Harry Potter Imagines

Tenderness: Draco Malfoy

He was temperamental, everyone knew that.
He tended to be hot headed, a match whose flame never extinguished, the hiss of cold water hitting a hot pan.
But he wasn't like that with her. By no means, was he different. He was still a firecracker, the snarky attitude and snorts of indignation and disgust were not lost around her. Nor did he soften around her. Yes, admittedly, he was sweeter. His actions and words a bit more calculated, thought out longer and his words rolled off his tongue a bit slower. It was a special kind of relationship, between you and Draco. One of balance, his bitter to your sweet. But it was a trade off, too, his own take on sweet to your occasional bitter. It had never affected you, though. He had never been indifferent towards you, and that's how you knew things were bad.
It was in the way he greeted you at the platform, a swift light as a feather kiss to your cheek and the slight grip of your waist, almost as if he was scared to touch you. There was more, the gray blue eyes you had been entranced by so many times before now seemed to be a bit dim, hooded over with exhaustion. Even his trademark smirk, or the swift smile that was reserved especially for you, was not visible. It was in the way he clung to his mother a bit more than usual, and the way she had shot you a pleading, almost desperate look as he hopped onto the train next to you.
The way he had taken a seat next to you in the carriage, arms folded on the table and inches away from you. Blaise had raised an eyebrow at you in question, shocked at the lack of usual reunion PDA. You had given him a pointed smile, ignoring it along with Pansy's obvious amusement at the situation. You found yourself studying him, turned on your side slightly as he gazed out the train window. His jawline, still impeccable is more defined, his skin clinging to it. The spots under his eyes are dark, deep sinking bags coloring the white skin. Pink lips, usually so soft, always taunting you to lean over and steal a moment from them, are chapped and dry. Your boy, your Draco, looks anything but okay.
And despite his abrupt and avoiding demeanor, you let it slide, continuing the conversation about summer with Blaise and Pansy and opting to slowly slide your hand across the seat near his leg, in case he snaps out of it.
It isn't until Draco starts engaging that you feel the unfamiliar prickling of your skin. His voice, is foreign too, forced and emotionless, but rough too. The kind of voice Dumbledore uses when he addresses what ever life threatening issue the school and Harry Potter had faced that year, tired and wise and with a thousand other meanings to what exactly he is saying.
"What a pathetic excuse of an school. I think I'd pitch myself off the Astronomy tower if I thought I had to continue for another 2 years." Draco mutters, when Pansy urges him to change into his Hogwarts uniform.
You lift your head at that, turning to give him a look slightly. He's made comments like that before, it was a long going shared joke between you too, the Astronomy Tower being your place. But scanning his face, you can see that there's no hint of joke of other meaning to his word.
Pansy's shrill shriek causes you to jolt and look away from him, sharing a look with Blaise who is smirking at your wide eyed expression.
"Something funny, Blaise? Yeah. We'll see who's laughing when you're in charms class next year." Draco backfires, causing Blaise to roll his tongue along the inside of his cheek in annoyance.
"Draco! Don't say that! Y/N, tell him!" Pansy screeches, causing you to blink rapidly at her. She was so over the top, it startled you even after 6 years.
You open your mouth to reply, but aren't able to get a single word out before she's sputtering again, shaking her head and causing her brown limp locks to move a bit.
"Draco, you can't just leave us like that. It's not- no, you-" "It's not like there's anything keeping me here." Draco cuts her off with a curt look and pistol like voice.
This, causes the slight hint of a smile to slide off your face, your hand on the bench curling together in a fist and pulling back towards you. It was like anything else Draco did around you, subtle and almost unnoticeable to everyone else, except you. You two tended to keep to yourselves, and others often felt left out around you two. But this time, it's as if, you aren't there, you don't exist. You're on the other side of the world.
You feel your eyes blinking at him as he continues to fan off Pansy, and he doesn't seem to notice you shuffling towards the edge of the bench, towards the aisle. Blaise leans his elbows on the table, willing to search your eyes. But you can't meet his gaze. It's a bit muddy, and granted it wouldn't make sense to anyone else, but you're offended. It's as if the air from your lungs has been knocked out, and the bench you've been sitting on is suddenly very, very smaller. You need to get away, get out, walk, pull yourself together. You stand on wobbly legs, bracing your palm on the table but that's when the hallway suddenly goes dark.
There's screaming in the compartment and you can hear Draco calling your name, but your wand is already drawn, staring into the darkness as is disappears and people's screams turn into nervous laughter. You grunt when you take a step forward and smack right into someone's back, blinking.
"What the bloody hell was that?" Draco demands, turning around with fierce eyes to look at you.
You glance back at the bench, when had he gotten up and in front of you?
"You alright, love?" Draco asks urgently, leaning forward and holding your elbow gently, looking you up and down for any injuries. You can't really speak, blinking at him.
"Love?" He asks again, more panic coloring his voice when you don't answer.
"Fine. 'M fine." You mumble, pulling away from him and rubbing your arms up and down.
He frowns at you, but shakes his head after a moment, taking a seat back on the bench and gesturing you to sit down next to him, "Come here, sit."
You shake your head at him and he scowls, the question on his tip of his tongue, but you cut him off like a crisp salvo bullet, "No, Draco. Don't want to keep you here, or anything." You mumble before smirking at him and walking out the compartment.