BORN TO DIE ╱ DRACO MALFOY
꒷꒦ · ˚.‧ . written by ella . . . © -lostgardens
096 ━━━━━━━━ ❛ trying to trust ❜

Finally back at Hogwarts, clutching her bag to her side after having just parted ways with the others, Olivia walked down the corridor of the dungeons, which seemed longer than usual. Perhaps she was too caught up in her mind.

Sirius was dead.

That was all she could think about, repeating it over and over again in her mind, like the words would change and she would realize she was wrong. Like he'd come back to life.

But she knew he wouldn't.

He was dead. Bellatrix Lestrange, his own cousin, had killed him with no hesitation and then reveled in the fact as she ran from Olivia and Harry, taunting them with the fact in a sing-song tone.

Olivia let out a sigh when she finally came to a stop in front of the familiar blank wall, not ready to face what she already knew was waiting for her behind the door. She whispered the password nonetheless, causing the door to appear, and turned the handle and opened it.

Before she could even look up or shut the door behind her, arms were wrapping around her, bringing her face into the chest of the one hugging her. At first, she thought it might've been Draco, but when she didn't smell his familiar scent, but rather that of her brother, she knew she was wrong. Her arms just hung by her sides, not having the strength to hug him back, though he didn't seem to notice.

Lucas pulled back after a moment, resting his arms on her triceps, holding her at an arm's length as he stared down at her (she really despised the fact that her little brother was taller than her) with worry in his eyes. "What happened?" he asked sympathetically, taking in the state of her.

She hadn't even seen herself, but she knew she was probably covered in cuts and forming bruises, and she was probably dirty and sweaty as well, looking disheveled from the events of the night. He could probably see the streaks down her cheeks from her now-dried tears. "It's a long story, and I will explain it all later. But..." She inhaled deeply before exhaling through her nose, her eyes falling from his.

"But what?" Lucas inquired, raising his brows. "What is it, Olivia?"

She looked up at him, then racked a hand through her hair as she let out a shaky breath, dropping her hand back to her side. "Sirius is dead."

"Oh."

That had been all he said to that, looking completely shocked by the information, but also worried for Olivia, knowing that she'd been getting closer with the man. Sirius had understood her, after all, related to what she had to deal with due to their mother since his own was much the same in many aspects.

"Yeah," Olivia mumbled, her eyes falling to the floor again. She took a step back, shortly glancing up at him as she aimlessly pointed her finger towards the stairs that led to the boys' dorms. She wanted to see Draco. "I'm going to..."

"Okay." Lucas nodded.

She brushed past her brother, feeling the eyes of the others on her as she walked over to the staircase. She glanced in their directions, seeing the pitying expressions, then faced the stairs again as she walked up them. Going directly to Draco's room, not even feeling upset that he hadn't been down in the common room to greet her when she returned, she stopped in front of his door. A second went by of her just standing there, staring at the wood, then she finally lifted her hand, knocking on the door.

"Come in," she heard him say from the other side.

With that, she opened the door, walking in only to see him sitting on the edge of his bed. She closed the door behind her as he looked up, focusing on her as his mouth fell open a bit. He looked exhausted. His hair was a mess, as if he'd been running his hands through it repeatedly. He seemed like he wanted to say a million things to her and nothing all at once. She was sure she looked the same way. She fiddled with her hands in front of her as she tried to find words, picking at the skin around her nails as she stared at him, and he stared back at her.

When she couldn't think of anything and felt her eyes starting to brim with tears as her chin wobbled, the emotions of the night rushing to her in an instant, she shook her head lightly, dropping her hands to her sides, and turned around, preparing to leave without a word spoken between them.

"Olivia." Draco's whispering voice stopped her from moving, but she didn't turn around to face him. She could hear the sound of his shoes against the floor as he walked closer to her, and she held her breath and squeezed her eyes shut.

A beat of silence passed, both of them breathing heavily, and then...

"I can't lose you," he told her.

She turned around quickly, looking at him with confusion. He wasn't going to lose her. Not ever. She opened her mouth to tell him that, but he took another step forward, and words failed her, causing her to snap her mouth shut again, her eyes never leaving his.

"I can't lose you, Olivia," he repeated, looking at her pleadingly. "That is why I kept interfering with what you do and why I joined that bloody squad in the first place." He huffed out a breath, his eyes flickering over her face. "I knew you were up to something with Potter." He took a step closer, backing her up a bit more. "You've already almost died four times before and were hit with the killing curse because of him; I didn't want you to risk your life again for the sake of him." He ran a hand through his hair again before he bent down slightly, making himself at eye level with her as his hands rested on her arms. His fingers dug slightly into her skin through her shirt due to his tight hold.

His gray eyes looked more blue than ever as he stared at her intensely, his gaze full of so many emotions. It was almost unsettling; she'd never seen him quite like this before.

"You don't understand what you mean to me, how I feel about you, or how I see you, Olivia. You are everything. You are my everything. My world. The one I want to risk everything for. The one that I would give up everything for. You are smart and beautiful like no other, and courageous and brave, even when you should be scared. You speak your mind and never let anyone stop you from doing so because that's just who you are. You are also stubborn beyond belief, but I admire that about you. You make me want to be different from my father and the rest of my family. You make me want to be good and someone worth your attention," he admitted, almost out of breath as he spoke, like he'd been holding this in for so long and had finally broken.

Olivia couldn't even think of a response before he continued, his words being so much to take in. "You've known that my father was a Death Eater all this time, yet you still were able to stomach being around me, being with me. Doesn't that show you just how strong our feelings are? Doesn't that mean something to you? I'm able to admit this, are you?" He asked, knitting his brows together, his expression full of nothing but desperation for her to agree with him. Then he glanced down at her lips, waiting for her to answer him as she heaved in breaths, and he cupped her face, kissing her hard. He pulled back before she could kiss him back, resting his forehead against hers. "Olivia, please tell me I didn't ruin everything."

She inhaled sharply, shocked by his words. Her eyes squeezed shut as she took in the feeling of his touch against her forehead and arms. He hadn't ruined anything, despite the fact that it should've been quite the opposite. He could never fully ruin things. It was the unspoken truth. It shouldn't be, but it was.

She lifted her head from his, looking over his face as he lifted his head as well, and his eyes found hers. Her hand moved to the back of his head, threading her fingers into his hair, and she pulled him down closer to her. She kissed him like he'd kissed her, this time letting it last long enough for him to kiss her back. One of his hands fell to her waist, pulling her a bit closer to him. Then she took her lips from his, and they rested their foreheads against each other again. Her hand brushed across the back of his head and down to his cheek to cup his face as her thumb ran over his skin and she stared into his eyes.

"No matter what you do, I don't think you could ever drive me away completely, and that scares me," she confessed in a whisper. Then she wrapped her arms around his torso, hugging him as she rested her cheek against his chest.

One of his hands tangled itself in her hair as the other rested on her back, rubbing it comfortingly.

"I'm trying to trust you, Draco. I want to." She looked up at him, her chin now against his chest, as he looked down at her with a questioning look. "I went to the Department of Mysteries tonight to help Harry save Sirius Black." She noted the look of surprise on his face. "He's not"—she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, remembering that he was dead, and then opened her eyes again—"was not the man everyone thought him to be—the monster... everyone thought him to be. He was good. He understood me, about my mother, about you, and he knew that I'm not what everyone thought me to be either. He was the only one that didn't judge me for having feelings for you or look at me as if I were a traitor for it."

He raised his brows. "Was?"

She sighed, then took a step back, raising her chin, which wobbled slightly. "He's dead now." She tried to keep her tone from faltering from its sternness, not wanting to cry, no matter how much she felt like it. "Your aunt killed him. And then I tried to kill her."

"You used an Unforgivable?"

She nodded with a confirming hum, her eyes falling to his chest, though her sight went out of focus as she got lost in her thoughts. "Twice. Once against Bellatrix, and the second against Voldemort, though both were unsuccessful."

"You"—his voice caused her to look up at him again—"used an Unforgivable... against... Voldemort?" He struggled to get his words out, staring at her like she had lost her mind, like she was spewing nonsense. His tone went well with his expression.

She looked to the ground, almost in guilt. He had quite literally just told her that he was tired of her putting herself in danger, and here she was, telling him that she had tried to kill the most powerful dark wizard in history. "Yes," she answered quickly.

"Help me, Salazar," he mumbled as he ran his hands over his face.

"Also..."

He tossed up his arms and let out a sigh. "What more could you possibly say?"

She rolled her eyes, ignoring his words as she crossed her arms over her chest. When she focused on him again, she saw him staring at her with a stress-filled look, probably wondering why she was being so casual about it all. She had to so that she wouldn't drive herself mad. "I found something... in the Department of Mysteries," she told him, hoping that she wasn't about to make a mistake in trusting him with this information.

He raised his brows, waiting for her to continue.

She cleared her throat, looking down at her bag as she opened it and pulled out the silk bag that Dumbledore had given her. She chewed on her lip for a moment before she glanced up at Draco, seeing him looking at the bag and then at her. She put her attention back on the bag before she opened it and pulled out the glass orb, leaving the prophecy tag inside. Holding it up for him to see, she watched as he studied it, his brows knitting.

"What is it?" he inquired, looking confused.

"It's a prophecy," she confessed quickly. "It's my prophecy."

"Your prophecy?"

"Yes."

"You have a prophecy?"

"Yes, Draco." She sighed. "I have a prophecy."

He let out a breath, closing his eyes as he used the heels of his hands to rub them, perhaps trying to relieve some of the stress he was feeling. She couldn't blame him; it was a lot to take in. It certainly was for her. "My head hurts," he mumbled, dropping his hands to his thighs.

"You can't tell anyone about this," she said pointedly, not wanting anyone to know until she figured out what it meant and why her name was on it. Of course, she'd tell her brother once they were away from Hogwarts for the summer. She hated keeping things from him.

He found her gaze. "Of course."

She put the prophecy back in the silk bag and then back into her bag. She looked up at him after that, feeling him staring at her. His gaze was curious as she studied him, and she quirked a brow at it, wondering what he was thinking. But before she could ask him, he took a step forward, cupped her face, and pulled her in for another kiss. She kissed him back instantly, finding comfort in the softness of his lips, relaxing slightly under his touch.

When they pulled apart, she offered him the best smile she could, which he returned. She felt better with Draco than she did when she'd arrived back at Hogwarts earlier that night, though her mind was still racing with the events of the night and all of the worries and questions she had. And she wanted to hold onto that feeling for a bit longer.

"Can I stay here tonight?" she asked him softly.

His smile grew as he nodded. "Yeah." His hand fell on her arm, then slowly made its way down to her hand, which he held onto. He began pulling her towards his bed, like they were going to lay down and go to sleep right at that moment.

Olivia was fine with that, but there was just one problem. She planted her feet, not letting him pull her any further. "Draco," she said, putting some tension on her arm as he walked forward and she didn't. He turned around, his brows furrowed in confusion. She glanced down at herself then found his eyes again, amusement in her expression. "I have to shower first." It was true. She was covered in dirt, sweat, and blood and smelled of dark magic and death. She felt disgusting.

His eyes trailed down the length of her body, taking in her appearance. Something flashed in his gaze as his thoughts seemed to roam, and she looked at him with a half-smile and raised brows.

What was going on in that mind of his?

He seemed to hear her thoughts, and his eyes found hers again. He cleared his throat and muttered, "Right." He took his hand from hers, scratching the back of his head. "You do that. I'll be here."

"All right," she replied, sounding amused by his awkwardness. Then she turned, going over to the door. And with one last look over her shoulder, seeing him standing like a statue next to the foot of his bed, she exited the room. She went down to the common room, where no one was, and then went to hers and Pansy's room, where all of the others were, excluding Crabbe and Goyle. When she entered, she was bombarded with a million questions from each of them, most of which consisted of "Are you okay?" and "What happened?" She answered them as best as she could for the night, considering how exhausted she was, and then she told them that she was going to shower, finally getting some space.

The boys left as she entered the bathroom, and Pansy sat back down on her bed. Olivia looked at herself in the mirror, seeing the small cuts along her face, one splitting her lip, and the dirt covering her skin. She washed every inch of her body and hair with steaming hot water twice, not feeling clean enough the first time around. She tried to put everything away from her mind as the water ran down her face, and when she stepped out of the shower, she wrapped herself in a soft towel. She entered her room again, seeing Pansy still awake and sitting on her bed, watching her closely. She gathered her pajamas and then went back to the bathroom, where she got dressed and brushed her teeth and hair.

When she exited again, she went over to her bed, slipped on her house shoes, and grabbed her bag. She walked over to the box that Theodore had given her for her birthday and waved her wand, unlocking it with a nonverbal spell. She placed her prophecy and the prophecy tag, still in the silk bag, inside, blocking her actions with her body, then locked it back. It wasn't that she didn't trust Pansy; she did with everything in her, but she just wasn't ready to answer another load of questions about why she had a prophecy when she didn't even know why herself.

After that, she stood up straight, placed the strap of her bag on her shoulder, and turned to her best friend. "I'm going to go back to Draco's room now."

"Oh?" Pansy raised her brows questioningly, and Olivia felt her face heat.

"Goodnight, Pans," she said, ignoring the girl's smirk, and walked to the door.

"Goodnight, Olivia," her best friend replied, her tone a tad teasing.

Olivia shook her head in amusement and opened the door before exiting the room and closing it behind her. Lumos was cast to light the tip of her wand, and she made her way back across the common room and to Draco's room, which she entered without knocking, dismissing the light charm with a mutter of Nox. Luckily, Draco, who was standing at his desk, was decent, dressed in his own sleeping clothes—a loose shirt and plaid cotton pajama trousers. She closed the door behind her and sent him a smile as he turned to face her. She walked over to the bed, setting her bag down on the floor at the end of it.

He approached her, and they didn't say anything as they laid down, with her placing her wand under the pillow on her side of the bed. Her head rested on his chest, and he wrapped his arm around her, placing it on her back as he stared up at the ceiling. They were both silent for a long moment, and then Olivia said, "I'm tired of fighting."

He looked down at her, only seeing the top of her head.

"With you, with my mother, with everyone. I just..." She paused, inhaling deeply before continuing, "I just want to be happy and to be with you." She turned her head up finally, looking at him as her chin rested on his chest. "Is that what you want, Draco?" she questioned, searching for confirmation of what she thought she already knew. "Do you want to be with me?"

"Yes," he replied, smiling. "You know I do."

She smiled brightly, then sat up. "Good," she said, placing a kiss on his cheek. She laid back down after that, snuggling even further into him. "Goodnight."

"Do you not need Mr. Snake?" He asked, his tone seeming genuine.

"No," she answered without hesitation. "I have you." She smirked, though he couldn't see it. "My little lap dragon."

He groaned in exaggerated annoyance at the use of the nickname, and she lightly laughed.

She was right. She did have him, and she didn't need Mr. Snake to fall asleep and sleep peacefully that night. Draco was all she needed, her little lap dragon. And she'd be damned if she was going to give him up; that was simply why she decided not to mention Lucius's presence at the Department of Mysteries that night. She was certain he assumed his father was there anyway, already knowing about his loyalties. He just didn't know that he'd been caught.

Shaking the thoughts from her, something repeated in her mind.

It would never happen.

She wouldn't give him up.

Not ever.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

Dumbledore, Potter, Mallard Vindicated was the front-page headline in the Prophet the next morning. Olivia was glad that the Minister had seen Voldemort firsthand and came to his senses about the whole ordeal. Well, he kind of had to. There was no more denying Voldemort's return now.

She read about it all as she sat in the Great Hall, eating breakfast and ignoring the glances and whispers sent her way. It wasn't odd that people were talking about her, and not only because of the Prophet. It was a common occurrence. Her friends were sitting all around her, also reading the paper, learning all about the events of the night before. She ignored their looks too, already knowing what they were thinking.

Towards the end of breakfast, Pansy not-so-subtly asked, "Olivia, where did you sleep last night?" Her focus remained on her plate, trying to seem uninterested about the answer as her best friend looked up at her, giving her a bored look.

She already knew the answer to that question, so why was she asking it in front of all of the others?

Pansy met her gaze as the others looked between the two of them, and Draco continued to drink his pumpkin juice, acting completely oblivious. It was just innocent sleeping; Olivia didn't know why he was being so awkward about it. "You didn't come back to the room after you left again, so I was just wondering," the short-haired girl added, shrugging as if it were nothing.

Olivia could tell she was fighting back her smirk. "Funny, I could've sworn I had told you."

"Nope," Pansy replied with a small shake of her head. "Not that I can recall."

Olivia just rolled her eyes, feeling slightly amused, and focused back on her food.

A couple of days later, another headline read, Minister to Resign? Olivia felt curious about the answer to this as she read the article. Would the man actually do it? Or was that some more speculation and false words written in the papers? There had been too much of that going around the past year for her liking. She wasn't sure, but after his blatant disregard for Olivia and Harry swearing that Voldemort was back until he saw the dark wizard in person, he should resign. What good was a Minister if they didn't believe their people, even through their fear of their words being true?

On the next page was Olivia's ultimate favorite. Umbridge Suspended, Pending Investigation. It was for the best, in the girl's opinion, not just because she hated the blasted witch, but because she was just as bad—if not worse—than Fudge. She had tortured students for information and as punishment for things she deemed against her rules, for Merlin's sake. She had also changed the curriculum of their school and had formed a squad to spy on students.

She deserved to be in Azkaban, but Olivia would take her being suspended for now.

The following day, the front page read in big and bold letters, Special Edition: He Who Must Not Be Named Returns, and that was it. It was out in the world, for everyone to see. Voldemort was indeed back, and Olivia wanted apologies written on the finest parchment and with the finest quill and ink money could buy. And still, that wouldn't be enough.

The next page said, Hogwarts Headmaster Reinstated. Yes, that was correct. Dumbledore was back, and Olivia was never going to take him for granted again. She didn't fully like or trust the man, but he was much better than Umbridge in every way possible.

She hoped the coming school year would be easier, but she knew it was just wishful thinking.

She'd never be done fighting, not until Voldemort was gone for good, and her time at Hogwarts would never be easy, no matter how much she prayed to Merlin.

This was only just the beginning.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

━━━━ ella's speaking !
okay, so a bit of a filler chapter but i still really enjoyed it bc it gives us a cute-ish little dralivia scene! also, the reason olivia isn't full on sobbing over sirius's death in this is bc she's in a bit of a shock, so she's not really thinking of crying, plus, she's forcing herself not to.

thank you for 37K reads!! and i really hope you like this chapter!

make sure to comment and vote 🫶🏻

kisses.

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

word count: 4162.   written: 7.28.24.   published: 10.4.24.