NEMESIS || Draco Malfoy

61

Hours passed, and my mind was as scrambled now as it was then. Clarity wasn't miraculously given to me, neither was I able to attain it in any other way.

Not until now, that was.

Though, with the piece of parchment between my fingers — my thoughts messily scribbled on it — as I hurried out of the castle in the middle of the night, it seemed like that might change.

The fresh air invading my nose and lungs felt good, the light breeze working on carrying my worries with it all on its own. I felt a considerable amount lighter just by getting away from that stuffy dungeon air that threatened to suffocate me if I spent another minute surrounded by it.

I felt good here— better, at least.

I didn't mind the chilly temperature, welcomed it despite the tank top I wore. It would work for a while, and I didn't plan on spending all night out here.

As I came to a halt at my usual spot, the black lake audible in the near distance, I didn't waste any time in igniting the piece of parchment with a swift motion of my wand.

I watched the letter burn, watched the flame slowly growing before rapidly increasing the speed in which it destroyed what laid in its path — in this case, the parchment. My gaze was set entirely on it, eyes not faltering from the cruel satisfaction of my own worries disappearing right in front of my eyes.

And yet, I felt his presence before he ever made himself known.

Whether it was the sound of Malfoy's footsteps, the scent of his cologne that began lingering in the air or altogether just a feeling, I didn't know.

So, when he came to a halt beside me, I didn't startle at the quiet appearance— never even turned my head in his direction to double-check. Instead, my eyes stayed on the diminishing parchment held between two fingers of mine, the flame slowly growing smaller as it began feeding on the last remainders of my words.

It didn't seem like he had spared me a glance, either; gaze set on the same flame.

"I saw you from up there," He offered his explanation, gesturing towards what I assumed to be the hospital wing before turning back around to catch the last moments of the small fire.

His voice was missing its usual accusatory tone or the hint of mockery it was laced with on most occasions. Instead, it was calm, just above a whisper, in order not to disturb the silence that otherwise surrounded us.

Letting go of the parchment when the flame came too close to my fingers, the rest of it fell to the ground and burnt in the process, and that silence was joined by complete darkness mere moments later. Natural light unable to replace it with the few clouds in the dark sky covering the moon completely.

I didn't mind— not even when the diminished flame took the last source of any kind of warmth with it, and goosebumps formed on my bare arms at the passing breeze.

"Should you be out of bed?" My question aimed to ignore his previous statement, brushing over it before taking a deep breath of spring air, my arms crossing in front of my chest, and my hands rubbing them absentmindedly.

His reply came quickly. "Pomfrey's releasing me in the morning anyway," He said, and I nodded in return.

In the silence that followed, I let my head fall backwards gently, and as my eyes got used to the darkness, I watched the few clouds in the sky move gradually. A particularly big one covered the moon, and so, despite the constant movement, we weren't granted the light hidden behind it.

I noticed his gaze following mine, head angled upwards just like mine was. And we both enjoyed the silence hovering between us; enjoyed the sound of the wind rustling in the trees, crickets buzzing around us and the gentle waves lapping against the shore in the distance, instead of the usual bickering that would've filled the night by now on any other occasion.

For some reason, tonight was different.

Maybe we were both fed up with it, maybe we had run out of insults during the years, or maybe, just maybe, we were both too exhausted to even go there.

A few minutes passed, the silence unusually comfortable before he broke it once more.

"What were you doing?" His words lingered in the air for a moment, the question so unexpected my head shot in his direction without a thought, eyes falling on him for the first time tonight only to realise he was already looking at me.

Simultaneously, and as if rehearsed, the moon peeked through that singular cloud in the sky. The light was dim at first, not close to illuminating the darkness around us until, suddenly, it was.

"Coping?" I huffed in return, questioning my own words in light amusement at how pathetic it sounded. I didn't care.

Though, it seemed, neither did he. A similarly amused sound escaped his lips, and he nodded in acknowledgement— maybe even understanding.

And as his lips parted, his tongue flicking over them in concentration, all of a sudden they closed again, as if he changed his mind from one second to the other. My gaze snapped up to his, diverting from his lips as soon as I noticed, expecting our eyes to connect.

Instead, I found his focused on a completely different area, and my gaze followed his down to my neck, just about managing to see that necklace of his dangling from it.

He reached for it gently, eyes batting open only for a moment as if to ask for approval without waiting for me to give it to him. His messy hair appeared entirely white in the moonlight, pale skin resembling porcelain in contrast to the black suit he wore.

I startled when his skin flushed with mine, snapping me out of quietly observing as soon as I felt his fingers by my neck— one of them tracing along the piece of jewellery he had given me mere hours ago while the others rested against my skin.

I was close to thanking him for it when I changed my mind. "I'm just glad you didn't have your initials engraved in it somewhere, Malfoy," I muttered, amusement lacing the words that seemed to snap him out of his own thoughts.

His gaze lifted, eyes connecting with mine as a genuine smile spread across his lips. I didn't notice the warmth his touch radiated until he retracted it, straightening his back and resting his hand inside of his pocket again.

He huffed in amusement, rolling his eyes that appeared grey in the pale moonlight rather than that particular shade of blue they usually were. As he shook his head playfully, he joked, "I hate you, you know?"

His brows raised as the words left his lips, and I couldn't help my own lips quirking upwards at them.

"Wouldn't hating me require you to care?" Mocking the exact words he had spoken to me months back, he cocked his head to the side in a soundless laugh, shaking it slightly in playful disbelief and amusement alike.

He hummed in recognition, his eyes falling down my figure with a smile still on his lips.

"I might have to if you continue to shake like that," He mocked with a laugh, gesturing towards my, indeed, shaking body— only slightly so, though I couldn't hide the movement. Pyjamas consisting of a tank top and shorts were hardly appropriate for a fresh spring night.

I didn't care when I left the confinements of my dorm— assumed I'd be back inside by now. But now that I wasn't, I was beginning to care.

"'Cold, hm?" He added absentmindedly, my head falling back in his direction at the words. Carelessly, he shrugged off his jacket, sparing me nothing but a short glance before he held it out towards me. "I'm not going to actually offer, so this is the best you'll get— steal it or leave it," He rushed to add, and as I grabbed it in a hurry, I felt my lips involuntarily quirking into a genuine smile.

As I shrugged it on, I blamed the cold.

When I fell asleep with it placed over the edge of my bed thirty minutes later, I wasn't quite sure what to blame anymore. 

A/N: I rlly like this chapter because of the callback to an earlier one <3 

We're getting close to the end with nemesis and I'm just rlly scared to disappoint LMAO I'll probably be rewrting that last chapter ten times before actually posting it jkhvgcf

Hope you enjoyed todays though. <3