𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 | 𝐃.𝐌

Chapter Sixteen

A/N: Viewer discretion is HIGHLY advised. If you're uncomfortable with reading smut, please skip it and only read the ending of this chapter because that'll be important for the rest of the story.

The berry-flavored wine slid down her throat and the pounding of her heart eased slightly. They'd been drinking for a while now.

"What were you thinking? Going after Potter in the ministry?" He asked.

She took another sip, as Malfoy rested his hand on the back of the sofa behind her shoulder and leaned into her.

"I- I had this potion." She couldn't lie her way around this one.

"What potion?" He stared at her intently.

"You know, one I brewed myself. I still sneak into the potions classroom occasionally," She finally said nervously.

Her eyes dropped, then lingered. "I thought I'd found a potion that could help them. That I could heal someone if they were hurt. Turns out, I had to use it on myself." She looked back up at him and found him still staring at her.

He chuckled lowly. "You had me really worried there Gray," he said, taking her hand into his. Her heart rate rapidly increased.

He let go of her hand and stood up, placing the empty bottle of wine back on the ground.

"There's a reason why I brought you here," he said, blinking down at the carpet.

Her mouth went dry as she looked in his direction. He was so thin. His cheekbones stuck out sharply and dark circles of exhaustion hung under his eyes.

"Everything will change." He clearly tried to say it steadily, but she detected the faintest crack in his voice. She watched his knees shake as he bent them to sit down next to her on the sofa.

"Everyone's been saying so," she whispered.

He sucked in a rattling breath. "The Dark Lord is back. Hogwarts won't be safe. So, you can't come back to Hogwarts in September."

His words hit her like a train. Her mouth gaped open, not knowing what to say. He couldn't just order her around, expecting her to listen to him. "You can't just-"

"Yes, I can." His voice rose.

She paled. A sneering pain surged through her chest as she tried to remain calm. She watched his adam's apple bob up and down as he swallowed and his grey eyes flickered to meet hers.

"You won't be able to deal with it. You're too... weak." He said.

It was like being kicked in the stomach, her temper rising. "I'm not fucking weak. You don't even know half the things-"

"You're such a fucking idiot sometimes, you know that?!" He yelled.

She looked up at him, her heart stuttering, feeling sore. It was just like all those countless times he had sneered at her before. He's putting up his walls. That's why he's yelling again. Think logically. She convinced herself.

She took a deep breath. "You don't really think that."

As she scanned his face for a reaction, the silence grew thicker between them and she felt like she had to be careful breathing; that if she were to exhale too sharply, something inside him would snap. She expected him to yell at her again, sneer at her, but he did nothing.