Innocent | d. malfoy

- six -

Draco Malfoy

I couldn't believe that I was actually doing this.

I wandered down the corridor that led to the basement. I'd never been down here before, so this was a new experience.

I walked past the kitchens, where house elves were still bustling around, using their magic to clean the dishes from supper.

She told me to go to her dorm, which was what I was trying to do at the moment, but how was I supposed to know where to go once I got there?

Merlin, she was so bloody confusing. Usually girls weren't too hard to handle, easy... was a nice word to describe most of them- not this one.

I entered the Hufflepuff common room, which was the only house that you didn't need some password or fancy riddle to get in.

The interior was dark, other than the fireplace that was ablaze in the far corner of the room.

Why did I ever agree to come down here?

This place practically radiated positivity and rainbows... it was almost sickening and I don't know how these bloody Hufflepuffs live down here.

I definitely preferred the Slytherin common room to this— dark, cold, secluded. It was much more to my appeal, I guess.

Several heads turned to look at me as I entered, but I held my Potions book a little higher to show that I wasn't there to cause any harm. Of course they couldn't trust me. I wasn't considered a very— how do you put it... trustworthy... person.

The stares of hatred didn't cease as I confidently walked through the room and towards what I guessed was a hall that led to the dorms— but how would I know which one was hers—?

Wow. That's a really Hufflepuff thing to do:

Each door looked like an arts and crafts project, littered with tiny, colorful decorations and wooden chalkboards with everyone's name on it.

I came across one towards the very end of the hall, except this one was bare, only marked by a sign that read Aria Rowen in a curvy font, written using white chalk.

Her door said a lot about her personality... blank, empty, depressing.

I swear, this girl was even more sorrowful than I was.

I tapped on the door softly, trying not to draw any more unwanted attention to myself than I had already caused. It must've looked pretty out of place for a Slytherin to be parading around in the Hufflepuff basements...

Nothing.

I knocked again, a little louder this time.

Once more, nothing.

I rolled my eyes before grasping the metal doorknob. I gave it a gentle turn, only to find out that it was unlocked.

I took a deep breath and peered both directions down the hall, making sure that it was empty before I basically broke into some 7th year girl's bedroom.

I opened the door, only to be hit by cold air that seemed to fill the entire room.

My gaze landed on Aria, who was seated on the ledge of the open window with her arms wrapped tightly around her legs.

"What the hell are you doing?" I quickly walked towards her and reached over her small body, shutting the windows to avoid letting more frigid air enter the dorm. "You could... fall out of the window, or catch a cold."

Despite being at the bottom of the castle, there were still windows that looked down a sort of 'cliff', just like the ones in my own dorm.

"Funny that you care— and besides... I was just sitting on the edge. It's not like I could fall to my death just by... breathing in the fresh air," She turned to face me, sending a sarcastic smile as she did so.

I rolled my eyes and looked around the room.

It was the same size as mine and was actually very similar.

She had decorated it with dark colors like gray and black, and the only things illuminating the area were several strands of lights that she'd hung from the ceilings. Her bed was covered in a wide variety of pillows and blankets, making me wonder how she had space to sleep anywhere but the floor.

The rest of the room was filled with the usual furniture provided by Hogwarts, such as a desk, nightstand, and dresser.

"Now—" Her soft voice called me out of my transfixed thoughts as I turned my gaze back to her. "—how are we going to do this?" She slid down from her spot next to the window and strode over to her desk, picking up her Potions book.

"What if... I brew the Potion sample... and you write the essay? Hm?"

She thought for a second before responding. "Sounds fair enough. Do you need to... do that in here or--?"

"You really want me gone, don't you?" I chuckled as I brushed past her, still examining the room. On her desk she had a stack of her school books sitting next to a row of tiny potted plants.

Hufflepuff.

"The sooner you leave, the sooner I can go to bed..."

"You could always go to bed with me..." I mumbled the words to myself.

"What was that?" She stepped back in front of me, raising her eyebrows as she clutched her book against her chest.

"Nothing," I smirked down at her, watching as she got annoyed.

"That's what I thought..." She walked over to her bed and sat down, leaving me to awkwardly take the chair next to her desk.

"Where's your cauldron?" I flipped through my book for the page that I'd need to use to make this ridiculous Draught of Living Death.

"Somewhere over there..." I looked up, just as she gestured to the corner of her room. Aria looked deep in concentration as she read something out of her book. The way she bit her lip as she read from the pages below her captivated me- in fact, everything she did captivated me.

Why was I thinking about this now?

I stood up from the chair and made my way over to where she pointed, finding the miniature cauldron on the floor by her closet. "It's a little too late to start this tonight... we'll be here for hours."

"The potion is your problem... not mine," She didn't even look up from her book as she spoke.

"Fine then, I'll just come back tomorrow ni—"

"Nope. I have plans."

I let out a sigh and grabbed my book from the desk again. "I didn't know you had a social life—"

"Excuse me?"

I reached the door, turning around to look at her once more. "You heard me..." I sent her a wink, only staying long enough to watch Aria roll her eyes before I exited her room and shut the door behind me.

This should be a fun project...

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A/N- Just wanted to put out there that I ADORE all of my Hufflepuff babes so this chapter was not meant to be any form of slander! I was just trying to see the amazing hufflepuff world through Draco's gloomy perspective...