LITTLE MISS MUDBLOOD – ACT 2 : SCENE 1 : CHAPTER 53
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DRACO LUCIUS MALFOY - the previous day
Draco Malfoy swaggered back down the Ministry corridor, a smirk on his face as he brushed off his shoulders. His long fingers dragged effortlessly through his silky hair as he approached the Minister's familiar door (as he had been there many times before, with his father), strutting right through and joining Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, his beloved parents.
"Shall we?" said his father shortly, rising and holding a hand out for Narcissa. She took it in her own and he kissed the back, helping her stand. Narcissa looked at Draco specifically, giving him a look. He almost rolled his eyes. Ever since he's given that stupid ring to that wretched girl, his mother's been trying to teach him how to treat her when she becomes his wife, which would be in two years, unfortunately.
Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy led Draco out of the Minister's office, pride in each step they took towards the more . . . well, prestigious, floo network, rather than the sketchy, lower-class fireplaces that even the Weasleys used. Draco's nose turned up at the thought of using those. How preposterous!
Soon enough, the Malfoys were back home and Draco stormed up to his room, slamming the door behind himself. He was livid, of course, and he had been good at hiding it at the Ministry, but now nobody was around –
Draco chucked a designer vase at the wall. He would never, ever, admit that he was quite jealous that she was now the richest student in school, and she would now be Slytherin's greatest asset, not him.
And nothing riled Draco Malfoy up more than someone being better than him.
A knock on Draco's door startled him. He had just been resting on his king-sized bed, trying to come up with the good things about marrying Y/N Grace. He couldn't find anything to make him feel better, and he feared he gave the ring to the wrong person - he couldn't, right? She was the only acceptable option for him.
"Come in," he grumbled out, pulling the sheets over his naked chest.
His mother came in, her hair pulled back into a loose plait - similar to Y/N's that day. Walking over, a tiny smile on her face, she sat on the edge of his bed, running her perfectly manicured fingers through his hair.
"I know what you're thinking," she whispered. Of course she did, she was a Legilimens. "And I think you picked the right girl."
"And what makes you think that?" he said dully. "She's a half-blood, friends with that Harry Potter, and she's too nosy for her own good."
Narcissa stared rather meanly down at him.
"From what I've heard, she's also intelligent, ambitious, and puts you in your place; everything you need. You may not like her, but she's good for you," she said huffily, turning up her nose. "Besides, I never liked that Pansy Parkinson, she's too conceited, even for you. She'd just use up all of our money, without a second thought. And that Astoria Greengrass is pretty, yes, but she's too daft. She can't even charm a toad to caterwaul. Daphne - well, I think Theodore's interested in her, and, well, I don't think you would like Millicent Bulstrode. Just saying."
"What makes you think I like Y/N? But either way, would she even stay alive long enough to marry me?" Draco muttered, looking away. "She's always off with Potter, Weaslebee, Mudblood, and those traitorous blood-traitors. She's almost died on several occasions. So really, the only good thing about her is her dog, Goldfish."
Narcissa let out a small huff.
"Just try to see yourself being her husband? And remember what I've taught you. Our family still has to accompany her and her brother to every party, every gathering, and every country they must travel to this summer. Everything. Not to mention, she still has those private lessons with us. You'll practically be spending the whole summer with her, so I suggest you play nice and enjoy the perks while you can, before school starts. I heard Greece was on the list?"
Draco's insides tickled maliciously. A whole summer with her? No thank you. But maybe . . . if he got to meet all the hot girls –
No, mum said he couldn't even look at other girls anymore, now that he was betrothed to Y/N Grace – unfortunately.
Narcissa kissed him on the forehead and stood, looking down at him. She said, "Your father requested you in his study, immediately. Goodnight, Draco."
"Night, mum," he muttered, sitting up and flinging on a shirt. He begrudgingly followed his mother out of his room and departed for his father's study, approaching the grand door. Draco knocked.
"Come in," his father said gruffly, and Draco pushed the door open, closing it behind him and sitting in the armchair before the single, mahogany desk in the small, grand room. "Ah, Draco, held up by your mother?"
He nodded, resisting the urge to yawn.
Lucius hummed. "I wanted to talk to you about the ring."
Draco stiffened as his father went on.
"You are lucky the girl has the most respected heritage in the Wizarding World than anyone else, or else I would not be as proud of you as I am right now."
Relief found Draco and he sunk in the chair, sighing. He knew his father would always be proud of him - he was the third-best in his year (after Y/N and Granger), was sorted in Slytherin, and he was immensely respected by the student body - but Draco always liked the added pride. It gave him more to boast about.
"The ring will take effect two years from now, before your sixth year," Lucius reminded him, shuffling through the papers on his desk. "From then, you two must marry, and til death do you part. Adultery, untruthfulness, and failure to conceive one or more heirs before the age of twenty-five shall result in torturous and punishing death.
"I was disappointed when I had discovered you had given one of the most valued Malfoy possessions to a Mudblood, however, I accepted it when you and Severus wrote to me, telling me she was a Slytherin and top of her class. Your mother also helped me realize what an asset she would be to our family, so don't forget to thank her when you get the chance to."
Lucius glared intimidatingly at him, but Draco rolled his eyes and said, "Yes, father."
Lucius' face turned into one of disgust, and he shook his head, scoffing.
"I still do not understand what was going through that mind of yours when you gave her the ring. She was a Mudblood."
"Was."
"A Half-blood's barely any better," Lucius turned up his pointed nose, frowning. "A Pureblood would have been preferable, however, seeing the Slytherin ladies in your year . . . well, I must say, you'd best be glad the Half-blooded girl was sorted into Slytherin, or else you'd have to put up with a lady who has a disease for a last name."
Draco's nose scrunched. Parkinson looked like a disease, of course he'd choose that Y/N over her any day. But that didn't mean he had to be nice to her. She didn't have to like him, that's not how the ring worked, so wouldn't it be more convenient to treat her how he's always treated her? Maybe a little twist, but still; either way, she'd have to marry him.
So why not make it fun?
Y/N ELIZABETH GRANGER GRACE - present time
"I mean, I kind of feel bad for her you know," said Daphne, watching the hairdresser cut her long hair to just below her shoulders. "Not even Pansy deserves to look like Pansy."
Y/N snorted and let out a laugh. "Daphne! That's mean!"
"I never said I was a nice person," she said, rolling her eyes. "No, I don't need root touch-ups, this is my natural hair. Yeah, believe it, bitch."
The hairdresser attending to Daphne glared and waved her wand, clearing the hair. She stomped off to the register, waving over Daphne's mum.
Daphne grinned, hopping out of the chair and coming over to stand in front of Y/N, looking at her hair in the mirror.
"How do I look?" she said, turning to face her. "Personally, I love the length."
"Same, oh my gosh," Y/N squealed, trying to sit still in her chair. "I think you got the pretty genes, if I'm being completely honest. I mean, no offense, but your sister . . ."
Daphne cackled.
"Yeah, she's ugly compared to me and you," she snickered. "But then again, me, you, Hermione, and Ginny are the elite. Those other bitches can suck my –"
"Daphne, how do you like my hair?" said Theodore, interrupting her sentence and standing behind her.
Daphne blushed furiously and turned towards him, looking up at his hair. She squeaked and closed her mouth before uttering out a small, "It's nice, Theo."
Y/N cringed. Luckily, her hairdresser decided to blindfold her before the reveal and turned her away, patting her shoulders.
"Ready?" she asked, and Y/N nodded furiously.
She took the blindfold off and Y/N looked at her hair, admiring it.
"I love it," she whispered out, running her fingers through it. The hairdresser had defined her curls with magic, which would hold them no matter what she did. It surprised Y/N a lot, because her hair has never been that defined before, no matter what she did. "Thank you!"
"No problem," she said, before lowering her voice. "And by the way, I saw that blonde boy staring at you, the one holding that Chanel purse? I think he likes you."
She winked and cleaned up the hair with a swish of her wand, beckoning her over to the register.
"Three Galleons," she said, pulling out a small, gold-rimmed glass box, filled with Gold Galleons and Silver Sickles.
Y/N beckoned over Malfoy, who sighed heavily and stood, reluctantly slumping over to where Y/N stood. He shoved her purse in her arms and stood there, crossing his arms.
She rolled her eyes and counted out three gold coins, handing them over to the hairdresser.
"You two dating?" she asked with a smirk, stacking the Galleons neatly in the box.
"He wishes," Y/N muttered, pulling her the gold chain over her shoulder. "But then again, everyone does, don't they?"
"No," said Malfoy dully, and followed her out of the shop.
The next thing on the list was the nail salon, where Y/N had her already-long nails shaped and painted a pretty, lilac-purple color. The place also gave her an eyelash lengthen and lift, as well as an eyebrow wax. They followed up with a place that removed all body hair magically, a place that straightened and whitened her teeth, and finally, somewhere that removed all her skin blemishes, from acne scars to large pores.
Y/N couldn't help but look in every mirror she passed. Not that she was conceited, but she just looked prettier. They hadn't changed much – rather, they only enhanced her natural beauty – but she just looked . . . different.
The very last stop was a very large, multi-storied clothing that Y/N grinned at. The best thing about it was that she had no limit to what she could buy, something she's never really had before. So as soon as she could, she left the others, racing as dignified as possible to the top story.
Y/N grabbed what felt like everything. From cute skirts and shorts to tight jeans to pretty dresses, and adorable tops to small tank tops to short cardigans, her arms were getting tired from all the weight. Not to mention, the tens of ballgown dresses and, of course, the shoes. So many shoes! Almost, but not quite, embarrassingly, Y/N had to get a worker to help carry her shoes down to the ground story, where she hoped to find at least one of the boys.
Lucky for her (and the kind employee) they found Malfoy towards the back of the shop . . . but he was talking to a girl with dark hair. Something bad surged through Y/N and a bad feeling overcame her, turning her cheeks an angry shade of red and heating her whole body up. Beckoning the employee to follow her, she almost stormed over to the pair, slightly fuming.
The worst part was that she didn't even know why she was mad.
"Draco!" she called as he and the girl started laughing, looking around the pile at him. He turned to her, his eyes widening. "I need help!"
"Right – of course," he muttered, and went to grab a cart. He soon came back, taking the pile from Y/N and placing it in the cart. "Why do you have so much stuff already? It's only been an hour, Y/N."
Something fluttered in Y/N's stomach when he said her name. Nevertheless, she took the shoe boxes from the employee, putting them in the cart. She thanked him as he left before replying.
"I - uh - shut up! I'm not even finished, so come one!" she grumbled and walked off, giving the girl a discreet mean look.
Y/N shopped in the accessories section first, before moving on to the purses, and finally, the check-out. She would have gone to the, well, suggestive part of the store, however, she had Malfoy with her. Draco Malfoy.
"This is a lot," Malfoy complained, looking through the pile of clothes. "We're going to be here forever."
"I can easily make it more, so you might want to shut up, Malfoy," Y/N muttered, glaring at him.
"Or what?" he smirked, leaning in close. His cologne embraced her tightly, and Y/N couldn't help but wonder how many times he's been way too close for comfort.
"I'll beat you up like I beat that Cho Chang up," she threatened, glaring up at him. His smirk faltered and he pushed the cart forward to a free register, not giving her a chance to do anything as he started piling the clothes in front of the worker.
The total was a couple of hundred Galleons, but as Y/N dug through her purse to find her coin sack, the sound of clinking met her ears and a rough hand grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the store.
"You take for-fucking-ever," Malfoy growled, carrying her several bags out the shop and joining Theodore, Blaise, Mrs. Malfoy, and Blaise's mum. "Besides, do you even need this much clothes? For fuck's sake."
Y/N scoffed and rolled her eyes, turning a couple of shades darker as she realized how much she spent –
Wait –
Didn't he pay?
"Thanks," she muttered lowly and vaguely.
"For what?" he arched a brow, giving her a dark look. Fortunately for him, his mum was talking to Blaise's mum, and Theodore and Blaise had disappeared inside to find Daphne.
Y/N looked away, yawning as she ignored his prompt.
"For what, Y/N?" he said again, but before Y/N could do anything, Daphne came strutting out of the store, Theodore holding all her bags with Blaise following. She came over and linked arms with Y/N, skipping in the direction of the entrance to Tins Alley.
Y/N looked behind her. Malfoy stood there, veins prominent with the strain of the bags, and he watched them with a blank face. His bottom lip pulled between his teeth and his eyes trailed over Y/N several times, gears turning.
Y/N turned back around, the blush still present on her face. She didn't know what to do about him – they'd be spending a whole summer together, plus the upcoming school year . . .
Pixies filled Y/N's stomach, and she couldn't tell whether they were good or bad.