NEMESIS || Draco Malfoy

05

The bare stretches of stone wall were illuminated only by the pale moonlight peeking through the windows in the wide corridors of the castle. The only sound echoing through them my leisurely steps as I wandered around, enjoying every precious moment spent all by myself in complete silence.

Moments like those were rare at Hogwarts. You hardly had more than a second alone, with friends and professor mingling about wherever you went.

And Merlin knows I needed as much of it as I could get— Knowing what I had to do by the end of the year and knowing the sooner I'd get it done, the better.

I did my best thinking out here past midnight.

It was late enough to be sure there weren't any prefects to worry about anymore; only Filch I occasionally crossed paths with. And a simple concealment charm was enough to fool the old squib.

Though, the footsteps audible now were definitely not his.

Filch's were slouchy, hardly lifting the soles of his shoes off the ground, and heavy — almost like it was Hagrid himself stomping down the corridors when in reality, he was less than half his size.

But these were light, close to making no sound at all against the stone floors. It was a miracle I even noticed them in the first place.

Realising they were, in fact, approaching me — getting closer and closer by the second — I quickly retreated behind the corner I just rounded, pressing myself against the wall and hoping the same, simple concealment charm was enough to fool them, too.

When they were no more than a few feet away, I regretted positioning myself this close to the edge of the corridor.

Pressing my left cheek against the wall as well, my head was turned towards the corner— a position that ultimately landed me in the situation I found myself in now, about ten seconds later.

Managing to muffle the shriek that would've otherwise echoed through the halls, my breath hitched at the face suddenly no more than a few inches away from my own after it peeked around the corner.

They couldn't see me, of course, and it was so dark, and they were so close, I couldn't make them out, either.

But contrary to what they should've done — which was simply move along their way once they realised nobody was there — this person stayed put. Two seconds, three seconds.

I tried my best to keep my breath flat, breathing as quietly and lowly as I could while their eyes narrowed, brows furrowed, and then, out of nowhere, tapped their wand against my cheek lightly.

Without a single word muttered, I could feel the concealment charm lifting and my eyes widening just slightly.

Looking up at the figure, their lips turned into a devilish smirk, recognition striking their eyes as they took me in intently.

I recognised him when a snicker past by his lips, the sound paired with a low laugh and Malfoy shaking his head.

I visibly relaxed, knowing he wasn't going to get his own house into trouble, though didn't attempt to scramble away from him like I probably should have — his sharp features still incredibly close. Instead, I tilted my chin upwards defiantly.

"Why am I not surprised," He muttered, throwing his head back in amusement while continuing to shake it slowly.

Fiddling with the ends of the sleeves of the blue quidditch jumper I had thrown on, my eyes flickered up and down his frame, noticing the perfectly fitted black suit he wore instead of his robes.