Hand Me Down
Draco lay there under the tree, thinking. The redhead was with Potter now…finally. That was what he had heard anyway. It was about time that the git realized what was in front of him. He made what? Her fourth…fifth boyfriend in the past two years? She was more of a hand me down than the robes that she wore.
He didn't exactly mean that as an insult to her. No, he meant it more of an insult to the blokes she let take her out. They all tried to make her fit what they wanted and when that didn't work it all fell apart. Sure, she had pitched the first two, but the rest had left her.
He wondered if she had started trying to make things work and that was why she had stuck around long enough to be left. He sighed. Even if she survived the Hogwart's dating world, when she got out there in the city and away from the protection of Gryffindor tower they would tear her apart.
They had already made her break out of her shell because they wanted her to. Yes, he had been watching. From what he could tell, she had liked being reserved. Something happened, though, her third year, and she had become bolder, more outspoken. He wondered if had anything to do blokes. He wondered if it was their interest that brought her out or if she had come out seeking their interest, whatever it was, he was pretty sure she had abandoned her shell because of them.
They were going to make her like their lies better than the truth, if they hadn't already. "Wear this, you'll sexy in it." For that matter, "Sexy is how you want to look." Sure, sexy had its benefits, but so did serviceable, and comfortable, and reserved, and elegant, and refined, and so many other looks that were all sexier in the own way than just 'sexy.' They would tell her how to talk, how to walk, how to think.
He knew she would resist, she was strong, after all. He knew she would hold out longer than most, but everyone folded to that, didn't they? Look at him, he folded to public opinion didn't he? He let their expectation shape his behaviour. How could he expect anything different for her?
He clenched his jaw. She would trust them, believe them when they said would call. She would blame herself. Yes, she was the type of girl that would be used and tossed aside. She was too good, too kind, too understanding. She would give more chances than they deserved and each betrayal would wound her deeper than the last.
It wasn't like he thought he could do much better. It wasn't like he wanted to. He had Pansy. If he was anything good, he was faithful. No, he just wished someone would try to give her what she actually needed. He wished he could take all her troubles away from her and protect her.
At that moment, his desire to care for her was born out of respect for the one true person he knew. He was false, that much was undeniable, and even he couldn't overlook Pansy's duplicities, no matter how hard he tried.
Yes, someday the world would shake the redhead to her core and try to erase her. He hoped she would find an anchor by then.
