Harry Potter One Shots (Vol. I)

Finding Sanctuary (Draco Malfoy)

"That would be because I haven't introduced myself," I swore that I saw a ghost of a smile flicker at the corner of Draco's mouth. It was gone in a heartbeat, making me wonder if it was an illusion before I eventually focused once more on Blaise and finally introduced myself.

There was a lull in the conversation where I found myself looking between the two not-quite-strangers; there was something off about them that I couldn't put my fingers on about them. They didn't scream out that they were strange but they were. They just didn't quite fit in. Only I couldn't seem to figure out just what it was about them.

"I should get going," I said slowly, preparing to walk around them in order to continue down the hallway towards the lift.

"You don't need to rush off," Blaise tried to say and I was certain that really it was just to be polite. "Draco might seem a bit quiet and like a tosser, but he's just introverted. You don't need to run away, Gallagher. It might seem like Draco doesn't like you but –"

"Why are you talking for me?" Draco finally butted in, casting a glance towards me. "I never said I didn't like –"

"I didn't think that anyway," I finally assured, offering Draco another smile. This one he definitely returned with a small one of his own. "You seem introverted and it's not really my role to be casting thoughts on you anyway." There was another silence and this time, when I looked towards Blaise, I swore the man had an arrogant upwards curl to the corner of his mouth; looking as if he had already figured out some secret of mine. Something told me that he was the type who would know my most embarrassing secrets if I hung around him for too long. "Anyway –"

"Draco's not used to making friends," Blaise spoke once more, gesturing towards his friend who threw him a disgruntled look. "He's the sort that's had the same friends since he was in nappies. Even in school, he didn't branch out."

"And you did?" Draco scoffed, as I silently wondered why I was still being held up here. All I wanted to do was go shopping!

"Anyway," Blaise spoke over Draco, "he's not good at making friends."

"Well don't worry," I said finally, shoving my keys resolutely into my coat pockets, "I'll look after him. Now if you gentlemen would please excuse me, I need to go shopping."

**********

For the remaining duration of my day, my thoughts hadn't settled on Draco, my strange neighbour with the even stranger name. Because I had so many other things to concern myself with, so much lingering paperwork that I needed to tend to before the end of the weekend that I didn't give the blond-haired man any thought. Although he had clearly never lived alone before and was no doubt experiencing some anxiety about the change, no part of me wanted to head next door to do something to make him feel better. It was only after I had completed all of the work for the weekend and once I had finished making myself some dinner, that my thoughts finally lingered on him. Did it make me a bad neighbour to not have thought about ways that I could help him? Or was it normal for people not to think often of their neighbours? I very rarely knew what was considered normal.

Before I could lose myself further in thoughts of Draco, the oven beeped and I was quick to find my oven gloves. Opening the door and taking my lasagne out of the oven, I set it aside to cool slightly and closed the oven door again. Pulling off the oven gloves and throwing them onto the counter, I opened my kitchen cupboard and reached up to pull out a plate, only to halt for a moment. Looking over my shoulder towards the full lasagne dish, I frowned to myself. Would it be weird to ask him to join me for dinner?

I'd made far more food than I needed – mainly because I was planning on leaving it in my fridge – so it wasn't like there wouldn't be enough food. However, would it be strange to ask him? After all, what was the worst that could happen? He could say no; he could think I was a weirdo and never speak a word to me again. Did I really want to be seen as the weirdo next door? But then again, if someone had been there for me when I'd first started to live alone, then everything would have been so much easier.