The school year ends and you head home with your family, but Draco unexpectedly shows up a few weeks later.
~~~
The rest of the term felt like it flew by. And you were grateful for that. You only saw Voldemort two more times, and each time, he changed what he wanted from you. It was now your mission, over the summer, to break into Dumbledore's tomb with Draco and steal the Elder Wand so that the Dark Lord could finish what he'd started and finally murder Harry Potter.
You hadn't spoken to the boy much outside of class since you'd agreed to be friends with him. You hadn't meant to lose touch with him so quickly, it had just sort of—happened. You'd beaten them in the Quidditch final game to take the House Cup for the year, something your teammates had celebrated for the better part of a week. You knew in the back of your mind that it would've felt a lot better if you'd been able to celebrate it with Draco by your side.
But no, the Slytherin boy hadn't spoken to you unless it was necessary since you'd stormed out of his room in tears so many weeks before. You had made plans to meet up a few weeks into the summer, to make the trek out to Dumbledore's tomb and somehow steal the Elder Wand. But that had been the extent of your communication.
"Now, remember, y/n, maybe actually write to us this summer?" Marin requested, and Juniper nodded. "Since you didn't last summer," Juniper cut in, and Marin smiled slightly. The three of you were standing on Platform 9¾ once more, awaiting both your things and the sight of your respective sets of parents.
You nodded. "I will, I'll make sure I set up some reminder," you said absentmindedly. You weren't sure you wanted to write to Marin, you two still hadn't really settled your argument that you'd had months before, when you'd told her you weren't sure you wanted to join Dumbledore's army against Voldemort. Marin, on the other hand, wholeheartedly had, and you still weren't sure where either of you stood with the other. So you simply...hadn't spoken about it.
Your things had already been loaded off of the train, and you stood by them, sitting on your large chest and waiting with the rest of your luggage as you waited for your parents.
You spotted the Malfoys farther down the platform, and you watched as Draco and Narcissa loaded Draco's things onto a dolly and wheeled off. Draco turned around for just a moment at the last second, catching your eye and holding it for just a moment before he turned back around, leaving the platform behind. You knew it likely didn't mean anything at all, but you allowed yourself to feel a flutter of hope at the realization that he hadn't glared at you when he saw you for the first time in weeks. He'd been doing that ever since you had gotten back from Malfoy Manor the last time, and you'd grown so accustomed to it that seeing a blank expression on the Slytherin boy's face caused your heart to skip a beat all over again.
You sighed as Juniper spotted her parents and disappeared from your and Marin's side, hugging the both of you and promising to write once more. You gazed over the platform for what felt like hours, sitting there still even as Marin also disappeared to find her parents.
You finally spotted them coming through the portal into the platform almost half an hour late, their eyes wide and hair disheveled as they hurried over to you.
Bear and Ariana Everglade, two of the most loving people you'd ever have the chance to meet. They both ran up to you, enveloping you in a hug as they apologized for being so late.
"It isn't a problem, Mom," you reassured the both of them, thanking your father quietly as he picked up your chest for you.
The three of you headed back across the portal, arriving on King's Cross as you did every single year after school had let out.
"Where's Oliver?" you asked, watching as your parents exchanged a glance.
"We figured it would be safest if he remained home when we picked you up this year," your father informed you. "With rumors of You-Know-Who beginning to return to power, the less he knows about a Squib in an otherwise pureblood family, the better."
You remembered Draco's accusations of your family being blood-traitors as you listened to your father's explanation. How could you be blood-traitors when your family was doing so much to hide a magical mutant and lying about it?
"How were exams, dear?" your mother asked, her eyes worried. You knew she really wanted to ask about Dumbledore's death, but you weren't going to simply give that information up unless she asked directly. So you shrugged. "Not really any more difficult than last year."
You exited the train station with your things, moving to grasp your father's arm as you gripped your luggage in your other hand.
"You steady?" he asked, the same way he did every year. You nodded the same way you did every year, bracing yourself for the unpleasant sensation that you knew Apparating would bring.
You winced in pain as your father cast the spell, feeling yourself get squeezed. Your head felt like it was being flattened by a steamroller, and you felt ready to explode—and then it was over.
You opened your eyes to see your house, smiling at the familiar sight as your mother Apparated next to you. You exhaled heavily as you waved your wand, nonverbally casting Wingardium Leviosa to make your luggage follow you. You were so grateful that you could now practice magic outside of Hogwarts, it had made your life infinitely more convenient.
"Y/N, you didn't tell us you could non-verbally cast spells!" your mother exclaimed, causing your father to turn around and see what you'd done, too. You felt your face heat up as you realized she was right; but then again, there were a lot of things you'd done this year that your parents had no idea about.
"It's just a couple of them," you admitted sheepishly. "This one and Lumos." Even though that was a lie. You could cast a number of spells nonverbally, and lately you'd been practicing the Unforgivable Curses nonverbally, too. But you couldn't tell your parents that.
Instead, you thanked your mother for her praise and took your things to your room.
You flopped down on your bed once everything was back in its rightful place, throwing an arm over your eyes as you did so. A knock on the door announced your brother's entry into the room, and you sat up to greet him as he came in.
"How was your year, y/n?" he asked shyly, and you tried not to pay attention to the vague hint of sadness lacing his tone. You knew the poor boy longed to go to Hogwarts. His fifteenth birthday had consisted of many tears and a week of sadness following. You had felt so guilty about returning to Hogwarts for your second year that following fall that you'd tried to talk your parents into letting you drop out.
"It was okay," you admitted. "Exams were pretty difficult. And Dumbledore was murdered, on top of all of that."
Oliver nodded. "That story didn't leave the front page of the Daily Prophet for a week and a half. Mom's probably going to as you about it at dinner."
You nodded. "She'll work it in while asking about my Potions marks, I'm sure."
Oliver smiled. "Wouldn't surprise me."
You chuckled. "Hey, by the way, after dinner, I've got candy from Hogsmeade for you. Chocolate Frogs and honey drops, your favorites."
Oliver's face lit up then, and he smiled brightly. "You're the best, y/n," he said, and you grinned right back—your first real smile in what felt like forever.
"I know."
~~~
The first two weeks of summer flew by, and it almost felt like nothing about your life had changed. You made cookies with your mother, obliterated your father in Wizard's Chess, and tested a few potions from your Advanced Potions book on your brother. (And only had to spell his limbs back into place once!)
You didn't forget that it was Draco's birthday when June fifth came and went, but you also didn't write or send a Birthday Howler or make any indication that you knew it was his birthday. You were a bit more focused on your own birthday on the fifteenth anyway, and that was quickly approaching.
So when the Slytherin Prince himself showed up on your doorstep two days before your birthday, your parents were not the only ones surprised.
"Y/N, you have a visitor," your mother called up the stairs, and your interest peaked, wondering who it could be. If it had been Marin or Juniper, they would've used their names, or even Silver's name, for that matter.
You descended the stairs all the same, coming to a stop on the bottom stair when you saw who your parents had just welcomed into the house. You had the urge to rub your eyes and open them again—there was no way Draco Malfoy was standing in your foyer.
"Hi, y/n," he said, shooting you a smile that you knew him too well to even think it was genuine. "Good to see you again."
"You're a Malfoy, aren't you?" came your father's voice, and Draco turned the sickeningly sweet smile onto him as well.
"Yes, sir, although I was hoping my reputation hadn't preceded me," he said with a forced laugh, sticking out his hand for a handshake your father reluctantly gave. "But I'm also your daughter's boyfriend."
You suddenly felt dizzy at hearing Draco's words. He hadn't been your boyfriend for the better part of two months now, why was he introducing himself like he was?
"Oh, y/n didn't tell us she had a boyfriend," your mother said quietly. "Much less that he was a Malfoy," she muttered under her breath, shooting you a look as she turned back to return to the kitchen where she was preparing dinner.
You couldn't say anything to save yourself, because it was only going to look more suspicious that a Malfoy was in your house if you admitted that he wasn't actually your boyfriend—that he hadn't been for weeks now.
So instead, when you turned to head up the stairs to return to your room and he followed you, you didn't put up a fight.
You did, however, use your wand to propel him into your desk chair the moment your bedroom door was shut behind him.
"And what the hell do you think you're doing showing up at my house like this?" you demanded.
"I've come to see my girlfriend, of course," came the stupid Slytherin boy's reply, the smirk on his face only irritating you more.
"No you haven't," you shot back. "You know as well as I do that I'm not your girlfriend. Tell me the real reason or I will Crucio your ass."
Draco's smirk dropped off his face as he leaned forward in your chair to speak more quietly to you. "It's Voldemort," he said lowly, causing your heart rate to spike. "He's getting really antsy about Potter being moved and figuring out how to evade him every time. We need to bring him the Elder Wand before this week is up, or we're going to both end up in deep shit."
You sighed heavily, dropping onto your bed all over again. "So what, then? We set out tomorrow or what?"
Draco shrugged. "It makes the most sense. I'd say we could apparate, but they buried his body in this super magically-protected tomb or something. We can't apparate within like, fifty miles of it."
"So we have to apparate right outside of those fifty miles, and then just...walk?"
Draco sighed as he looked up at you again. "Evidently. We can't even ride a broom, or so Lord Voldemort says."
You were slightly unnerved by how Draco was now referring to the dark wizard as "Lord Voldemort", but you didn't mention that.
"My parents aren't going to let me go anywhere with you this close to my birthday," you retorted. "They're going to want to celebrate it with me."
Draco looked confused. "When's your birthday?" he asked.
You rolled your eyes. You'd been with the guy eight months and he'd never learned your birthday? Hell, you'd known him nearly five years and he'd never bothered to find it out? "My birthday's on Saturday," you answered anyway, your tone clipped.
"The fifteenth?" he questioned again, and you nodded.
"How did I never figure that out?" he asked, and you shrugged. "You never asked," you responded simply.
Draco stood then, clasping his hands together. "Come on then," he instructed, leaving you confused as he opened the door to leave your room.
"Where are we going?"
"To Diagon Alley," he responded, straightening his shirt. "After all, I have to buy you a present."
~~~
You weren't sure how your parents allowed the two of you to apparate to Diagon Alley, and you were less sure how Draco was able to apparate. You weren't supposed to start learning that until spring term of fifth year. This meant that Draco was a whole year ahead of Hogwarts students in terms of the apparation spell.
You didn't bother to ask him about it, though. In fact, you hardly spoke at all until Draco guided you into a bookstore.
"What's in here?" you asked curiously as you looked around at all the books surrounding you.
"Anything you want," Draco responded, and your eyes grew wide. "I can't ask that of you," you said quickly, and he shook his head. "You aren't asking. I'm telling."
You sighed, becoming confused by the Slytherin boy's actions. He'd told you he didn't want you just a couple months prior, and now he was telling you to pick out whatever you wanted in a store full of your favorite things in the world?
You didn't argue again, though. You simply darted ahead of him, around a corner and into the aisle of books you knew you loved most.
Textbooks. You knew Draco would likely make fun of you for it, calling you the Slytherin Hermione Granger, but if it was a textbook you didn't have to study for a class, you usually loved it. And with your aspirations of becoming a Potioneer, you were practically required to accrue as many Potions books as possible.
You ran your fingers over the spines of the books in front of you, turning your head to read the titles on the spines. You saw titles like Most Potent Potions, Botanical Brews, Draughts and Elixirs, and Potions D'apothicare, and that was the one that made you pause.
That was the book seventh-years vying for a Potioneer position had to study and work out of for six months before the application day came around at the Apothecary. You pulled it off the shelf, marveling at how thick the leather-bound book was. Opening it to a random page, you relished in the old-book smell you'd grown accustomed to at Hogwarts throughout the years you'd spent there. You read across the recipe for the potion on the page, the Odium in Capturam, or better known as the Draught of Hate. This particular potion, you knew, was brewed with the intention of forcing the drinker to reveal their worst traits, and these traits were usually taken out on the person administering the potion. If it was brewed incorrectly, or too much of it was ingested, the drinker usually found themselves in St. Mungo's, desperate for any sort of relief from the internal pain the concoction would cause.
You turned another page and found the Oculus Potion, a potion that was supposed to return sight to a blind drinker of the concoction. You had yet to see anyone try it (or take it and see it work, for that matter), but that didn't stop you from finding the recipe and the potion itself fascinating.
You were so engrossed in the potions themselves that you didn't hear Draco round the corner and spot you.
"There you are," he said gently, startling you out of your book. "I didn't realize where you'd gone, I've been looking for you for a good ten minutes."
You smiled apologetically, but didn't say anything as you looked back down at your book.
"Ah, the apothecary recipes," he commented, nodding approvingly. "A good study book for someone aspiring to be a Potioneer."
You nodded absentmindedly, shutting the book back up and hoisting it up to replace it on the shelf. "Yeah," you agreed. "It's just a bit out of my price range at the moment."
You turned around then, heading back down the aisle, stopping at a few of the others to flip through other books that you admittedly didn't find as fascinating.
You sighed heavily, turning to go find Draco to tell him you were ready to leave, when you saw him approaching with a large box in his hands.
"What's in there?" you questioned.
He shook his head. "You'll find out later," he said with a smirk, bringing out his wand and whispering, "Reducio!" You watched as the box shrank to less than half its size, and Draco tossed it into the air, caught it expertly, and put it right back in his pocket. "Ready to go?"
You nodded, and he lead you out of the bookstore.
"I'm ready to just go home, to be honest," you admitted. "Mum's gonna have dinner ready by now."
Draco smiled, the first time you'd seen him genuinely smile in a long time. "Then let's go eat dinner," he said.
"And what makes you assume you're invited to dinner with my family?" you asked, arching an eyebrow.
Draco chuckled. "I just have a feeling they won't turn me away, that's all."
And when he held out his arm to apparate the both of you back to your house, you took it without hesitation.
~~~
Dinner was awkward, to say the least. Or at least, you felt awkward. Draco had managed to keep up a conversation with both of your parents, and you and Oliver had been pretty much entirely left out of the dinnertime discussions.
"So what do you plan to do once you've graduated Hogwarts, Draco?" questioned your father, and Draco exhaled before answering.
"I haven't really settled on anything yet, sir," he admitted. "I know y/n wants to be a Potioneer, but I'm more into the alchemy side of things. I'm also quite interested in becoming an Auror, I think it would be a good fit for both me and my personality."
Your father nodded, his face betraying the fact that he was deep in thought. "An Auror and a Potioneer," he said thoughtfully. "That would keep food on the table, that's for certain."
Draco chuckled slightly. "I think y/n could work her way up to become the Headmistress of the Apothecary," he said then, causing you to nearly choke on the water you were drinking. "Snape is always blown away by her potions work. If her O.W.L.s are on par with her classwork, she'll get an Exceeds Expectations, no problem."
You felt your face heating up, and you forced yourself to concentrate on your food. Where was the Draco you knew? He had never given you any of these compliments to your face. And why was he still acting like he was your boyfriend when the two of you hadn't properly spoken since the day Dumbledore died?
You avoided continuing the small talk after dinner, instead electing to help your mother do the dishes. She, did, however, still want to talk about Draco as you cleaned up from dinner.
"So when were you going to tell us you were dating a Malfoy, y/n?" she asked, her expression blank.
You sighed. "I should've told you," you admitted slowly, trying to choose your words carefully. "But we had a huge fight right before term ended, and I wasn't sure we were still together. I didn't want to tell you guys that I was dating anyone if we weren't really still together."
Your mother stayed silent for a moment, turning to put a dish away. "I'm just worried about you, dear," she said after another beat. "His family is made up of Death Eaters, you know. That's why his father is in Azkaban."
You tensed. You knew all of this. Your Dark Mark was still on your arm, as well.
"I know," you responded coolly."
"And you're with him anyway?"
"Yes," you replied quickly. You couldn't very well tell your mother you were a Death Eater too.
"We can't really talk, anyway," you continued. "The Malfoys say we're blood-traitors, we call them Death Eaters. Eye for an eye, you know?"
But when your mother paled at the words "blood-traitors", you paused. "Why do they think we're blood traitors, Mum?"
She took a deep breath, and you didn't miss the glance she threw into the dining room, making sure Draco and your father were still engaged in conversation. She then turned back to you, drying her hands on the dishtowel before opening her mouth to speak.
"We're hiding your brother," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "We essentially spit in our ancestors' faces by keeping your brother—alive."
You could feel the blood draining from your face as your mother continued. "If You-Know-Who returns to power, he will likely go after every magical family that is knowingly harboring a Squib," she said, her voice shaky as she kept speaking. "Either he will demand that we kill Oliver, or he will simply kill all of us for being Squib-lovers."
You and your mother both remained silent after that revelation, finishing cleaning up and hurrying through the rest of the dishes.
Draco only excused himself from his conversation with your father when you began to ascend the stairs back to your room, following you closely up the staircase as you returned to your bedroom.
You sighed as you laid down on your bed, Draco following you into the room quickly after.
"What's the matter?" Draco asked, lying down beside you. You sat up immediately, turning away. "Don't do that," you said tiredly.
"Don't do what?" Draco questioned.
"Act like we're together," you replied, hating that your voice sounded as weak as it did. "We aren't together, and I need you to stop fucking with my head like this."
Draco's expression changed immediately as he scrambled around to stand in front of you again.
"Do you think this is only hard for you?" he asked, his temper very evidently already rising. "Do I need to remind you that it's your fault we aren't together in the first place?"
You rolled your eyes. "I'm fully aware of why we broke up, Malfoy," you spit, not even wanting to say his last name, let alone his first. "But now you've showed up to my house unexpectedly, taking me to Diagon Alley to look for a birthday present, lying down beside me in bed, doing all of these things that would make it look like we're a couple to anyone looking in, and I don't have the headspace for that right now. We're supposed to be...taking that trip in two days," you said, only barely remembering to not speak of what you were actually supposed to be doing. "Either tell me what the deal is or stop acting like this."
Draco ran a hand over his white-blond hair, the anger in his eyes fully obvious. He didn't say anything, though, so when you turned away, you thought that was the end of it.
"Y/N, why is it that you think I can just...switch off my feelings for you?" he asked then, causing you to still.
"What do you mean?" you asked tentatively.
"I mean you sit over here acting like you're the only one going through anything. You think that I'm just totally over you and that I was able to simply flip a switch and be fine being this close to you but not having you."
You turned back, an incredulous expression on your face. "What are you talking about?" you asked. "You're the one who broke up with me. You know for a fact I'd take you back in half a heartbeat, and you're acting like it's this great tragedy that you're here with me now and 'can't have me.' That's bullshit, Draco, and you know it."
Draco recoiled, almost as if you'd hit him. "You're going to sit there and say my feelings for you are bullshit?" he asked, his voice raising with every word he spoke.
You shook your head, but not before raising your wand and casting the Deafening Spell on your door. You felt an odd sense of déjà vu doing so, realizing you'd had to do the exact same thing on the Slytherin Common Room door just a couple months before. "That's not what I said, Draco Malfoy, don't you twist my words like that. I'm saying that you sitting here with this 'poor me' act pretending like I'm something you want but can't have is bullshit. You know what my answer is if you decided you wanted me back. Stop fucking pretending you don't."
Draco nearly snarled at your response, but you didn't have time to react before he lunged forward, putting a hand at the back of your neck and bringing his lips to yours.
You froze for a minute before springing into action, kissing him back as deeply as he was kissing you as he led you backwards to the bed. He laid you down immediately, crawling on top of you as he did so. He pulled away then, pushing himself to a position hovering over you as he stared into your eyes, his own gaze flicking between your darker lips and your eyes.
"My feelings for you aren't bullshit, y/n," he said, his voice sounding desperate for you to accept the words he'd spoken.
You, on the other hand, were simply desperate for him to kiss you again, so you just nodded. This was a fight he'd successfully put off yet again, all because of the way your body reacted so quickly to his touch.
"Please, just kiss me again," you begged, pulling at his shirt to bring his face closer to yours again. "I don't want to fight anymore."
"Me neither," he breathed, before giving into your demands and kissing you all over again.
His hands roamed your body the way they had the first time he'd kissed you like this, and your skin turned to liquid fire underneath his barely-there touch. Your breathing quickened as his hands found their way under the hem of your shirt again, and you were ready to just shed your shirt entirely when a knock sounded at your door, scaring the living daylights out of both of you.
Draco hurried to roll off of you, and you sat up quickly, nodding to him to open the door as he did so.
Your mother stood at the door, looking in curiously at the two of you, and you knew she was likely surprised that you two were both fully dressed.
"Y/N, your father and I don't really like the idea of Draco sleeping in your room," she began, and you opened your mouth to protest, but your mother held up a hand to silence you.
"However, we also know that you will be nineteen in two days' time, and your bed is the only other one in the house that has space for an extra person."
She sighed as Draco stood there awkwardly, looking back and forth between the two of you as a faint pink blush splashed across his pale face.
"Just be responsible, understand?" she asked, and you nodded quickly, desperate to get your mother out of your room.
She nodded in acknowledgement of your wordless response, turning to leave the room. "And also be aware that the walls are not sound-proof," she reminded you, and you felt your face heat up. "The Deafening Charm will likely be your best friend in that regard."
You buried your face in your hands as she finally left, and Draco shut the door behind her with an awkward, forced laugh.
"Well, that certainly ruined the mood," he said, and you forced a laugh out yourself as you laid back down on the bed.
"So what was that?" you asked as Draco laid back down beside you.
"What?" he asked as he came closer to you on the bed, wrapping one arm around your torso and pulling you into his body.
"The whole almost-having-sex-with-me thing," you responded. "Because I know you would've if my mom hadn't shown up."
He frowned slightly, lifting up his arm to grip your chin and turn your face towards his. "I would've assumed it was obvious, y/n," he said quietly, his grey eyes locked fully on your own. "I don't want to be apart from you anymore."
You looked back at him, wanting him to actually ask you to be with him again, and when he realized that's what you wanted, he rolled his eyes despite the growing smile on his face.
"Fine, you insufferable woman," he said, poking your nose. "Be my girlfriend again?"
You smiled despite yourself, nodding quickly in response. "There's nobody I'd rather be, Draco Malfoy."
And the two of you fell asleep in each other's arms that night, the light from the moon outside only barely illuminating your bedroom. You knew what the days ahead would bring, and you knew that it would be a strain on the relationship you'd just rekindled.
But that didn't stop you from hoping with all your heart that you could still make it work with the Slytherin boy breathing steadily beside you, despite everything the universe had thrown your way since the beginning. You didn't know exactly how you would make it work, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was that you had him right now, that he'd come back to you.
And that was all you needed.
~~~
Fun fact: I almost wrote that y/n just straight obliviated Draco's memory of her kissing Harry in the chapter where he found out, but needed the angst his knowledge of the act provided.
I hope the fact that this chapter is over 4000 words according to word makes up for a lack of the last chapter.
But I hope you guys like this one!! <3