Downfall || Draco Malfoy x Fem!Reader

11) Forbidden Forest

"You got how many points taken from us!?" Cho's incredulous voice squeaks out at such a high pitch it hurts my ears. I shrink down in my seat under her glare.

I know it's a rhetorical question, but I answer anyway. "Fifty..." I mumble, unable to meet her eyes.

"Calm down, Cho. We'll live." Eth say, with a heavy sigh and a look of exasperation in my direction. "But you really are losing us a lot of points with all this stuff you're doing with Harry's group."

"I know, I know. I was just..." I couldn't figure out a word to describe it. Curious? Yes. Bored? Yes. Scared to have another nightmare about a darkness swallowing me that I couldn't escape from no matter how hard I tried? Yes. But no word seemed to encompass all these feelings at once. That I could think of, anyway.

With another sigh, Eth shakes his head. "You've got to use your brain, Y/N. I know you've got one up there." He taps my head with his finger.

I lightly slap his hand away and instead run mine through my hair. "I know. Okay? I know."

Cho continues to glare at me for a moment as a slightly awkward silence heavily falls over our small group. Finally, she huffs and settles back into her chair.

"So what exactly is the punishment?"

"Detention tonight." I place my elbows on my knees and rub my face with my hands.

"With those three and Malfoy?" Eth's eyes narrow. "That should be fun." His voice drips with sarcasm. 

"Yeah. Don't remind me." I mumble through my hands. 

*

I walk up to where we're meeting Filch by the grand entrance to the school as I let out a long, deep yawn. It's much later than I would like and, at this rate, I'm going to fail the potions test that I should be studying for rather than doing...whatever it is we're about to do. 

As I walk up to the others, Harry offers a tired smile, Hermione a quick wave, and Ron yawns in greeting. Draco, on the other hand, just shoots me a nasty look. I ignore it. I don't have the energy to spare right now.

I'm letting out yet another yawn as Filch walks up. He motions for us to follow him, that ever-angry scowl on his face as a result of even having to deal with us kids. I don't understand why he even works here if he hates kids so much.

We exit the doors and make our way across the lawn.

"A pity they let the old punishments die. There was a time detention would find you hanging by your thumbs in the dungeons. God, I miss the screaming." Filch says as we walk up to Hagrid's hut. I hear Draco audibly gulp beside me and a shiver runs down my spine. Something is seriously wrong with this dude.

As we arrive at Hagrid's hut, he continues. "You'll be serving detention with Hagrid tonight. He's got a little job to do inside the dark forest." Hagrid steps out of his hut, carrying a crossbow and sniffling. I get the feeling I'm not going to like this at all.

Once again, Filch has something to say. "A sorry lot this, Hagrid." A pause, then a comment about Hagrid. "Oh good God man, you're not still on about that bloody dragon, are you?"

The conversation continues for a moment. Hagrid explains what happened to Norbert and  Hermione tries to comfort him. Fitch's annoyance and near disgust rise, as evident in his voice. 

"Oh, for God's sake, pull yourself together, man. You're going into the forest, after all. Got to have your wits about you."

Draco's shaky, rather scared voice quickly interjects. "The forest? I thought that was joke! We can't go in there. Students aren't allowed. And there are..." A howl echoes from the forest. "werewolves!"