Under the Willow Tree | Draco Malfoy

chapter 56: who she'd kill first

Draco Malfoy | 6th Year

God, Lorelei was so beautiful.

It was warming up outside as the seasons started to turn, and Lorelei and Draco had happily taken advantage of the change. They were lying on the ground under Lorelei's favorite willow tree, and she was giggling about the way Snape spoke in class that day. He had a strange way of speaking, but it made him a lot less intimidating in her opinion.

Draco was watching her, unable to take his eyes off her. She was staring up at the canopy of leaves above them, and her delightful little laugh was filling the springtime air with warmth, and Draco was completely lost in the moment with her.

As she laughed, Draco's eyes dripped down to her sun earrings. A part of him realized this was the exact scene from his dream years ago, but he was too consumed by her to care.

Just as Draco lifted a hand out to touch her earrings, distant voices grew louder and caught Draco's attention. He snapped his head back to find all of their ridiculous friends coming to crash their moment.

Luna was drifting about in the front of the group while Daphne and Millicent listened politely to her discussion of wrackspurts. They kept sharing confused looks over her head, but they didn't dare interrupt the soft-spoken girl.

Theo and Pansy were trailing behind the trio and bickering like usual. Theo had poked her in the side playfully one too many times, and now she was grumbling and jostling him around. Theo narrowed his eyes before he picked her up around the middle and swung her over his back. Pansy let out a sudden shriek of annoyance, and Daphne and Millicent shared conspiratorial smirks.

"Hello, friends!" Lorelei cheered when she too heard their approach. She lifted up onto her elbows, and her blonde curls slipped over her shoulders like golden curtains.

Draco reluctantly sat up to glower at them. Daphne and Millicent noticed his sour look and began giggling to themselves. It was funny for them to see Draco in such a foul mood, probably because he would lash out at them when irritated in the past, but his desire to be "good" meant that he couldn't do that anymore. Consequently, he'd also been a half-decent friend for once lately, and they appreciated the efforts.

"Scoot over, Malfoy. I won't get sunburnt because you refuse to share the shade," Daphne teased and nudged Draco over with her foot.

"I'm not sharing the shade with you. There's hardly enough room!"

"I can sit on your lap if that helps," Lorelei offered shyly.

Draco immediately clamped his mouth shut and stared at her intensely. He nodded almost imperceptibly, and Lorelei blushed.

Theo and Pansy made eye contact and laughed, although Theo was much more subtle about it. He didn't want to embarrass Lorelei — although he wasn't bothered about embarrassing Draco — but he couldn't help it. The two were adorable and clearly infatuated with the other. Theo frowned for a moment as he wondered whether the couple had thrown the L word around yet.

Draco and Lorelei settled against one another while the rest of the group took seats around them. Pansy leaned back on her hands in the sunshine and closed her eyes. She enjoyed the warmth of the sun and wasn't really prone to sunburns as much as Daphne or Millicent. Theo laid down next to her after smiling at her contented look.