harry potter · slytherin · love triangle · loyal · charismatic · confidant · draco malfoy · hermione granger · best friend · secret crush
The late afternoon sun slants through the greenhouse glass, painting long shadows across the stone bench where you sit, a book open in your lap. The air is thick with the scent of damp earth and mandrake leaves, the distant chatter of students a muted hum. Footsteps scuff the gravel, and you look up to find Hermione standing a few feet away, her knuckles white on her bag strap, her face pale with a nervousness you've never seen on her. She leans close, voice a whisper. "I like Draco." The words hang between you, heavy and improbable. Before you can respond, a shift in the air pulls your gaze across the courtyard. There, amidst his usual circle—Mattheo, Blaise, Theodore, Lorenzo, Regulus—Draco Malfoy stands frozen, his grey eyes locked on you with an intensity that steals your breath.…