Amortentia: A Draco x Reader Fanfic

Pansy Problems

Ever since your run-in with Fred and George, Draco all but avoids you—looking away as soon as you make eye contact, taking unnecessary detours, and going back to the commons at ridiculous hours. Surely, this has nothing to do with you—after all, one incomplete tutoring session couldn't be enough to cause this erratic behaviour. Still, you bit your thumb as you exited your transfiguration class, not noticing the silence that surrounded you. Not noticing the dozens of sets of eyes that fell upon you whilst one glaring and fast approaching set of eyes strode towards you. Just as you started to reassure yourself that Draco's behaviour had nothing to do with you, your back slammed hard against the stonewall and your feet dangled in the air while someone's hands pinned you in place by your collar.

 "What did you do to Draco, (y/n)?" The voice accuses with air so hot and close that you shut your eyes before you can identify who this person is. Nearby, the onlookers whisper amongst one another, wondering if they should intervene. You kick your legs helplessly, hoping to find a holding place against the wall when you fell to the ground with a hard thud. The crowd's whispers grow louder as you instinctively draw your wand against your opponent.

"Pansy?" You ask, your head tilted as you slowly lower your wand. "Pansy Parkinson?" Pansy—a fellow slytherin—sits on the ground, clutching her knee as she stares at you in horror. You turn to the crowd then back to Pansy, hoping for some sort of explanation as to why she attacked you. "Um...need a hand?" You ask as you tuck away your wand and step towards Pansy.

"Don't come any closer, (y/n)." Pansy snarls and you raise your hands to show her you don't want to hurt her as you stand still. "You're the reason he's like this. You should see him now: refusing to taunt the first years, not turning around talking portraits, and you should see him in Potions. You wouldn't know because he sits further back, but he never stops staring at you. He won't even look at me the same way." Pansy explains with a shake of her head as she looks up to you, sad, scared, and hoping for an answer, but you don't have one.

"Who cares how he looks at you? You weren't dating. Who'd want to date him anyways?" A group of bystanders heckle and only stop their exclamations when Pansy stands and growls at you.

"What do you think, (y/n)? Do you think you can just break Draco and get away with it? You think you can just toy with him? You think you can just seduce him?" Pansy spits as she stomps towards you, hands curling into fists rather than around her wand. You take a few cautious steps back, your hand hovering over your wand when the crowd stops whispering and everyone—including Pansy—stares behind you.

"Seduce me?" Draco purrs so closely behind you that your body drops in temperature. You can hear the curl of a smile in his voice without having to turn around and just like Pansy and everyone watching, you know that means trouble. "Is that what you think, Parkinson?" Draco asks, dangerously calmly before spitting out her last name, making Pansy flinch. His approaching footsteps are the only noise nearby as everyone holds their breath: waiting to see what Draco does next. I have to do something. Pansy may not always be the nicest but most slytherins didn't have the best reputations and besides, this was all just a misunderstanding, right? Inhaling deeply, you close your eyes for a second before striding to stand in front of Pansy to block her.

"Draco, how long was you standing there?" You ask with a forced smile and voice that's sounds falsely chipper—even to your own ears. Glancing quickly back to gauge Pansy's reaction, you face Draco again, this time your smile—no matter how small—feels real. This is the right thing to do. If the golden trio can survive being on his bad side for so many years, I can handle it too.

"Long enough." He answers, pointedly looking to the wall where Pansy pinned you. You look down and swallow as you try to think of a rebuttal, but you come up with nothing. Why does he care? Draco isn't exactly known for being a justice crusader so what changed? Is he scared for his reputation? Maybe he's angry at Pansy? If not that then what? You raise you head, your eyes darting across his face as you search for an answer. He's angry—that's for sure—but there's also concern and something you can't pinpoint.

"Why do you care, Malfoy?" A bystander shouts and Draco clenches his teeth, glaring, but staring at you as if trying to come to a decision—or at the very least, wondering whether he should calm down. What is going on here? You heard stories from The Golden Trio about being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but this is ridiculous. Tilting your head to the side, your eyebrows pull together in concern and this time: it's Draco who smiles at you.

"Because..." Draco starts, projecting his voice for everyone to hear as he takes long strides towards you and you blink, unsure of what he plans on doing. "Pansy was right." He announces, his smile now beaming as he stands mere inches from you. The crowd explodes with gossip but you're too busy searching Draco's face for an answer. His hair is in his face and his clothes are mussed—has he been sleeping okay? No wonder he was so quick to get angry: the poor guy's a mess. Even so, you doubt you've ever seen him happier than he is right now, breathing in sync with you, and surrounded by strangers.

"Hey, Draco...." You say softly so only he can hear you. You want to ask if he's okay, why he's been avoiding you, if he was serious about what he said or if he was trying to defuse the situation, but he looks so happy that you don't want to corrupt this moment for him. So, rather than say anything, you smile and his eyes dilate. Somewhere between all the crowd's gossip, Draco holds your hand loosely enough for you to get away if you want to but tight enough for you to know he cares. Your smile grows as you go to look down at your folded hands, but just as your head starts to drop, Draco's other hand lightly lifts your chin.

He smiles at you knowingly as his lips part slightly and your heartbeat quickens. Looking from his left eye, to his right, and finally to his lips, you smile as you close your eyes. A gentle warmth presses against your lips and extends throughout your whole body. If you could smile while kissing him without changing how this feels, you would. The soft warmth mixes with bouts of strength and surety as he moves his hand from under your chin to caress your face. Your lift your free hand to grab his hair and you're amazed at how soft it is—at how soft he is. This continues for a few more moments, each of you mixing different levels of strength and emotions into each passing second—every one better than the last. Slowly, Draco rubs a circle with his thumb against your cheek before placing it onto your joined hands and you free your hand from his hair to do the same. The two of you pull apart, holding each other's hands as you both search each other's eyes. Then, with that small crooked smile you know so well, Draco nods and you nod back.

"We need to talk." Draco says, looking about as dazed and please as you feel. Nodding slowly, you smile again, freeing one of your hands from the pile as you turn to guide him elsewhere. Looking away from Draco, you notice the crowd has all eyes, ears, and shocked expressions on you and out of the corner of your eye, you notice Draco's cheeks reddening as he looks down. Smiling gently at Draco, you step forward and the crowd automatically makes an entranceway for the pair of you. Looking forward, you use your thumb to rub a circle against Draco's hand as you walk and out of the corner of your eye, you see him turn to your hands in surprise, look at you with admiration then lift his head and continue onwards with a smile.

It has been waaaaay too long since the last update. Don't worry though, I have the next two weeks off from school before finals so I might have more time to write. Also! I heard what you said and thought instead of helping Draco out, why not push him head-on into conflict? :D As always, thank you so, so, so much for the support! I've gotten a few suggestions about characters and what direction you want to see the story go in, but if you have any more, just let me know! Take care <3

~Ray