Choose Me Instead II Draco Malfoy x Reader

Promises

A/N: Sorry for taking so long! I had a lot of exams these past few days/weeks so I had to focus on uni. Hope you enjoy this part!

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He appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

For days, you had avoided him. Sat as far away as possible from him in class, stayed close to Ginny and Hermione, didn't give him a chance to even approach you. And now, way past curfew you met him on a random hallway near the library.

The sight of him made your heart jump. His eyes widened. The two of you stood in front of each other, quietly waiting for the other to make a move. You took all of him in and tried your best not to wince when you realized how sickly he looked. It was your fault.

Draco spoke first. "What are you doing here?" His voice was strained.

You hadn't heard his voice in what felt like weeks and you took a moment to process it. "Owlery," you said finally. "I was on my way to the Owlery. I need to send a letter to my parents."

He nodded. "I heard what happened. I'm sorry."

You looked down. It was strangely comforting to hear it. "I know." You wanted to say more but no words came to mind. None that would fit your current situation anyways. "I should leave," you mumbled and straightened your back. When you walked past him, you smelt a whiff of his cologne and held your breath. You didn't dare to look at him and resumed your way towards the Owlery.

"We need to talk."

He had raised his voice and the words echoed in the dark hallway. You hesitated. "Draco ..." Then you shook your head. "No."

"Y/N, you owe me." You heard his footsteps. "You owe me an explanation."

It was then that you finally turned around. "I gave you one."

Draco scoffed. "You gave me shit."

"I gave you what you deserve," you shot back. Each word struggled to come out. Lies, so many lies. "I told you, I can't do this anymore. I can't be with you. We took this too far."

You didn't look him in the eyes but there was no reason to. The pain in his voice showed you that the words had their desired effect: "I still don't believe you."

"That's not my problem," you said. All the exhaustion from the past week suddenly rushed back and you felt your eyes beginning to burn. You wiped over your face, trying to keep your composure. "Draco," you began and then you noticed something in his hand. An all too familiar bottle. Ginny had the same one on her nightstand. "What –"

Draco smiled bitterly and held up the sleeping medicine. "Thanks to you."

"Screw you, Malfoy." You turned around and left.

"You have to eat something," Ginny gently touched your shoulder and you pulled the blanket tighter around your shoulder. She sighed but her hand stayed on your skin, warmth radiating from it. "Please, you have barely –"

"I'm not hungry." You cleared your throat. It felt so raspy. Speaking hurt.

"Come on, Y/N," Ginny tried again. "It's still early. If we leave now, no one will even see us. You don't even have to get dressed. You can go in your pajamas." You heard the smile in her voice. "How much fun would that be."

A smile tugged on your lips but you couldn't bring yourself to move a muscle. You were tired. So tired.

"Oh, so we're using last names again?" Draco followed you down the hallway with long strides. "Fine, Y/L/N."