UNKNOWN | D.M (UNRAVEL BOOK 4)

[ 27 ]

There were scratching sounds coming from the Owlery, echoing into the growing night as the many pairs of eyes peeked open from the little hollowed walls squinting over the pair of students who had come to visit. Aine sat by the little table, writing away from the letter she had for her father and brother on the spot while Draco merely leans by the stoned column, giving Aine the privacy she needed. He glanced over to the black owl, gently stroking the bird who waited for her master to finish writing so that she could deliver it. "What do you reckon she's writing, hm?" he quietly asks Hestia who blinked.

The owl tapped its talons onto the wooden shelves, it did not reply to the boy and merely shuts her amber-coloured eyes. Draco scoffed at the attitude of the owl, feeling hurt by Hestia for not responding to him, he had stopped petting it. He crossed his arms, giving a pout as he clicks his tongue, "Meanie," he remarked under his breath. Immediately, Hestia shot open her eyes and took a small chomp at Draco's finger. He lets out a short yelp and quickly jerks his hand away from her, hissing at the sudden attack. He swallowed down a curse and took a deep breath, feeling the stinging pain in his pinky. They ended up glaring at each other and Hestia continued to tap her claws faster onto the surface, growing significantly annoyed.

Aine turns to the two after being distracted by Draco's screech and notices the tension between her furry friend and the Slytherin boy. He was rubbing his finger on his pinky, occasionally shooting the owl a glare as he frowns. "Everything alright there, love?" she asks him and the boy instantly brightens up, the scowl disappearing like a snap of a finger. He waved his hands.

"Everything's fine! We're getting along really well," Draco replies, a hint of sarcasm laced in his words. His eyes twitched at the owl who had hooted along. Aine giggles to herself, noting the small bite mark on Draco's finger. She peers over to Hestia, shaking her head.

"Hestia, be nice to Draco~" she reminded her beautiful owl. Almost as if it felt offended that Aine was taking Draco's side, the owl's eyes only widened and it gave a low chirp. Then, it turned to Draco who was already acting as if he had won, the smirk on his face was enough to show that he was pleased by the results.

Deeply disappointed and even further aggravated, Hestia took a step closer to Draco and when Aine wasn't looking, she nibbles on Draco's finger again. This time, it was out of spite. "Ow! What the— Hey!" he exclaims, looking at the shadowed owl in disbelief. He whips his head over to Aine, wondering if she had seen what had happened but the girl was still preoccupied with writing her letter that she hadn't witnessed the second round of 'fight'. However, she could tell that Hestia had won, judging by how Draco had silently scooted over to her side after being defeated.

"Did she bite you again?" she questions, amused as Draco slumps down onto the crate beside her. He rests his chin on his hand, glumly looking at the neatly-written letter. He secretly admires Aine's elegant cursive handwriting, he thought that it had fitted with Aine's personality.

"Yeah, she hates me. I was just trying to be her friend!" he complains to Aine in a huff, gazing from the cursive words to Aine's face. She wasn't saying anything about him being around her while she was penning down her thoughts. So, he took up the chance to stay by her side instead.

"She tends to bite anyone who wants to be her friend. Once, she even bit Ron's hand too and on the other, she had chewed on Ginny's wrist because she couldn't resist petting her," Aine told him, chuckling at the memory. She looks up for a moment, meeting Draco's disapproving gaze as he shot her a deadpanned look.

"You're teasing me, right?" he asks. There was no way her owl had attacked her master's best friend. 

Aine blinks back her surprise at Draco's remark, she shook her head. "It's true though?"