Winter (Draco x Reader)

Chapter 23- Quidditch and Quarreling

I pushed the door to Flourish and Blotts open, the iridescent windchime clinging at me obnoxiously. The silhouettes of Lucius and his son were already fading as they turned a corner, leaving me to run after them. 

"Draco!" I called, slightly out of breath. 

He froze, bringing his father to a halt with him. I gulped at the sudden realization of where we were, the grimy shopfronts of Knockturn Alley closing in around me. It was quiet, the few passersby ignoring us pointedly. A small, hunched-over witch haggled with a potions shopkeep further down, a shady-looking glass bottle full of pickled eyes clutched in her hand. 

Lucius' cold gaze, so similar to his son's, pinned me to the spot. The curve of his mouth was disdainful. "Ah, Y/N. Excuse us, will you? We are on a rather... tight schedule today."

I cast my eyes down awkwardly. This wasn't about today; this was about what had happened at the tea party. It was only natural that the Malfoys, despite knowing me since birth, would put some distance between us. The underlying message was that they supported my family; in another situation, I might have been grateful for it. 

"I understand, Mr. Malfoy," I said, meeting Draco's conflicted gaze. I flashed him as convincing a smile as I could manage. "Another time, then."

I turned to leave, disappointed but not surprised. They were being true to themselves -- and once things with my mother had settled down, perhaps these would too. After all, in my world, what I had done constituted a great offense. 

"Y/N, wait," Draco said quietly. I turned around, stunned, but he only looked at his father. 

Lucius' face was neutral. "Well, boy?" he asked, the wisps of a threat lining his words. 

Draco squared his shoulders. "Father, Y/N isn't really friends with the Mudblood," he announced. "She only did a project with her in school, we had assigned partners."

One of Lucius' pale eyebrows rose. "What?" he asked sharply.

"In Transfiguration," Draco continued, toeing at the ground dismissively. "McGonagall put them together because they're both good at it. She always mixes Houses, even though everyone loathes it."

"Y/N, is this true?" the tall man finally turned to me for confirmation, suspicious. 

I chewed on my lip, eyes flickering to Draco's. His face was neutral, leaving the choice to me. Technically, what he said was a version of the truth -- we had done work together in Transfiguration, amongst other subjects. However, Hermione was my friend. What they'd accused me of was also true. Was I ready to discard that to make my life right? 

"Yes," I meekly replied, the lie like acid on my tongue. Draco nodded minutely in encouragement, while Lucius' shoulders dropped. 

"Then why in the world would you cause such a scene to prove the opposite at your party?" he asked, tilting his head towards me, a hazy, cautious look in his eyes. 

"Because," I explained, giving him a version of the truth once more. "Pansy was the one who told on me, and I didn't want to give her the satisfaction of backing down."

Draco's father reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. "So... all this for some petty schoolyard rivalry?"

I grinned at him shamelessly. "Are you truly surprised?"

Lucius shook his head in consternation, his son stifling a snicker behind his back. 

"How Slytherin-like of you after all," he drawled, dipping his head at me. "Very well, then." He glanced at his child. "Draco, it appears I have more to say to Mr. Borgin than expected. Meet me there when you and Y/N have finished your conversation."