foxfire [draco malfoy]

seven

a strange encounter of the first kind

That night at supper, Foxfire and Kat sat at the table in the great hall, talking of classes and Pansy Parkinson, as Kat still found it hilarious that Fox told her off. "I just wish I saw it." Kat laughed. "You were probably brilliant." She continued as Foxfire smiled, taking a sip of water. "Bitch was probably fuming when you walked away."

"Oh, she definitely was. I could just feel it. It's always nice to tear down the bullies of this school." Foxfire laughed some more as two hands covered her eyes from behind her. At first, she was caught off guard, and nervous that it was Theo, still trying to talk to her.

"Guess who." The familiar voice said, as Foxfire's anxiety melted away and she beamed with joy, quickly swiveling around and jumping up, with a tight big hug.

"Fred!" She exclaimed, happily. "I missed you!" She continued to say, as the two took their seats.

"I missed you too, Foxy." He smiled at her. A part of Fred would always love and adore Foxfire. I mean, how could you not? She was beautiful and unique, and never let anyone step in her way. But he also knew there would never be another chance with a girl like her, and he gave up on that hope when she begun dating Theo. "How've you been?" He smiled, stealing a piece of her turkey and shoveling it into his mouth.

"Alright. Kind of feel good since I got a chance to tell off Parkinson." She smirked.

"Oh, yeah? I heard about that." He laughed. Foxfire loved Fred dearly. But a brotherly love. And their brief relationship was only ended due to her not being able to look past that brotherly type of love. "So tell me, Foxy, is it just me or has Theo been staring at you all supper?" He nodded toward the Slytherin table and the three of them, at once, looked over to Theo who was seated next to Draco, Crabbe and Goyle. Theo immediately looked away, feeling embarrassed that they all were clearly talking about him and his creepiness.

"He wont leave her alone!" Kat exclaimed with a groan.

"Want me to take care of him for ya?" Fred asked, with a giant wide smirk across his lips.

"No, no. It's fine. I'll figure it out myself. Guy just can't take no for an answer, I suppose." Foxfire shrugged. As supper came to an end, Foxfire began to feel more anxious than before, for no apparent reason at all. She just needed to breath, away from everyone, with her own space.

And as everyone was tucked away in their beds, Foxfire found herself wandering the halls after curfew. She mostly was just trying to find a place to clear her head, as the day had been exhausting and the air felt cold with fear. She knew the room of requirement would probably be her best bet, since no one really used it much anymore after the incident with Umbridge last year.

As she conjured it up, she opened the large bronze door, and made her way in. It was a mess, with furniture and random oddities scattered about. A once sacred room, turned into a bloody storage unit. She was kind of eager to look through everything though, as it seemed to all be junk and she had a love for collecting things no one else wanted. But instead, she found a small couch where she lay down, lighting a candle near her and lifting her book in the air, she began reading.

The Bell Jar had been one of her favorite books from the muggle world as it was deeply depressing and just felt raw. She loved raw emotions, and loved sad endings, because let's be honest, in real life, most endings aren't happy.

As time went on, and it was nearing probably midnight, she heard the door open, and anxiety flooded through her once more. Maybe it was Kat, coming to check on her, she thought to herself. But the footsteps approaching from behind sounded heavy, and that made it clear that it was not Kat. So it had to have been a professor or prefect looking for her. I mean, she was out of bed after curfew, and that was something that was never tolerated (but clearly happened, a lot). It sounded as though the person was holding an object and throwing it up and down in their hand. This sounded equally worrisome as Foxfire had always thought the worst.

Maybe it was Pansy, coming to take her revenge for embarrassing her in front of a group of boys. Or maybe it was Theo, coming to try and talk to her yet again. As nervous as she was, the only way to really find out was to first hand, look. So here was this girl, hiding behind a sofa, curled up in a ball, scared out of her mind. Finally, as the footsteps grew just a little closer, she popped up, in surprise as to who she saw. "Malfoy?" She questioned. "What're you doing here?" She found herself asking.

"I could ask you the same, Cate." He responded, unamused, with her surname casually rolling off his tongue. Her eyes darted down to the object in his hand, which looked to be an apple.

"I'm reading. Needed some peace and alone time." She responded, holding up her book. "You always come to the room of requirement for late night snacks?" She asked him. He grew confused, then looked to his hand, realizing what she was referring to.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I guess so." He lied. And Foxfire could tell it was a lie by the way he stuttered his words, and straightened his back. She sat up on the couch and continued to stare at him.

"Are you alright, Draco?" She finally blurted out, not minding the fact that she used his first name, rather than his last. She didn't understand why people always called others by their last names, but she had become accustomed to it, considering her friends always used them when referring to the Malfoy boy. His annoyance grew into confusion as he cocked his head slightly to the left. "You seem, off this year." She proceeded to ask.

"I'm fine." He lied again.

"Look, you may think I'm stupid-"

"I don't think you're stupid." He interrupted. "I just don't want to talk to you."

"Rude." She crossed her arms. "I know you don't think highly of me, alright? All I'm saying, is if you ever need to talk or something, I'm here. I know your Slytherin buddies can be kind of prats at times so if you ever need a judgement free ear, I'm your girl." She finally said, standing to her feet, trying to be as nice as possible. "I'll leave you to whatever you're doing." She said, walking past him, before halting in her tracks near the door. "One question?" She asked once more.

"What is it?" He asked her, growing impatient.

"What's that smell you're wearing?" She proceeded to ask, curiously.

"You're asking me about the cologne I have on?" He laughed a little, lightening up.

"Mhm. What is it?" She asked yet again.

"Uh, Sauvage Dior, I believe?" He questioned her weirdness. Foxfire's smile faded and she realized what apparently her subconscious knew before she even did. She was a little more than just observant over Draco Malfoy. She was not only intrigued, but she was slightly attracted to the blonde haired boy from Slytherin. And this was not good.