BORN TO DIE    ╱    DRACO MALFOY
꒷꒦ · ˚.‧ . written by ella . . . © -lostgardens
014 ━━━━━━ ❛ why must we shop? ❜

Christmas was just a few nights away, and Olivia still hadn't gotten anything for her friends. She knew she needed to, but she didn't feel like it. Shopping was not her favorite thing; she could only tolerate it if it was for books.

"Lucas, why must we shop?" Olivia huffed as her brother dragged her into Hogsmeade.

Her brother's small hand was around her wrist, and he had a bag crossed over his body. They were both dressed in their winter clothes, like they had been when they went sledding. And had a bored look on his face that contrasted with his rather happy one.

"Because Christmas is soon and you need to get presents for your friends," he explained for what felt like the millionth time, glancing back at her only to see her roll her eyes. "What do they like?" he asked, ignoring her disdain.

"I don't know," she sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "Bloody hell, Lucas, I've only known them for a couple of months; how am I supposed to know that?" She groaned, trying to keep up with his quick pace as he weaved his way through passing wizards and witches.

"They knew what you'd want for your birthday, right?" He came to a stop, almost causing her to run into his back, and looked at her.

She gave him a short nod, humming, already knowing where he was going with this. She shifted her weight between her shoes as she watched him curiously.

"If it only took them a couple of months to figure out what you'd like and want, then it shouldn't be hard for you to do the same." He sent her a small smile, clutching the strap of his bag that was crossed across his front.

Sighing, she looked around. The sun was bright up ahead, causing her to squint her eyes. There were people packed all throughout the town, probably shopping for gifts like they were, and the cold bit at their skin, sending shivers down her spine.

She could feel him staring at her, waiting for her to say something.

"I guess," she muttered, meeting his eye once more.

He shortly nodded and grabbed her wrist again, dragging her into a store. He was so quick with his movements that she couldn't even see the name of it. The bell chimed as they pushed through the door. A few people were scattered around the place, sending them small glances but looking away just as quickly.

Lucas pulled her through the store, searching the shelves.

Olivia wasn't paying attention. She really had no earthly idea of what to get Pansy, Daphne, Blaise, Theodore, Crabbe, or Goyle. She wasn't getting anything for Malfoy—he wasn't her friend, so why should she? Her mind raced, trying to think back to the things that the group had said they liked.

She knew that Pansy was all about fashion, clothes, and anything that could make her look good, so perhaps something of that sort or maybe something luxurious; she liked that type of thing as well.

Daphne was pretty simple; books were what she liked—that and anything to do with school. She was also into fashion, so maybe a dress? Olivia sighed; she was stressed already, and they had just gotten there.

Blaise and Theodore were pretty much the same person. Pranks, chess, and anything that could get them into trouble were what tickled their fancies. She knew they'd be happy with pretty much anything if they could make it explode.

And finally, Crabbe and Goyle—the two peas in a pod, aka Malfoy's henchmen, aka the ones that sat in the back, stayed quiet, and did nothing unless told to. She knew both boys didn't care about anything other than picking on non-Slytherin students, sweets and treats, and, much like Blaise and Theodore, anything that could get them into trouble.

Maybe she could do this.

"Earth to Olivia," Lucas mumbled, waving his hand in front of her eyes.

She snapped back into reality. "What?" Her brows furrowed, now realizing that they weren't standing where they had been mere moments ago. When did they move? She looked around, confused, and then back at him when he started speaking.

"You spaced out," he told her, letting his hand fall to his side. "I'm guessing you haven't heard anything I've been saying." He placed his hands in his coat pockets, raising his brows.

"Nope," she replied, moving past him. She began searching the shelves, seeing nothing of interest for her or her friends. Sending him a look over her shoulder as he followed her, she continued. "I think I can figure out the gifts," she admitted.

"See? I knew you'd do fine." He smiled as they continued around the store.

"But I don't think anything here will be what I'm searching for." She ran her finger along one of the shelves, collecting a beautiful layer of dust on the tip. She wiped her hands against each other and headed to the door. Lucas followed.

Pushing open the door, the bell chimed, and they stepped out onto the streets of Hogsmeade. Olivia looked both ways before grabbing her brother's wrist and pulling him across the stone ground to the other side of the village.

Hogsmeade had been a destination of hers many times before, so she knew it pretty well.

Glancing around, she pulled her brother towards a store. She had a plan, and she was going to stick to it. She wanted to get out of there as soon as she could, so she had no time to waste.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

A couple hours had passed, and Lucas and Olivia were browsing through one of their favorite bookshops in Hogsmeade—it wasn't anything compared to Flourish and Blotts, but it worked just the same. She was in search of the perfect book for Daphne. Lucas followed closely behind her, holding the many bags of gifts in his arms.

The girl had gotten her a first edition for her birthday, so she knew she needed to get her something extra special. They had gone on and on about the books they owned, had read, and wanted to read before they left school for break, so she had a small idea of what to get her. But alas, she was having absolutely no luck in the bookshop.

Perhaps she could snag something from the personal library at the manor?

She hummed to herself as she made her way over to the door. Looking over her shoulder at Lucas, she said, "I don't think I'll find what I'm looking for here, so we can head home."

He nodded, glad for her decision because his arms were growing tired from carrying the bags.

She opened her mouth as if she were going to say something, but before she could, her body collided with someone's. Looking up, she met the wide eyes of a woman—a familiar woman. The half-blonde, half-black hair, the bright blue eyes, the boy standing next to her sending Olivia a gleaming look—it was Narcissa Malfoy.

Clearing her throat, Olivia stepped back, dipping her head down. "My apologies," she muttered, just before sidestepping the woman, trying to get around her and her son without having to make conversation. She and Lucas headed toward the door.

"You look just like her," Narcissa mumbled under her breath, turning to look at the two. Her eyes were still slightly wide as she stared at them with confusion and a bit of sadness.

Olivia met her stare, her brows furrowing in confusion.

"You look just like your mother," the woman elaborated, her voice breathy and startled. "It's unreal," she added, taking a step closer to the girl and ignoring the weird look Malfoy was giving her.

"Yes, I tend to get that a lot." Olivia sighed, putting her hands in her coat pocket. If her mother knew she was talking to this woman, she would blow a fuse out of anger. A short glance was sent Lucas's way, and he met it with a knowing look. "We must be going now."

Turning without another word, Olivia pushed open the door of the bookstore and allowed her brother to step out first. She looked back at the Malfoys before following him out. The chaos of the still-busy streets drowned out the sound of the door closing.

"That was weird," Lucas whispered, narrowing his eyes at his sister.

"Yeah, it was," she breathed out, moving him in front of her so he couldn't get lost and guiding them back the way they came.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

Back at the manor, Olivia went to her library—the one that was separate from the manor's main library—in search of the perfect book for Daphne. She didn't even bother to take off her heavy coat or earmuffs. She weaved her way through the shelves, looking for a book she knew the girl would love. And when she finally found it, she took it off the shelf, conjured up a carbon copy of it, and placed the original back on the shelf.

A first-edition copy of To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee—a muggle author—rested in her hands. Her parents weren't aware that she had the book, and she knew they never would be since they didn't care to go into her library—they barely even went into the main library.

She left the library and found her brother sitting on the floor of the sitting room with Bobbin and Trinky. She shrugged off her coat as she watched them go back and forth about how they should wrap the presents. Bobbin and Trinky had a lot of practice; Lucas didn't, but he still felt like he knew better.

Her brother was out of his coat, and his earmuffs, boots, and hat were off, leaving him in his sweater and trousers. His hair was a mess full of curls, like usual, and he sat with his legs crossed on the dark floor.

Olivia stifled a laugh as she took off her earmuffs and hat, setting them alongside her coat on the couch. Stepping closer to them, she realized that they hadn't noticed her. A small smile plants itself on her face as she watches the house elves fight Lucas for the wrapping paper and boxes.

This was one of those rare moments when Bobbin and Trinky didn't see themselves as mere help for the family. They were family, and Olivia was glad that they were there to act like it when they could.

Clearing her throat, all three pairs of eyes snapped to her, and Bobbin and Trinky straightened their spines.

"Miss Olivia, how do you think the presents should be wrapped?" asked Bobbin, sending a narrow-eyed look at the boy sitting on the floor.

"However you three see best," she replied, shrugging her shoulders. Handing the book to Bobbin, she sat down on the soft couch. Her hands ran over her legs, creating warmth as the three glanced at each other.

And then the bickering picked back up.

Olivia studied them with amusement, leaning back on the couch and getting comfortable. She conjured up some tea. The porcelain cups and kettle, milk, and sugar resting on a golden tray appeared on the table in front of her. She leaned forward and poured her a cup of steaming tea, adding in a splash of milk, and then she sat back, getting cozy once more.

After a few more minutes of bickering, Lucas finally gave up and let the house elves take over the wrapping of the presents. Lucas sat next to his sister on the couch and poured himself a cup of tea, his throat sore from the back and forth, and then he leaned back, letting the cushion support his back.

Olivia told them which presents belonged to whom, so they would be able to put tags on them. And she and her brother watched the house elves closely. They moved with ample speed and got it down quickly. She was surprised that they hadn't used their magic to wrap the presents, seeing as though they could with a snap of their fingers.

Once they were done, they snapped the presents away. "Bobbin will make sure the gifts get to the right people on Christmas morning!" Bobbin nodded, walking over to Olivia. "Miss Olivia's friends won't be disappointed!" she added.

Before Olivia could thank either elf, she blinked, and they were gone. Looking over at Lucas, she let out a small chuckle as he shook his head.

"I still think my way would've been better," he muttered, lifting his chin.

"Right, but you know how Bobbin and Trinky are. They never would've let you do it, no matter how many times you pleaded," she laughed, patting his shoulder.

"Yeah," he sighed.

"Are you ready for Yule?" she asked, turning her body to face him.

"Extremely!" he gleamed, bringing his legs up onto the couch and hugging them. "I have a good feeling about it this year."

She softly smiled at his excitement. "Me too."

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

━━━━ ella's speaking !
i'm not going to lie, i'm so ready for act one to be over. it's basically all filler chapters, and all of the interesting things start happening in act two

despite that, i hope you enjoyed!! only six more chapter left in act one

kisses.

━━━━━━━━━━ born to die,
© -LOSTGARDENS,        sep 2023

word count: 2205.   written: 9.10.23.   published: 9.10.23.