snowflake

twelve

October 4th, 1993

Elissia's face dropped at Malfoy's words, he saw her first a few feet away from him and then, in an instant, right at his side on the couch. He blinked a couple times before smirking once he got over the initial shock of how fast she moved. He examined his nails casually, waiting patiently for her to say something in response to what he had said only a few minutes ago.

"Are you trying to blackmail me?" Elissia demanded, furrowing her brows slightly. Her eyes, however, did not match her tone at all; they were wide with curiosity and wonder.

Malfoy shrugged, keeping his main attention to his nails as though they were the most interesting thing in the world to him right now. "Maybe I am, or maybe I'm just making sure you get the answers you not only need.. but also deserve." He replied, stretching his hand out in front of him without diverting his eyes from them. Elissia looked at him for a few moments, biting her lip in contemplation. She tried to keep a straight when she said her next words, although it was extremely difficult.

"I don't entirely trust you," Malfoy coughed to disguise what sounded like a laugh, "But, I am curious as to why your behaviour has been undoubtedly suspicious lately." She said curtly, crossing her arms and raising her chin up slightly to appear more intimidating.

He raised his eyebrows briefly, smirking and continuing to examine his nails with great interest. Elissia stood there for a couple seconds, narrowing her eyes as she waited for him to speak. When it was clear that he wouldn't be explaining without a bit of a push first, she drew her wand from her and pointed it straight at his throat.

His hand froze and he cautiously drifted his widened eyes to hers. Malfoy could see that they were ablaze with frustration and annoyance, two things he had learned the hard way never to ignite further when it came to Elissia.

"Tell me right now, Draco Malfoy. Or I swear to Merlin, I will tell the entire school about what happened on Christmas when we were six." She threatened, enunciating every word clearly to ensure he got the point of what she was saying.

Malfoy's face paled even more, he swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded quickly, raising his hands in a surrendering way. Elissia didn't move her wand from his throat, she glared at him as he took a shaky breath and opened his mouth to speak.

"Alright, alright, I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything, just don't hex me. Not much good will come out of that, would it?" He asked, trying to distract her from his begging with a meek attempt at a joke. This only resulted in her pushing the tip of her wand further into his skin. He winced and nodded, "Okay, yeah I get the point."

Elissia only removed her wand from his neck when she was certain he was just about to begin his explanation. She kept her eyes glued to him as she sat down on the couch next to him. He waited and once he was sure she wasn't going to hex him, he cleared his throat.

"I know that my behaviour recently has caught you by surprise. It's caught me by surprise the same way actually, precisely how you did when you almost took my life just now." He began, a small smile appearing on his otherwise neutral yet anxious face. Elissia fought back the urge to smile, his second attempt at a joke was slightly better than the first one, just not good enough.

His cheeks flushed pink ever so faintly, clearing his throat again and wiping his hands on the couch, he continued on with what he was saying. "I've realised that not everything has to be set in stone, not every decision I make is pre-determined by the gods above; nor are my actions always going to result in horrible consequences. I must admit, however, it is upsetting that it's taken me so long to fully see and understand something as important as this." He said, a tinge of shame and guilt hidden by his overall truthful words.