Learn to Love » Draco Malfoy x Reader

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After our less than desirable encounter in the corridor, the walk over to Hogsmeade had been agonizing. It took all the restraint in my body to keep myself from clawing his eyes out. Those smug, self-serving icy gray eyes...

I tried multiple times to stay away from Malfoy as we headed over. Unfortunately, when I fell a few paces behind him, he would tease me for slowing down our assignment, prolonging it and making it take longer than necessary. When I walked quicker than him, he laughed for running away like a child. Needless to say, walking ever so close to him was not the way I wanted to spend my afternoon.

To make matters worse, Tomes and Scrolls was closed when we arrived.

"This is ridiculous," Draco slapped the sign on the door window which read that they'd be open again in two hours. Apparently, there had been some accident regarding ink processing that ruined a batch of books. I hoped that it wasn't the potions textbooks we were meant to pick up, otherwise I'd never hear the end of it. I'd somehow get blamed for it.

"What do you suppose we do for the rest of the wait time?" Draco piped up.

I, however, was still seething with Malfoy for his insult earlier that he had seemingly forgotten about. I couldn't figure how he could so blatantly call me a slut —no, "acting" like one— and go on about his normal day as if that didn't happen.

I plopped down on the bench outside of the shop. "Wait here."

"Just wait? For a whole two hours?"

"There's no point in going back to Hogwarts, we'll just have to come back."

"Sure, but there's an entire town for us to mill about," he huffed matter-of-factly.

I rolled my eyes. "Forgive me if I'm out of line, but I don't particularly want to explore Hogsmeade with someone as degenerate as you."

"Degenerate?" he feigned hurt, placing a hand over his heart. "That pains me."

"It should. Now if you'd like to entertain yourself, go ahead but leave me be."

"Come on, Vitelli. Forget about what I said back there. We both know it wasn't true," he looked down at me, prompting me to meet his gaze skeptically.

"Of course it wasn't true, but that doesn't mean you should have said it."

"I'm not going to apologize for it, but know that I don't think of you like that. It kind of just... slipped out, regrettably."

I mused by scanning him up and down. His hands were in his pockets and he kicked a rock absentmindedly with his foot, his platinum hair lightly moving about as gentle wind passed through it. His eyes were soft, not narrowed or angry like before. I didn't think he was entirely sincere, but at least he wasn't hostile.

"Do you expect me to just forget about it? Honestly, Malfoy, have you no human decency? And for me, of all people..."

His eyes bore into mine, with some sort of expression playing. It wasn't... remorse, but a ghost of it, perhaps. His features were softened, his shoulders slumped. Maybe my slight reminder of the fact we're married knocked some sense into him.

"Can we at least try to put it aside for two hours? Certainly we can go that long without maiming each other," he let out a dry chuckle to alleviate some tension.

The end of his lip tugged up in sort of a smile. Not his typical malicious smirk, but a —small, yet still present— smile. Something like it, anyway. It made him look awkward in a boyish way.

"Why would you even bother we spend time together? Wouldn't you rather we just go our separate ways and regroup in two hours?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow.