Hey guys, this is my little ficlet that i wrote one night. hooray!
please read and review, it'd be much appreciated.
not sure yet if this is going to be one-shot or not. hmmmm.
disclaimer: i dont own..but i wish i did.
He stood outside the Great Hall doors, taking one last drag on his cigarette, watching the full moon come out from behind the dark clouds that had threatened rain all day. He dropped the butt, and then almost regrettably mashed it into the ground with his thick black boot. He turned on his heel then proceeded to walk around the side of the castle where he knew his secret passage would lead him back to his dungeon common room. He was several feet away from his destination point when he saw a figure come out from behind the shrub that concealed the passage. The person who came out didn't notice him as he stood in the dark shadows. He immediately realized who the person was. He could see her black hair, reflecting the moon, giving her a urethral glow. The skin that was revealed by her tank top and school skirt seemed a lot more tanned in the darkness, and he knew that if he looked into her bright blue eyes, they would be shinning, just like the moon.
He didn't know what compelled him to follow Aliyah Mortel, a Gryffindor in the same year; but he had to, he was drawn to her. He had felt this way for awhile now, subconsciously watching her every move. This obsession started the year before, subconsciously watching her every move when he saw her in the corridors, studying her in class and in the library. But who wouldn't? She was absolutely stunning, and had an amazing personality. She always had her friends laughing, and knew every answer to all questions thrown her way by teachers, but never put her hand up to show off like that stupid Mudblood. Another feature that made her attractive was the fact that she always had a snappy comeback when Crabbe, Goyle or himself said something derogatory towards the Weasel or the rest of the Trio. He had always felt bad for Aliyah, being the outcast of the group of four. Sure, Hermione, Ron, Harry and she were all best friends, but they were still known as the Trio; Trio leaving out one person, Aliyah. But then, she always was the reject, even from day one, and Draco thrilled in pointing that fact out every opportunity he was given. Just like him, she came from a pureblood, Dark Lord supporting family, a family in which every member had been sorted into Slytherin, all except herself. The Mortel's and the Malfoy's, however did not get along at all, which made it a lot easier to tease Aliyah, and do his best to make her life at Hogwarts hell.
Now though, now was different. He wasn't filled with the childish prejudice that he inherited from his parents. He saw her not as a Mortel, nor as a Gryffindor, but as an intellectual gorgeous teen that he wouldn't mind becoming friends with, or even something more – this piece of information had never been told to anyone, and never would be as far as Draco was concerned.
He watched Aliyah cross the grounds and head straight towards the lake. He silently pursued her, leaving his sanctuary of the shadows. He picked his path carefully, as to not step on a twig to alert her of his presence. She sat down and hugged her knees to her chest. He came up behind her, listening to her steady breathing. He heard her utter a curse while picking up a rock and throwing far out into the still water. It made a soft splash as Draco decided to make his presence noticed.
"Mortel," he whispered quietly, causing the beauty in front of him to whip her head around. Her gorgeous eyes widened when she realized who it was.
"Malfoy," she replied, her shock showing in her voice. He didn't say anything as he watched her compose herself. In a calm voice she said, "Come to give me detention?" He looked at her dumfounded; that idea had never once crossed his mind, he really didn't know why he was here. He did, however know that if he went back to his dorm he would just be lying in bed for hours, the last thing he could do was to sleep. He also wanted to know why Aliyah was out at this hour barely wearing anything at all.
"Nope," he answered briefly, causing her to look at him questioningly as he sat down next to her, looking out over the lake.
She had apparently decided to not question him further, for they sat in silence until the pierce of a howl broke the peace of the night.
"Full moon," she commented, turning her gaze to the Forbidden Forest on her left.
"Scared?"
"Heck no, I've seen worse things then werewolves."
"Yeah, I've seen that filthy mudblood too." Aliyah turned and looked at him sharply.
"If you only came out here to insult me, then you can just fuck off." Draco chuckled softly.
"Come on, it was clever."
"Even a retarded skrewt could have come up with that."
"Fine! I know you're just dying to tell me what it is that you've seen."
"I'm really fine without your company you know. I just wanted to sit and think for a bit."
sighed. This wasn't the way to get Aliyah to change her mind about him. "Do tell," he said, trying to sound only slightly interested, when he was in fact, really curious.
"I've seen an acromumantula in there, not a full sized one mind you, but still. A couple of centaurs, but then again we had Firenze…"
"You're fucking kidding me, right? An acromumantula?"
"Yeah, a whole nest of them," a she replied as he made a disgusted face. "I take it you don't like spiders?"
"No, not particularly. How did you find them?"
"Oh, just exploring with Fred and George in my fourth year."
"Weasels," he muttered. "I don't know how you could ever stand being around them."
"They're better to talk to then the other three. Plus, they actually listen." Draco looked over at her, but her gaze was averted to the lake, he could see a blush rise on her cheeks. He continued to watch her in silence when he felt a light breeze float by, causing Aliyah to rub her goose pimpled arms.
"Why the hell aren't you wearing a sweater?" Draco asked, now speaking in his regular voice, which seemed much louder then normal on the silent night.
"Forget it," she mumbled, continuing to rub her arms. Draco sighed and took off his leather jacket, and before she could protest, wrapped it around her bare shoulders. "Look…" she began, meeting his silver eyes with her blue.
"Don't worry about it," he replied, the slightest hint of a smile graced his full lips. He analyzed her features and couldn't help but notice the look of sorrow that captivated her eyes. He also noticed the fact that she looked gorgeous in his favourite jacket.
"Knut for a thought?" He asked quietly, not wanting to break the bond that had formed between them. He was uncharacteristically nervous. He had never acted like this to anyone, Slytherin or not. Although he was raised with manners, and to be a gentleman, he never really had the opportunity to demonstrate it to her. He was scared she would blab and ruin his reputation as the bad boy of the school, but the need he felt for her to see an unknown side of him was too overwhelming.
"Wondering why you're being nice to the reject," she said truthfully, in the same quiet tones as him.
Draco took a moment before he answered her. "Well, you seem to be the most interesting person to talk to. Trust me; this school seems to be lacking them."
"Considering we've only talked for like, what, ten minutes?"
"Even still, at least you can carry on a conversation without mentioning how you want to shag me, or what the latest gossip is."
"I'm guessing you were referring to Pansy, then?" Draco nodded in reply. "Well, what about Blaise? I'm not going to even ask about Crabbe or Goyle."
"Crabbe and Goyle are good back up when you have a loud mouth quite like me. They're the reason why Potter doesn't attack me half as often as he'd like." Draco paused and reached over into the right pocket of his jacket, causing Aliyah to flinch slightly. He pulled out his pack of cigarettes, and then proceeded to light one with the tip of his wand, which he produced from his back pocket. He took a long drag, and then continued. "Blaise is a good guy. You could say we're great friends. We talk about as much as guys are allowed to. He's trustworthy… but a whore." Draco smiled. "I'm surprised he hasn't gone after you yet, seeing as how his life goal is to fuck every girl in the school." He took another drag of his cigarette, and then moved on to talk about Pansy, surprised that Aliyah still seemed interested in what he was saying. "Pansy, well, to put it bluntly, she's a walking cunt."
Aliyah laughed as she said, "Didn't know you were into the type."
"I'm not," he said plainly, leaving the cigarette hanging on his bottom lip. He sat there starring out over the lake, refusing to look at her. He could feel her looking at him, but that still didn't deter him. They sat there in silence, his cigarette slowly burning away when he felt it being plucked off his lip. He looked at Aliyah only to see her expelling a long trail of blue smoke delicately from her lips.
"Didn't know you smoked," he said, shocked. He looked down at his cigarette, being held by her index and middle finger which was resting on an arched leg, a faint stain of what looked like a pale pink lip gloss coated the end of it.
"Haven't had one in forever," she replied quietly.
"Why did you start?"
"My brother gave me one when I was younger. I used to like to hang around with him and his friend, they always did it. Plus, I like the feel of the smoke, and the way it looks. I never have them anymore, but it's not like I needed them before either. I just did it to show my brother I wasn't scared. It's now more of a stress issue." She sighed. "What about you? What's your story?"
"Stress, curiosity and peer pressure." Aliyah nodded knowingly, taking another long drag then handing it back to its owner. "Okay, so tell me about your friends now, there has got to be a logical explanation as to why you hang out with the losers you do. Fucking Trio," Draco muttered the last part as Aliyah laughed quietly.
"You love calling them that, don't you? But first… before I go into details, I still have a question for you."
"Oh, and what is that?" Draco perked up.
"If you're not interested in walking cunts, then whom are you interested in?"
"Let me save you the trouble-" Draco started his comeback before he could actually think of who he was talking to – the one girl he did have a slight interest in. He bit back the rest of his remark, and then said the truth, "A girl who can easily carry on an intellectual conversation that isn't directly all about gossip and someone who isn't easy. I like a bit of a fight." He wondered if she picked up the subtleties of what he said as he watched her reaction. She had a small smile on her face as she stole another drag of his cigarette, then handed it back. "So now it's your turn to answer my question, since we're being all honest here."
"You always loved calling them that," she said, her smile disappearing. Little wisps of smoke still expelling from her mouth as she talked. "Of course, you only called them the Trio because you knew it used to hurt me. Make me feel more out of place then I already did." Draco smirked and shrugged.
"I only said it because it made you angry. It was one of my better disses, along with Weasley is our King."
"Well, it worked," she gave a weak smile, and shook her head. Draco just shrugged and his smirk turned into a smile.
"Well, go on; enlighten me on your friends."
"They're okay. I'd really rather be around Fred and George, they actually have fun and don't worry about Voldemort. Because of them, I know so much about this castle, it's surprising. I don't mean to be rude though, Ron, Hermione and Harry are good friends. I just hate the way everyone thinks that me and Harry are together, or are going to be. Plus, I think he does like me which makes it all harder. He's my friend, and I can't even think about dating him. But it just seems that everyone is just waiting for it to happen… With Hermione and Ron finally going out, they just expect me to go with Harry. It's just too awkward. And the weird thing is, they hate that I was going out with Justin, right. Once they got together, it was just automatic that I break up with Justin and go with Harry. Justin actually almost broke up with me over it all, but it's not like he matters anymore."
"Trouble in paradise?" Draco asked, mockingly.
"Paradise?" Aliyah laughed. "Fuck no, far from. He's why I'm here right now. He asked me to come to his room, which is weird because he shares it with all the other guys, but I did anyways. He gave me the password so when I showed up, he was waiting for me… Wait… I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. You don't need to hear this."
"Actually, I do. I want to hear what the little rat did to you." He looked mad, and was starring at her intently. She looked away from his harsh gaze, and starred at her knees.
"Some of the sixth and seventh years had some Firewhiskey out, so I had a bit. I'm still slightly buzzing, but not as much as I was before. After that, he said he wanted a private word up in his room right; I agreed because I really hate most of the Hufflepuffs. To tell you the truth, I didn't even know why they had alcohol. Anyways, one thing led to another… and well…" She started to trail off, and Draco saw a small blush rise up on her cheeks.
"Go on…" he said quietly.
"He wanted to have sex, I didn't. He got mad. The end."
"I swear to God if he touched you," Draco said, furry written all over his voice and face. Aliyah looked up into his silver eyes to see an odd fire burning there.
"I'm sure it was because of the Firewhiskey," she whispered.
"What did he do?" Aliyah was more then amazed at the tone in his voice.
"Oh, well… nothing," she mumbled, looking back down at her bare knees.
"Don't fucking cover for him!" Draco slammed his fist down, crushing the rest of the cigarette as he did so.
"He tried to force himself on me, I tried to push him off, he… he hit me once or twice-"
"You mean three or four," Draco grumbled, but Aliyah ignored him.
"I grabbed his wand and cursed him. I pushed him away, grabbed my wand and ran. I left my sweater there though, but I don't really care." She didn't want to meet his eyes.
Draco was pissed. If it had been anyone else, he wouldn't have cared as much, probably hate Justin more then he already did, but still not do anything. Right now, however, he felt ready to burst. He wanted to inflict as much pain into that filthy Hufflepuff as he could.
"I'll kill him," he whispered dangerously. Aliayh looked at him out of the corner of her eye, and then slowly turned her head. It was obvious that she was confused by him caring so much about her, when just the day before he was trying to get her into trouble in potions.
"Really, it's okay. He's worse off right now. I know some pretty bad curses, trust me."
"Not as horrible as mine," he muttered under his breath.
"True, but I do have an older brother who fancies the Dark Arts, and I am quite fond of them myself." Draco's look of anger turned more to confusion at this comment.
"Pardon?"
"That is to never be repeated. Ron used to not trust me because he is pureblood and being so, knows pretty much all the famous Dark Art, Voldemort supporting families. He used to think that I was going to seduce Harry and take him to my parents. You know that whole chamber of Secrets thing? He thought I was in on that." She took a pause to breathe after her long splurge. Draco didn't look as murderous as he did before, but he still had that same gleam of fire in his eyes.
"Weasley has always been an idiot. It's to be expected."
"Obviously, why do you think he took so long to ask out Hermione? But whatever, I don't want to talk about them."
"Oh? And what do you, then?"
"I don't know, I'd rather get away from the subject of friends." Draco just nodded, and looked out over the lake, thinking of nothing but the beauty sitting next to him. He was worried about Aliyah telling her friends about him being nice, but then thought back to what she had said about them before. He was sure what she said had been true. The Golden Trio had always seemed too busy for her. Potter always thinking of ways to save the day, and the other two making a meal of each other's faces in between sessions of homework and stupidity.
Draco truly detested being nice. He found that being mean, manipulative and persuasive got him whatever he needed in life; and it was true. Crabbe and Goyle would never stand up to him, though she was sure it was because they were to dense to even know how.
Draco's thoughts then turned to the upcoming Halloween dance that Dumbledore had implemented last year. Sure, it was a month away, but he already had to endure stupid reminders from Pansy telling him how much she would just love to go with him. The one person he would like to go with was sitting next to him, but he would never ask her. His reputation would be shot if he showed up with a Gryffindor hanging off his arm, plus, she would never agree anyways. She probably had invitations already from the many men that fancied her – well, fancied a fuck with her. That's all the guys loved to talk about – who would you most love to fuck in the school. Nott's favourite person to bring up was always the little Weasel girl. Draco though, always picked some seventh year virgin from Hufflepuff, never wanting to admit that he would love to have a go at Aliyah, but not wanting to have an abusive one night stand like all the others guys did. She was the type of girl that he wanted to wake up beside in the morning, and wanted to have a cute nickname for. Yes, he had an obsessive crush, and it was too sickenly sweet for even him to handle.
"Knut for a thought?" Aliyah asked, breaking Draco from his thoughts.
"Mmm, I'm afraid my thoughts are worth a lot more than a knut," he replied with a smirk.
"Ouch," she replied, in mock tones of hurt.
"Well, just because you readily accepted a knut for what you were thinking, doesn't mean that I'm as cheap as you."
"Cheap!" She exclaimed. "Excuse me! And just how much do you feel your thoughts are worth then?"
"Definitely at least a couple hundred galleons."
"Mmm, wow. Not many who could afford to have you enlighten them with what runs through that mind of yours. But, seeing as how I have several galleons myself to throw around, care to tell me what it is that occupies your mind?" She finished with a smirk that rivalled Draco's.
His smirk left his face as he heard this. He badly wanted to tell her that she was the one that was in his thoughts, and tell her that she was worth more then couple hundred galleons to him. Merlin, to him, she was priceless.
"Quidditch," he lied swiftly.
"Quidditch is worth a hundred galleons to you?" She replied puzzled.
"A couple hundred and yes. First match of the season is coming up real soon." Draco was relieved that he was a good liar. She gave him a sceptical look, but took the lie anyways.
"That's right; your match is against Ravenclaw. Cho is an amazing seeker. Not as good as Harry of course, but she puts up a fair fight." Draco grimaced.
"Chang is an easy opponent. All you have to do is to mention her dead boyfriend and she'll bawl her eyes out."
"That is horrible!" Aliyah exclaimed, trying not to smile.
"Okay well, it's not like I've done that before." She rolled her eyes. "Someone on my team obviously has, but I wouldn't. I was just trying to sound tough." Aliayh gave him another eye roll and nudged him with her shoulder.
"You're horrible."
"I try," he gave her a wink and a smile, their shoulders still touching.
"Do you like being a seeker?" She asked, genuinely interested.
"Yeah, it's okay," he said, taking a moment to truly consider the question. "It's not like I had to work for it or anything, it was given to me because the position was open, and I so badly wanted to top Potter; but then again, his position was more or less handed to him too. It was because of me that he was able to get a spot on your team."
"I guess it also helped that your father gave the team a little perp package to go along with you."
"Meh, if I was going to play on a team, I can't play on a team who uses Cleansweep Sevens now can I? Best for the best, right?"
"Glad to see that you seem absolutely back to normal," she laughed.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well, you gave me your jacket, you seemed to actually care when I ranted on about my friends and Justin. And, you seem interesting to talk to."
"Yeah, that's me."
"No, you see, you seemed cool for a minute."
"Actually, that is me. I gave you my jacket because you were cold. That's being a gentleman. Plus, I wasn't cold, so there was gain for me. I was overheated. And about caring? I did, that's me being a good listener I guess. You're more fun to talk to then Crabbe and Goyle, who drone on about absolutely nothing. And I already told you about Blaise. He's good people, but he likes sex to much. And about me being interesting? Of course I am. I'm a Malfoy. We are many things, and interesting is definitely one of them, up there with being devilishly good looking. I'm mean, I know that, but it all comes with the package."
"Apparently I don't know you well, but you will have to excuse my prejudice, I'm going on what you have shown me: a self-centered, arrogant bastard." Draco actually laughed.
"Yeah, I know. But I love getting you mad, or at least trying. When I could get under your skin, I was thrilled. You always looked so amazing when you were angry."
"Amazing?" Her eyebrows furrowed.
"Gorgeous, stunning, beautiful, sexy, hot… pick one Aliyah." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Or don't, they all fit you."
"I don't know what to say," she bit her lip nervously.
"Then don't say anything at all. But know this; I only did it to see that fire in your eyes." She looked up at him from under her eyelashes.
"You know, I never really hated you," she confessed. "You were downright annoying most of the time, but I did respect your wit. The Weasley is our King song? Pure genius; and some of the disses you came up with, fuck. They were mean and derogatory," Draco smirked at this. "But funny in their own way. I could always appreciate humour. The one that worked the best was the Golden Trio. After six years, it still gets to me."
"Glad to know that my talents are recognized and not going to waste."
"Being an ass, what a great talent."
"I thought so," he smiled. "So, do you still not hate me? Hate me less then you did before?"
"Meh," she shrugged. "You surprise me. I didn't think that you were capable of having a conversation that did not end in me hexing you."
"Excuse me?" Draco was shocked. "I have so hexed you way more than you have me."
"Fuck no. You're way too slow. If don't say all your spells out loud, then it would be much faster."
"You do know that you are helping me curse your friends, right?"
"It's not my problem if you so choose to use what I say against them. But if you do, and I see you, well trust me, you will be very lucky if you ever see Draco Jr. ever again."
"That isn't cool," he said, moving his hand to his crotch. Aliyah just smirked.
"The fun thing is, you don't want to risk loosing your little member down there," she replied cheerfully.
"Little! I'll have you know it's huge! Malfoy's are never referred to as little!"
"I feel bad for Pansy then. What do you do, roll it up and shove it in?"
"I wouldn't feel too bad for her."
"Right, she's probably loose enough to take it all." Draco laughed.
"I hate to say it, but it's pretty much true. She's only good if you want a fuck."
"That's sad. If I was ever known as a walking vagina, I think I would cry, seriously."
"I don't think she realizes that no one takes her seriously. I feel bad for Millicent thought, she is actually nice, but has to put up with a ditz of a friend."
God, kinda like Lavender and Parvati. Parvati is the biggest joke in Gryffindor."
"Yeah, Blaise has done her on several occasions."
"Seriously?" Aliyah asked shocked. "I didn't think you guys went for anyone outside of your house."
"Yeah well, he's a slut. He will do anything that walks."
"I've heard that he's done all the Slytherin girls from fifth year and up," she said disgustedly.
"And a couple of fourths."
"Gross," Aliyah sighed. "You'd think these girls would have some common sense, and to have some respect for themselves."
"Sometimes it just happens," Draco shrugged. "You get drunk, and you wake up the next morning with Pansy next to you."
"Yeah, I understand that, but still…" she trailed off.
"Thinking of Justin, or a different time?" He asked, concern showing in the creases around his eyes.
"I was thinking of a different time…" she looked down. Draco felt bad for her. It didn't happen often, but when it did, you could tell when Aliyah was upset or had a lot on her mind. Right now, her shoulders were slumped down again and she was looking out over the lake. "Draco," she said suddenly, making eye contact again.
"Yes?"
"Anything that was said here-"
"Shh," he interrupted her. "I know, and you have my word." A small, sad smile appeared on her lips.
"Thank you," was her quiet reply.
Draco looked down at his silver watch that adorned his left wrist. The time had really flown by as they had talked. He only wanted a quick smoke and some fresh air just past one, it was now almost four. Reluctantly he told her it was getting late, and that he had Quidditch practice first thing in the morning. She nodded her head in agreement and they walked back up to the castle side by side.
He pulled back the bush that concealed their entrance and let her enter first. They walked quickly through the dungeon passages, the only sound being that of the soft patter of their footsteps and water droplets dripping on the cold flagstone floor. The echoes were deafening. They both halted when they reached a fork in their road.
Aliyah shrugged off his warm jacket and handed it back to him reluctantly; she rubbed her bare arms as he casually slung it over one arm.
"Thanks for that," she whispered, her voice echoing. A single portrait that adorned one of the walls opened his eyes and glared at her.
"No problem." They stood in an awkward silence for what seemed an eternity. Realization had dawned on both of them as to what each other were. He was a Slytherin, and she a Gryffindor; rivalling houses that shouldn't get along. Out there by the lake had been different, wearing muggle clothes and being away from the school that forced the prejudices of each student.
"So tomorrow," Aliyah started.
"Back to the same old," he replied quietly.
"Good, I wouldn't want to have to deal with a nice Draco," Aliyah smiled. "I wouldn't want to hex you then."
"Could say the same for you," Draco smiled back, buzzing from hearing her say his name.
"See you around then?"
"Of course, we have potions on Monday together." Draco knew what she meant, but didn't want to discuss it.
"Right, well, goodnight then." She started to turn on her heel, but then stopped. She turned back, stood on her tiptoes so that she was level with his eyes, and whispered, "Thank you for everything."
Their faces were close together. He could feel his heart skip a beat for a second and his breathing hitched. She then turned and quickly walked down the corridor; Draco watched until she was out of sight.
He let out a sigh as she turned to the left and walked the short distance to his dungeon common room. For a second there, he was sure she was going to kiss him. He was disappointed at first when she left, but realized that that was the best goodbye. A kiss did not belong there, it would have been too clichéd, and at bad timing. If he was to ever kiss her, he wanted it to be special, and not when she was so emotionally unstable. Which then reminded him, he had to hunt down a certain Hufflepuff after practice.
He walked back to his room with a small smirk on his face. Oh, he knew exactly what he was going to do to that fucker.