BORN TO DIE    ╱ DRACO MALFOY
꒷꒦ · ˚.‧ .  written by ella . . . © -lostgardens
017 ━━━━━━ ❛ the forbidden forest ❜

It was the next night, and Olivia hadn't cursed Malfoy like she so wanted to because, even if she had, she would still have detention—and if she had to suffer, he had to, too. And cursing a student was a fast-track way of getting more detention, so it was a lose-lose situation either way.

Filch guided them out of the castle, hoding his lanturn. "A pity they let the old punishments die," he began as Olivia, Malfoy, and the trio followed him. "There was a time detention would find you hanging by your thumbs in the dungeons," he admitted, looking around the grounds. "God, I miss the screaming."

"I thought about doing that to Malfoy," Olivia muttered, trying to contain her smirk. Malfoy's head wiped to his left, looking at her with wide eyes as the trio to her left snickered under their breath. Filch didn't pay her any mind and continued walking.

Finally, after what felt like years of walking, they made it to the scene of the crime—Hagrid's hut.

The keeper exited his home, holding a lantern of his own, as Flich glanced back at them and sneered. "You'll be serving detention with Hagrid tonight. He's got a little job to do inside the dark forest," the caretaker, who was far from his title in Olivia's opinion, explained. When they came to a stop next to the bearded man, the nasty-looking one said, "A sorry lot this, Hagrid," side-glancing the five students.

Hagrid just inhaled deeply, as if he were sad.

"Oh, good god, man, you're not still on about that bloody dragon, are you?" Filch inquired, his tone void of sympathy.

What a pity—he lost the dragon, Olivia thought.

Hagrid sniffled in response, adjusting the crossbow he held in his hands. "Norbert's gone," he began, his shaky voice sounding as if he were holding in a sob. "Dumbledore sent him off to Romania to live in a colony," he explained, meeting the eyes of the old man.

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Granger asked. "He'll be with his own kind."

"Yeah, but what if he don't like Romania? What if the other dragons are mean to him?" Hagrid retorted, shifting on his feet. "He's only a baby, after all."

"I'm sure he'll learn to adjust and stand up for himself," Olivia chimed in, feeling a strange need to reassure the man. "Dragons are rather adaptive creatures, you know," she offered, sending him a small smile. "I'm sure Norbert will be just fine." Her voice got a little questioning when saying the dragon's given name, but was somewhat convincing nonetheless. "And who knows, maybe you'll see him again someday."

"Really?" Hagrid's voice was full of hope.

"Oh, for God's sake, pull yourself together, man. You're going into the forest, after all." Filch interjected, causing Hagrid to look upset once more as he shifted on his feet. "Got to have your wits about you," he drew out.

"The forest?" Malfoy spat. "I thought that was a joke." He looked up at the caretaker. "We can't go in there," he said, causing the man to look down at him. "Students aren't allowed. And there are—" he looked to the forest, struggling to find something to say as an wolf howled, and he looked back at the man, "werewolves."

More howls were heard as Flich said, "There's more than werewolves in those trees, lad." A slight amusement was in his tone, and Olivia looked at him with a slight fear in her eyes. "You can be sure of that."

Why did he seem to want them to go into the woods and be traumatized by what was there?

He moved away from them. "Nighty-night." And off towards the castle he went.

"Right," Hagrid sighed. "Let's go." He turned away and began walking towards the forest.

It was called the Forbidden Forest for a reason, and they were supposed to go in there? It made no bloody sense. Olivia was sure Merlin was rolling in his grave at the thought of his kind trailing into a dangerous forest in the middle of the night.

The woods were dark and foggy—much like a horror film. How lovely. The trees were tall and sprawled out over the flat ground, making it easy for them to walk and be seen if necessary. The only light source besides the moon up above was Hagrid's lantern. The man's dog trailed beside him as the students followed closely behind.

There was nothing in sight but trees, dirt, and nature as they continued on their path.

But once they finally came to a stop, Hagrid set his weapon down and bent down next to a puddle of silver liquid. Her interest peaked, and Olivia quickly moved over to it as the man dipped two fingers into the substance.

She followed his actions, squatting down and dipping one of her fingers in as well. Hagrid rubbed it between his fingers as Olivia smelled it. They both stood, looking at the thick liquid on their fingers, then at each other.

Unicorn blood.

"Hagrid, what is that?" Potter asked, his voice breathy with curiosity.

"What we're here for," the man answered as Olivia looked at Malfoy, who moved to stand beside her, looking at the liquid with disgust. "See that?" He lifted his fingers for them to see. "That's unicorn blood, that is."

The trio and Malfoy looked at the man with shock as Olivia pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her hands clean, then shoved it back into her pocket.

"I found one dead a few weeks ago," he continued. "Now," he glanced down at the puddle, "this one's been hurt bad by something," he concluded.

"What do you think did it?" Olivia inquired, furrowing her brows.

"I have no clue," he answered with a sigh. His eyes found Potter, who didn't seem to be paying attention. He followed the boy's line of sight and saw nothing—Olivia did the same. "So," he looked back at them, catching Olivia's attention, "It's our job to go and find the poor beast."

Olivia's brows raised as she looked at him in shock. In trusting five first-year students to help find an injured unicorn? That was a disaster waiting to happen. Or perhaps she had been mistaken; maybe they were in search of the unicorn killer instead. Either way, it was bloody mental, and she was all the more excited about detention.

"Ron, Hermione, you'll come with me," he said.

"Okay," Weasley croaked out.

"And, Harry, you'll go with Malfoy and Olivia," he added, handing them the other lantern as the blonde boy gave his 'rival' a distasteful look.

"Okay, then I get Fang," Malfoy demanded.

"Fine," the man said. "Just so's you know, he's a bloody coward."

As if offended by the words, the dog whined.

"How wonderful!" Olivia beamed. "This should be fun!"

The group gave her curious looks, and Hagrid sighed. "You know, Olivia, you're not half as bad as people say you are. Got a good head on your shoulders, you do," he admitted, then walked away without another word.

Weasley and Granger began to follow the man, and the boy sent his glasses-wearing friend a help-me-please look as his face twisted in concern. Noticing his look, Granger rolled her eyes, grabbed his arm, and pulled him away.

After a moment, the three that were left with the dog went on there way. And, of course, Malfoy began complaining, like he always seemed to do.

He held the lantern up, casting the light in front of them, as he walked in between Olivia and Potter. "You wait till my father hears about this," he threatened, causing Olivia to roll her eyes. "This is servant's stuff," he complained, almost offended.

"If I didn't know better, Draco, I'd say you were scared," Potter taunted as they continued to walk.

Olivia agreed but didn't feel the need to make it known. She was sure the boys already assumed she did, or perhaps they didn't care if she did or not. She didn't know, and frankly, she didn't care either.

Malfoy rolled his eyes, giving the boy a smug look, and let the hand that was holding the lantern fall to his side. "Scared, Potter?" he spat, lifting the lantern back up.

A loud howl was heard from behind them, alerting the not-scared boy. He turned around quickly, coming to a halt. "Did you hear that?" Malfoy asked, looking at Potter and then Olivia. The two beside him sent each other knowing looks and then rolled their eyes as they trailed on. "Come on, Fang," Malfoy ordered the dog, walking ahead.

After another five minutes or so, they came to a deeper and darker part of the forest. A chill ran down Olivia's spine as she continued to walk beside Potter, following the boy she loathed. Fang walked up ahead of them, sniffing the ground in search of Merlin knows what. But after a few more steps, he came to a stop and looked up.

Fang began to growl as the three caught up with him. Olivia looked at the boys, seeing Malfoy looking forward, his face twisted in fear, and Potter looking around, not paying attention. She furrowed her brows and followed Malfoy's line of sight.

Her mouth fell open when she saw what she saw.

"What is it, Fang?" asked Potter, looking at the dog. Then his gaze snapped forward.

Her eyes were deceiving her, right? She was going mad, right? Lack of sleep and all? The two families that made up her blood were known for being mad; she just was a little earlier than the rest, right? Right?

Wrong.

There was a unicorn. And there was something feeding on said unicorn. The fog of the woods surrounded the figure, and another chill went down Olivia's spine. Potter gasped, clutching his forehead when looking at the figure, and that made her curious. Whatever it was, it continued to feed on the unicorn.

Olivia could smell the death in the air.

She began to walk closer to the cloaked figure. She wasn't aware she was doing it. Her curiosity had become too much. Her skin itched, like she had some kind of rash. Her face was twisted in confusion, and a bit of shock still lingered.

She wasn't scared. No, it felt like it was drawing her to it. Like the pull of gravity taking her towards the figure and unicorn as her feet barely picked up from the ground with each step. She was trying to be quiet. Trying not to startle it. If only she could just get a bit closer. If only she could pull the hood off.

What was guiding her this way?

Why wasn't she running?

And why the bloody hell wasn't she scared?

Whatever it was, it looked up as she got so close. A growl fell from it's lips, and silver blood fell from it's mouth. Malfoy let out a loud scream, causing her to face him. The dog stood beside her as they watched Malfoy run a few feet away but then quickly turn back around, still screaming.

His hand was wrapped around Olivia's wrist as he began to drag her away. It was in the blink of an eye, so she didn't have time to protest or stop him. Fang chased after them, barking, leaving Potter alone to deal with the figure and the unicorn himself.

Olivia shot one look back as Malfoy ran away like a roadrunner with the dog, pulling her along with him, and she saw the figure swaying over the ground and towards Potter. She wished Malfoy wasn't such a bloody coward like Hagrid said Fang was, so they could've stayed and helped the boy.

Oh, bloody hell. The truth was, she wanted to stay there to investigate; she wanted to know what or who the figure was. Did it have something to do with the Sorcerer's Stone, which Potter and his two friends were so keen on?

The boy pulled her so fast through the woods that she almost lost her balance a few times. But finally, they reached Hagrid and the two Gryffindors.

"B-B-Ba-Back there!" Malfoy stammered, letting go of Olivia's wrist to point behind them. "There was a monster feeding on a unicorn!" He continued to wave his finger as she rubbed her wrist, since it was slightly hurting from his tight grip.

"Where?" Hagrid gasped, his brows raising. "And where's Harry?"

Malfoy and Olivia led the three back to where they had run off from, but this time she didn't let him grab her wrist. And once they reached the spot, there was no longer a hooded figure. Olivia looked surprised when she saw a centaur standing in front of the boy. Fang barked, alerting Potter and the centaur to their presence.

"Harry!" Granger called out.

"Hello, there, Firenze," Hagrid greeted, lowering his crossbow. "I see you've met our young Mr. Potter." He nodded, then looked at the boy. "You all right there, Harry?"

Olivia moved down towards Potter and the centaur, not even sending them a glance as she brushed past them. Her eyes lingered on the dead unicorn. It was such a shame that such a beautiful creature met such a tragic end.

She knew the effects of unicorn blood, but she also knew the effects of killing a unicorn. Why was someone so interested in drinking the blood that they'd live with that terrible fate? Curiouser and Curiouser.

She could feel the studying eyes of all of the other parties as she bent down to get a better look at the creature's wound. More specifically, she could feel that familiar burning gaze that she was already so used to. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Malfoy staring at her with confusion and worry.

Ignoring it, she focused on the centaur—Firenze, that was his name, right?

"Harry Potter, this is where I leave you. You're safe now," he reassured the boy next to him. "Good luck." And with that, they all watched as he walked away, disappearing in the shadows of the woods.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

As they pushed open the door of the common room, Olivia could feel Malfoy's gaze burning into her cheek. She wanted to ignore him, already annoyed with the question he had asked a million times on their way back. But alas, he didn't know how to shut up when told to.

"But, like, why would you walk towards that—that thing?" he asked once more.

Groaning, she stopped in her tracks and faced him. Her eyes narrowed at him, and she stepped closer. "For the last time, Malfoy," she gritted her teeth. "I don't know!" she whispered, her words sharp as she glared at him harder with fire burning in her eyes. And she could've sworn even the fire burning in the fireplace flinched.

"Yeah, but—"

"Malfoy," she warned, losing more and more of her patience by the second. "Now, if you do not mind, I would like to go to my room, take a nice long, hot shower, and then go to bed so I can be tortured by the same nightmare for the millionth night in a row," she continued, a fake smile on her face. "Goodnight." She rolled her eyes, turning towards the stairs.

"Goodnight, Liv," he muttered.

Halt.

She rooted her feet and slowly turned around. "What did you call me?" she asked, glaring at him.

He looked unsure if he wanted to answer. "Uh, Liv. It's, uh—it's a nickname," he replied, taking a step back.

"Don't call me that again," she ordered, turning back around.

"Yeah," he breathed, happy that she didn't hex him.

He watched as she headed upstairs, and then he made his way to his dorm. He was proud of himself; he had only seen her roll her eyes at him ten times that day—that was what he liked to call progress. A pleased smile took over his face as he entered his private room—curtosy of being a Malfoy—closing the door behind him.

He was going to get on her good side, no matter how long it took. Even if he did it until the day he died.

He'd happily die if it meant she'd like him.

Someday, he reminded himself. Someday, indeed.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

━━━━ ella's speaking !
double update 🏃🏻‍♀️

there's only three chapters left in act one—that's actually insane. i can't believe that i've written this much for this book, and that i already have the first four acts completely planned (and half of act five)

this book truly means the world to me !!

kisses.

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

word count: 2767. written: 9.12.23. published: 9.12.23.