From Snake to Puppy
w.c.3k
Because Draco Malfoy will hex anyone who touches you, but can’t string two words together when you ask him out.
“Pumpkin pasties, two trays of treacle tart, butterbeer…” you murmured
Parvati leaned in, her eyes dancing.
“Add cauldron cakes. Just be prepared to duel Goldstein if you want more than crumbs.”
You laugh under your breath, shaking your head.
“I’m not sure the Ravenclaw Halloween party is worth bodily harm.”
Before she can reply, a dreamy voice interrupts.
“You know what would be wonderful?”
You both glance up.
Luna Lovegood had appeared, as if summoned by candle smoke, her pale eyes fixed somewhere just above your heads.
“Pickled doxy wings!” she says serenely.
“They sparkle if you leave them in the moonlight long enough. And if you eat them you’ll dream of the person who hates you.”
You forced the faintest smile.
“Thanks, Luna… that seems… nice….”
Parvati adds politely.
“Yes, surely … original.”
Luna nods as if her suggestion has sealed the success of the party, then drifts away down the corridor, her radish earrings swinging like pendulums.
You leaned close to Parvati, whispering,
“Sometimes I find her cute. Other times… a bit scary.”
Parvati smirked, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial tone.
“And you don’t even have to sleep in the same room with her.”
You’d barely let yourself smile when a low, birdlike whistle echoed down the corridor.
“Oh, Merlin. How gross is your boyfriend…”
“How many times do I have to say it? He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Fine, then. Your… whatever-he-is. Still gross.”
You sighed, too tired to argue. You’d had this same conversation with Parvati a thousand times over the past three weeks, and you weren’t wasting more breath on it now.
By the time Draco reached you, you were already beyond irritated.
“What do you want, Malfoy?”
He scoffed, offended.
“That’s not very nice, is it? To address the love of your life like that.”
“Pretty sure the love of my life will know better than to whistle at me, but I’ll update you once I meet him.”
Parvati lets out a sharp laugh, while Draco pulls a face of fake amusement.
“What are you doing tonight, Miss Sunshine? Dressing slutty with a mask and calling it a costume?”
Your lips curved despite yourself.
“Do you perhaps see a Slytherin crest on my uniform?”
“No, unfortunately I don’t… but bloody hell, you’d look obscenely hot in green….”
Parvati groaned audibly.
“Do you mind not doing all this gross talking in front of me? I’ve barely had lunch!”
Draco didn’t even blink.
“Well then, go somewhere else, Patil.”
“That sounds like a great suggestion,” you said, tugging Parvati by the arm to pull her along.
But before you could take more than a step, Draco slid sideways, blocking your way with practiced ease.
“Merlin, would you slow down? I’m trying to ask you out!”
“I’m busy! Now and tonight!” you shot back slipping past him
“You’re always busy!” he called, spitting the words like an insult.
Parvati snorted, glancing at you sidelong.
“If this is him asking you out, I’d hate to see the proposal.”
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
And you were indeed busy that night.
Parvati had invited you to the Ravenclaw party in their common room, something almost illegal, considering the strict rules McGonagall had imposed for Halloween.
But rules were rules, and Hogwarts was Hogwarts.
You had every intention of relaxing, laughing, and chill under the blue-and-bronze banners.
And for the first two hours, that’s exactly what you did/
Until you didn’t.
At first, it was nothing.
Just Roger laughing too loudly at your joke, brushing your elbow when you passed him a drink. The kind of attention you could brush off as party energy, harmless.
You even flirted back a little, mostly out of boredom.
But when you slipped down the corridor toward the toilet, he followed.
You didn’t realize it until you felt the wall at your back.
“Roger” you said, trying to laugh it off.
“Go back to the party.”
He leaned closer, fingers tightening around your wrist.
“I don’t know I kind of like it here…” he laughed
For a second you tried to tell yourself it was harmless.
He’d kissed you before, and he’d kissed well, but nothing more.
You’d been orbiting each other for ages, letting the tension stretch and snap back without ever following through.
The moment you felt him pressed hard against you, your stomach dropped, revulsion cutting through everything else.
“Come on, I’m not in the mood.” you said quickly, breath shallow.
He laughed, his grip tightening cruelly around your waist. “That’s not the impression I got.”
“I said stop!”
You wrenched against him, panic spiking, but his hand yanked you back, hard enough to send you crashing down. Stone split your knees, the shock of it jarring your teeth.
“Get off me! Ah…!”
Instead of letting go, he hauled at your arm, dragging you as though you were nothing but dead weight. Pain shot through your wrist, white-hot, your stomach twisting with nausea.
“Merlin…” he muttered, his fist tangling in your hair, jerking your head up until his face loomed over yours. His breath stank of drink. “Your ex swore you begged for it rough. Didn’t expect it to be so accurate…”
The words hit like a punch, vile and choking. Revulsion flooded your chest, crawling beneath your skin, suffocating, unbearable. For one split second you felt caged, pinned like prey…
…and then you snapped.
“Fragor!”
The spell ripped from your throat, shaking the air itself.
Roger reeled back at once, hands clamped over his ears, the muffled thump of music from the common room suddenly a deafening shriek only he could hear.
“Did you just hex my fucking ears?”he bellowed, his voice cracked and ragged.
You were trembling, every nerve raw, but your voice cut sharp through the panic: “Next time I’ll hex your arse.”
You didn’t wait another second.
Fury shaking your limbs, knees throbbing, wrist screaming, you forced yourself forward, back toward the noise, the light, the crowd.
Your wrist throbbed with every step, held close against your chest as if it were broken.
You spotted Padma across the room, leaning against the wall with a drink in hand.
Her eyes locked on you instantly.
“Babe, what’s wrong?”
“I’m leaving” you rasped, as she hurried after you, frown etched deep.
“Why? What happened?”
“I just want to go” you blurted, your voice scraped thin.
Padma reached your side, matching your stride without hesitation. “Then I’m coming with you.”
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
“That filthy troll” Padma hissed as you turned the corner toward the stairwell.
“Disgusting pervert. I swear, I’ll bloody Crucio him if he breathes near you again.”
“No need, I’ll Crucio him myself tomorrow at breakfast. Him and my stupid fucking ex …”you muttered, voice rough but edged with bite.
“We’ll need to put some ice on that…” Padma murmured, eyes narrowing at your wrist
You nodded faintly, the warm light of the castle easing some of the weight from your chest, but when you turned the last corner, your breath caught.
You spun quickly to the other side. “Padma, don’t look!”
“Oh, my dear Merlin.” Her voice was sharp with outrage.
“Padma, just walk!”
“Why are men all pigs? Did you see that? He had his head on Pansy’s lap, and the second he saw you, he jumped up!” Padma spat, her tone bristling with disgust.
“I saw it, but it’s not like we’re dating, you know…” you breathed, stepping eagerly onto the staircase, only to curse under your breath as it rumbled and slid away.
“Oh, brilliant…” you muttered, pushing Padma slightly behind you.
“Of course the castle’s against us tonight.”
Padma folded her arms, fuming.
“You’re not dating? How exactly do you call fucking twice in a day?”
“I’d call it a situationship. A… friend-with-benefits. You have many names for it, just pick one, but not dating!” you hissed back, arms crossing tight.
“I’m not that stupid to ruin good sex by turning it into a relationship. With Malfoy, of all people.”
Padma’s lips parted to fire back, but then her gaze flicked over your shoulder.
The chill raced down your spine at once.
“What? He’s not looking, is he?” you asked, barely moving your lips.
“No. Too busy being an idiot among the other Slytherin idiots. ”
“Good” you breathed, relief loosening your shoulders as you heard their laughter rang out.
“Oh…no wait, he is looking now.”
Your pulse spiked.
“Shit, he’s coming over.”
You muttered a curse, your gaze locked on the staircase dragging itself closer, every second stretching too long.
Because you couldn’t bear one of his Malfoy fits while you were barely holding yourself together.
But the tantrum you braced for never came. Just a single, direct question.
“Why are you shaking?”
You stiffened, mask snapping into place as you turned to him. “I’m not.” you said evenly.
“I’m perfectly fine.”
His eyes narrowed.
“You’re lying.”
“I am not lying!”
“What’s wrong with your arm then?” His gaze flicked down, and as he reached for you you yanked back.
“Don’t!”
He froze, hand still half-raised.
“I’m freezing, that’s all,” you pushed out quickly, trying to recover as you yanked your shirt tighter around you. “Try wearing a skirt in October and see how you like it.”
Padma gave a nervous laugh, but Draco didn’t even flicker.
His gaze swept your face, then moved down, as though checking for any mark on your skin, any disturbance in the neat fall of your clothes hinting that someone had laid hands on you.
The staircase clicked back into place, and you moved to step on it, but his hand closed softly around your arm.
“You sure you’re okay?”
You gave a small nod, but your pulse pounded at the unfamiliar gentleness in his voice.
He studied you for another long second, grey eyes cutting so deep it felt like he was reading straight through you. For a moment, you almost wondered if he was a Legilimens.
Narcissa Malfoy, after all, had quite the reputation for it.
But, at last, he seemed convinced nothing truly bad had happened. Almost unexpectedly, his hand shifted to the side of your face as he pressed the faintest goodnight kiss into your hair.
The tenderness made your chest ache.
“Go to bed, Gryffindor” he murmured, pulling back.
“Try not to shiver the whole way.”
You nodded once, quickly, before stepping onto the staircase after Padma. The stone groaned beneath your feet, shifting and carrying you away.
You’d barely stepped off when Padma finally dared to speak. “Merlin, Malfoy is properly in love with you.”
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
You woke up dizzy, with the faint impression you’d dreamt of Pansy Parkinson.
Which would have made sense if you’d accidentally eaten doxy wings at the Ravenclaw party. But the thought vanished as soon as you flexed your wrist.
Bruised.
Badly.
Fucking bruised.
When you showed your face in the Potion classroom that morning, Padma and Lavender both went pale.
“Why didn’t you report him?”
“Oh sure, ! Why not tell McGonagall that I was in another House’s common room ? Perfect way to get expelled.” you bit out, stacking your Potions books onto the desk.
Lavender’s face twisted, furious.
“I swear, I’m going to kill that rat.”
“Same. We should do it now, before Slughorn walks in.”
“You won’t need to lift a finger!”
You turned, startled, to find Parvati hurrying up beside you, her expression alight with something urgent.
“Roger’s in the hospital wing. Not sure what happened, but looks like he won’t leave for a good couple of days.”
Lavender blinked.
“Wait, what? Why? What happened?”
Parvati only lifted a hand, the smirk tugging at her mouth betraying how badly she wanted to draw this out.
“Let’s just say he didn’t fall down the stairs.”
Parvati glanced toward a noisy cluster of Hufflepuffs filing into the corridor, then leaned in again, lowering her voice.
“Word is, someone with a Slytherin crest and very distinctive blond hair decided to make a point.”
Your stomach lurched, irritation sparking hot in your chest.
“What?”
“Oh dear Merlin, we did bump into him yesterday night, didn’t we?” Padma muttered
“But I didn’t think he noticed.”
“That bloody serpent notices everything, apparently.”
“But how would he even know it was Roger? You didn’t tell him, did you?” Lavender blinked, still trying to piece it together.
“Of course I didn’t!” you snapped.
Parvati sighed, exasperated.
“It’s not that difficult, you know? Every Ravenclaw in the tower saw something was off when Roger came back with his ears bleeding. Malfoy could have just asked the first person he found if anything at happened !”
Lavender’s jaw dropped.
“So you’re telling me Malfoy sent his goons after Roger?”
Parvati tilted her head, smirk sharpening.
“Not sent” Parvati corrected with relish.
“Joined! I swear I saw the three of them near the tower this morning.”
The three of them jumped when you yanked your quill from your bag with far more force than necessary.
“This is ridiculous. Who the hell told him to get involved?”
Padma arched a brow “He was probably trying to do a good thing, you know. For once.”
You gaped at her.
“A good thing? By sending someone to the hospital wing?”
“Well, if that someone tried to force himself on you then yes. I’d call that a very good thing ”
You crossed your arms, staring at the three of them.
“Merlin, what is wrong with you lot? Why are you all suddenly defending Malfoy?”
“We’re not defending him, but come on! …most girls would call that romantic.” Lavender cut in, shrugging.
You shot her a glare, irritation prickling hot under your skin, and in that exact moment, you caught sight of Draco and his goons strolling into the room.
“Playing the knight in shining armor isn’t romantic…” you muttered, shoving back from the desk.
“It’s ego!” you spat, and stormed straight toward Malfoy’s table.
“What the fuck have you done?” you spat as soon as you got close enough
The group of Slytherins turned at once, silence cutting their laughter short.
Draco just shrugged, lazy as if you’d asked about the weather. “Nothing.”
You stuttered, getting closer.
“Cut the act. Parvati saw you.”
He shook his head once, almost bored as he gathered the scattered quills and parchment in front of him.
“I didn’t do anything…Maybe Vincent did something. But not me, did I?”
Crabbe chuckled low, shaking his head.
“I didn’t see you do anything, really.”
“Did you hear that?” Draco said smoothly, brushing past you to grab his bag off the floor.
“I am innocent.”
You stared, stunned, not only at him but at the sheer fact Crabbe had formed an entire sentence.
“And why would you have done it, “Vincent”? Have a problem with the Ravenclaws all of a sudden? ”
“Dunno…Didn’t like Roger’s face this morning.”
A laugh slipped out of Draco, quiet and amused as he lit the flame under his cauldron.
“Roger does have a terrible face, doesn’t he?”
You squinted at him, then turned to Draco, who looked like the calmest version of himself you had ever seen.
Finally, he glanced up, his voice level, almost bored.
“Are we done here?”
You held his gaze, arms crossed tight.
“Not until you show me your hands. Your knuckles look weirdly red.”
“I’ll show you my knuckles if you show me your wrists” he countered without missing a beat.
Your lips thinned, his gaze suddenly heavy.
“There’s nothing wrong with my wrists.”
His jaw tightened, and in the next instant he stepped closer, grey eyes stripped of amusement.
“You don’t realize I notice when you lie, do you? Not that you can lie that well anyway… Gryffindor weakness, I suppose.”
Before you could answer, his hand closed around your arm.
You sighed, already knowing resistance was useless, and let him tug back your sleeve, exposing the bruise .
“Well” he murmured
“...doesn’t look as bad as his face.”
You yanked your arm back, glare sharp. “No one asked you to intervene, Draco.”
“Listen, got ot the hospital wing and hex him yourself if that makes you feel better!” he shot back, irritated.
“…But do me the fucking favor, next time some idiot dares to put a hand on you, just fucking tell me. Save me the trouble of piecing it together from gossip” he muttered, turning back to his Potions equipment.
You didn’t dare say a word, tongue curled uselessly in your mouth.
Your eyes stayed fixed on his profile,the sharp line of his jaw, the authoritative frown etched into pale brows, the family heirloom on his finger.
There it was: pure Malfoy ego.
Possessiveness, twisted with jealousy.
It wasn’t romantic. Not at all. …Still, it was kind of hot.
You cleared your throat, scratching lightly at your neck. The creak of the door announced Slughorn’s arrival, and you instinctively shifted back from Draco’s desk.
“Right…” you said casually
“so… do you want to do something after class?”
His aristocrat act cracked like glass.
He jolted so violently that a small vial slipped from his fingers and rolled to the edge before he snatched it at the last second.
His grey eyes snapped to you, searching your face like he couldn’t quite believe what he’d heard.
“What class? this class?”
You shrugged.
“I mean… if you’re free.”
“Free? I’m...Obviously free. ” His voice pitched too quickly, too defensive, and he tugged at the collar of his robes as though the fabric itself had betrayed him.
“ I was going to suggest it myself.”
His tone regained its Malfoy drawl, but a little too quickly.
“What did you have in mind?”
You bit back a grin, because honestly, he was almost cute. “I don’t know… can you sneak me into your dorm? It’s the only common room I haven’t seen.”
“What, the Slytherin dorm?” he blurted, too loud. Heads turned.
You tilted your head, feigning innocence. “That’s the one, unless you’ve changed legacy overnight.”
“Of course I can sneak you in” he said, straightening abruptly. “Fine. Yes. Of course I’ll do it. Consider it done.”
“Okay…” you murmured, unable to hold a grin.
You were almost seated when his urgent whisper reached your ears.
“Blaise, how did you leave the room? I’ll fucking kill you if there’s even one sock on the floor.”
SNIPPET RELATED TO THIS STORY:
Library ✶ Tongues ✶ Skirts
PART 1
PART 2
PART 3
PART 4
PART 5 - you are reading it 💕
PART 6
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