—anti-hero
pairing: draco malfoy x fem!reader
summary: you hate that you’re so emotional about everything, but draco secretly loves you for it
warnings: none
“hey, guys” your voice was soft and rather quiet, but still loud enough to achieve immediate silence from your boyfriend and his friends.
draco and you had been dating for more than a year now, but you were still not sure his friends even liked you or just tolerated you at most.
“love” draco nodded, a pleased smile on his lips, as he made space for you between him and blaise.
the pairing of the two of you was quite unexpected to say the least. no one in the castle had expected draco malfoy, a slytherin through and through, to fall in love with the sweetest hufflepuff in his year, not even you. you were surprised yourself, when he had one day come to the greenhouse, asking you out for a butterbeer. the rest was history.
“how is you project going?” draco asked.
“well, it’s a bit harder than expected, i have to admit” you shrugged, but draco shook his head.
“nothing you wouldn’t be able to overcome”
“you’re flattering me”
“yeah” blaise exclaimed annoyed “please stop, your guys’ flirting gets on my nerves”
draco and you exchanged a look. “sorry” you quickly excused “i didn’t mean to annoy you”
blaise shook his head, absentmindedly telling you it was fine, before he continued biting down his toast. enzo threw a smile in your direction.
“ignore him” he grinned “he’s been bitter all morning”
“oh what happened?” you asked, rather worried.
draco softly connected your hands, shaking his head at you and whispering something along the lines of telling you about it later.
“oi, we might as well tell her, malfoy” mattheo rolled his eyes, making it evident that he heard every single word.
“i’m not sure if—“ draco tried to say, but was quickly interrupted by mattheo, who leaned over the table as if he had interesting information for you.
“he’s been rejected by tara gallagher”
“oh” you muttered, unsure what to respond.
“seems like someone doesn’t have what it takes to charm a hufflepuff” theo muttered and you turned you head in his direction, surprised that he had even listened to the conversation, as he was busy, reading a book about defense against the dark arts.
“well, not everyone has the privilege to have malfoy as their last name” enzo shrugged, as he added the words laughing.
blaise rolled his eyes, but did not say anything. you looked back and forth between draco’s friends, unsure if the conversation was going in the right direction.
you hated when the topic would fall on draco’s and your relationship. the slytherins would often make jokes about your unlikely pairing, as if it wasn’t already hard enough for you to believe that someone like draco could really love someone like you.
“maybe draco could give you a few tips” enzo grinned and you bit down on your lip.
“yeah, or maybe tara gallagher is just too clever to believe everything i tell her” the words had left blaise’ mouth before he had really thought about the implication they would have about you and draco. just when you thought it was only you thinking in that direction, he quickly threw a hand over his mouth, spotting a regretful look.
“y/n” enzo muttered when he noticed your teary eyes.
draco’s smile died down as he turned his head and noticed the look on your face.
“sorry” you quickly apologized, as you swung your legs over the bench.
“i’m sorry” blaise quickly tried to interfere, but you were already hurrying down the row to the door of the great hall.
“you’re really amazing at talking to girls” theo stated sarcastically “when you don’t make them cuss you out, you make them cry”
“i’m sorry—“
“—you better be” draco interrupted blaise.
“—but she’s just so sensitive. i mean i wasn’t even speaking about her”
“well, the implication was right there” enzo shrugged “you could’ve been a bit more considerate"
"i'm going to search for my girlfriend before you have time to insult her some more"
"i told you i was sorry"
"safe it" draco shook his head, standing up.
"tell y/n we're sorry about blaise" theo said sympathetically.
draco nodded, before he stormed out of the hall, trying to make you out. you were hiding in a dark corner, face in your hands when he found you.
"hey" draco cooed, taking your hands in his and lifting them from your face. "don't cry, love"
"i'm sorry" you sobbed and draco's face softened. he took you into his arms, trying to calm you down. you stopped crying eventually, while he was rubbing circles on your back.
"i'm sorry about what blaise said" draco apologized when you were calm enough to listen to him. "i don't think he meant it like that, you know?"
"it's not blaise" you said honestly, shaking your head.
"oh" draco said surprised, furrowing his brows. "then what is it? there has to be a reason for you to be upset"
"that's just the problem, draco" you said softly "i don't think i have a good reason, i never do"
"what are you talking about, love?"
"i hate that i am like this" you admitted, trying to escape his eyes.
"like what?" draco wondered, worry evident on his face "there's nothing wrong with you, you're perfectly normal"
"but, i'm not" you argued "i hate they way i always start crying and am upset at nothing, it's exhausting and must be much more for you"
"oh, love"
"and i get that might be the reason that your friends don't like me" you bit your lip, trying to stop yourself from crying yet again "they must think i'm acting like a baby"
"but they do like you"
"they're always quiet when i'm around"
draco looked away quickly before his eyes were back on you a second later "that might be my fault" he admitted "when we started dating i told them to behave when you would be there, i didn't want you to be uncomfortable at the way they normally are"
"oh, so you even had to tell them to tone it down, because i would be too sensible?" you whispered softly, the tears threatening to spill yet again.
"no, love" draco shook his head, touching your shoulders as you looked up at him with big eyes. "i thought they would ruin my chances with you. not because you are too sensible, just because they can be real idiots and would probably scare any girl away"
"except for pansy" you shrugged, a smile playing on your lips.
"yeah" draco laughed, happy that you weren't as sad anymore "she would probably scare them away first anyway"
you giggled at his words. he touched your face, rubbing your tears away softly. "don't cry anymore, yeah?" he asked "you're perfect the way you are. actually i fell in love with you because you're so sensible, while i wouldn't directly call the way you are sensible"
you smiled up at him with hope at your eyes. "what would you call it?"
"empathetic" draco smiled "i have never seen someone being so concerned about the well-being of bugs"
"i pray nobody kills me for the crime of being small" you recited.
"exactly" draco nodded, kissing your forehead "you're the most caring person i know and i don't think having strong emotions is wrong in any way"
"you really fell in love with me because of it?" you asked "i always thought it was something you were able to ignore or tolerate, not something you liked"
"how could i not? i was a goner after i saw you build a bed for the bug" he laughed "i should've told you, but i assumed you knew, forgive me, love"
"don't be sorry" you kissed his cheeks "i hated myself for it for the longest time, but knowing that you actually like it changes everything"
"i don't just like it, i love you for it"
"i love you too" you smiled.
"and i do think the guys like you" draco nudged your elbow "you should've seen the way theo and enzo chewed out blaise and how sorry the poor fella was. they even told me to tell your they were sorry on his behalf and blaise was apologetic too"
"he didn't do anything wrong"
"he could've been more considerate" draco shrugged "should we go back? we don‘t have to, if you're not comfortable"
"i'd like to finish my breakfast"
"good" draco nodded, taking your hand and leading you back to the table.
blaise immediately apologized several times when he noticed you, even after you had told him it was fine. the rest of breakfast was much more enjoyable with the guys feeling more comfortable now that they knew you were alright.
you were glad to have such a loving boyfriend and draco was glad that you were alright.
you cried a lot less during the weeks to follow, a result of you growing more comfortable around draco's friends and also becoming friends with them too.
after draco had told them they didn't have to behave differently when you were around the ice got broken and they weren't as reserved anymore.
theo and you would often study together. he was good in potions and you were good in astronomy so you would constantly help each other.
it turned out that both blaise and you were giant quidditch fans and were actually fans of the same team. you often spent time talking about past games or different players you liked. he even gifted you a scarf in your team's color for your birthday.
pansy, mattheo and you would occasionally visit hogsmeade together, spending the whole day in honey-dukes, testing the newest snacks and sweets and deciding on your favorite sorts or flavours.
you learned that enzo was obsessed with plants and flowers so you often got him seeds to plant and helped him in the garden.
draco was glad that you had finally settled into the group and that you weren't so afraid of your feelings anymore that you actually had the time to notice that they all found you lovely, even if they would occasionally joke about your ability to start crying so easily, especially during a sad movie.
blaise never made an annoyed remark about your emotional side again and you were happy to finally feel better about yourself and the way that you were.
—
@mqstermindswift