BORN TO DIE ╱ DRACO MALFOY
꒷꒦ · ˚.‧ . written by ella . . . © -lostgardens
021 ━━━━━━━ ❛ flourish and blotts ❜

Flourish and Blotts Bookseller was like heaven on earth for Olivia. She loved it with every fiber of her being. What was not to love? There were books, books, some books, and, oh, more books. It was the best place she'd ever been, and she would stand by that until the day she died.

So pushing open the door after a long morning of shopping, causing the bell to ring, with her brother trailing behind her, was her dream come true. She'd been there so many times before, but she'd never get over it. Inhaling deeply, she took in the smell of old and new books.

Casting a glance over at Lucas, she could see the worried expression on his face. He'd looked like that ever since he'd received his letter from Hogwarts in the mail. Everyone knew he'd get in; he even knew he'd get in, but the thought of actually getting in was nerve-racking for him.

Placing her hand on his small shoulder, Olivia gave him a small smile. "Why don't you go look around? Buy anything you want," she told him, gesturing towards the many shelves filled with books.

He gave her a short nod and walked away.

Bobbin and Trinky had gone along with them to shop for his things, so once they were done, the house elves took all of it back to the manor. Olivia and Lucas had wanted to go to Flourish and Blotts—mostly Olivia because she wanted new books—so the house elves left them behind. Their parents were out of town on another one of their 'business trips,' so they couldn't—and frankly, didn't want to—be there with them.

Stepping further into the shop, she sent a small smile to the wizard standing behind the counter and then began searching around. She barely noticed as the shop began to fill with people, all of them waiting on something—or rather, someone.

She ignored all of the witches and wizards alike and continued around the store, searching for books. Nothing seemed to catch her attention, and if it did, it only took her a moment to realize she'd already had the book.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Gilderoy Lockhart," a male voice said, causing Olivia to look up from the book she had been reading.

Her brows furrowed as she looked up in confusion. None other than Lockhart stepped out from behind a few shelves as many around her began to clap. Closing her book and setting it back down on the shelf, Olivia moved forward to get a better look at the man, his yellowish-blonde hair, and his forget-me-not blue suit.

A photographer moved to the front of the room, snapped the man's picture, and then backed away. Olivia watched closely as Lockhart seemed to notice something. His front-page smile went away as surprise filled his eyes.

"It can't be," he muttered, his gaze trained on someone in front of him. "Harry Potter?" he mused, his smile returning as Olivia followed his line of sight.

There Potter stood, his face covered in soot and surrounded by a bunch of redheads, whom Olivia assumed were the Weasley family. His face was blank, only a hint of surprise filling his brow as he ignored the wandering eyes and focused on Lockhart.

"Harry Potter." The photographer stepped forward, grabbing ahold of the boy's robes and basically tossing him towards the published wizard-author. "Excuse me, Madam."

Olivia followed him, watching as Lockhart grabbed Potter and used him for a photo op. "Nice big smile, Harry. Together, you and I rate the front page," the blonde man told the boy, causing Olivia to roll her eyes. They waited for the man to snap a picture, and after, Lockhart added, "Ladies and gentlemen, what an extraordinary moment this is." He looked out into the crowd of people. "When young Harry stepped into Flourish and Blotts this morning to purchase my autobiography, 'Magical Me,'" the man paused, letting the crowd applaud. "Which, incidentally, is currently celebrating it's twenty-seventh week 'atop the Daily Prophet bestseller list, he had no idea that he would, in fact, be leaving." He paused again, looking around, before continuing, "With my entire collected works...," he handed Potter the books, "free of charge."

How generous! Olivia rolled her eyes. She was glad to say that she didn't own a single one of Lockhart's works and never would, even if they were the last books left on the planet.

Another picture was snapped, and some people mused at the man's 'generosity' and applauded him some more. Lockhart let Potter go back to the Weasleys, and he sat down. "Now. Ladies?"

Olivia didn't stick around to watch people fawn over the man, waiting to get their copies of his works signed, and she weaved through the crowd towards the front of the shop in hopes of finding her brother. Sadly for her, she noticed a particular blonde boy standing on the stairs, and she turned so that he couldn't see her.

She picked up a book, pretending to look at it while also searching for Lucas from underneath her lashes.

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" Malfoy asked, his voice laced with annoyance. Olivia resisted the urge to roll her eyes as the sound of his voice caused a headache in her skull. "Famous Harry Potter. Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page."

"Leave him alone," the voice of a girl said. Olivia assumed it was the youngest Weasley—the only girl of a bunch of siblings.

"Oh, look, Potter," Malfoy mused. "You've got yourself a girlfriend," he teased, and Olivia tried to bite her tongue, which threatened a retort, but it was just too much fun.

"Careful there, Malfoy," she began, not looking up from her book but turning around to face the group. "You sound a bit jealous." Her gaze met his as she closed the book with an audible snap, watching as his eyes went wide.

"Olivia," he muttered, looking at her with surprise.

"Malfoy," she said back in the same tone, though hers was a bit more mocking.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, furrowing his brows.

"It's a bookshop," she told him, narrowing her eyes as if his question were stupid, which it was. "It's my favorite bookshop," she added, looking past him and at her brother, who stood a few feet back with a semi-worried look on his face.

She nodded, letting him know that everything was okay, and he walked over to the counter without saying anything to her. When she met Malfoy's stare once more, she could tell that he hadn't even noticed Lucas or the fact that her attention had gone away from him for a moment.

"Right," he nodded.

His father came up behind him slowly, setting his cane on the boy's shoulder and moving him out of the way. She could see the nerves filling his features in his father's presence, but she ignored them.

"Now, now, Draco. Play nicely," Lucius began, looking from his son to Potter. "Mr. Potter," he added as Olivia moved closer to the group. "Lucius Malfoy," the man introduced himself with a cold expression, sticking his gloved hand out for Potter to shake.

Olivia moved over to the stairs, where Malfoy stood, so that she could keep a close eye on Lucas, who still stood at the counter, buying his books.

"We meet at last," Lucius continued, suddenly pulling Potter closer. "Forgive me," he said, lifting his cane up to the boy's forehead. Olivia watched him closely with furrowed brows as he pushed back Potter's hair to showcase the scar. "Your scar is legend," he muttered, inspecting it closely. "As, of course, is the wizard who gave it to you."

"Voldemort killed my parents," Potter returned, pulling away from the man's hold. "He was nothing more than a murder."

Olivia's eyes found their way to Malfoy, who wasn't paying attention to the interaction but rather to Granger, who was glaring at his father. Ignoring them, she looked for Lucas and saw him give the man behind the counter a small smile, grabbing his books from the counter. Lucas began making his way over to the group.

"Hmm," Lucius hummed as Lucas walked behind him and towards Olivia. "You must be very brave to mention his name... or very foolish," the man added, his tone slightly amused by his last words.

"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself," Granger chimed in, still glaring at Lucius. Everyone looked at her, including Lucas, who brushed past Olivia and Malfoy so that he could stand behind his sister without anyone noticing him.

"And you must be... Miss Granger," Lucius drew out, glancing over at his son, who gave him a short, confirming nod. "Yes. Draco's told me all about you and your parents," he added, looking back at Granger, making Olivia twist her face in confusion.

Granger glanced back, presumably at her parents, as Olivia looked over at Malfoy. He had his signature snarl planted on his face like an infesting weed that needed containing. His eyes were a bit darker gray as he looked at her with a questioning look. She rolled her eyes and looked away from him.

"Muggles, aren't they?" Lucius asked, looking at Granger's parents as well, then back to her. He then paid attention to the Weasleys. "Let me see," he began, his eyes wandering all over their Weasley-indentifying features. "Red hair, vacant expressions... tatty secondhand book," he said, moving forward and grabbing something from the girl's bucket. He examined the book in his hand before adding, "You must be the Weasleys."

Olivia recognized Arthur Weasley as he came up beside the children, causing Malfoy to step back, bumping right into Lucas and making him drop all of his books. "Watch it," he spat, sending a narrow-eyed look back at the curly-haired boy, who had bent down to pick up his purchases.

Olivia's blood began to boil as she looked at Malfoy, who was still glaring at her brother. She felt Lucas's small hand on her wrist as everyone looked at them, and he muttered, "Olivia, it's alright. Don't do anything stupid." And she looked down, watching as he picked up his books and stood.

"You know him?" Malfoy asked, looking up at her.

She could've sworn her eye twitched. "This happens to be my brother, but I guess you've forgotten him after all of these years," she explained, trying to calm herself as her angry eyes narrowed at him.

Malfoy's face went a bit paler as he stepped back. "Oh."

Before anything else could be said, the Weasley man said, "Children, it's mad in here. Let's go outside."

Olivia continued to glare at Malfoy as Lucas stood close to her, worried she might do something stupid. She was thinking about doing something really stupid.

"Well, well, well, Weasley senior," Lucius muttered, causing the red-haired man to look at him.

"Lucius..." Weasley returned.

"Busy time at the Ministry, Arthur, all those extra raids?" Lucius asked, his voice still in the whispery, telling-a-secret tone. "I do hope they're paying you overtime," he added, then lifted the book in his hand. "But judging by the state of this, I'd say not." His gaze was full of judgment as Olivia finally peeled her eyes away from Malfoy. "What's the use in being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?" He sneered, and Olivia finally knew where Malfoy got his look from.

She wanted to chime in and tell the man that he and his family were a disgrace to the name of wizard, but before she could, the Weasley man said, "We have a very different idea about what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy."

"Clearly," Lucius returned. "Associating with Muggles..." He looked over at Granger's parents, then moved forward to dump the book back into the youngest Weasley's bucket. "And I thought your family could sink no lower."

Olivia rolled her eyes, ready to leave. She grabbed Lucas's wrist, the one not holding his books, and began pulling him towards the door, brushing past Mr. Weasley. But Lucius sticking out of his cane prevented them from going too far. With a glare, Olivia looked up at the man, who was looking down at her with a particular look.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked, his expression flat.

"Yes, I cannot seem to be in the presence of the Malfoy kind for too long without getting horribly sick," she retorted, trying to move past him again. "Just ask your son."

Lucius moved to block her path. "You look just like your mother," he told Olivia, ignoring her words. "And you, your father," he added, looking at Lucas.

"So we've been told," Olivia replied, her patience running dangerously thin. Once more, she made a move to pass him, but his cane stayed firmly in front of her path. "If you don't move your wretched cane, I'll have to break it," she warned, looking up at the man. She could feel Malfoy's eyes on her from behind, but she ignored it.

The man must've believed she was bluffing because he didn't move his cane; he just gave her a crooked smile. "You know, Draco speaks highly of you at home, but he forgot to mention your rather charming personality," he informed her.

"Yes, he seems rather obsessed with me. It would be quite worrisome if I cared." She let out a breath. "Now, if you don't mind," she began, looking down at the highly expensive staff of dark wood in front of her, then stomped on it, snapping it in half. "We need to get going," she added, brushing past the man on her way to the door.

Sending one last glance back at Malfoy, she could feel the anger radiating from his father, which settled something in her. She pushed the door open, hearing the bell chime, and tugged on Lucas wrist as she looked away from the blonde boy, then stepped outside.

Once they were on the streets of Hogsmeade, she felt the cool breeze on her heated face. She let go of Lucas's wrist, letting him hold onto his books with both arms, and they began walking.

"Olivia, you didn't have to do that," he said, keeping up with her fast pace.

"I know, but I wanted to," she said, not even shooting a glance in his direction as she searched for the nearest fireplace. Once they did, she went first, stepping into the fireplace and saying, 'Mallard Manor.' She grabbed a handful of Floo Powder and threw it in to awaken the green flames, and to Mallard Manor she went.

Moments after she stepped out of the connected fireplace of the manor, Lucas appeared in the flames. When he stepped out to join her, she let out a sigh, running a hand over her tired eyes. "Go get your things packed, Lucas; we've got a big day coming up," she told him, sending him a small smile.

He nodded but hesitated for a moment. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to speak, but then he quickly shut it as if he'd decided against the act and made his way upstairs.

Olivia followed only a moment after that, going straight to her room. Once she was in there and the door was shut, she kicked off her shoes and shrugged off her robes. She curled up on her bed next to Tommy, who was still sleeping, and let her hand pet his soft head.

"Why did he have to be the one who gifted me with you?" she asked her cat, knowing not to expect an answer.

No answer didn't mean the question didn't linger.

Why, why, why?

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

━━━━ ella's speaking !
act two is officially here !!

i'm so so excited to write this act (i've already completed the first five chapters) 🤭

i hope you enjoyed !!

kisses.

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

word count: 2708. written: 9.19.23. published: 9.26.23.