6: Would You Let him Down?

【Still in flashback mode】

Almost immediately the next day, Draco stopped you while you were trying to get to your transfiguration class.

"Malfoy." You greeted innocently as if nothing happened last night.

"Mudblood." He greeted back but of course bitterly.

"If you don't mind, I have a class to get to." You tried to move past him but Draco was quick to block you with his arm.

"Not so fast, Sierre. You said it yourself you can't wait last night." What he said, caught a few people's attention. Clearly misunderstood what he said.

"And I can't wait to get into my transfiguration class right now, so if you wouldn't mind catching up with me later, I'll be going now." You said and swiftly walk past him, barely giving him enough time to react. In truth, Draco only wanted to approach because you were interesting to him, he hadn't thought of anything to say. Thankfully you need to get to class before either of you start have to strike a conversation.

It wasn't until the next day; you were at the library studying when the boy decided to approach you again. You heard someone sat themselves down beside you, so you turn around to find out.

You find the Slytherin Prince beside you, smirking at you.

"Hello, Malfoy. I hope today has been treating you well." You greeted like you did yesterday.

Unlike yesterday, Draco already thought of what to say this time.

"Sierre. I see no point in studying when you were not born like us." He said clearly implying you being muggle-born is awful at magic compared to him, specifically the purebloods.

You sighed, wondering if he will be like this for a long time.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" you just wanted to study, so you have no intention of being nice to him today.

"Oh, I thought the little Mudblood couldn't wait for me to come to bother her." He said deviously.

"When I am in my free time and as you can see I'm not free right now." You grinned, knowing he will probably be kept on bothering you until he's satisfied.

"Unfortunately for you, you don't get to study today." He reached forward and closed the book you were reading. You sighed and finally looks him in the eye, glaring.

"Is the little Mudblood angry? What are you going to do?" he said. However, he could see that you were not angry, or rather, it was like you expected what he would do.

"Leave her alone, Malfoy." You then heard a voice you knew too well. You turn around and saw exactly what you expected. You see Hermione with books in her hand, as usual.

"And the Mudblood companion comes to help." You could see Hermione turning red, angry at the offensive term used by the blonde.

Before Hermione could fire back at him, you quickly cut in.

"It's alright, Mione. I'll be fine." You assured her. But Hermione was having none of it.

"Yeah, listen to your friend, Mudblood. Leave us alone before you interrupt us again." Draco snapped before Hermione can say anything more.

Hermione look at you seriously, you gave her an assuring smile, telling her that you'll be alright. Hermione hesitantly left, she wanted to stay but she didn't want to deal with her enemy.

You look back at Draco to find him staring at you, seeming to be confused about something.

"What?" you asked.

"Why didn't you ask her to help you?" he asked as if he was concerned if you were insane.

"Well, for one thing, if I did ask, you two would probably start a big fight and we will be kicked out by Madam Pince." You said with ease while pointing to the librarian.

"And plus, you came to find me. I don't think there's any need to drag someone else into our conversation." Then you find him smirking.

"What makes you think I came to find you?" he asked still smirking as if he was expecting something from you.

"Are you coming in to find your friends? From what I recalled, I don't see any of them here." You said calmly. From his expression, you knew that Draco wasn't expecting you to be calm. You figured that he expected you to be embarrassed about being wrong. Fortunately for you, you knew better.

"So do you need anything from me, Malfoy?" you cut in before he could say anything else.

Draco blanked on what he wanted to say, so instead he asked a question.

"What did you mean when you say you grew up with people like me?" he asked you, he didn't mean to ask that, but he was also curious.

"Well, from what I heard from my friend, pureblood society isn't exactly that different from the society I grew up in."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Let's just say my grandmother expects me to be the same as her." You just say simply, not expecting him to actually listen.

You turn around to find Draco actually listening, you didn't expect him to try to understand you, so you continued.

"My grandmother is like the purebloods of the muggle world; she was a musician. So they would always bring me to parties, she just wanted to show me off in her friends just because I have her talents. She expects me to follow in her footsteps, that's why when she found out I'm a witch, she was beyond devastated. So now whenever I went back for breaks, she would make sure I didn't fall behind. It was as if as soon as I graduated, she expects me to not ever step foot in this world again."

You didn't realise that when you talked, you had a frown on your face.

Draco didn't expect a muggle-born would have the exact same pressure as him. As you frowned, Draco felt guilty to think that he was the only one having a hard time with the pressure of his family. He can't help but feel kind of happy, knowing that he wasn't alone.

When he finally caught himself thinking sadly for a Mudblood, he was disgusted by himself. He quickly changed his mind.

"Yeah, that's so sad, Mudblood. Too bad your mummy and daddy weren't there to help you." he mentally slapped himself, what kind of insult was that?

You only looked at him, almost disappointedly. You knew that he didn't mean that, but you were disappointed that he still tried to keep his walls up. So, you decided to agree with his insult.

"Yeah, my parents were always busy. So it was always my grandmother taking care of me." You said sadly. Of course, your parents loved you and your siblings, but what you said wasn't a lie either.

At this point, Draco was confused, he insulted and you went with it. Everyone he has bullied was either too scared to answer him or standing up for themselves bravely. It's the first time he found someone unfazed by him and even agreeing with his insult, willingly.

When you finally turn to face the blonde, you find him with a confused face looking at you. As if you were a huge puzzle that he can't solve. Draco finally snaps out of it when he finds you staring at him.

"What are you staring at, Mudblood?" he asked trying to fake an annoying tone, to which you saw through almost immediately.

"Nothing, it just seems like you understood how I felt." You smirked, you know that you were right. But Draco didn't know that, he wanted to agree, but he couldn't.

"In your nightmares, Mudblood." He said standing up and walks away instead.

It wasn't until the next day when Draco found you by the lake again, playing your violin again. His mind automatically thought back to what you said yesterday.

"... So now whenever I went back for breaks, they would make sure I didn't fall behind..." his mind played back. Was that what you meant when you said that? You said that your grandmother is a musician, so it made sense.

You felt someone stare at you again, you turn back to find Draco by the other tree far away. You figured that the other times you felt someone staring was him too. Before you know it, Draco was walking over to you.

"Hello, Malfoy. I take it you like my playing." You greeted him.

"Never, Mudblood." He said.

You noticed that he looked... out of it.

Draco has received a letter from his mother earlier in the morning telling him about the situation. Of course, the letter bummed him out.

"I take requests." You told him as if he wants you to play for him, you thought that he needed to relax. Unfortunately for Draco, you were right. So he just told some random song on the top of his head.

You started playing without a second thought. You observed as Draco noticeably relaxes by the tree and listen to you contently. You were satisfied that you were able to help him in some way.

When you were done, you find Draco with his eyes closed with his back against the tree. You quietly walked to his side, you watched as his chest slowly raised and then rests, indicating he fell asleep.

You thought that it wouldn't be a good idea to leave him like this, so you decided to read as you wait for him to wake up.

By the time, Draco woke up, it was already sunset. When he looks around, he found you immersed in your book. You were too caught up in the book to notice that he was awake, Draco watched as you read the words of the book. He was captivated by the way you looked under the sunlight, before he knew it he was reaching out for you.

You were slightly startled when you felt him tuck a hair behind your ear. You stared into his eyes, wondering if you should say something.

It wasn't long until Draco realised what he is doing, he quickly retrieves his hand, still remains cold.

"What are you still doing here, Mudblood? Trying to take advantage of me?" he said. You rolled your eyes, kind of irritated by his still not changing attitude.

"I thought that it would be better to stay and make sure nothing happens." You didn't say that it was him you were worried about, but Draco knew what you meant.

You didn't think you need to be here, so you stood up and started to leave.

"I haven't given you permission to leave yet, Mudblood."

"Sorry, but I don't need your permission to go anywhere, Malfoy. Now that you're awake, I could go without worrying." You left him there alone.

Draco was left to wonder if you were really insane, a Ravenclaw was worried for the Slytherin prince. At that moment, he questioned himself if he should return the kind treatment you had given him. You had been nothing but patient with him, unlike other people who always seem to snap at him or even ignore him. You, however, always seem to remain calm even if he threw insults at you. Draco, of course, felt bad in some way, but it was to keep up his image in front of his Slytherin peers.

His mind played back to something you said the first time both of you interacted.

"You know, you could drop the act, Malfoy...... I know it's all an act, Malfoy. You can drop it. I won't judge you for it......" He considered what you said, but will it be a good thing when he does? Were you telling the truth when you said you won't judge him for it? Will he be discriminated against for it by his friends? Will being friends with someone out of his house be worth all the commotion it will cause?

Will he regret it? Will you turn your back on him when he does?

Until today, Draco still ponders himself with questions like the questions he had that day. There was one thing he can be sure though, is that he doesn't regret his decision at all.

When he treated you nicely at your next encounter, you for one didn't question him and just accepted him. Both of you were good friends ever since.

Yes, the whole school was flying with rumours when both of them came into the Great Hall together. You were not bothered though. Draco, on the other hand, was pissed beyond reason. He would glare at anyone who was whispering about them and sometimes even almost getting into fights. If you weren't with him, a lot of fights would actually happen.

Hermione even came to you once, asking if you need help getting rid of him. You wanted to be angry with her to think like that, but it was funnier to you than anger. You were laughing when you told Hermione that she doesn't have to be worried. She didn't believe when you said Draco is nice, it's understandable considering how he treated them. Draco didn't know about this since you knew how he would react.

"You know, after the first week we became friends, Hermione came to me to ask if I need help with you." You chuckled.

"They think you were forced to hang out with me?" he asked with an annoyed tone.

"Yeah! They really think I couldn't handle myself. I almost snapped at them when they asked me the same question for a week straight." You laughed at the memory. You stopped when you see him frowning.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" he asked, he thought that you don't trust him enough.

"Well, for one thing, at the time, we just started being friends. I was afraid if I said something, it would ruin our friendship. And knowing you, you would probably get angry and went to pick a fight with them." You said. Draco didn't need to think that you were right, because he knows that you are.

He could remember how short-tempered he was at the time, anyone who said the wrong thing to him would suffer his wrath. If it wasn't for you being there for him at the time, he would probably get multiple detentions for the fights he would cause. But thanks to you, he didn't have to.

"Thank you, Lia." You were surprised by the sudden gratitude he has shown.

"What for?" you asked, still couldn't believe what you heard.

"For being there for me when I needed it. I don't know what I would do without you. If I'm being honest, I would have probably collapsed by now if you didn't force me to sleep." He joked about himself so easily. Yet, he doesn't know how much you really worry for him. Ever since you heard about his father, you can't help but worry about him. Especially now that the rumours about him being a death eater flying around.

You know that the rumours bother him, as much as he tells you that he doesn't care, you have seen how he frowned whenever both of you overheard other people whispering about him being a death eater.

"The pleasure is mine, Draco Malfoy. Now, sleep. You need it." You watched as he closed his eyes and dozed into dreamland.