✓ | RECKLESS AND BRAVE | Draco Malfoy

9 | IDYLLIC

"Really break your leg," said Ron before his face lit up. "Oh, Tessa can break your leg, and she won't be allowed to play as punishment!"

"That's a brilliant idea!" Tessa exclaimed in faux excitement.

"Really?" Ron beamed.

Tessa sent him a flat look. "Of course, not."

"I can't," Harry blurted out. "There isn't a reserve Seeker. If I back out, Gryffindor can't play at all."

At that moment Neville toppled into the common room. Tessa let out a puff of breath upon seeing that his legs had been stuck together with what they recognized at once as the Leg-Locker Curse. He must have had to bunny hop all the way up to Gryffindor tower. Everyone fell over laughing except Tessa and Hermione, who leapt up and performed the countercurse. Neville's legs sprang apart and he got to his feet, trembling. "What happened?" Hermione asked him.

"Poor Neville." Tessa pouted, leading him over to sit with Harry and Ron.

"Malfoy," said Neville shakily. "I met him outside the library. He said he'd been looking for someone to practice that on."

Tessa's face morphed into one of complete rage as she got to her feet. She spun on her heel and made a beeline to the portrait hole.

"Tessa, wait—!"

But it was too late, the girl had already left the Gryffindor common room.

Tessa marched down the corridor with fire in her eyes. Turning into another hallway, her eyes caught sight of the familiar pale boy walking with his goons. "Malfoy!" she snarled and sped over to him.

Malfoy turned, a hand lazily tucked in his pocket as he smirked. "Valentine." He cocked his head to the side. "What a lovely surprise."

Without thinking, Tessa reached up, pressed her palms against his chest, and gave him a hard shove. Malfoy frowned and stumbled backwards, his back hitting the wall.

Crabbe and Goyle stepped over to help him, but Tessa flashed them a murderous glare. "Go or you're both next." The two hesitated, but with a quick nod of Malfoy's head, they complied and scampered away.

"Valentine, what in Merlin's name is your problem?" Malfoy grumbled, standing straight.

Tessa stabbed a finger against his chest repeatedly. "Why do you have to be such a rude prat? Leave Neville and my friends alone."

Malfoy grabbed her finger to stop the harsh poking. She was breathing heavily and angrily as she glanced up to meet his stormy grey eyes. He was staring at her with a blank expression on his face as his eyes darted to her hand that he was holding. They dropped to where the bracelet with the train charm was latched around her wrist and he slowly let go of her hand. Without a word, Malfoy walked passed Tessa and down the corridor to the direction of the Slytherin common room.

Tessa blinked in confusion, but let out a long breath as she felt the anger leave her body and her heart slow down. "How strange," she mumbled to herself with a shake of her head before returning to the Gryffindor common room.

"I've found him!" Harry said as soon as she took her seat back on the couch. "I've found Flamel! I told you I'd read the name somewhere before, I read it on the train coming here—listen to this: 'Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel'!"