BORN TO DIE    ╱    DRACO MALFOY
꒷꒦ · ˚.‧ . written by ella . . . © -lostgardens
016 ━━━━━━━ ❛ back at hogwarts ❜

"Be good, Olivia Katherine," Clodagh said, her tone flat of emotion as she looked down at her daughter. The bright sun shone down on her freckled, pale skin, hitting her light blue eyes just right and making them look ghostly.

With a quick nod, Olivia took her trunk from her father, holding the handle in the hand that wasn't carrying Tommy's crate. She was ready to get to Hogwarts. Yes, she'd miss her brother dearly, but she was bored of sitting at the manor doing nothing but reading all day. She never, in a million years, thought she'd ever get tired of reading.

She missed school, her friends, and even the portraits that liked to try and rile her up. It was her home—it was more of a home than the manor would or could ever be.

Facing Lucas, she sent him a small smile and opened her mouth to speak. But before she could say anything, he wrapped her in a tight hug. She tried to hug him back as best she could, but the trunk and crate in her hands made that quite difficult. "See you soon, Lucas," she muttered into his curls.

"See you soon, Livvy," he replied, his head resting in the croak of her neck.

Once they pulled away, she sent him another small smile, then directed it towards her father. Then she left, going over to the ready-to-leave train. Her trunk and Tommy's crate were put with the other luggage of returning students, and she stepped onto the train. Sending one last glance back at her family, she walked onto the train, ready to return to her studies.

She walked down the aisle of the train in search of the familiar compartment. Her surroundings were really quiet; most students were too tired to be rowdy, and some were still lingering on the platform as they said goodbye to their loved ones. Olivia wasn't in the mood for talking—though she supposed she never was—and she hoped that her friends and Malfoy wouldn't try to make conversation till after they returned to Hogwarts.

As she stopped in front of the closed door, she could see her friends and Malfoy already holding the compartment. Sliding the door open, she watched as their eyes snapped to her, and then bright smiles took over their faces, realizing it was her.

"Olivia!" Pansy gleamed, standing up to wrap the girl in a hug. Olivia returned it, and then they sat down after pulling away. "How was your break?" the girl asked, her eyes shining with happiness.

Olivia studied her for a moment. She was already wearing her robes with a black beret on her head, sitting on top of her neatly brushed, shoulder-length hair.

Sending her a smile, Olivia said, "It was fine. And I really appreciated the gifts you all got me." She looked at all of them, her eyes lingering on Malfoy for a moment before snapping back to Pansy. "It was really kind. Lucas thought so too." She mustered a barely-there smile.

"I'm glad!" Pansy smiled.

After that, the compartment grew silent. Olivia rested her head on the window as the train started moving. The cold of the day coated the window, and it felt wonderful on her throbbing head. She didn't know when she got the headache, but it was a bugger, and she wished it would go away.

Soon enough, the rattle of the train and the cold of the air lulled her to sleep, even despite her fighting it off. The nightmare returned, and suddenly, the coldness meant nothing anymore. And when the nightmare ended, she woke with a gasp.

Her friends and Malfoy looked at her with concern, but she ignored them. Looking around the compartment, she realized the sun had set and they were stopped. They were back at Hogwarts, finally. Her nightmare still sat in her mind, and she tried desperately to push it away.

They were getting worse, and she didn't know what to do.

What could she do?

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

Months had passed since that day on the train, and Olivia's nightmares had only grown worse and worse. Her mind was rattled. She barely slept—and when she did, it wasn't past four in the morning, like usual.

She was stressed—too stressed for a twelve-year-old.

She hadn't hung out with her friends and Malfoy for more than thirty minutes at a time for weeks; she was too busy studying for final exams to pay them any mind.

Well, actually, she knew everything she needed to know, so she was studying for what was to come in her second year.

Her friends and Malfoy had been constantly asking her what was wrong, why she was having nightmares, and what her nightmares were about, but she never gave them an answer. She only told them that none of it was important and that it didn't matter. It meant nothing—it truly didn't. They were just stupid nightmares that liked to haunt her.

She was fine.

They weren't going to control her and drive her to the brink of insanity like they had her ancestors. No, she wouldn't allow it. She was fine. She was in control of her mind. Her nightmares were mere stupid falsehoods that her mind conjured up at night. Not important in any way.

It was the curse of having O'Shea and Mallard blood running through her veins.

But she wasn't going to be like her ancestors. No, she wasn't.

No. No. No. No. No!

"I had you looking in the wrong section. How could I be so stupid?" she heard Granger say. A slam of, presumably, a book followed.

Looking up from her book, Olivia's eyes trailed all over what she could see of the library. But alas, Granger wasn't in sight. Her brows furrowed in confusion, her mind feeling a little bit more boggled than it had been when she sat down.

Then it dawned on her as the girl said, "I checked it out weeks ago for a bit of light reading."

Granger, Weasley, and Potter sat at the table, just around the corner of the bookshelf she sat in front of. She wasn't sure if they knew she was there, but she didn't risk it by making any noise. Curiosity was getting the best of her, and she forgot about her book for a moment.

"This is light?" Weasley asked.

There was silence for a moment, and she could see her, but Olivia was sure Granger was giving the redhead a please-be-quiet look. Then Granger gasped. "Of course, here it is!" the girl gleamed, probably finding the information she had been seeking. "Nicholas Flamel is the known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone," she said, excitement in her tone.

Olivia's curiosity grew even larger, and she wondered why they were so interested in this Flamel character, whom she knew loads about, like she did with most famous wizards. But why were they interested in his creation of the Sorcerer's Stone? Why did it have any value to them? Yes, it was a powerful artifact, but why would three Gryffindor first-year students need to know about it?

"The what?" the boys asked, confusion in their voices.

"Honestly, don't you two read?" Granger remarked, her words sounding a bit like Snape's. "The Sorcerer's Stone is a legendary substance with astonishing powers," she explained, probably reading the words from the book. "It can transform any metal into pure gold and produces the elixir of life, which will make the drinker immortal."

"Immortal?" Weasley repeated.

"It means you'll never die," Granger informed them.

"I know what it means!" the redhead retorted, with annoyance lacing his words.

Potter shushed him, and Olivia almost laughed at this but quickly put a hand over her mouth, trying to keep her eavesdropping anonymous.

"The only stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicholas Flamel, the noted alchemist, who last year celebrated his 665th birthday," the girl continued. "That's what Fluffy is guarding on the third floor. That's what's under the trapdoor. The Sorcerer's Stone," she stated matter-of-factly.

And then they went quiet.

Olivia's interest had reached the top of its peak. They wanted to find the Socerer's Stone for a reason unknown to her. They wanted to willingly put themselves in danger once more.

She swore those three had a death wish.

With a sigh, she rolled her eyes and continued reading her book, not caring about their let's-go-get-ourselves-killed conversation any longer.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

"Don't touch them."

"Oh, sweetie."

Everything went dark. Heat—so much heat.

No, no, no, no, no.

A banging on her bedroom door startled Olivia awake.

She sat up in her bed, Mr. Snake clutched in her arms, and her hair stuck to her slick forehead. The knocking continued, and she looked over at Pansy and Daphne. They were sound asleep, looking as peaceful as ever. More knocking.

Letting out a quiet groan, she removed her duvet and sheets from her legs, being careful not to wake her sleeping-soundly cat. Mr. Snake plopped on her bed with a small toss, and Olivia made her way over to her door. She crossed her arms over her body, pressing the silk of her pajamas against her burning skin.

With a twist of the knob and a tug, the door fell open, and her eyes caught onto the one person she did not want waking her up.

Malfoy.

He had a charming—well, not really—smile on his face as he looked at her with barely-blue eyes. They had a little twinkle in them, and that made her suspicious.

"What do you want?" she sighed, crossing her arms even tighter together. She raised her brows, waiting for him to continue while giving him a bored look. Looking him up and down, she saw that he was dressed in his robes, which made her even more suspicious.

What was he up to?

"I need your help," he admitted, sticking his hands out for her to let him speak. "I just saw Potter and his two twats of friends sneaking off, and I want to see what they're up to," he explained, disgust lacing the glasses-wearing boy's name.

"Get Crabbe and Goyle to do it," she said, closing the door.

Malfoy stuck his hand out, slamming it against the door before it could fully close. She scowled at him, but he seemed to ignore it because he continued talking. "Please, please, please," he pleaded. "Please, it would mean a lot to me. Crabbe and Goyle are sleeping, and the two don't know how to keep quiet as it is. Please," he continued, making her want to curse him.

He knew he was getting on her nerves, and that was his plan all along.

As he opened his mouth to continue with his pleading, she raised her hands for him to stop. Squeezing her eyes shut and mentally cursing herself for the words she was about to say, she muttered, "Okay, fine. Just shut up." She didn't meet his eyes, but she could sense his smile. And oh, how she wanted to smack it off his face. "Go away. I'll meet you in the common room in a moment."

"Thank you," he replied.

"Just shoo." She peeled open her eyes and waved him off like she would an annoying fly.

Thinking about it, he was pretty similar to an annoying fly. The ones that constantly hovered next to your ear and buzzed, not leaving you alone or shutting up no matter how many times you swat at them with your hand—yeah, they were just alike.

He finally walked away, heading down to the common room. She opted to just lay back down and not give him another thought, but she had said she'd do it, and, even with Malfoy, she wanted to always keep her word.

With a quiet groan, she walked over to her wardrobe, grabbed her robe, and put it on over her pajamas. As soon as they were done with their little spying mission, she would be coming back to her dorm and going straight to bed. Then, she slipped on her boots—the ones Blaise had gotten her for her birthday—and grabbed her wand off her bed before heading out of her room.

She slowly closed the door, trying not to wake the sleeping girls, then went to the common room to meet Malfoy.

He stood behind the couch, leaning on the back of it, waiting for her to come downstairs. A smile broke on his face as he saw her, and she rolled her eyes.

"Let's just get this over with," she grumbled, walking to the common room door.

They left the common room, and she told Malfoy that he had to be quiet or else she would hex him. He obliged and stayed silent, only talking when she asked which way the trio had gone.

"That way." He pointed towards the path she knew led to Hagrid's hut.

And surely enough, when they came to a stop behind a tree a mere twenty or so feet in front of the hut, they watched as the trio knocked on the door and Hagrid answered. Being so far away, Olivia couldn't hear what they were saying, but it seemed as if the keeper was turning them away.

But, as if they had given him important information, he opened the door back up and let them inside. Once the door was closed again and Olivia and Malfoy were sure they wouldn't be seen running across the grounds by the four, they raced over to the side of Hagrid's hut in search of a window they could peek into.

And by them, it meant that Malfoy was the one searching for a window, of course.

Olivia was just there, so he'd leave her alone.

"Hagrid, we know he's after the stone; we just don't know why," Potter insisted, taking a seat alongside Weasley as Granger sat in the big chair that was clearly meant for the half-giant.

"Snape is one of the teachers protecting the stone," Hagrid explained, looking down at the boy. "He's not about to steal it."

"What?" the famous boy asked, confused, sending a glance at the boy to his right.

"You heard," the man stated. "Right, come on now. I'm a bit preoccupied today," he continued, looking at each student.

"Wait a minute," Potter interjected. "One of the teachers?" His tone was full of confusion.

"Of course!" Granger beamed, looking up at the hut's owner. "There are other things defending the stone, aren't there? Spells, enchantments," she added.

Olivia could feel Malfoy's confused gaze on her face, but she knew they'd get caught if she tried to explain what she knew, so she stayed quiet and continued listening to the conversation. She still couldn't believe he had dragged her out for this.

"That's right." Hagrid nodded. "Waste of bloody time, if you ask me. Ain't no one gonna get past Fluffly," the man chuckled. "Ain't a soul knows how, besides me and Dumbledore." He took a breath, regret filling his mind. "I shouldn't have told you that. I should not have told you that," he muttered, looking down at the ground.

Who was Fluffy? Olivia wondered. Or rather, what was Fluffy?

She looked down at the ground, trying to think about what creature could possibly be named Fluffy. But the sound of a pot rattling and Malfoy taping her arm caused her to look back through the window, watching as Hagrid turned around and the three students looked at what was behind him in confusion.

The bushy-haired man grabbed something from the pot that hung over the fire with his oven mitts on. "Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!" he mumbled, carrying what looked like an egg.

But It wasn't just any egg; it was a dragon's egg.

Olivia's brows raised in surprise as she followed the man and his egg over to the round table. She craned her neck so that she could see, but when the trio moved with him, they blocked her line of sight.

She quietly moved to another window so she could see better. The dragon's egg was a lot more fascinating than any of the talk about the stupid Sorcerer's Stone or whatever Fluffy was.

"Uh, Hagrid, what exactly is that?" Potter asked, examining the thing in front of him.

"That?" The man nodded to the egg. "It's a—It's, um—" he struggled to speak, not sure if he should tell the boy or not.

"I know what that is!" Weasley marveled, not taking his eyes off of the brown egg. "But, Hagrid, how did you get one?" he asked, looking up at the man.

Exactly, Weasley. How did he get one? Olivia thought to herself.

"I won it!" Hagrid admitted. "Off a stranger I met down at the pub," he elaborated. His brows furrowed as the egg began to shake, thinking back to his interaction with the person at the pub. "Seemed quite glad to get rid of it, as a matter of fact." His voice grew lower as he finished speaking, and the suspicion finally hit him.

Curiouser.

Weasley backed away as Potter leaned forward, watching the egg continue to shake and crack. Shards of the shell broke free and shot across the room as a wing stuck out the side. Malfoy gasped beside Olivia with astonishment, and she fought the urge to roll her eyes—she was sure he didn't know a lick about dragons.

She leaned closer to the window, watching as the dragon began to free itself from the shell. A little twinkle sparked in her eyes as she studied the creature. A Norwegian Ridgeback—that was such a wondrous type of dragon.

The dragon screeched as the four inside the hut watched it. Granger looked confused, Potter and Weasley looked fascinated, and Hagrid looked like a proud dad that just saw his first child be born.

"Is that..." Granger began, her voice falling short as she looked up at Hagrid. "A dragon?"

"That's not just a dragon; that's a Norwegian Ridgeback," Weasley mused, causing Olivia to have a newfound respect for the boy.

He knew his dragons. He would get an A+ in her class.

"My brother Charlie works with these in Romania," the redhead added.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid asked, tearing up. "Oh, bless him. Look, he knows his mummy," he marveled as the dragon turned to him. He let out an I'm-about-to-break-drown-from-happiness chuckle as he looked at his 'baby' on the table. Reaching his hand out to pet the dragon, he smiled. "Hello, Norbert."

Norbert? Olivia's brows furrowed.

"Norbert?" Potter inquired, looking over at Weasley.

"Yeah, well, he's got to have a name, doesn't he?" Hagrid remarked, looking up at the boy, causing Weasley to lightly chuckle. "Don't you, Norbert?" the man mused, looking down at the dragon again. "Eh? Dee-dee-dee." He tickled underneath the dragon's chin with two fingers.

But that didn't work out so well in Hagrid's favor. Norbert gagged, then spit out fire, singeing the end of the man's bushy beard, causing him to rapidly tap his oven mitt over the burning hair, trying to put it out. "Ooh! Well, he'll have to be trained up a bit, of course." A short chuckle fell from his lips.

Olivia watched as the three first-year students gave each other concerned looks. Norbert coughed up a last spark of remaining fire and then screeched again.

Watching the dragon, Olivia didn't notice Hagrid's eyes falling on her and Malfoy, standing at the window, until the boy tapped her arm repeatedly.

She was about to scowl at him when he took off.

Confused, she looked through the window again and saw all four of them staring at her. Her eyes went wide, and she hurried off after Malfoy.

"You bloody fool!" she whispered, trying to catch up with him.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

The voices of the trio echoed down the corridor as Olivia, Malfoy, and McGonagall waited for them. Malfoy seemed pleased with his tattle-telling, and Olivia rolled her eyes when he gave her a knowing smirk.

"And to make things worse, Malfoy and Mallard know," Ron sighed.

McGonagall walked out into the corridor with her lit candle raised. She was bundled in her pajamas and robe, and a bored look was on her face.

"I don't understand; is that bad?" Olivia heard Potter ask.

"It's bad," Weasley replied, fear in his tone.

They seemed to have finally noticed the professor looking at them as if she'd rather be anywhere else in the world.  "Good evening," McGonagall said boredly as Malfoy pulled Olivia out from behind the door.

Olivia rolled her eyes again as he smiled at the three.

After that, McGonagall guided them into the classroom, where she made her way over to her desk and stood behind it. The trio stood on the other side, looking at her with worried looks.

Malfoy and Olivia stood off to the side, watching them closely. He had his signature smirk on his face with his arms crossed over his chest, and her face was flat of emotion, just wanting to go to bed already.

"Nothing, I repeat, nothing gives a student the right to walk about the school at night," McGonagall began. "Therefore, as punishment for your actions, fifty points will be taken," she explained.

"Fifty?" Potter gasped as the other two's faces fell in shock.

"Each," the woman added, her voice sharp. "And to ensure it doesn't happen again, all five of you will receive detention."

Olivia snapped back into focus. She must've not heard her right. Right? Detention—what rubbish! Oh, when she and Malfoy returned to the common room, she was going to ki-

Malfoy's smirk fell from his face. "Excuse me, professor." He stepped forward. "Perhaps I heard you wrong. I thought you said the five of us."

The professor looked at him boredly, over him just as much as Olivia was. "No, you heard me correctly, Mr. Malfoy," she stated, causing his face to twist in confusion. "You see, honorable as your and Miss Mallard's intentions were, you too were out of bed after hours. You both will join your classmates in detention," she explained.

It was Olivia's turn to speak. "But professor, I didn't want to do it; Malfoy practically made me," she interjected, stepping forward. It wasn't the full truth, but it was close enough. Her face turned into a rather angry look of annoyance.

Detention. Bloody hell. It was a joke, honestly.

"Miss Mallard, I think we are all aware that you could've put a stop to it if you truly wanted to," the professor said, giving her a knowing look.

With a sigh, Olivia muttered, "Yes, you're right." She nodded, her eyes casting down to the floor. "I suppose I should've hexed him."

McGonagall's mouth fell open. "That's not what I meant," she blurted.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

━━━━ ella's speaking !
i love this chapter sm !! i don't have much to say, besides comment and vote bc it means a lot to me 🫶🏻

kisses.

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

word count: 3879. written: 9.12.23. published: 9.12.23.