Muffliato (Draco Malfoy)

4 - DETENTION

Alora Lin

"See you later, Alora?" Marietta asked, putting on her coat.

"Yeah," I sighed. "Have fun in Hogsmeade."

"Oh, Alora," Anthony grinned as he walked over to the two of us. "It's only October, and you've already secured yourself a detention," he smirked, swinging his arm around me.

"Shut up, Anthony," I laughed, attempting to pry his arm off of my shoulder.

The sun's rays illuminated the Ravenclaw common room as everyone was shuffling around, preparing to head out for the first Hogsmeade trip of the year.

I, on the other hand, failed to complete a Transfiguration homework assignment in time, so I would be spending this beautiful Saturday morning in detention with Professor McGonagall.

Given that it was a weekend day, we didn't have to be in our school robes. As an attempt to get in the fall spirit, I slipped on a dark orange turtleneck and a black skirt, topping it all off with a gold chain necklace that my father had given me for my birthday earlier this year.

I exited the common room and trudged down the stairs of the Ravenclaw tower. Walking through various corridors and down multiple staircases, I eventually turned the corner and found myself in the hallway that contained Professor McGonagall's office. I was unpleasantly surprised to see that another student was already there, leaning against the wall beside her office door.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" I probed, internally praying that seeing him here at this hour didn't mean what I think it meant.

"I could ask you the same thing," he spat, eyeing me up and down.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "I got a detention with Professor McGonagall for not completing a Transfiguration assignment. You?"

"Professor McGonagall didn't think that me turning into a ferret was punishment enough for attempting to hex Potter behind his back. So she thought it'd be more appropriate to have me come in and write lines."

The edges of my lips curled up into the slightest smile before Professor McGonagall opened the door.

"Ah wonderful, right on time," she smiled, letting the two of us in. Draco walked in without another glance at me as I followed him into Professor McGonagall's office.

"Now, you two can sit over there," Professor McGonagall pointed at a long table with two chairs behind it. Two rolls of parchment sat a few inches apart on the table, each accompanied by a quill and a bottle of ink.

"Draco, I want you to write, 'I will never try to use magic on another student,' and Alora, I want you to write, 'I will always complete my homework on time.'"

Without another word, Draco and I sat down at the table and started to write our lines.

By the time I had written enough lines to cover half of my roll of parchment, I glanced up at the clock to see that we had only been here for half an hour. Letting out a sigh, I put my elbow on the table, resting my jaw on the palm of my hand as I dipped my quill into the bottle of ink. My hands were starting to cramp up, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could take.

I peeked over at Draco's parchment to see that he had only written enough lines to fill up a quarter of his roll of parchment. After every sentence he wrote, he would stop to ruffle his hair or sit back and start bouncing one of his knees.

A few minutes passed before the door burst open and an angry Filch limped into the room. "Professor, Fred and George Weasley are at it again. They're feeding these candies to first years, and it's making them throw up all over the place! Absolutely ridiculous. If I was in charge, I'd make sure those two-"

"Thank you, Mr. Filch," Professor McGonagall interrupted, putting up a hand as a signal for him to stop talking. "Show me the way then."

"Draco and Alora," she stated, turning to the two of us. "Please continue writing your lines. I'll be back soon."

Once the door shut behind Filch and Professor McGonagall, Draco threw his quill onto the table and leaned back on his chair. He scoffed, crossing his arms across his chest before muttering, "Fuckin' ridiculous. My father's gonna hear about this."

I rolled my eyes, ignoring him as I continued to write my lines. Having already been stuck sitting beside Draco for the past half hour, I was determined to finish my lines as soon as possible so that I could finally step away to get some fresh air. The strong cologne he was wearing was so pungent; it was giving me a headache.

"Have you ever had a conversation where you haven't brought up your father?" I shook my head, letting out an exasperated laugh.

I could feel Draco looking at me out of the corner of my eye as he sat up and leaned his elbows on his knees.

"Why don't you ever bring up your father?" Draco asked, ignoring my question. "He works in the Ministry, doesn't he? You could use that to your advantage."

I turned my head towards him as I scoffed in disbelief, "Unlike you, I don't like to rely on my father to get me places. I'd rather my accomplishments come from my own hard work and deal with the consequences whenever I'm deserving of them."

"Oh shut up," Draco scoffed, kicking his feet onto the table. "You sound like a motivational speaker."

Not wanting him to distract me any more than he's already done, I ignored his snarky remark and got back to writing my lines. To my dismay, Draco continued.

"But seriously, how come you never use your father's high title to get you places? If my father worked in the Ministry, I'd figure out a way to use it to get me out of everything–"

"I'm sure you would," I sighed, keeping my eyes on the roll of parchment in front of me.

"–I could threaten all of my professors and say that my father would fire them if they gave me a detention. I could scare all those filthy Mudbloods at our school, telling them that my father will kick them out of Hogwarts–"

"You really don't get it do you," I stated, placing my quill down on the table before turning to face him. "Having a father work in the Ministry isn't all sunshine and daisies, you know. There are so many high expectations a-and strict rules. Being the only child of my family, I have so much expected of me... and I'm so afraid to fail because I don't want to disappoint my father."

Draco's eyes softened for a split second as he looked into mine. His lips were sealed as he struggled to find a response. I turned my gaze back towards the table, embarrassed that I had accidentally opened up to Draco. Bracing myself for another one of his insults, I was taken aback when he muttered, "Yeah, I know that feeling."

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw him looking down at his lap and fumbling with his fingers. Given that curiosity had taken over, I was about to ask him to elaborate when Professor McGonagall opened the door and walked into the room.

Draco quickly took his feet off the table and picked his quill up again. I couldn't help but notice that he appeared distant, and he was no longer wearing that smug look on his face. Shrugging it off, I convinced myself that it must be because he didn't want to get in more trouble with Professor McGonagall.

Without another glance at Draco, I returned my attention to the piece of parchment before me and continued scribbling down my lines.