heartbeat | draco malfoy

1.5 - i told that lie

marking the halfway point of the cruise, the ship was docking at the orkney islands for the day. there was only one small town squeezed into the coastline, bordered by miles of green hills and rocky cliffs. for most guests on the trip, this called for a relaxing day spent deep in the belly of the ship, taking advantage of the many amenities the malfoys' had prepared for the occasion.

classy elders sought out the traditionally elegant entertainment of the theater while wealthy parents filled every corner of the spas, bars, pools, restaurants, and galleries, all discussing something vaguely political. even worse, their children, too young to be admitted to a wizarding school yet already emitting bursts of magic, had taken over every inch of the indoor carnival. for a certain group of friends, this meant the only spaces available to spend the day in were the hallways, the gym, or their bedrooms.

lucky for them, draco had a boat.

even luckier, hermione could drive it.

"you have to be like, top 1% wealthy to get seasonal gifts," charlene grumbled from her spot, sandwiched between draco's long limbs and a sleeping daphne. "if my grandparents gave me 'summer presents', 99% of my problems would solve themselves."

daphne shifted, mumbling incoherent sentences that sounded strangely like curses, causing charlene to inch closer to draco's side. he looked down at her, smugness clearly displayed on his sharp features as he repositioned his arm to rest around her shoulders, making more room for her to move in closer.

"well, if i didn't get seasonal gifts, we wouldn't have a boat right now," he responded, nudging her with his side playfully.

"thank you, great draco, for being so stupidly rich and bringing us on your stupidly rich summer trip," blaise called out from two seats down, a bottle of an unlabeled drink, undoubtedly alcohol, balanced in his hand.

"thank you to hermione for renewing your boat license, even after we all told you it was a stupid idea!" cheered ron, already tipsy, holding up his own unmarked bottle to the girl at the wheel.

it was true. hermione had the sudden urge to renew her boat license right before the winter exam season had begun, insisting that she 'had a feeling'. this was before draco had invited the group to the cruise trip, so it had been some impressive foresight on hermione's part.

"thank you to char for distracting mr. malfoy so we could lower draco's boat and escape," ginny chimed in.

draco grumbled something under his breath, his fingers curling protectively around charlene's shoulders. somewhere deep inside her brain, she knew his dismal reaction to the "escape" plan stemmed from his underlying resentment for his father, but the subtle touch of skin on skin made her stomach twist in an unfamiliar feeling.

it's the boat. i must be seasick, she thought.

despite her best friend's estranged relationship with his father, charlene was adored by the entirety of the malfoy family. even the stone-faced lucius would often praise her for her academic feats, or comment about how relieved he was that draco had "at least one suitable companion".

charlene wasn't too sure what qualified her as suitable, but in the wizarding world, any praise from lucius malfoy was as good as gold. her family wasn't exorbitantly wealthy, nor did they have a fancy old-money family name, but thanks to the malfoys, charlene herself had been promoted to be somewhat of wizarding celebrity.

"i see a beach up there. i'll dock somewhere close to shore and we can swim in," hermione announced to the boat, eliciting a chorus of excited voices.

charlene smiled at her excited friends as she leaned out of draco's arms to rouse a still-asleep daphne, who was curled against the plush pillows that someone had stacked underneath her.