BORN TO DIE ╱ DRACO MALFOY
꒷꒦ · ˚.‧ . written by ella . . . © -lostgardens
067 ━ ❛ mallard blows and potter stinks ❜

Potter was basically dragging Olivia down the corridor, holding her by the wrist. Why was she with him, one may ask? Well, the two of them were now the most hated in all of Hogwarts, though Olivia felt as if she'd always had that title. No matter, now she was even more hated. And the stupid badges her schoolmates were sporting around weren't helping one bit.

Potter stinks, and Mallard blows, apparently.

When she saw the bloody things, they were either displaying Diggory's now less-than-appealing face due to his friends being the creators of the stupid things. Or they twisted and were showing Potter's face melting with a green tint—to indicate "smell," Olivia supposed—and the words "Potter stinks" going through the same effects. And if it wasn't either one of those, it was her face with her head exploding with "Mallard blows."

They were hilarious, of course! And she wanted to hex and curse whomever made them into oblivion so they would never be seen again.

"You cheat, Potter," some Slytherin said, sporting the badge, as he bumped Potter's shoulder.

Olivia just rolled her eyes as the other added, "Oh, you stink, Potter."

They knew better than to antagonize Olivia because, if it wasn't her that would rain hell down upon them, then it would be Pansy. The girl had already scared a few Slytherins into backing Olivia, not including Crabbe and Goyle, who had decided to still root for Krum instead of their friend. The others knew better than that; of course, their cheers were solely going to be for Olivia.

The students they passed laughed in amusement, staring at the duo that passed them. Potter wasn't with his usual two shadows because Weasley apparently hadn't taken so kindly to his best friend being a champion, thinking Potter had lied to him and snuck his name in without telling him. And Granger didn't want to be the middle woman between the two boys, so she was sticking mostly with Ginny. If Olivia were in Potter's spot, she would tell Weasley to get over it. This eternal glory that the winner was supposedly going to have wasn't all it was cracked up to be. She could tell him that much.

More teases were sent their way, and they ignored them. Some third-year Hufflepuff, who didn't even meet Potter or Olivia's gaze as he passed by, said, "Cedric rules," and the girl wanted to beg to differ, but he was gone before she could.

They turned to exit the corridor and go into the courtyard, but two Hufflepuffs stepped in front of them, a boy and a girl. The boy shone his badge, which read, Potter stinks, and asked, "Like the badge?" Then he laughed, and so did the girl beside him and the students behind them as well.

Weren't they supposed to be the 'nice' house? Olivia thought.

"Excuse me," Potter muttered. But they didn't move, and so he just shoved them out of his way, ignoring how they were still laughing and watching him walk away.

When Olivia went to pass by them, they faced her. "How 'bout you, Mallard?" inquired the girl, showing her badge that said, Mallard blows.

She was blonde. Of course, she was blonde. Olivia did not have a good history with blondes who did not know when to stop talking. And thinking of it, she'd reminded her a lot of Daphne. How unfortunate for the Hufflepuff...

Olivia looked up at the boy boredly, then turned to the girl, watching them continue to laugh at her expense, though it seemed to be faltering with her gaze on them. Not saying anything, she shoved past them like Potter had, but quite a lot harder. The two hit each side of the archway they stood in, groaning in pain at the force. Now they were no longer laughing, nor were their friends.

She took a few steps forward, then stopped, glancing over her shoulder to see both of them holding their ribs with their faces twisted in pain. A satisfied smirk curled at her lips as she turned away and followed where Potter had gone. The Gryffindor stood only a few feet away from her, looking at the scene with slightly wide eyes and raised brows. She stopped beside him, and he sent her a curious look before returning to what they had come there for.

There was loud chatter coming from Diggory and his not-so-nice housemates. The brunette boy they were looking for was lying down on a stone bench, laughing, until he noticed the two approaching him. He sat up quickly as they stopped in front of him.

"Hey! Read the badges, you two!" one of the boys behind Diggory told them.

Both ignored him and the rest of the group's stupid laughs, and Potter focused on the boy he wanted to speak with. "Can I have a word?" he asked.

Diggory sat up slowly. "All right," he replied, standing up. His friends made more cracks at Potter and Olivia, which the boy glanced back at, smiling, then he focused on the two youngsters standing in front of him.

Olivia had her arms crossed over her chest, looking anything but pleased. "The badges are hilarious. Really amazing work." Her voice was dripping with nothing but sarcasm.

"They're harmless, just jokes," Diggory countered, sending her a small, almost teasing smile.

She took a slow step forward, glancing down at the ground before meeting his gaze. "No, what they are is adding fuel to the hate train fire aimed at me and Potter," she began, taking another step closer and watching Diggory's face fall flat as she looked up at him. He looked almost weary of her, which she reveled in. Then she dropped her arms from where they were crossed and grabbed his tie with her left hand, pulling him down closer to her. His eyes went wide, and she glared at him. "And you don't want to add fuel to the fire. Because when fuel is added to the fire, Diggory"—she looked him up and down before focusing back on his startled gaze—"I get angry. And when I'm angry, people often get hurt or seriously injured." She paused, her eyes dancing between his blue ones, and offered him a small, tight smile. "Especially the dumb wizards and witches that started it all." She gave him one last glance-over before letting go of his tie and pushing him backwards.

He stayed on his feet, lucky for him, and just stared down at her with a concerned-for-his-safety look as he brushed his hand over his tie to try and straighten it out. She crossed her arms over her chest again, watching him swallow the lump in his throat.

"Speaking of fire..." Potter began, glancing between the two. "Dragons. That's the first task."

Olivia's attention snapped to him, and her brows furrowed. "What?"

Dragons. She loved dragons, but she didn't know if she could fight one. They were bloody dragons, for Merlin's sake! Dumbledore, the Ministry, Crouch—the whole lot of them were insane for putting five students up against dragons. Though the beloved-by-others Headmaster had warned them that this tournament wasn't for the faint-hearted, Olivia supposed she was only now truly realizing that. But she and Potter hadn't asked to be part of it! Well, she hadn't; she couldn't speak on whether Potter had or hadn't, despite his claims to not have.

The glasses-wearing boy looked at her, then Diggory, who seemed confused and perhaps even scared at what he had just learned. "They've got one for each of us."

"Come on, Ced!" a boy called out, capturing his friend's focus for only a moment.

"Uh, are you serious?" Diggory asked, to which Potter just nodded. "And, um..." He paused, looking for the words. "Fleur and Krum, do they..."

"Yes," Potter answered.

"Come on, Ced, leave him." Another chime from the Hufflepuff's friends.

"Right," Diggory nodded, ignoring his housemates, his voice low as he took in the information.

"He's not worth it."

Olivia rolled her eyes, letting out a sigh. She wanted to curse the boy into silence, but she knew it was best if she didn't.

"Read the badges, you two!" Another repeated, just as the two were about to walk away.

Diggory held his hand out in front of them, however, stopping them from moving any further. "Hey, listen," he told them. "About the badges..." He took a small breath, looking down at both Potter and Olivia. "I've asked them not to wear them, but—"

"Don't worry about it," Potter said.

And Olivia asked at the same time, "Yet you still find amusement in them?"

Then the two walked away without saying another word.

Olivia was planning on going where Potter was going, but her gaze landed on a familiar blonde boy up in a tree, and she parted off from the Gryffindor boy. Crabbe, Goyle, and the rest of her group were standing and sitting near the tree. She didn't know why Draco was in it, though. Before she could ask him, Crabbe and Goyle stepped in front of her with smiles on their faces.

"Ah, there's the Slytherin princess," Goyle said.

She didn't know where the nickname sprouted from, but she wasn't complaining. The only issue was that Draco had been deemed "Prince of Slytherin," and if they were going off how monarchy worked, that meant that they were either brother and sister, grandchildren of the monarch, or the children of a prince and princess, none of which were true, luckily, or they were... married. It was a weird thought that she didn't ponder on for too long.

"Are you two still going for Krum?" she asked, raising her brows and crossing her arms over her chest. They stood taller and broader than her, so she had to look up at them, but she didn't let that falter the narrowing of her eyes.

They sent glances at one another, then focused back on her, their own arms crossed over their chests to match hers. "Yes," they answered and nodded in unison.

"Then move out of my way." She dropped her hands to her sides and walked between them, going over to the tree. She turned her head up, finding Draco already staring down at her with a smirk on his face. "What could you possibly be doing up there, Draco?"

"Would you believe me if I said I was looking for you?" he asked.

She seemed to think about it for a moment, tapping her finger against her mouth. Then she dropped her hand, giving him a look of boredom with only a hint of amusement hiding in her pale-green gaze. "Nope," she replied.

Before he could say anything, Crabbe called out, "There's Potter! Cheat!"

And Draco's eyes were off her in an instant. "Why so tense, Potter?" His teasing voice was loud enough for the boy to hear it, catching his attention.

Olivia stepped away, going to stand off to the side. She hated how he couldn't go more than five seconds without teasing Potter whenever he had the chance. It was like an obsession. And Crabbe and Goyle only added to it. She watched as Potter continued to walk away, not seeming in the mood to deal with Draco, and she didn't blame him.

"My father and I have a bet, you see," Draco continued, looking and sounding smug. "I don't think you're gonna last ten minutes in this tournament." His words finally caused Potter to come to a halt in his tracks, turning to face the Slytherins. Draco jumped down from the tree as everyone else stood. There were a few other Slytherin boys that Olivia hadn't noticed when she first approached, but it was mainly their friends with him. Pansy moved over to her, also seeming bored with this constant antagonizing. "He disagrees. He thinks you won't last five."

"What does your father think about me, Draco?" Olivia asked. She looked Draco up and down as he glanced over at her. "For your sake, I hope it's something good." She really did not care, but what harm was it to pick on Draco?

"I don't give a damn what your father thinks, Malfoy!" Potter retorted, and Draco was staring at him again. The boy approached the blonde rather hastily and shoved him back. Olivia's brows raised in surprise. "He's vile and cruel. And you're just pathetic." Then he turned away, sending a side glance to Olivia, whose expression was back to being flat.

"Pathetic?" Draco sneered, digging in his pockets as he searched for his wand.

"Oh, no, you don't, sonny!" the gritty voice of Moody called out.

Olivia turned just in time to see the professor pointing his wand at Draco and sending a spell his way. And Draco yelled. When she turned back to the boy, he was no longer there, but instead, there was an all-white ferret with beady eyes in his place. She took a large step forward, her face gleaming with surprise and almost happiness. She picked up the ferret, examining him closely. "I think I like you better this way," she admitted, smiling at the animal as Pansy petted his head. "You are a lot cuter, and you can't speak."

"I'll teach you to curse someone when their back is turned." Moody came closer to them with large stomps. He guided the ferret from Olivia's hands with his wand, putting him back on the ground, lifting him in the air, and then bringing him back down. He did that over and over again, repeatedly, as people gathered around them and laughed at Draco's expense. "You stinking, cowardly, scummy..."

Olivia took a step forward, the amusement gone. "Hey, stop that!"

"Professor Moody!" McGonagall rushed over to them.

"...back-shooting..."

"What, what are you doing?" the woman asked, her Scottish accent thick with concern.

"Teaching," the man replied, focused on the ferret.

McGonagall went silent for a moment, glancing between the man and the animal he continued to bring up and down from the ground. "Is that a... Is that a student?"

"It's Draco!" Olivia answered, feeling rather annoyed with Moody at the moment.

"Technically, it's a ferret," the professor corrected. Then he moved the creature over to Crabbe, who screamed as the ex-Auror pulled open the boy's pants wide enough to guide the ferret into them.

Most everyone, excluding Olivia and her group, though she was sure she saw Theodore and Blaise snicker a little from the corner of her eye, laughed. She glanced up, her narrow eyes falling on Diggory and Potter. She didn't know why she was so upset about this. Usually, she was in on the fun of laughing at Draco, but now... Ugh, everything was so confusing!

Then the ferret fell down Crabbe's trousers. Goyle rushed over to him, swatting at his friend's slacks as the boy squirmed in discomfort. "Stand still! Stand still!" He jumped back, however, shouting in pain when the ferret bit him. Olivia did find a tad bit of amusement in that. Typical Draco.

Finally, though, the ferret exited Crabbe's pants from the bottom of his pant leg and began to run off. McGonagall caught him, however, with a wave of her wand, and the animal twisted back to Draco, who was lying on the ground with messy hair. He stood quickly, facing away from everyone as he looked around confusedly, then swiftly turned and faced Moody, whom he took a large step back from. Olivia could see the embarrassment blossoming on his cheeks. However, it was overshadowed by his irritation in his eyes.

"My father will hear about this!" He sneered.

"Is that a threat?" Moody inquired, sticking his staff into the ground and moving forward to chase Draco around the tree.

"Professor!" McGonagall called out.

Olivia would've cursed the man if McGonagall wasn't standing there.

"Is that a threat?" Mad-Eye repeated his words a little harsher and louder.

McGonagall still had her wand raised, but she wasn't moving or doing anything to stop it, much to Olivia's dismay. "Professor!"

"I could tell you stories about your father that would curl even your greasy hair, boy!" Moody shouted at Draco, who was running away alongside the rest of the Slytherins. Pansy tugged at Olivia's sleeve, telling her to come on before she went after the boys. Olivia didn't follow, but she watched the short-haired girl, not run, but rush after them. "It doesn't end here!"

"Alastor," McGonagall clipped. "We never use transfiguration as a punishment!" Her voice was strict, like she was talking to a student who had just done something they weren't supposed to. "Surely Dumbledore told you that." She pointed her wand at the man, who just looked down shamefully.

"He might've mentioned it."

Olivia scoffed at this as she moved forward, planning on going after Draco and the others eventually. But she wanted to speak with a particular yellow-and-black tie-wearing person first.

"Well, you will do well to remember it," McGonagall instructed, then turned away. She threw her arms up, gesturing for the students to move as she said, "Away!"

Olivia glared at Moody, who sent the look back in return, as she approached Diggory, who still had his arms crossed and a grin on his face. Her eyes were narrowed, and her expression was blank as she stared up at him. And when he finally focused on her, his joy in the situation faltered. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, he beat her to it.

"Why do you hang out with guys like that?" he inquired. "Malfoy, Nott, and the two goons?"

The "two goons" were most definitely Crabbe and Goyle. She didn't miss how he didn't mention Blaise since the boy usually kept his nose out of the teasing antics unless it was towards Theodore and Draco. Actually, Blaise kept his nose out of most everything. He was the quiet one out of the lot now that Daphne was no longer a part of it and able to hold that title.

"You deserve better, and perhaps you wouldn't be so cold and cruel if you didn't."

Her brows raised at his words. His audacity was utterly shocking. Olivia took a small step forward, coming closer to him. Her eyes grew harder, and her face fell void of emotion once more. "I was cold and cruel before I met them, I'll have you know. And I'm quite comfortable with them and the way I am." She watched him open his mouth to speak, but she didn't give him any time to do so. "And aren't your friends the ones wearing badges that say, 'Potter stinks' and 'Mallard blows'?" She paused, giving him a questioning look. "Are you not one of the people who laughed when Moody turned Draco into a ferret and tormented him in front of everyone?" Which may or may not have been deserved, but that was beside the point. "I thought you Hufflepuffs were supposed to be kind and caring. You know, with rainbows and sunshine coming out of your arses." She hummed to herself, shrugging. "But I seem to be wrong. Just another victim of stereotypes."

Diggory went to speak once more, but she walked away, not caring to hear what he had to say. All she wanted to do now was find Draco and see if he was all right.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

Entering the common room, Olivia's eyes landed on the couches where her friends were sitting, seeming to be thinking about what had just happened. Draco wasn't there, however. She still approached them, knowing that they'd probably know where the blonde boy was. They all looked up at her, and before she could even open her mouth to speak, let alone utter a word, Pansy spoke up.

"He's in his room," she informed, her tone soft.

Lucas offered a small smile. "He said that he wanted to be left alone."

Olivia nodded, returning the smile. "Thank you." Draco said he wanted to be left alone, but she had a nagging feeling that he wouldn't mind her company, so she moved towards the right staircase, feeling her friends' and brother's eyes following her. She didn't look back as she began climbing up the stairs. She had no earthly clue as to where Draco's dorm was since she had never been there, but she had found Lucas's well enough before, so she wasn't worried.

She went by each door, looking at the plaques next to them as she searched for Draco's name. She finally found it near the end of the corridor. She stood in front of the dark wood that was separating her and Draco for a moment, taking in a deep breath, before she knocked on the door. Not waiting for an answer, she turned the handle, surprised that it wasn't locked, and pushed open the door.

Her eyes landed on the blonde boy she had been searching for, sitting on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands and his slim fingers tangled in his hair. That only lasted a second, however, because he looked up, focusing on her. His eyes softened when he realized who had entered his space. Olivia offered a small and sweet smile as she closed the door behind her and set her bag down next to it. And then, slowly, she began to walk towards him, taking short steps as he watched her closely. Her smile stayed curled at her lips, while his face was flat and almost saddened. He was embarrassed; she knew that much.

When she stopped in front of him, his head fell to rest on her stomach as his arms rested on his knees. She wondered if he could feel how her muscles tensed or how her breath caught, not expecting the action. She put it out of her mind and ran her hand through the back of his hair, trying to fix it since the front was stuck between his forehead and her robes. "How are you doing?"

"I'm scarred for the rest of my life. Being in Crabbe's trousers is not an experience I would wish on anyone, not even Saint Potter," he admitted, shivering at the thought, and she could hear the snarl in his voice as he said the Gryffindor boy's name. "The ferret bit wasn't too bad, though it was a tad embarrassing. I can't believe I let that twat Mad-Eye get the better of me."

Olivia lightly laughed, then placed her hands on either side of his face and turned his head up so that he was looking at her and she was looking down at him. They just stared at one another for a long moment as she ran her thumbs over his cheeks, not missing the pink tint that crept on them. Her lips were curled at the corners in a faint smile.

"You shouldn't be scarred or embarrassed," she told him, trying to be encouraging. It didn't seem to be working by the look he gave her, so she squatted down, making them somewhat even heights, and brought her face closer to his. Perhaps a little closer than necessary. "Things that happen to you can only be embarrassing if you let them be," she continued. "For instance, whenever something happens to me, like when I almost died those few times, when my mother goes on her rampages about you and your family"—Draco raised his brows at this—"or when Higgs was spewing nonsense about..." Her mind flashed back to that stupid boy's words about love and the way she looked at Draco that one time in the common room, and she shook the thoughts from her head. "Or when someone says something about me, either to me or around me," she quickly moved on. "I pretend like it doesn't matter to me, like I don't care—which, most of the time, it doesn't. Or I say or do something back that is even worse than what they said or did because I don't want to give them the satisfaction of knowing they've gotten to me," she explained. "And eventually, I really do stop caring." She smiled. "It's an art that I have mastered."

He returned her smile, her hands still resting on either side of his face. "You've just got it all figured out, don't you?"

She shrugged, dropping her hands to his sides on the bed so that his smile could be even brighter as she stared at him. "What can I say?" Their eyes remained on each other for another passing moment as they studied one another, and then her smile grew even bigger. "I like when you smile," she told him, her voice almost like a whisper, glancing at his mouth, then slowly bringing her gaze back to his. "It brightens your face."

He seemed slightly taken aback by her admission. Or perhaps he just hadn't been expecting it.

They continued to stare at one another, Draco's smile slowly fading a bit as he got lost in her eyes, and Olivia's gaze flicking in between the two clouds in his and his mouth. She watched him glance at her lips as well, and she inhaled deeply through her nose. He began leaning closer, causing her heart rate to speed up and her mind to, at the worst moment possible, go back to her mother's words from when they'd been in Dumbledore's office a few days prior.

Don't let it become anything more; the woman had ordered her. I will know if it does.

She would know if it did.

Olivia pulled back, standing up quickly just before she fell to her bottom. She turned around, facing away from him, and brushed her skirt down.

"Olivia," Draco practically whispered as she made her way to the other side of the room where the door was, still not looking at him.

Leaning against the wall after she came to a stop, glad to have put some distance between them, Olivia faced him. Her heart was still racing and her breathing was heavy, but they were no longer close. She didn't know why her mother's voice ringing in her mind had startled her so, but she was happy—for lack of a better word—that it did. Anything of any sort that could possibly happen between her and Draco actually happening would've been a huge mistake. They were just friends, after all. They had agreed to that.

"What odds do you think I have of winning the tournament?" she asked, changing the subject as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her back dug further into the wall, trying to keep as much space in the air between them as she could.

Something else seemed to be on his mind for a moment. Her rapid change of topic was quite clear to him, as he opened his mouth once to speak but then quickly closed it, flexing his jaw. His eyes fell off of her, looking to the floor. He seemed to think about her words for a moment. Then he focused back on her with a blank expression. "I think you're going to show all the others that doubt you what exactly you're made of and what you can do when you put your mind to it."

"So you think I'm going to win?"

He nodded, humming in response.

"Then you should probably lower your hopes," she stated, sighing. She straightened from the wall, dropping her hands to her sides, and began slowly making her way back over to the bed. Her heart was back at a semi-normal pace, as was her breathing, so she felt it was safe to sit next to him again. Plus, she was tired of standing. "I don't think I will," she confessed, sitting down next to him.

Her eyes weren't on him, so he lifted his index finger to her chin and turned her head to him. He offered a smile—the moment that had passed between them moments ago was no longer being thought of—and she returned it. Then he brushed a piece of hair behind her ear, cupping her cheek like he had that night in front of her door.

"I like when you smile too," he whispered, leaning in just a tad closer. "It shows the faint dimples you have." He brushed his thumb over one of the dented spots on her cheeks he was talking about. She just looked away from him, resting her head on his shoulder. Then he rested his head on top of hers. "Is the one and only Olivia Katherine Mallard doubting herself?"

She liked the sound of his voice saying her name.

"Not doubt, but worry," she replied quietly, her face falling into how she felt. She let out a short sigh. "I'm worried that I'm not going to win—that I'm not going to be the best and that I'm going to disappoint everyone going for me." She felt her hand brush his on the soft covers of his bed.

"I don't know if it counts for much, but no matter what, you won't ever disappoint me."

It counted for everything.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

━━━━ ella's speaking !
i actually was smiling so hard when writing the last scene- draco and olivia are EVERYTHING to me i swear. it's actually concerning how much i love them.

make sure to comment and vote 🫶🏻

kisses.

━━━━━━━━━━ born to die,
© -LOSTGARDENS,        mar 2024

word count: 4853.   written: 3.8.24.   published: 3.30.24.