autumn queries

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Classes arrive and proceed, a mere block of normality in her days. She's never been particularly ambitious in her studies; although, plenty have been baffled at her brains.

"Are you sure? You're a Slytherin?" Terry Boot notes, an astonished expression tugging the features of his face.

"Yes."

"That - that can't be..." he says, his wondering eyes following her as she performs a perfect levitating charm.

"The Sorting Hat was conflicted," she says brightly. "Tried to put me in Ravenclaw at first. But my family had always been Slytherins. I guess I had some Slytherin blood inside me."

First year. Charms class. She remembers clearly. 

Now, as class ends, she hitches her ink-stained book over her shoulder. As she enters the courtyard, the scent of maple and cinnamon glazes the air, a stain on the grand stage of Autumn's arrival. 

Students file out of the classrooms, hurrying down the corridors for dinner. The sun had been stolen by the moon, its light dimming the castle grounds.

She's walking across the corridor when a seam in her bag strains. A second later, it splits open and her books spill out unceremoniously on the grass. The glass bottles of ink fall out of her reach, shattering on the hard, dewy ground. She steps back quickly. 

She can feel irritation build up inside her, which recently had always been at its boiling point. It had all been her father's fault. Her father's fault for putting his money and trust in the wrong person. Her father's fault for causing their wealth to diminish, all their expensive belongings stripped away. 

Because of him, she's standing in the empty courtyard with her secondhand bag split open, standing with the weight of an unavoidable task. 

She can feel her eyes burn with tears, a victim of her anger. 

But the courtyard is not empty. 

"What is it?"

She doesn't turn around; she already knows who it is. It only further ignites her annoyance. 

Malfoy moves in front of her, still maintaining a few feet of distance. 

"What is it?" He repeats, almost lazily. 

She shakes her head, fumbling around with her bag. "I don't want to talk to you right now."

In an instant, he has a hold of her chin with his long, ringed fingers, forcing her to look up at him. 

"I don't like your attitude." His voice is low, a mere hum in the back of his throat. 

She jerks out of his grasp, taking several steps back. "I don't need you to like my attitude," she says, fighting the urge to laugh. She tilts her head, observing him. 

He's standing there, engulfed in the color black. Wearing a thin, black sweater and black trousers, the collar of a white buttoned up shirt peeking up at the neck. 

"Aren't you cold?" The words are out of her mouth before she can stop it. She can hardly stand to look at him, wearing thin clothing as the fierce wind whips around them. 

"Don't avoid the question. Did someone hurt you?" His jaw is tensed. 

She raises her eyebrows. "What?"

"Answer me."

"What are you - "

"Was it Adrian?" He interrupts, his voice hard. 

"No, Malfoy," she says with a quick eye roll. "It's nothing. And you can the drop the act. You don't have to pretend to care."

He takes a step closer. "Why would I care about you?" 

She pauses. "If you don't, then there's no need for me to answer any of your questions." She says, but she turns around when he speaks again. 

"Was it Potter?"

"What is it with you?" She says, exasperated. 

"Potter put you up to this. Potter's been making you attack me." He says, quietly. 

"I - what?" Her throat feels dry, can feel something tightening around it. 

Without speaking, he flicks his wand casually and her books pile up and lift themselves into her bag. 

"You might be good at charms and spells, Hawkings," he begins. "But you've never been good at hiding your feelings. I can tell you're upset."

"What's it to you if I'm upset, Malfoy?" She says, her tone challenging. 

He falls silent and then he merely shrugs. "Nothing."

"Right," she says, taking a deep breath. 

She crosses the courtyard and leaves, his stare burning into her back. 


a/n: eh i don't really like the way this is written also sorry it's so short!!

i hope you're having a lovely day :))



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