Under the Willow Tree | Draco Malfoy

chapter 23: i've avenged her mistakes

Draco Malfoy | 4th Year

It was nearing the end of the school year now, just a little over a month left until summer break, and Draco was positively ecstatic. Blaise was constantly in a foul mood; Slytherin girls continued to flirt with Draco at every opportunity; and he was doing wonderfully in all of his classes. His year quite literally couldn't have been going more perfectly, so naturally Zabini hoped to ruin that for him. 

"Malfoy," Zabini sneered when Draco woke up one morning. Draco rubbed at his eyes tiredly before narrowing them in on his obnoxious roommate.

"What do you want?" Draco spat before whipping off his covers and donning a cruel grin. He paced over to the windows and tossed the curtains aside, making all of his still sleeping roommates groan in protest.

"Come on, Malfoy, it's a Saturday," Crabbe groaned and yanked his covers over his head.

"Just shut the curtains already," Goyle said before shoving his face deep into his pillow.

Theo added in his own incomprehensible complaints from under his mountain of blankets and pillows.

Draco ignored them and turned to Blaise, who was leaving against the wall by the door with a smug smile. "Listen, Malfoy. I see how you keep trying to get to me by messing with Briar, but it truly isn't necessary anymore. After her stunt at the ball, I want nothing to do with her."

Draco still couldn't believe Briar had said yes to that git, just to abandon him as soon as they arrived. Draco had never seen Blaise's ego crushed that badly before. It was hilarious.

"I act of my own volition, Zabini," Draco spat and rolled his eyes before turning to his trunk to get out a pair of trousers and a jumper.

"As do I, so don't worry, Malfoy. I've already avenged Davies' mistakes, and I've made sure you'll both suffer," Blaise snickered with a pleased smile on his face.

"What are you on about?" Draco fired back immediately, but Blaise left the room without another word. The door slammed shut behind him, and Draco was left with dread washing over him. He wasn't sure what had happened, but it couldn't possibly be good if Blaise's happiness was any indication.

-

At one point, Draco found Crabbe and Goyle, and the three of them gathered in the corridor and laughed about the upcoming Herbology exam. They all agreed that they thought Herbology was a joke. "What a bloody useless class," Goyle had said.

Crabbe eventually left and wandered back towards the Slytherin dorms to study, but Draco and Goyle continued to chitter on about the uselessness of some of their courses and how they both loved potions class because their head of house always seemed to favor the Slytherins. This made them immensely pleased because it was as it should be.

"We're the best house easily," Goyle argued, and that was the exact moment when Briar approached the two of them with anger rolling off of her in waves. Steam was practically coming out of her nose and mouth as she stormed into the corridor. Draco turned to look at her and frowned.

"What's got your knickers in a twist-" Draco started, but his words were cut off when Briar slammed him up against the wall with a rage burning so brightly in Briar's eyes that Draco presumed he was as good as dead.

"What is your problem?" he screeched and tried to shove her away, but Briar was far too strong. How in Merlin's shorts did she get so strong?

In the blink of an eye, Briar had fished her wand from her pocket and pointed it at Draco, just under his chin. Her grip on the collar of his robes was tight and slowly cutting off Draco's air supply, and he knew that he was completely trapped. If he tried to move even a muscle, Briar's vehement glare told him that he would be a bloody mess on the floor before his fingers even touched the wood of his wand.

Briar got into Draco's face and growled, "If you so much as lay another finger on Longbottom, I will personally break every last bone in your body until you wish you were never born."

Draco glanced at Goyle for support, so the more muscular boy took a step towards Briar and Draco, but Briar's scowl curled up further at the silent step.

"Goyle, if you move even another inch closer to me, you'll be next."

Goyle wasn't brave, so Draco wasn't surprised when he swallowed hard and backed away rapidly.

Briar shoved her wand harder into Draco's throat to remind him of her presence, and Draco let out an involuntary whimper. The worst part was he had no bloody idea why Briar was so mad at him.

"Why do you even care about Longbottom so much, Davies? It's not like you're even friends," Goyle said with a slightly quivering voice. Draco noticed that this made Briar loosen her grip on him just slightly, so he decided to add upon Goyle's comment to get Briar to get off him. Maybe he could get away if she stepped back for even a moment.

"Yeah, he's just a loser. He-"

This was the wrong thing to say. Briar landed a punch square into Draco's nose, and a sickening crack made him feel as though he was going to vomit. He grabbed onto his face and groaned in pain.

His plan had slightly worked though, for Briar had stepped away from Draco now, and he figured he could get away if Goyle could just distract her long enough. He looked up to signal this to Goyle, but he was gone. He abandoned Draco.

"Oh, oh! What is the meaning of this?" Professor McGonagall cried when she entered the corridor and found Malfoy hunched against the wall with blood spilling over his hands. Briar was huffing angrily still and watching Draco with a lethal scowl etched onto her face. Draco didn't want to find out what would have happened to him if McGonagall hadn't shown up when she did.

"This is unacceptable! Oh, my. Miss Davies, you have detention for the rest of the month. Go to my office immediately while I usher Mister Malfoy to the hospital wing," She said with her arms coming around the battered Draco. She promised him, "Madame Pomfrey will be able to heal this easily, dear."

Draco looked back at Briar as they left the corridor, and he wondered what on earth he could have done to incur Briar's fury like that. He hadn't even spoken to Longbottom in weeks. What was she talking about?

In the coming days, Draco healed just fine, but he noticed the way his classmates stared at him with hatred and distaste burning in their faces. He was confused, but he started to realize that he deserved it. He wasn't exactly kind to many of them, and he couldn't even keep track of all of the nasty things he'd said to his classmates, but the way his classmates were looking at him...it was like he was a monster, but he had never laid a hand on Longbottom.

Sure, he had his fair share of moments bullying the dorky Gryffindor, but his assaults were verbal, not physical. Why would Briar suggest otherwise?

He tried to act unaffected by all the hateful looks he was receiving for supposedly harming Longbottom, and he was largely successful in this endeavor until he rounded a corner and saw that younger, blonde girl staring at him with hurt and fear in her eyes. He realized with a sudden rush of despair that she had heard the rumors of him beating up Longbottom and had believed them.

Draco didn't attend the rest of his classes that day.

//