Malfoy to Marvolo

Chapter 2

Rude.

Did Draco enter without a simple goodbye? She wasn't foolish enough to believe that once they had arrived at the school he would continue to behave amicably towards her, but she at least thought he would have the decency of allowing her to thank him.

Clearly reality had hit the moment he had stepped inside the castle, it was naive of her to believe Draco could continue their civility within these walls.

She walked in a few minutes after him to avoid arising suspicion, heading towards the Hufflepuff table she stole a brief glance over to Slytherin.

As expected he didn't seem the slightest bit interested in her entry. He was laughing, presumably with Pansy, who was shoving his shoulder playfully.

She sat down at the same seat she had sat at for three years now and fixed her eyes onto the choir as they sang their welcome.

Once her friends had noticed her arrival they began to nudge her, whispering her name in the hopes of gaining her attention. Adele kept her eyes glued to the front, waving her hand in a gesture that signified she would talk to them later.

It's not that she wasn't happy to see them, she had waited all summer to be reunited with them again yet she felt bizarrely out of place.

Maybe it was nostalgia from returning to the school, or the painful throbbing in her head from the collision. Or maybe it was because for a moment she believed that she had seen a kinder side to Draco Malfoy, a redeemable side. Perhaps all of her years of blind judgement towards Slytherin house was incorrect, but how was that side ever going to come out again when he had shown it to her so privately?

At the same time, she was furious for thinking that this single kind gesture could undo everything Draco had done over the years. It wasn't as though he had saved orphans from a burning building, built a chapel for nuns or collected money for the poor; he had simply carried a suitcase for a girl who hit her head. One gentleman-like act for a typically unkind boy. It was no less, no more.

Why was she still even thinking about it? Why did she even care?

It was the unknown that was bothering her, the intent behind his actions. If there was a kind side to him, why did he hide it? If it was a prank, why mess with her head?

It was a terrible thought, unthinkable even. The ultimate betrayal to all of her friends, especially Harry. But if that side of him did exist, she couldn't help but want to know him better.  It was curious, a sort of enigma. How had a boy so committed to arrogance and cruelty behaved perfectly decently in private? Was all of his years of insolence just a facade?

Her stomach churned with an unfamiliar feeling as she watched Pansy's hands run all over Draco. She tried to reason with herself that it was simply hunger but she knew couldn't really be the case.

Was she really now envious of a girl simply because she was touching Draco Malfoy? Even the notion of it was ridiculous. The thought itself was surely enough to send her into an early grave and she attempted to harness her own emotions with a deep breath. This wasn't her. She wasn't one of the many jealous girls that fawned over him. She was better than even considering being that pathetic.

Merlin what was wrong with her? This is what the rumours had warned her against.

A good nights sleep and a catch-up with her best friends would solve everything, she was sure of it.

She was tired, that was all.

In her daydreaming she almost missed the sorting, thankfully snapping back into reality just in time to see Susan walking up the steps.