A Child Of Darkness : A Draco Malfoy fanfic

04 - Pixie hunting with a stranger

"Nasty old bird".
Eleonora licked her finger as blood seeped out the small cut on her skin. She threw a glare at Hermes as it gobbled down the food she had given him, not having expected him to almost bite her finger off.

Hermes flew out the window once he realised she had no more to offer and Eleonora could only shake her head.
The owl made no attempt to hide his dislike to her at all.

The girl made her way down the staircase from her dorms, flashing a grin at passersby even if they didn't return it.

"Bold of you to be walking these halls".

The comment had been so out of place, it almost seemed like she had imagined it. Eleonora came to a halt at the common room as gazes turned to her at the remark.

She stared at the boy, unsure of how she was supposed to reply.
"Sorry?"

"Yeah that's what I said. Me mother's afraid of you being allowed here. With your history and everything".

Eleonora continued to stare at the boy. It had barely been a week and it appeared that the fear of talking to her was beginning to fade.

The boy stuffed his hands in his pockets. He glanced at his friends around him who more or less seemed to support his words.
The fact that no one had opposed him seemed to give him a new found strength and the boy held his head up even higher.

"Well your mother must be quite a coward to be scared of a 13 year old girl".

She hadn't meant it. But they were the only words she could manage to speak at the moment.

It earned a few chuckles from the room but the boy did not take it lightly.

"You think it's funny, do you? Well it's not and-"

"I'm sorry". Eleonora interrupted. She dug her fists deeper into the pockets of her jacket, eyeing the students gathered around her.
"I barely even know you but I can assure you that I mean no harm. I don't want to be here just like the rest of you don't want me here".

Eleonora sighed.
"Be it fate. Destiny. I'm here now. And I'll be sure to stay out of your hair".

Her gaze dropped to her feet as more people joined to listen. She hadn't hoped for an audience this large to be waiting her for details.

But then again. She owed no explanation.

"Seamus. Stop it. You're scaring her".
A tall, dark skinned boy walked up to them. He flashed a short apologetic smile her way before grabbing his friend's arm and pulling him away.

The boy- Seamus- complied but not before shooting a nasty scowl towards the girl.
The crowd dispersed, noting that Fawley would speak no more and the girl took it as her cue to leave the room.

The gazes seemed to stick on her as she made her way through the school halls but no matter how many times she had looked back, there had been no one watching her.

The Great Lake was her destination. Her mother had spoke so fondly of the place. It is where she had gone to when she had felt distressed. And Eleonora was more than just distressed.

Finding the lake was quite easy. She walked just south to the castle and the sheer number of students spending their free evening at the shore was a dead give away to its location.

Eleonora sauntered through the trees and into an open clearing where thankfully none other were present.

The lake was still. Peaceful.
Surprisingly, the students' voices did not travel far and Eleonora was left with almost silence except for the rustling of the trees.