Trying to hide behind a mask, an emotionless mask, all the time, is pretty darn hard!. It's harder if its a mask of your own creation. A mask you created out of fear. Draco had a fear :fear to be embarrassed more specifically , blushing.
" We don't blush Draco, and we only laugh and sneer, that's what a malfoy does! I don't know why and I don't know how it bloody started but who in gods name wants to find out what would happen if we did!" His father had told him a few years ago.
However turning pale faced and/or running like you have to be somewhere and hoping that your cheeks haven't turned that dreadful shade of red or pink isn't so fun either. And certainly no less embarrassing . He knew that and hated it. He hated being embarrass of course but the worst part was simply the fact that he Draco Malfoy was actually afraid of something!
As he walked down the to the dungeons with Crabbe and Goyle at his back he grinned menacingly to himself. Having to people much scarier and larger then he always made him feel more confident. The fact that he exceeded them in wit and cleverness didn't bother him much. He could never have a decent conversation with one of them but then again he wasn't much of a talker. As they fallowed him down the stairs into the dungeons one of them posed a rather interesting question.
"Draco I was wondering…um… where did your dad get that um….thing he sent you?" Goyle not noticing it had brought up the subject Draco was most embarrassed about : his father. I mean of course he was always bragging about how pure his blood was and how powerful his dad was and though he did enjoy the benefits of those things he wasn't the proudest of his dads um, past. He knew although he would never admit it that his dad did indeed support the dark lord and that certain of the gifts he received from him didn't have exactly good origin. And though Goyle parents were much the same he didn't feel like spilling this to them.
The object in question was a small brain like creation that when squeezed and ones timing is right can make a person completely forget what they were saying doing, or thinking. It was very useful and entertaining and Draco had become quite skilled with it. It was also banned by the ministry 15 years ago.
Draco coughed and squeezed it in his pocket.
"What was that Goyle?" He asked. Goyle looked confused and so did Crabbe.
"Never mind." The confused boy replied. Draco sighed. He had almost blushed!
Pleased and relieved, Draco walked over to one of the few green couches in the dungeon. As he did a small first year walked over to him. It was one he particularly disliked. As far as he knew she was the only mud blood to end up in slytherin. Ever. Annoyed immediately he looked up at her glaring.
" What do you want with me you filthy little mudblood?" He asked, smirking when she cringed at the word mudblood.
"Just wanted to know what's colder your heart or the weather outside." She replied showing a smirk of her own. " But I decided nothings as cold as your dad, that is besides his master of course." He gasped he had never heard someone talk about his father like that, to his face at least and she wasn't a Gryffindor, she was a slytherin. All slytherin looked up to him because of his fathers status with the dark lord weather they thought it had ended or not. He knew this girl wasn't a true slytherin and this proved it.
" Why you horrible little…" Draco started to tell her off but he felt his cheeks getting warm. He wasn't sure if it was from rage or if he was *shudder* blushing. He quickly muttered something for an excuse to leave and ran up to his dorm room.
Luck seemed to be with him for the room was empty. He quickly grabbed a mirror and sighed. They were as pale and pasty as ever, he sighed and then felt his cheeks, cold, the warmth had left them. He thanked the dark lord that the girls remarks hadn't been enough to make him blush and if they had well it wasn't enough to make happen, whatever would happen if a malfoy blushed.
"Hey, what's wrong with you? You were about to tell me off!" A voice behind him yelled. Draco turned to see the little witch that caused his almost-crisis.
"Sorry to disappoint you muddy but I remembered I had something….important… to attend too." He glared at her. "Why so disappointed?" She rolled her eyes.
"It looked like it would have been a good argument, with the dirt I heard about you lately I could have won too," She replied giving him a smiled filled with malevolence and walking in to the room. She sat smirking and waiting for him too retaliate on the bed closest to the door.
"Believe everything you hear do you?" He replied turning away and looking through his trunk for some imaginary item. "Then again you are a girl, and a first year too," he chuckled. "Love to gossip you little girls do." He could feel her anger bubbling up from across the room.
"I only believe what is true; and from the looks of the way you blushed what I said must have been the truth." She was smiling he could hear it in her voice.
" I. Did. Not. Blush." He said turning towards her slowly, throwing whatever he was holding into his trunk , he walked towards her giving her his best death glare.
" Oh sorry did I hit a nerve there?" She said grinning at him. " What, afraid of a little embarrassment?" He clenched his fist and stared her in the eye trying not to reveal anything.
"Malfoy don't blush. Ever." He growled at her before turning away and walking back to his bed.
"Oh it seems I did hit a nerve!" She chuckled. "Do tell me more about you and your not so rosy cheeked family." She said with mock interest rising and fallowing him back to his trunk. He turned towards her crossing his arms and sitting on his bed.
" It's just what I said muddy, we don't blush. Ever. Not once in history." He rolled his eyes. He wanted he to leave so much he was prepared to pull out his wand and zap her out the window. Actually now that he thought about it that sounded pretty entertaining. She was a no good smart mouthed mud blood.
"First: stop calling me "muddy" I'm not a pair of your fancy shoes you wore outside in the rain. Second: Not once?" She lifted her eyebrows and closed his trunk and sat on top crossing her own arms and giving him a questioning glance. He sighed it looked like she wasn't going any time soon.
"Fine here's the story…." He sat back and told her the exact same thing his dad had been telling him for the past few years. The reason malfoy don't blush. She sat patiently through the whole thing occasionally asking questions about how he managed in certain situations with which he answered with stories and examples to which they both ended up laughing at and all of a sudden it all seemed so ridiculous to him.
"Sounds like it's been pretty hard for you." She said interrupting his thoughts when he finished his last story. He nodded.
"This is so weird." He said suddenly.
"Why?" She asked. "Cause we started out fighting?" She asked.
"No not that, it's just I never talked to anyone about this before, actually I don't think I've ever had a real conversation with any one here before."
"I can see why, by the people you hang out with it doesn't surprise me that you don't exactly have a lot of intelligent conversations." He chuckled and shrugged. "And any way I bet if you blushed nothing would happen." She said rolling her eyes.
"Why do you say that?" He asked curiously.
"Because," She said standing up. "When I mentioned your "brilliant" friends, you did." He gasped and grabbed a mirror.
"Don't worry your fine." She said standing up behind him and putting her hand on his shoulder. He smiled as well. And they stood looking in the mirror laughing.
" Nothing happened."