I've been asked to share something from a recent wip by @dracopetal, and because this is the only thing I have on the go right now that isn't anon, here's another chunk from Precious Metal, my Dronarry piece in the works!
“Wash my hands,” he orders, holding his hands in Ron’s face like a prince might a servant. At Ron’s blank expression, Malfoy lifts his pointy chin, gesturing at Ron’s pocket. “You’re holding my wand hostage, as well as my person. I can’t perform magic.”
Ron grunts and turns a page in his book, ignoring the fullness of his own bladder, giving in to those childish impulses once more. “Sounds like a you problem, Malfoy. Try wandless. It’s not complicated.”
Malfoy shifts his weight from one hip to the other. He keeps his hands outstretched.
Frustration scorches through Ron like a hot knife. He throws the book aside. “You summoned your wand earlier. Do it yourself!”
“I was able to summon my wand because it’s my wand, my wand summoned me,” Malfoy says, his tone thick with derision and scorn. He looks down his nose at Ron—now deliciously crooked at the bridge—and shakes out his fingers. “Didn’t you learn anything in school? Oh—no, of course. You didn’t. Granger did all the hard work for you, didn’t she? And then you rode Potter’s coattails all the way to the Ministry. Well done. So admirable.”
Ron stands so quickly they almost knock heads.
Malfoy swings back, creating an inch of distance between them. He grins, vulpine, but it’s gone in a flash.
“Wash my hands,” he whispers, cheeks prickling with pink splotches. Up close, his flush blooms across his skin like watercolour on canvas.
Despite his bluster, Malfoy is clearly deeply, deeply uncomfortable.
“They—they blocked your wandless casting?” Ron asks, baffled. “How?”
“They—you,” Malfoy whispers, his grey eyes glassy. “Didn’t block it. They put certain restrictions on what I can and can’t do.”
“Like Apparating,” Ron murmurs.
Flatly, “Yes, very good.”
Ron licks his lips. Malfoy is holding himself incredibly still, but his eyes give away the building panic inside him: the way they flicker, as if trying to play connect the dots with the close cluster of freckles on Ron’s nose.
With a resigned sigh, Ron casts a quick Cleansing Charm on Malfoy’s hands. The ice behind Malfoy’s gaze melts a fraction—relief inches over him in increments.
No pressure tagging @thehoneybeet @tackytigerfic @skeptiquewrites @kbrick @maesterchill @the-starryknight @moonflower-rose @schmem14 @sweet-s0rr0w and anyone who wants to play!