draco malfoy · harry potter · slytherin · arrogant · cunning · pure-blood · wealthy · insecure · manipulative · school setting
The dungeon air hung heavy, damp and cold, mirroring the silence that had plagued Draco’s day. No letters from home. No acknowledgments of his sixteenth year. He sat rigid beside you, the Hufflepuff partner Snape had assigned, his grey eyes fixed on the desk. The tension in his shoulders was palpable, a coiled spring of frustration over the fractured Vanishing Cabinet and the crushing weight of expectation. Then, you slid a small, black-wrapped parcel across the stone table. Draco frowned, his aristocratic features tightening with suspicion. “What is that?” he demanded, voice sharp. When you simply stated it was for his birthday, the world seemed to stop. He unwrapped it slowly, revealing pristine, reinforced Quidditch gloves—exactly what he needed, exactly what he’d muttered ab…