NEMESIS || Draco Malfoy

39

I can't wait any longer.

Meet me in my dorm at 9 tonight, and I'll say it.

That was all it read on the piece of parchment I had handed Malfoy right before dinner.

I watched his reaction carefully; the way his eyes widened as they darted over to me, the way his brows furrowed lightly and the way he quickly made the note disappear in the pocket of his robe when Blaise leaned over to read it.

"Privacy, mate," He had muttered, throwing him a singular glance before his eyes landed on mine again.

I smiled and diverted my gaze for the rest of the evening.

And now, as I stood in front of the mirror in our dorm, Pansy sat on her bed behind me; I tried not to think of what he might be thinking— definitely not that he was mere hours away from certain death.

I sighed, spotting the locked drawer of my bedside table in the mirror, the bottle of wine and the poison stored inside of it. My eyes darted back onto my figure, hands running down the black fabric of the dress I wore.

With a low cut, a slit running up to my thigh in the otherwise ankle-long fabric — hugging my upper body tightly while loosening around my legs — I deemed it appropriate for a school Christmas party.

"I thought you'd go more out," Pansy commented, a sceptical look in her eyes as they ran up and down my figure. At once, she dropped her wand, the violet shapes she had been drawing in the air disappearing as she made her way over.

I had to agree with her; usually, I did go more out. Though, today I didn't want every single pair of eyes on me— quite the opposite, really. After all, I had to slip out of the crowd mostly unnoticed in order for this to work.

"Not saying that you don't look hot," She added in passing, giving me a wink as she brushed a crease out of the dress.

"Why, thank you, Pans." An amused smile played on my lips, and I rolled my eyes playful at her words. "And you?" I wondered, changing the topic swiftly. "Are you and Malfoy still—?"

The question had been on my mind for a while, and I was unsure whether the plans they had made in the Three broomstick's a week ago still applied. She cut my question off with a hesitant shake of her head.

"Oh," She said, her lips forming an O-shape. "No, I—" Again, she hesitated, her eyes darting through the room as if she'd find her words scattered through it. "—Just didn't really feel like it, to be honest." Swallowing thickly, she added, "He's just such a... pain in the arse sometimes, isn't he?"

Her words made my brows shoot up in surprise, not remembering the last time Pansy Parkinson had genuinely insulted the blond boy. She was right, of course— though, I'd go as far as saying, deep, deep down, she admired him, in a way. (I wasn't sure if she knew she did.)

With furrowed brows, I nodded. "Can't say I disagree with you there." Struggling to close the clasp of the silver necklace behind my neck, the girl quickly took over.

"I know," She sighed, closing it on her first attempt. "Of course you don't."

Pansy took a step back, and spotting a half-hearted smile on her lips in the mirror, made my head tilt in worry as I turned towards her.

"Are you alright?"

Pansy's eyes widened, and her head snapped in my direction, nodding vigorously at my question.

"Of course," She waved off. "Always am, Anna—"

I sighed. "If this about not being invited to Slughorn's stupid Christmas party—" I raised a finger, a warning tone in my voice as the words left my mouth.

Pansy huffed with a shake of her head. "Well," She began, taking a few steps back to lean against a bedpost, arms crossing in front of her chest. "It's easy for you to call it stupid when you're going—" She cut herself off when she caught my expression, my finger raising higher in one quick motion to cut her off.

Defensively, her hands shot up in the air. "But no," She continued. "I've come to terms with it." A playful pout formed on her lips as she continued with a hint of mockery in her tone. "I'll just be wandering the halls... all by myself while you have fun with... Kai?"

She could hardly contain the serious facade she had put on, lips cracking into a grin only seconds after the words left her mouth.

"Pansy," I whined, an amused expression on my own face, rolling my eyes as a singular shriek of a laugh escaped her mouth.

"Okay, okay," She sighed in amusement. "I'm just kidding; now go have fun before I change my mind— I'll keep the others out of the dorm until 11; if you and Kai haven't used it by then, that's on you."

I huffed, a smile on my face at her words. "Thank you."

She didn't need to know I wouldn't be in here with Kai.

———

"Now, look at you—!" The Ravenclaw beamed brightly, greeting me with a kiss to the cheek and his hands on my back — lingering there as he continued. "You look good, Anna, really—" Kai gave me a cheeky smile, eyes darting through the corridor.

An amused huff escaped his lips as he gestured towards the closed doors that held Slughorn's party. "I feel like you're taking away from how good I look, you know—" He interrupted himself with a laugh, eyes flickering over my figure once more. "—Yeah, you definitely are; that's not fair."

I snorted humorously, shaking my head at his lively nature as my own eyes roamed his body.

He wore a black suit, though instead of the usual button-up you'd see underneath the blazer, he wore a black, perfectly-fitted turtleneck; brown curls hanging into his face and a smirk on his lips.

"You cleaned up nicely yourself," I retorted, a grin on my lips as the doors leading into the large room opened automatically. A photo station set up right by it; we were pushed in front of the camera without a second of hesitation.

Posing almost naturally, I glanced towards him as a giggle escaped his lips. When the shutter clicked, the flash went off, and we were ushered away as quickly as we were pushed in front of it, I asked, "Did you drink, Kai?" — a playfully accusatory tone in my voice.

"No, why would you—" His lips parted in playful offence, meeting my narrowed eyes before a sigh escaped his lips. "Well, just a little bit to warm up, you know. Seeing as they have nothing but..." His eyes roamed the wide room, falling onto the refreshment table and shaking his head in a displeased manner. "—Nothing but sparkling water and orange juice."

"Didn't know I was invited by an alcoholic," I tutted, brows raised in amusement. Kai simply laughed.

"I'm tipsy, at the most—" He warned, finger raised. "And I'm still better company than anyone else in the room." A teasing tone accompanied his words as his hand reached for a tray one of the waiters carried in his hand.

The little snack found its way into Kai's mouth without him ever realising he took anything off the tray in the first place, and I smiled at the sight.

"I'm counting on it, Alire." 

A/N: I said it once and I'll say it again, Kai Alire supremacy. I love that guy. and you better do too jkbhjgf

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I've got some good stuff planned for the following ones hehe

See you then. <3