Redemption.

His Golden girl

Draco's POV.

Draco was sitting in the Slytherin common room by the fire, and there was no one but him. He was all alone. This was a few days after his last encounter with Stiorra, and he still felt bad about the way he acted. He was starting to think he could have been nicer, and maybe he could have told her everything he needed to say.
He had wrapped the golden necklace around his fingers, and he was striking the golden chain with his thumb, lost in his thoughts.
He had done some stupid things over the years, but never did he find those things as stupid as not showing up to work with Stiorra, or never actually listened to whatever she had to say.
However, the more he saw Dean around Stiorra, the worse he felt. Which was the reason he had gone and seen this other girl from Ravenclaw.
He had realised this girl was always around yet he never even talked to her. She was pretty, she really was. She had emerald green eyes, and fair skin with freckles running across her nose. She was tall, and to be fair she looked like one of those muggle runway-show model. She had long blonde hair, darker than his. She seemed to be nice, even though he didn't even try talking with her that much.
Then he met Stiorra. And he felt like his heart had been crushed. He couldn't believe she could just forget about him in a single minute.
Everything was ruined, it seemed. It felt like everything was ruined. Was there ever a possibility for them to undo everything? All he had left was that bitterness inside of him, and the necklace.

A door opened and Draco could hear footsteps coming in the room, the heels clicking on the stone ground. He was staring into the fire when someone sat down by his side on the couch.
He knew it was Pansy, for he recognised her perfume and her nails painted in black as she reached out for the neckline of his shirt.

"I heard you're not seeing your Golden girl anymore," she hissed at him.

Draco shook his head, deciding he wouldn't say a word as she leaned in over him. He looked up, and met her typical not-special brown eyes.
A crooked smile twitched the corner of her lips as she stood just a few inches away from his face. He looked away, and for the first time he felt ashamed about the things he might have told her. Even though he knew he just regretted the things he said to Stiorra. Pansy grabbed his chin with her fingers and pushed it on the side as she leaned in and pressed her lips on his jawline.
There was one thing about him that made him a jerk. Especially with Pansy. Draco knew that if the girl was always around him it was mainly his own fault. He knew she had an unhealthy obsession with him ever since he met her, and he'd do things she wanted him to do whenever he wasn't feeling too good with himself. He used to do so for his father kept telling him how Parkinson was from a good and respectable family, descendant of a long line of pureblood. And well, she was a slytherin.
So, when she pulled his head before hers and kissed him, sitting in his lap and facing him, he let her. He grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to him as she giggled, and deepened the kiss.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he wasn't proud of himself. This was the one thing he wasn't proud about, because he'd use her whenever he felt like it and whenever he felt bad with himself. She didn't mean anything to him, and he knew it. Still, he used her.
Draco pushed her back down on the couch and laid on top of her, and kissed her again. He could tell she was enjoying it. But he wasn't. He didn't feel a single thing. There was no spark, no passion, no joy. The boy felt empty.
She wrapped her legs around his waist as she ran her fingers through his hair. His hands were wandering under her shirt when the memory of Stiorra being in the same position as Pansy took over, and he stopped suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Pansy groaned.

Draco stood up straight on the couch and sprang to his feet, heading over to the armchair by the fire. He needed to put distance between the two of them, and he tried to make Stiorra's image disappear.
Her heard the Slytherin girl click her tongue. He knew she wasn't happy. Still, she sat up on the couch and picked up the book that was standing on the coffee table and dived in.
Many students walked in the grand and cold room all at once, and Draco knew more were coming for dinner had come to an end.
So, he got up and left. Pansy called out his name as he stepped out of the common room and walked the stairs out of the dungeon. He headed to the kitchen where he grabbed a green apple, biting in it as he walked out under a few curious stares.
Draco wanted to feel something with someone other than Stiorra. He had to. He couldn't bring himself to think that she'd be the only one he'd ever have feelings for.
He wandered around the castle, looking for the Ravenclaw girl he used to see earlier that week. He had to see for himself.
Draco roamed about the empty and barely lit hallways, and came to a full stop by a window to admire the view.
The moon was shining bright over the lake, and a few snowflakes had started to fall silently over the white landscape. He sat down on a windowsill, and stared into the horizon, eating his apple, when footsteps came his way. He looked up, and there she was. His Ravenclaw friend.
She smiled shyly and waved to her friends who stared at Draco quite awkwardly. He scoffed. She walked up to him and sat down by his side.

"Hey," she said in a singing tone.

"Hey."

"Can I stay with you for some time?"

"Sure," Draco said.

The girl smiled and scooted over closer to him, until their hands touched and until he could feel her breathing on his skin.
He was looking at her, right in the eyes, and looked down at her lips. They were pale and rosy. They looked so soft. He leaned in, cupping her face in his hands and kissed her. Her lips were warm, and Draco deepened the kiss. It was tender, and it was sweet. Still, something was off.
He shoved the idea that Stiorra was the one and only to the back of his mind and tucked a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear.
Draco broke apart, staring deep into her emerald green eyes, and she leaned in for more. Draco pulled her in closer to him as a grip tightened around his chest, wrapping his arms around her waist.
He'd lied if he told anyone he didn't feel something in his very core at this very moment, but it wasn't what he had expected to feel. He liked kissing this girl. He liked the way her lips felt warm against his. He liked the way her lips were soft, and he loved her eyes. But the feeling he got from it all wasn't as close as whatever he could feel whenever he was with Stiorra. Because it was very different.
Someone was walking up the hallway, but it seemed like he or she stopped halfway through it as the Ravenclaw girl giggled. And no one came.

"Did you turn your astrology assignment in?" the girl asked him as she pushed a lock of hair out of her face.

"Damn it, no I didn't. Maybe my partner did."

"Probably."

The girl sprang to her feet and adjusted her uniform as she stood up straight, pulling on her skirt and robe. She brushed her hair back with her hand and clicked her heels on the ground.

"I'm off," she said, "I have tons of studying to do."

"See you around."

The girl smiled, her cheeks turning red, and headed off towards the end of the hallway, disappearing behind the corner.
Draco sighed. What has she done to me? he thought to himself as Stiorra's face appeared in his mind. He shook his head, grinning to himself as he stood up and headed back to his dormitory.
However, a piece of paper on the ground caught his attention. He looked around, but he was all alone. He knelt down and picked it up, turning it around and stopped in motion.
It was the photograph Stiorra and himself had made during their sixth year. His blood froze in veins as he gulped down. He would give anything for the relationship to get back to what it was back then. He needed to give the photograph back to her.
On his way back to the dungeon, Draco wondered if she'd ever agree to talk with him. He wondered how the photograph managed to find its way into this very corridor, and the thought of Stiorra coming to talk with him made its way through his mind as he stepped into the Slytherin common room.
He realised, as he climbed in his bed and crept under the covers, just how much he screwed things up. He should have told her about how he felt. He shouldn't have hesitated to ask her out.
Draco knew he had to tell her everything, eventually, and he made up a plan for the day after as to how he'd get back in her good graces — again.

Here is it! It's not the usual chapter because I wanted to make Draco being confused about lots of things. There might be a moment coming up! So stay tuned, enjoy reading the story and vote, and let me know what you think. 🥰