Green Apples; Draco Malfoy [1]

Chapter 25🍏

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘭𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘸𝘬𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥. Alexis sits between Thea and Pansy, and Draco is opposite with Crabbe and Goyle.

Alexis managed to convince Thea to sit next to her and not at the other end of the table, assuring her that if Draco says anything, she has permission to punch him.

"So, what were you doing this morning?" Pansy asks.

"Went to watch the sunrise and―"

"Watched me practice," interrupts Draco.

Alexis bows her head, sighing internally. He cannot just stay quiet for two seconds.

"Practice? For what?"

"Quidditch. I'm the new seeker," he boasts.

Pansy stops eating. "I didn't know that."

Everyone looks the other way, Crabbe and Goyle extremely interested in the shape of one of their potatoes. Thea only now realises she's sitting next to a first-year to whom she starts giving tips.

"No one did," says Alexis. "I happened to find out on the way to breakfast."

"But Alexis knows how great I am at flying. She saw it for herself. I'm going to brush the other team right off the field."

Pansy pushes her plate away aggressively and gets up.

Alexis looks up at her concerned. "What are you doing? Where are you going?"

"I've lost my appetite," she says before walking away.

"What is the matter with her?" asks Draco, stabbing his food.

The girls turn and glare at him at the same time.

Thea then silently prods Alexis, nodding her head towards Pansy. They argue wordlessly, nudging each other and mouthing before Alexis gives in and gets up to chase after her.

She runs out of the Great Hall and follows her friend into the Dungeons, finding her halfway to the common room.

"Pansy? Come on, I didn't do anything!"

She turns around quickly and stares. "That's the problem! You never do anything, you're just always somehow there."

"I didn't even mean for that to happen. I was going to see Harry, not Draco."

"Well Malfoy isn't getting the hint and I don't know what to do. I just feel... I-I feel really stupid," she says sadly. She crosses her arms and bows her head, shielding her face.

Her voice comes out as a whisper. "I've never had a crush on someone before."

"Heyyy, it's okay," says Alexis, bringing her in for a hug. "You shouldn't feel stupid, you're not the only girl at Hogwarts with a crush on someone. Boys are stupid and they don't see what's right in front of their eyes unless you put signs all around it. He'll figure it out sooner or later, I promise."

Pansy wipes away a stray tear of hers and smiles.

"I've gotta go back and finish my food, but I'll catch you up later, okay?"

Pansy nods and goes the other way as Alexis heads back to the Great Hall.

When she sits down again, Thea raises an eyebrow. "So, what did you have to say to her this time?"

Now it's Alexis' turn to stab her food. "Oh shut up."

• • •

It's late afternoon and Alexis is outside on the edges of the castle with some of her friends. There's Katie, in Hufflepuff; Hope, in Ravenclaw; and Jordan, in Gryffindor.