Innocent | d. malfoy

- forty eight -

Aria Rowen

Spring break arrived much faster than I had anticipated. Before I knew it, Draco and I were standing on the porch of a gigantic home.

The scenery was beautiful, with mountains on all sides. The trees around the mansion stood tall, but not taller than the house. It seemed to be probably six times larger than my own home.

"You coming or not?"

I snapped out of my trance as soon as Draco spoke, bringing my gaze up to face him. I reluctantly followed him to the door, watching as he set both of our suitcases on the top step. He only had to knock twice before it was opened a few seconds later.

"Oh— come in!" Pansy offered us both a friendly smile as she motioned for us to enter the house.

Its interior was even more impressive than its exterior. The entry hall's floors were made of marble and spilled into a larger gathering room, filled with couches and a large fireplace.

"Dylan and Blaise should be here any moment, and Luke and Cecile are already upstairs—"

"Surprise..." Luke Carrow peeked his head out from the tall staircase as I Draco and I both looked upwards.

Draco shot a glare towards Pansy, who shrugged as if it were perfectly normal for them to be here. She excused herself, leaving Draco and I alone in the foyer.

"Did you know that they would be here?" I nervously asked my question as I wrapped my arms around my body.

He shook his head and looked upstairs, seeing that Luke had disappeared back down the hallway he'd come from. "No. He won't try anything. Not after last time..."

"Are you talking about when you practically beat him up in the common room?" Theo— having just appeared, stepped in between us, pushing Draco and I apart from each other as he interrupted our whispers.

Draco scoffed and rolled his eyes as I looked to the ground.

"Honestly, mate, I remember he used to put his hands on his own girlfriend— but yours?"

"Drop it," Draco shot Theo a glare which shut him up.

I knew that Draco and I both were sensitive to any topic involving Luke Carrow, so there was absolutely no way that we would make it through the break with no fights or arguments between groups.

Pansy re-entered the living space, moving to stand next to Theo. "Should I show you two up to your room then?"

I nodded as Draco leaned down to pick up our luggage, and before I knew it we were both following Pansy up the stairs and down a long, lavishly decorated hallway.

"Alright—" She pushed a set of double doors open to reveal one of the nicest bedrooms I'd ever seen. "—since you two are the first to get here I figured that you could have one of the nicer suites," Pansy took a few steps into the room as we followed closely.

There was a large four-poster in the middle, and the rest of the room was adorned with elegant pieces of furniture such as a dresser, wardrobe, and sets of drawers. At the far side of the room stood a fireplace and mantle that had been angled in the corner. A leather sofa and matching armchair were placed directly in front of it.

"You two can unpack. The layout of the room is simple so you should be able to find anything you need— oh, and the bathroom is through there and there's another closet in that corner..." Pansy pointed in all directions as she spoke.

This room was far from simple— in my opinion at least. I often forgot that families like the Parkinsons and Malfoys had grown up in fancy environments like these. Meanwhile, my foster parents were living in a suburban apartment with just enough to pay the bills and keep food on the table. There was never a lot of extra room in their budget for such lavish things like the belongings kept here.