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

Her second year was over, and she couldn't wrap her head around it.

Olivia's mind raced with all of the memories, good and bad, of the past school months she had been through. It had gone by so fast yet so slowly, all at once. She didn't know how to feel as she packed her things into her trunk, one by one, stripping her room of its personality until they returned in a few months' time.

The three girls were silent, soaking in all of their wandering thoughts. Olivia remained on the topic of her to-do list that she had started a couple of months ago. She hadn't finished all of her tasks, and that was slightly disappointing, but there were always the summer months and next school year.

Having those months would be good, giving her a little more time to plan and execute. A little more time for her to get revenge on...

The sound of a trunk slamming shut and locking knocked her out of her thoughts. Olivia's eyes darted over to Pansy, who was sending her a small smile. "Are you two ready?" the girl asked, looking between her two roommates, who stood at the ends of their beds like she did her own. "We should be heading out soon."

Olivia glanced around the room at all of her empty furniture, making sure she had everything—from her bed to her nightstand, her dresser to her wardrobe, and then her desk. Once she concluded that she had, she looked at Pansy again. "Yeah, I'm ready." She closed her trunk and latched it.

"Me too," Daphne added, locking her trunk as Olivia packed her book and wand into her small bag.

Pansy inhaled deeply as both girls stared at her, and Olivia could tell she was holding back tears. She didn't know why Pansy would want or try not to cry; it wasn't like this was the end of their seventh year and they would never be returning ever again; it was the end of their second. Just a few months of summer and they'd be back in the old stone walls of this castle—this room. But to each their own, she supposed.

And after a moment of standing there, silent, the girls finally grabbed their trunks and left the room to be by itself. They made their way down the stairs to the common room, where many Slytherins lingered, either saying goodbye to their friends or gossiping about what they planned on doing in their free months. Olivia planned on spending as much time away from her parents and with Lucas, Bobbin, and Trinky as she could—that and work on her to-do list.

The boys stood at the back of one of the leather couches, talking amongst each other as the girls walked over to them. The point of conversation? Nonsense. It was always nonsense. Olivia shook her head at the fact that Lucas had gotten dragged into it from the very first night he was at Hogwarts.

"Ready to go?" Pansy asked, placing a hand on her hip. She stared at the boys with boredom as their words fell short and their eyes found hers.

"Yeah," Theodore nodded, giving her a tight-lipped smile.

Then they left the common room, not waiting on their other housemates. Olivia walked in front with Pansy and Lucas on either side of her, while the others trailed behind. Daphne had her book out, narrowly missing students as she read and walked at the same time. Malfoy, Theodore, and Blaise continued on with their conversation, with Crabbe and Goyle staying silent as they followed behind the blonde boy. And Pansy talked to Olivia and Lucas about her summer plans.

Once they made it to the train, they left their trunks with all of the other luggage and then climbed aboard, going to their compartment. Crabbe and Goyle went off to another compartment—Olivia wondered why they never chose to sit with them—and the others all sat down. Olivia, Lucas, Pansy, and Daphne took one side of the compartment, while Malfoy, Theodore, and Blaise took the other side.

The train ride was quiet. Lucas slept most of the time with his head resting on Olivia's shoulder while she stared out the window, watching the passing scenes go by. The boys conversation died down about five minutes into the ride; Daphne continued to read her book, and Pansy picked at her nails and slept.

But when the train came to a halt and the noise of moving, talking, and tired students sounded in the aisle, everyone in their compartment was awake and alert. Olivia wasn't sure any of them were ready to go back home; she knew she wasn't.

A few fleeting moments passed by with the blink of an eye, and the group finally stood from their seats, still not talking, and made their way out of the compartment one by one. Olivia had the straps of her bag twisted around her hand while Daphne finally closed her book, long done with it. Pansy and Lucas were wide awake, and the boys' nonsense topics were no longer on the tip of their tongues.

The group made their way over to where the trunks and other luggage of the students were being unloaded, and they searched for theirs. Olivia found hers almost immediately and grabbed it, ignoring the firey gaze she felt burning into her back. She assumed her mother had spotted her, and the fact that Malfoy stood just a foot away from her probably made the woman quite angry. Olivia didn't care though; her mother could be upset, all she liked. Olivia wasn't friends with Malfoy either way.

Moving out of the way for the others so that they could get their own trunks, Olivia turned to find her parents. It didn't take her more than two seconds to spot the narrow eyes of her mother and the not-wanting-to-start-anything expression on her father's face. He looked as if he were worried.

Olivia kept her expression flat as Lucas came to stand beside her, and her focus stayed on her mother. She knew that the woman hated the Malfoys, and she assumed it was because of their beliefs, but sometimes she couldn't help but wonder if there was a deeper reason, one that nobody thought to share with her, not that it was any of her business. Olivia herself despised the Malfoys for their beliefs and other reasons of her own, but her mother's fury towards them was something different and stronger.

"She doesn't look pleased," Lucas muttered, focusing on their mother.

Olivia shook her head slowly. "No, she doesn't," she agreed, watching the woman as she began to walk towards them. Her steps were calculated and filled with anger, but not to the naked eye. Only someone who knew her and what she believed would be able to see the fire encasing her like a glass box would be a rare artifact. Andrew followed closely behind, not wanting to interrupt or stop his wife but also wanting to be there in case he had to act as the peacekeeper for the two.

"Olivia Katherine," Clodagh clipped as she came to a stop in front of her daughter, looking down at her. And before Olivia could even blink or muster a response, her mother's hand was wrapped around her bicep, pulling her away from her group. Olivia surmised she wanted a word with her without their listening ears.

But before either one of them could say anything, a soft voice said, "Draco."

Clodagh's eyes darted behind her, landing on the black and blonde hair neatly pinned back. Narcissa Malfoy stood just behind Clodagh, with Lucius by her side, looking down at her son with a pale hand, reaching out for him and waiting for him to take it.

Olivia followed her mother's line of sight, focusing on the Malfoy woman as well. It was just in time to see Narcissa look over as if she felt Clodagh's eyes on her. Olivia could've sworn she saw the woman's breath hitch, but maybe she was seeing things—she was quite tired, after all.

Clodagh quickly looked back at her daughter, seeming a little more shaken than before. This made Olivia curious, and she narrowed her eyes in thought. But she barely got a second to think of the possible reasoning behind the reaction because the hand that was still on her bicep pulled her a little further away from the group as Lucas and Andrew sheepishly followed.

"I told you to stay away from the Malfoy boy," Clodagh gritted as they came to a stop, and Olivia dropped her trunk to the ground. The group could still hear her, and Olivia wondered if she did that on purpose. Maybe her mother wanted to make Malfoy aware of her disapproval of him. "I'm growing quite tired of you not listening, Olivia."

"Just because you hate Narcissa and Lucius doesn't mean I have to hate Draco," Olivia retorted, leaning closer to her mother's face with narrowed eyes. Then her eyes slightly widened. She'd called him Draco. That was odd. Why did she do that? She never did that. He was Malfoy. Shaking away the confusion and slight shock, she removed her arm from her mother's grip with a tug but stayed in her spot.

Clodagh blinked, then blinked again, processing Olivia's words. That had been one of the few moments Olivia talked back to her mother, and it was proven to be enough to leave the woman speechless. With another blink of her eyes, Clodagh straightened her spine, brushing her hands over the front of her long black dress, and turned to Lucas. "Come on, Lucas," she instructed, walking over to him and gently placing a hand on the top of his back.

Lucas didn't protest, taking one glance back at his sister, who stood looking down at the ground with slightly widened eyes. He continued on with his mother as she led him towards the fireplace. Andrew remained in place as well, watching his daughter closely, not knowing what to do. But after a moment, he took a few steps forward, going to grab Olivia's trunk.

This caught her attention, and she waved a dismissive hand. "I can carry it," she said, bending down to pick up her trunk.

Andrew didn't say anything in response and backed away, placing his hands in his trousers pockets and ignoring the eyes on him. And once Olivia moved to stand beside him, her eyes wandering over to Malfoy, who was watching her closely, he cleared his throat, catching her attention. "Are you ready to go?" he asked, looking down at her.

Her eyes still lingered on Malfoy while her thoughts ran around in her skull. She nodded her head after a moment, looking up at her father. "Yeah, I suppose," she answered, running a hand through her hair.

"Alright," he nodded, placing a hand on the top of her back like Clodagh had with Lucas. He turned to face the Malfoys for a short second. "Good to see you both again," he said, still being polite despite his feelings towards them. "Come on, Olivia."

Olivia walked with her father, sending one last glance back at her group, who still stood alongside Malfoy and his parents with their brows raised, slightly shocked by what they had just witnessed. Clodagh Mallard never lost her temper in front of others. Olivia was sure that wasn't the only thing haunting their minds, but it was the only thing she wanted to think about at the moment.

Once they reached the fireplace deemed for the floo system, they didn't find Lucas or Clodagh. Olivia supposed they had already gone back to the manor. With that in mind, she and her father went one at a time, grabbing floo powder, stepping into the fireplace, and saying "Mallard Manor," before throwing the power down and getting engulfed in green flames.

When back at the manor, Olivia wasted no time going to her room and shutting the door, already wishing she was back at Hogwarts and in her dorm with Pansy—Daphne not so much, but that was besides the point.

She put her trunk (along with her bag) on her bed, opened it, grabbed Mr. Snake, and closed it back. She tossed her stuffed bear on her pillows at the top of the bed and moved her trunk to the floor at the end. After another second, she kicked off her boots and flopped down on her bed, letting herself sink into the softness of the mattress.

She was so tired—physically and mentally. She was tired of her mother trying to control who she was friends with (even though she wasn't actually friends with Malfoy), despite never wanting anything else to do with her life. She was tired of constantly having to keep her guard up because of her never-ending paranoia. And she was tired of pretending.

With an annoyed groan, Olivia sat up in her bed, moving so that she would be correctly lying in her bed. She laid down on her back, with her head resting on her pillow and Mr. Snake snuggled in her arms, and she just stared up at the ceiling.

Due to the long train ride from Hogwarts to Platform Nine-and-Three-quarters, the sun had set and the bright moon was out with shining stars around it, causing her already dark room to be ever darker. She was staring into an abyss—dark and endless.

Usually she would light a candle to break the darkness, but in that moment, she wanted it to surround her—to swallow her. She wanted to disappear in the shadows and not come out until the summer came to an end and she could return to Hogwarts—to her true home.

That was all she wanted. Was it too much to ask?

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

━━━━ ella's speaking !
this is a short (and kind of boring) chapter, but i hope you enjoyed nonetheless! this is merely to set up certain aspects for the future of this book (and perhaps others hehe)

this is the last chapter of act two—now onto act three!!

make sure to comment and vote 🕺🏻

kisses.

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

word count: 2310.   written: 10.28.23.   published: 10.30.23.