40

"I'm an idiot." In front of me, Kai was pacing back and forth in a less busy corner of the room, a mildly annoyed look on his face. "Tell me I'm an idiot, Merlin—" He cut himself off with a sigh, hands in his hair.

Head tilted slightly; I watched him carefully, a flicker of amusement crossing my features at his words. My eyes darted over to where Chauncey Conebush — the reason for Kai's dismay — was stood.

"The one time I decide to get drunk is the one time I run into the alchemist of the century—" He whined, eyes flickering back and forth between the old man and me stood by the fireplace.

"I thought you were tipsy, at most—" I reminded the boy with a smug smirk, not being able to hide the amusement his current attitude brought me. Of course, he didn't share my sentiment, and so, instead of letting me finish my sentence, he cut me off with a singular raise of his hand and a grim look in his eyes.

Defensively, I raised my own hands. Though, the smirk on my lips only grew wider.

"Come on, Kai," I muttered, brows raised. "You know what they say—"

"And what's that?"

My moment of hesitation was all it took for Kai to roll his eyes. Unsure of what it truly was that they said, I tried it with, "Alcohol only makes networking easier?"

A groan escaped his mouth, though the corners of his lips twitched upwards into a smile regardless.

"Okay, so do I seem—" He took a deep breath, straightening his back and shaking his entire body once. "Do I seem drunk?" He asked, a slight slur in his voice as he gave me a lopsided grin.

Someone who didn't know Kai sober — polite, put together, coherent thoughts, and all that — might not spot the difference between the two versions of him. I definitely did.

Though, with a glance towards the clock hanging on the wall, I decided against telling him that.

"Not at all," I quipped, already leading him back into the crowded area.

The brunette gave me an inquiring look, though I ignored it skillfully. "Alright, go on—" I urged, coming to a halt myself as I pushed him towards the alchemist he so desperately wanted to talk to.

I guessed that's what these events were meant for, anyway— at least he'd be able to use it that way, too.

It was 8.30 when he finally stumbled over to him, greeting the man with a charming smile and his hand held out for him to shake it. I knew Kai would do just fine— he always did. Everything he touched somehow turned into gold.

And so, I took my opportunity to slip out of the crowded room, my stomach turning in anticipation as well as anxiety as I rushed through the empty corridors towards the dungeons.

The sound of my heels against the stone floor grounded me, made sure I didn't get lost in my thoughts and overthought what should be an easy process;

Pour two glasses of nettle wine—lace one of them with a drop of Venectu. Remember which glass contained the deadly poison. Offer said glass to Malfoy. Watch him die.

A shiver ran down my spine as soon as I was hit with the noticeably colder air in the dungeons, almost stumbling down the stairs before coming to a halt in front of the bare stretch of wall.

I was in my empty dorm mere moments later, hands shaking slightly as I unlocked the drawer of my nightstand. Though, I pulled myself together— did what I had to do in order to make this work.

Not only for myself but my family, too; To make them proud. To make the Dark Lord proud.

Just like I had done once before, the black poison levitated through the air until I had safely manoeuvred it into the half-filled wine glass. For a moment, I worried the Venectu wouldn't lose its colour;

Wondered whether it would float in the alcohol like a heavy gas, with the way it burst into small bubbles and slowly sunk to the bottom of the glass.

But then, it did turn transparent— not a single detail telling of how deadly the drink suddenly was. The knowledge that mine was the left glass was all stood between me and confusing the two drinks.

And I was just in the middle of storing the now-empty vial back in the drawer — crouching before it and pushing a few loose pieces of parchment aside to place it underneath them — when the door fell into its hinges behind me, and I completely stilled in my movement; as if petrified when I wasn't.

"What are you doing down there?" Malfoy's voice was laced in mockery, a low tone that made me want to jump out of my own skin. I could hear the smirk on his face before I saw it.

My head whipped around in one swift motion, eyes travelling up his body with my brows lightly furrowed and lips parted.

He had leaned himself against one of the walls, eying the two drinks stood on the cupboard beside him curiously before his eyes fell on me again.

"You're early," I observed, hoping my voice sounded as unbothered by his presence as I wanted it to be. The vial was still in my hand— hand buried in my drawer. The realisation made my head snap towards it, my back towards Malfoy now.

"Couldn't wait, hm?" I asked, quickly placing the vial where I had intended to do so from the beginning. The sound of parchment rustling filled the dorm for a moment before I shut the drawer a little too forcefully.

"Just wondering about the... preparations you'd make; how nervous you'd be— all that," He shrugged absentmindedly, eyes on the nettlewine as my gaze followed his.

Rising to my feet, I rolled my eyes. "Preparations?" I scoffed halfheartedly, my eyes flying back up to his as I approached him.

He hummed in agreement, one hand reaching into his pocket while he tapped against the wall behind him with a finger. "Yes," He said. "Preparations."

His eyes batted open, a knowing look in his eyes that made my heart beat just a little quicker. "To see how much this would mean to you, Hayes. It's special, isn't it?" His hand swiftly gestured towards me, falling down my body to address my attire. "Look how nicely you cleaned up for me—"

"For myself," I quickly interrupted, a brow quirked as I came to a halt right before him. "And don't gloat, Malfoy. It's making me reconsider everything—" like throwing my entire plan away and just shoot a deadly spell at you right here and now. "And you don't want that, do you?"

His lips quirked into a smirk, and both of his hands shot up in mocking surrender— only staying in the air for a second before one of them moved to cup my chin.

His finger trailed along my jawline, angled my chin upwards and held it there to level our eyes. "Of course not," He admitted in a low voice, tongue flicking over his lips before they quirked upwards once more.

I couldn't help my eyes falling to them at the motion, minty breath escaping his parted lips fanning against my nose as my eyes darted back and forth between them and the brewing storm in his grey eyes.

"But neither do you," He added, own eyes lingering on my painted lips. "Isn't that right?"

If I had acted just a little bit quicker, my lips wouldn't be moving against his now; I could've taken a step back and rolled my plan into motion; watch him die a gruesome death like I had intended.

Though, with the way my body reacted to his so naturally and the way his soft lips felt against mine, that just became much harder.

In one swift motion, Malfoy had turned us around, my back pushed against the wall he was previously leaned against while his body made sure I stayed in place; one of his hands on my thigh as it slipped beneath the fabric of my dress through the split in it.

His cold hands against my skin made me shiver.

His lips moved down to my neck, and with a muffled sound, I threw my head back with my eyes still closed.

It was when his second hand began to roam my body — fiddling with the strap of my dress — that I snapped out of it.

Breath heavy, pupils dilated, and a confused look on his face partly covered by his white hair, I tutted in disapproval as I brought a bit of distance between us. "Where are your manners, Malfoy?"

I shook my head playfully, a smirk on my lips as I reached for the drinks stood on the dresser beside us— making sure I handed him the right one.

He eyes it suspiciously, and I tilted my head with a brow quirked. "What?" I questioned. "It's not poisoned," I huffed in amusement, coercing a dry laugh out of him.

"One can never be too careful," He joked, eyes focused entirely on me now. "Last chance to let me know before I die a gruesome death—" He challenged, his signature smirk spread widely across his features.

His words almost had my breath hitch, and my brows furrow with how fitting they seemed to be. Though, instead, I snorted dryly.

Tipping the glass of wine backwards, I took a sip of the alcohol first, easing his weirdly specific suspicion and getting it over with. "See—" I muttered with a smile. "Better?"

"Mh," He hummed, nodding with an interested look in his eyes. "Much better."

He took a sip.

Though, it was my face that was drained off any colour mere moments later. It was my eyes that widened in disbelief as I felt the strange, usually dark substance invade my veins before it was pumped through my entire body.

He smiled. 

A/N: I'M SORRY I'm a little late jkbhvg I totally forgot I had to update today lol

How are we feeling about this? This scene is literally  one of the reasons / the only reason I started writing this book hehe

Hope you liked it!