reliant on one another in a strange, unspoken way.

On one particular Friday afternoon, she had been foraging in the forbidden forest, and had come across some mushrooms her mother had once told her about. She had tried them a couple of times before, and every experience she'd had with them had been good, so she plucked them from the ground, carefully wrapping them in some paper and placing them in her pocket, before heading to where she and Draco normally met. She unwrapped the mushrooms as she sat, laying them out on a rock, letting them dry slightly under the heat of the sun. Draco soon joined her, his Slytherin robes slung carelessly over his bag, hair flopping lazily on his forehead, clearly disturbed from his fingers running through it. He gave her a gentle nod, nudging her as he sat down beside her.