Winter (Draco x Reader)

Chapter 9- The Snitch*

Pansy's eyes narrowed dangerously and her voice spiked into a shriek. "Not that boy? Are you suggesting I am some kind of tart and that's why he was interested?"

I blushed profusely, horrified at the turn our seemingly harmless conversation had taken.  "Pansy, I--"

"Don't speak to me ever again!" she yelled overdramatically. Blaise stood. "How could you, Y/N, I thought you were my friend!"

She collapsed into fake sobs, hiding her face in Daphne's shoulder, and the latter began to pat her on the back, staring at me accusingly. Gritting my teeth involuntarily, I stood up, glaring at the both of them.   

"Oh for Merlin's sake," I hissed, "Pull yourself together! Did it ever cross your mind, Pansy, that maybe I was the one who needed a friend sometimes instead of always having to listen to your love life?"

Blaise had since arrived and was tugging my arm to diffuse the situation. "Come on, L/N, it's not worth it."

"No, because you were too busy giving Malfoy the googly eyes to even notice that I'm not okay!" I continued, in a quieter voice. "If that's how you're going to treat me, we were never friends anyway!"

I ripped my arm from his grasp and stomped out of the Great Hall. There was a slight burning sensation in my eyes.  To Blaise's credit, he didn't say anything as we walked down to the Black Lake, where I let myself wilt onto the ground, staring morosely out into the inky water. I trailed my fingers over the smooth pebbles that lined its shores. 

Blaise remained standing. "Giving her a reaction only gave her power over you."

His voice was even, and I sighed, looking up at him sheepishly. "I realize that now. It was just too much in the heat of the moment."

He nodded sympathetically, coming to sit a short distance away. I laid down, keeping my gaze on the stormy grey clouds that circled around the sun like Dementors around their prey. 

"Would you honestly have confided in her even if she had acted like a true friend?" he asked, struggling to keep his expression neutral. 

I giggled ruefully. "Honestly? No."

He smiled back. "At least you acknowledge it."

Just as one of the said clouds began to look suspiciously like a Grim, a dreamy, feminine voice floated through the air. Blaise stiffened perceptibly.

"The first thing I liked here was the Lake, you know."

Not even bothering to sit up, I replied, "If you like it that much, you should see the Slytherin common room. We live right under it, you'd probably like it."

A tinkling laugh sounded, and then the girl's face loomed into view. She had mounds of wavy, platinum hair that fell in tousled ringlets to her waist and the kind of pale skin that could only be genetic. Kind, faded blue eyes twinkled gently from behind an absurd pair of sparkly pink glasses, made out of cardboard and complete with wings, that seemed to have come out of a slightly wacky magazine. Small red radishes dangled from her ears. 

"Nice glasses," I grinned, gesturing for her to lie by me. 

She plopped down gracefully by my side, mimicking my position to perfection, before answering softly. "Thank you, they're to see the Nargles. You've got quite a few buzzing around your head."

I was hesitant to ask what on Earth Nargles were, so I settled for a toneless, "I've been preoccupied lately."

"Such is always the case for a mind of quality, and thank Merlin for it, for what else would we do with our time?"