BORN TO DIE ╱ DRACO MALFOY
꒷꒦ · ˚.‧ . written by ella . . . © -lostgardens
020 ━━━━━ ❛ see you later, hogwarts ❜

Their first year was over.

It felt unreal to Olivia. It had come and gone so quickly, so why did it feel like it was forever? Oh, her life was going to be completely different from then on, and she was sure of that. She didn't know how to feel at that moment as she walked toward the waiting-for-them-to-board train with her friends and Malfoy.

Where did the time go?

Her friends and Malfoy trailed behind her as she looked around the area, carrying her trunk and Tommy's crate. It was a bright day; the light breeze swayed the trees slightly, and the sun beamed down on Olivia's pale skin, casting warmth on her like a blanket.

Her shoes flattened the grass as she walked, then met the hardness of the wood floors of Hogmeades' platform. The others came up beside her, coming to a stop and looking at the train as their schoolmates boarded. They waited for the ones in front of them to set their trunks in the luggage compartment of the train, then watched them step on the train. They followed those steps and then stepped on the train after them.

Meeting face-to-face with the familiar aisles of the familiar train, Olivia let out a breath. She was ready to be back at her manor, but she didn't want to leave Hogwarts. Despite the hardships she had gone through that year—thereby being her fault—she felt safe and comforted at the school.

Just a couple of months. A couple of months more, and you and Lucas are off to Hogwarts together—that was what she kept repeating in her head as she and others walked to their compartment. The boys were chatting as she slid the door open, and Daphne and Pansy were just giving them curious looks, slightly amused by their topic of conversation.

Olivia wasn't paying attention, so she didn't catch their words.

She moved towards the left seat, sitting closest to the window, per usual. Pansy sat beside her, then Daphne. Malfoy, Blaise, and Theodore sat on the other side. Crabbe and Goyle were off somewhere, not sitting with them—they usually did this, and it had always interested Olivia.

She was sure they were the boys' only friends. How weird.

"Olivia," Theodore said, catching her attention as they felt the train begin to move. Turning her head, she looked at him with a flat expression. "The other night in the Great Hall, what was that?" he asked, chuckling. "I mean, it was brilliant, but surprising... You're usually so composed."

She furrowed her brows in thought, peeling her eyes away from his as everyone looked at her and stared out the window. "I just felt like Dumbledore had stolen the house cup from us," she explained, thinking back to her words a few nights prior. "He was clearly being biased towards Gryffindor and Potter," she added, shrugging her shoulders, before adding, "So I thought I'd call him out on it."

"It's not like you to be so worried about bias and a house cup," Blaise chimed, lightly laughing.

She met his eye. "I wasn't worried, just disappointed," she admitted.

Before any of the others could say anything or Theodore and Blaise could add to their words, the compartment door slid open. "Anything off the trolley, dears?" the aging voice of the trolley woman asked, causing them to all turn to her.

"Uh, yes." Theodore practically hopped up from his seat and made his way over to the door. He pulled out some money and gave it to the trolley witch. "I'll take three Chocolate Frogs, two Pumpkin Pasties, and two Liquorice Wands. Thanks," he said, looking around the cart.

The elderly witch grabbed his treats and handed them to him. He happily took them and turned around. "Anything for you, dears?" She asked, looking at the others as Theodore sat down.

"No, thank you," they all replied.

She gave them a small nod, sliding the door closed, and then walked away, going to the other students.

"You've got all of that for you?" Pansy asked with a twisted, disgusted look. "You're going to be sick by the time we get to platform nine-and-three-quarters," she added, leaning back against the seat.

"No," he answered, looking at her with an offended look, his voice drawing out in defense. "I got a Chocolate Frog for Olivia; they're her favorite." He sent Olivia a smile as she looked at him, handing her the gold and purple box.

Olivia reached out and took it, looking at him with surprise.

"Oh," Pansy muttered.

"Thank you," Olivia returned, opening the box.

Silence fell over the compartment as she felt that familiar gaze on her. Ignoring it, she grabbed the chocolate frog before it leaped away and put it in her mouth. Pulling the card out of the box next, she shook her head in annoyance.

"Who'd you get?" Theodore asked, leaning forward so that his elbows rested on his knees.

She flipped the card over, giving him a knowing look as he glanced down at it.

"There's no bloody way," he scoffed with amusement, a half-smile taking over his lips. "How is it that every time you get Dumbledore?" he asked, slightly shaking his head as he leaned back against his seat, feeling everyone's eyes go between him and Olivia.

"I don't know," she muttered once all of the chocolate was gone from her mouth. She looked away from him after a moment of silence, curling up to the wall and resting her head on the glass of the window. She watched as the passing blur of trees and land went by, signaling their journey to the platform.

She could feel Malfoy staring at her, but she opted to ignore it just like every other time he stared at her. One day he'd get the hint, she hoped.

The compartment stayed quiet, and soon enough, Pansy fell asleep, her head falling on Daphne's shoulder. The boys didn't talk, all in their own words, while Daphne read and Olivia looked out the window, watching the day pass by.

The day became night, and the sun became the moon, while the rays of the sun became the shining stars of the sky. The train came to a stop, and Daphne softly woke up Pansy, telling her that they were there and that it was time for them to go home.

All of them stood, gathering themselves, and they left the compartment. Stepping off of the train, the coolness of the night hit their skin, and Olivia pulled her sweater tighter to her body. She made her way over to the luggage carrier as the other followed behind her, and she searched for her trunk and Tommy's crate.

Once she found them, she picked them up. She lingered around the others for a moment, waiting for them to gather their things. Once they had, she faced them, sending them a small smile, which they returned. Taking a glance over her shoulder, she saw her mother, who looked as if she were impatiently waiting, standing with her father and brother, who looked bored. "Uhm, I have to go," she said, turning back to them. "Goodbye. Have a good summer. I'll see you in a couple of months," she added.

"Goodbye, Olivia," they all returned, sending her small smiles.

Her eyes lingered on all of their faces before she shortly nodded and began walking away. Her mother noticed her and decided to meet her halfway, grabbing ahold of her arm tightly. Olivia slightly winched, looking up at her in confusion.

"What did I tell you about hanging around that boy?" Clodagh seethed, nodding back to Malfoy.

Olivia removed her arm from her mother's grip, glaring at her. "I've already told you, I'm not his friend, so you can stop pretending as if I matter to you," she shot back, and she walked away from the woman. When she sent a look back, her eyes falling behind her mother figure, she saw the group staring at her with worried looks.

She removed her eyes from theirs and faced her father and brother, who were looking at her with flat expressions, not trying to show the worry in their gazes. When she reached them, her father grabbed her trunk from her hand as her mother came up behind her.

And with that, they went to the manor.

Olivia rushed up the stairs as soon as she stepped out of the fireplace. She didn't even wait for her father to give her back her trunk or to say a proper hello to her brother. Moving past the portraits, who offered her a welcome home, she made it to her door and into her room.

Setting Tommy's crate down on the floor, she opened the door and let him out. As if the manor knew he was home, fresh bowls of food and water appeared next to the door, and off to the other side of the room was a litter box.

She kicked off her boots, making her way to her bed and plopping down on the softness of it, preparing to sleep for however long she could manage. Then a realization hit her. Her trunk wasn't in her room; Mr. Snake was in her trunk, meaning Mr. Snake wasn't in her room.

Bloody hell.

As if the house elf read her mind, Bobbin appeared with a snap, holding her trunk. Olivia sat up, turning to face her with a twist of her upper body.

The house elf's bright, big eyes gleamed with happiness, but her expression was flat. "Bobbin brings Miss Olivia her trunk on order of Master Andrew," the house elf said, setting the trunk on the bench at the foot of Olivia's bed. "Bobbin is glad Miss Olivia is home finally! Bobbin has missed Miss Olivia dearly!" she gleamed, coming to stand next to the bed.

Olivia followed her with her eyes, her body twisting back to a comfortable position. "Thank you, Bobbin," she huffed, blowing the hair out of her face, then lying her head back down. She knew she needed to get Mr. Snake out of her trunk, but the end of her bed just seemed oh-so-far away.

She could feel the house elf staring at her with the burning gaze of her overly big eyes. "What do you need, Bobbin?" she asked, not lifting her head from where it was buried in the black duvet.

"Bobbin doesn't need anything. Bobbin just wants to make sure Miss Olivia is alright." The house elf's voice was high, just like always, full of worry.

"I am fine, Bobbin, just tired—no need to worry." Olivia sat up, giving the house elf a reassuring smile, then crawled over to her trunk, not getting up from her bed.

She stretched her arms so that she could reach the clasps and undid them, then lifted the trunk top, which blocked her line of sight. She blindly dug around in the trunk, searching for the familiar feeling of the stuffed bear. She grabbed him, pulling him close to her as she closed the trunk, not bothering to clasp it shut.

She looked around the room and saw Tommy devouring his food. Playfully rolling her eyes with a short breath, she laid back down. Her body immediately felt better lying on her back, but the boring-into-her-skin stare that she was still receiving from the house elf made it hard for her to fully relax and enjoy being back in her bed.

"Bobbin, I'd really like to get some rest. I'll see you in the morning," she told the elf, turning her head to look at her.

"Oh, yes! Bobbin will leave Miss Olivia to rest! Bobbin will see Miss Olivia in the morning!" she beamed. And with a snap, she was gone from the room, leaving Olivia alone with no one besides her cat, who was eating very loudly, and the stuffed bear clutched to her arms.

Closing her eyes, she let the quietness wash over her, ignoring Tommy's obnoxiously loud eating, and tried to go to sleep. Her lids were heavy, and she knew it was just a matter of moments before she was out. After a moment, Tommy jumped onto the bed and curled up next to her, purring as he got comfortable.

Then she was out. Dead-to-the-world asleep.

But the nightmare still haunted her that night, but this time with more detail. And when she jumped awake at four o'clock, just like always, she sighed, feeling Tommy's soft fur against her arm as he breathed in and out, still soundly asleep.

Lying back down, she tried to slow her breathing. She removed the duvet from over her legs, feeling immensely hot, letting the coolness of the manor hit her skin. Clinging on to Mr. Snake even harder, she heard footsteps outside her room.

Her eyes shot over to her door, and then there were whispers, and she felt her heart begin to race even faster than before. She turned on her side, facing away from the door, cracking it up to be the portraits going back and forth.

But when she heard the creak of the wood floorboards right in front of her door, her body went ridgid, and she didn't dare close her eyes. She wasn't scared. Of course, she wasn't scared. She was just curious, that's all. Yes, curious.

She heard her door open, and she didn't dare move. The whispers continued, and she could hear more whispers, quite a bit clearer now. She recognized those voices. Her mother, her father, and... Snape?

Why would he be there? And why would they be creeping up on her door in the middle of the night?

"You need to tell her," Snape hissed in a whisper. "You need to tell her soon before she resents you forever."

"I know, Severus," her mother whispered. "I know."

Then the door shut, and she let out a breath. Tell her what? What was her mother hiding? And why did Snape, of all people, know it?

Curiouser.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

━━━━ ella's speaking !
act one is complete wtf- that's actually insane

i'm so so excited to write act two omg

i hope you've enjoyed the story so far and continue reading !!

kisses.

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

word count: 2397.   written: 9.17.23.   published: 9.17.23.