A/N: for dear Pencilx! I hope this makes you smile:)
She was so beautiful, Draco thought.
Something that only god himself could have created. Flawless. Exquisite.
Flawlessly exquisite.
The delicate curve of her sides, her glimmering surface, and even her stalk, tilted at an angle of seventeen and a half degrees exactly – everything about this wondrous specimen of an otherwise ordinary fruit set Draco's heart on fire.
"Oh, Polly, " he breathed, gazing at her as she sat innocently on his bed. She was so perfect, it was almost painful to look at her.
Closing his eyes, he let his thin fingers wander over her polished surface, feeling the smoothness of her skin under his fingertips. He lifted her gently, and let her sit comfortably in his palm before bringing her close to his face. He inhaled, breathing in her sweet, apple-y scent, allowing it to infuse every single cell in his body.
Just then, the bell rang, jolting Draco out of his reverie. Realising that he was going to be terribly late for Potions, he gathered his Potions books, dropped Polly lightly into his pocket and swept out of the Slytherin common room with his usual air of superiority that sent several First Years swooning in delight.
"You call this a potion, Mr Malfoy? You should be ashamed of yourself. " Snape wrinkled his hooked nose as he peered down into Draco's cauldron, at what seemed to be a thick, bubbling purple sludge.
"Add some fairy wings to that before it blows up and kills us all." Snape hissed before moving on to the next student's cauldron, which wasn't in a much better state.
"Right, Professor."
Draco rose to his feet and began moving in the direction of the Potions cupboard. Unfortunately, he failed to notice that Longbottom was crawling around on the floor in search of his vial of Pond Slime which had rolled away from him. Draco tripped over Longbottom's outstretched leg and found himself flying through the air without knowing what was going on.
"Oh, what's this you have in your pocket, Malfoy!"
Draco untangled his limbs from the messy heap he had landed In when he crashed onto the floor and looked up to see his nemesis, Harry Potter, holding Draco's beautiful apple in his skinny hand. Potter! Draco swore he would rip that freak's glasses off his face and gouge his eyes out if he dared to hurt Polly.
"Hurt Polly, and I swear I will kill you," Draco snarled as he made a furious swipe at Potter in an attempt to retrieve Polly. But Potter's Quidditch reflexes proved to be too fast for him and Polly disappeared from his sight for a moment before reappearing inches from his face.
"Polly? You named an apple POLLY?! HAHAHAHAHA" The whole class was laughing now, not just Potter and his two cronies.
"Give the apple back, Potter. And ten points from Gryffindor for laughing in class. How many times have I told you that joy of any sort is strictly forbidden in my class?"
Scowling, Potter returned the apple. Draco heaved a secret sigh of relief as he felt Polly's familiar weight in his palm again. She was safe!
"See me in my office after class, Malfoy, " said Snape before he resumed his inspection of the students' work, which mainly involved sticking his nose into cauldrons and looking disgusted.
"Your mother has informed me of your…unhealthy obsession with an apple, Draco."
Draco sat meekly in front of Snape in his office, with Polly resting innocently on the table in front of him. A reflection of the light from a nearby candle danced on Polly's polished surface, making Draco's heart thump wildly.
"As you know, your mother has entrusted me to take care of your well being while you're in this school, and I certainly will not allow you to continue with this sick and revolting habit. The root, or should I say, fruit, of this problem should be removed at once. "
All of a sudden, Snape grabbed Polly and took a long, and satisfying bite out of her.
"NOOOOOOO! PROFESSOR! NOOOOOO!" Draco leapt out of his seat.
But it was too late. It had only taken Snape three bites to reduce Polly, round and ripe Polly, to a shrunken stem and core. Snape set the apple core back onto the table and Draco sank back into his seat as the death of his beloved became a reality.
"Let this be the end of it all, Draco. You are a fine young man, and I do not want to see you lose sight of your goals in life because of such childish distractions. So let this be an isolated incident and do not…"
"What is that, Professor?" Draco raised a trembling finger to point at a jar on Snape's desk.
"What? It's a bezoar, you ignorant child. It seems as though you have been wasting your time away obsessing over fruit rather than revising your work, as you should be doing. Do you wish me to reflect this to your mother? I am sure she will be suitably concerned."
Draco wasn't listening anymore. He stared long and hard at the bezoar, lying quietly in the glass jar, tracing its contours in his head.
It's the most beautiful thing in the world, he thought.
THE END.