◣ 𝗦𝗢𝗙𝗧 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗧 ◥

𝗡𝗘𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗔 𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥

NEEDED A MOTHER
"—𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗀𝗈𝖽𝖽𝖺𝗆𝗇 𝗆𝗈𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋!"

—WHEN ALEXANDRIA WALKED INTO THE COMMON ROOM ABOUT AN HOUR LATER, SHE REALIZED THAT A PARTY WAS BEING HELD. It was for their quidditch victory, which she rolled her eyes at and was about to leave, but someone had grabbed her hand. "Not staying?" asked Draco Malfoy, a cigarette in his hands.

"Since when have you started smoking?" Alexandria asked, not replying to his question.

"Does it matter?" He asked, taking a glass of firewhisky— which was floating around for the Slytherins to drink. "Have you ever tried alcohol?"

"I don't think so," she shook her head.

Draco gave her the glass in his hands. "Try it."

"My father would kill you if he found out."

Draco exhaled some smoke, not looking away from her. "He doesn't have to know, does he?"

She suspiciously looked at the glass of firewhisky, which was now in her hands. "You didn't put anything in it, did you?"

Draco gave her a look. "You think that lowly of me?" He asked, a bit hurt.

"Yes," she nodded and took a sip, frowning at the taste. "This tastes disgusting."

"And yet you're continuing to drink it.." he pointed out, while she was doing exactly what he had said. "Where are you going?"

Alexandria, who was about to leave the common room, turned around. "Leaving. Why?"

Draco looked around the party. "Can I come? I don't like it here. Too much noise."

"You enjoyed the screams when we killed—" she was stopped by him putting a hand over her mouth, urging her to be quiet by a look. "Fine," she grabbed his wrist. "You can come, but never touch me again."

He nodded. "Deal," he said, crushing his cigarette with his foot.

♡

It was now an hour later.

Alexandria and Draco had been at the Astronomy Tower for the past hour, both of them silent, which they enjoyed.

Draco was smoking another cigarette in the corner of the tower, his leg on the wall, eyes following Alexandria's moving figure.

Alexandria, not noticing this, continued to pace around the tower, stopping every now and then— looking like she was in thought as she stared into the distance— then shaking her head and continuing to pace.

"Alright," Draco finally broke the silence. "What's wrong?"

"Like you'd care," the girl scoffed, continuing to pace.

Draco frowned, exhaling some smoke. "I never understood why you hated me. I still don't."

Alexandria rolled her eyes, still pacing.

"Why do you hate me?"

She finally stopped, giving him a look. "You never had a problem with it. Why do you have a problem with it now?"

"Because I've tried everything for you to stop hating me. You still do."

"Malfoy, it's literally no big deal—"

"Easy for you to say. It's nothing new for you."

"Excuse me?" Her eyebrows rose. "What do you mean by that?"

Draco sighed. "Alexandria Eleanor Slytherin—"

"Draco Lucius Malfoy."

"Your middle name means light, yet your heart has none of it." He continued, "Why do you do that to yourself? Why do you never let yourself.. feel? Why— why can't you just stop hating me?"

"Because you're a dick. Because you're a pompous spoiled mommy's boy," she finally said, never once breaking eye contact. "Because whenever something happens, you have your mommy to go to. Because whenever you want love, you have your mommy to go to. Because whenever you— whenever you want affection, you have your goddamn mother!"

"You hate me because I have a mother?" asked Draco.

"I don't hate you.. I hate the fact that I'm jealous of anyone with a mother.." she said, trying to stop her eyes from tearing up. "I hate me."

"What?" He frowned, stepping closer to her. "How? How could you hate—.. how could you hate you?"

"Because whenever I see somebody with their mother, it makes me think that there's something wrong with me. A child without both parents tends to think that there's something wrong with them. I have my father— which I'm always thankful for— but.. I want a mother. I needed a mother when I was a month old— starving. I needed a mother when I was a year old— saying my first word. I needed a mother when I was 11– stepping into the Hogwarts express. You have a mother, Malfoy. And I hate that whenever I see you with Narcissa, I always think about the fact that I don't have one. And it brings me so much hatred.. but what hurts the most, is that it doesn't actually bring me hatred. It brings me hurt. Hurt that a daughter was poisoned by her biological mother. Hurt that a daughter was poisoned by her biological father and physically abused. Hurt that.. hurt that I was literally given up to die."

"..I'm so sorry.." whispered Draco finally.

"As am I, Malfoy." Alexandria replied, looking down. "As am I."