BORN TO DIE ╱ DRACO MALFOY
꒷꒦ · ˚.‧ . written by ella . . . © -lostgardens
043 ━━━━━━━ ❛ buckbeak's talons ❜

After Olivia's little word with Snape (that ended in a tantrum on her part, but she would never admit that), she met her friends (and Daphne), who had been waiting for her in the corridor. They had to quickly go to Hagrid's hut for their first Care of Magical Creatures class of the year, so that they wouldn't be late.

They rushed out of the corridor, following the path of the grounds that Draco and Olivia remembered all too well from when they had snuck out to spy on the Golden Trio some years ago. She didn't know if her group had ever found out about that, now that it was on her mind. She hadn't told them, but that didn't mean that Draco hadn't.

Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she focused on the task at hand as she moved to the front of the cluster.

As they continued to trail down the grounds, Olivia was terribly excited, having already forgotten the annoying words of Trelawney and Snape. The professors' words no longer matter, and she could only utter the excerpts of glee so many times before they got through her group's skulls. She loved magical creatures, to the point where she was nearly jumping for joy because she was ready to see what Hagrid had planned. She wasn't actually jumping for joy, of course, just wanting to.

"That's it. Come on, now. Come closer," Hagrid instructed as Olivia and her group came to a stop at his hut. "Less talking, if you don't mind." He pointed to the back of the crowd of students. "I got a real treat for you today." His large hands rested on his hips, sounding rather enthusiastic. Olivia glanced over at Draco, giving him a tight-lipped smile full of excitement for what was like the millionth time. "A great lesson. So follow me," the man continued, just before walking away.

The students from all four houses walked behind him in a large group as he led them to wherever they were going. Olivia remained quiet for the whole journey, drowning out the chatter behind her as Draco walked alongside her. The rest of her group (which now, disgustingly, included Pike, a boy who Olivia didn't particularly like but was apparently friends with Draco) followed behind, lost in their own worlds and giving sideways glances to anyone who bumped into them.

But finally, when they came to an open part of the forest, Hagrid stepped over the rock barrier lining the perimeter of the cleared-out section, and the students followed. "Right, you lot." The half-giant turned to the students, giving them a pointed look. "Form a group over there," he continued, gesturing towards a thick tree that was to the right of where they all stood. "And open your books to page 49," he professed, waving his finger at them tellingly.

"Exactly how do we do that?" Draco asked with a hint of snark, stepping down from the rocks.

Olivia rolled her eyes at him as Hagrid turned around to look at the boy. "Well, just stroke the spine, of course," he informed, like it was obvious. It was. Turning back around, facing the way he was before Draco spoke, he muttered, "Goodness me," and continued on going where he was going.

Olivia watched Draco carefully as he studied his book, flipping it a couple of times to find the spine. The book was purring, and he stroked the spine like he had been told to do. And when nothing happened, he looked up to where Hagrid had just been and hummed to himself. The others had walked off, going over to the tree, while Olivia continued to stare at him with a knowing look and raised brows.

Glancing over at her, his face twisted in confusion from her stare. Then he raised his chin in all his mightiness. She wanted to laugh. "What?" he inquired, dropping his arm that held his book.

"Nothing," she replied, biting back a smile as she shook her head in amusement.

"Olivia, what?" he called out as she began to walk away and over to the others. She waved a dismissive hand, not looking back at him. He quickly followed, grumbling something under his breath that she didn't catch and didn't particularly care to catch.

As they walked a short length of the stacked-rock barrier, going to where their friends were, they passed Longbottom, who had somehow figured out how to open his book. The same thing that was just purring with Draco was now growling at the Gryffindor boy and trying to bite him. He fell to the ground as Olivia glanced at him. Some students laughed as bits of paper from the book flew around in the air, and Olivia rolled her eyes, looking away from him.

"Don't be such a wimp, Longbottom," Draco teased.

The just-attacked-by-a-book boy sat up quickly. "I'm okay, okay," he breathed out. His reassurance, though, had not been well planned because the book continued to growl, attacking him once more, and he fell back to the ground.

Finally, though, Olivia and Draco made it to their group, who were standing next to the large tree Hagrid had told them to. She leaned against its left side with her back pressed against the bark. The rest, excluding Pike, who was standing dangerously close to her, and Goyle, who was to her left, stood in front of it.

"I think they're funny," they heard Granger say.

"Oh, yeah, terribly funny," Draco chimed in, loud enough for the Gryffindor trio in front of them to hear. "Really witty," he added as they turned around. His voice was full of its usual teasing and snarkiness, and Olivia was in a mix of hating it and being used to it. "God, this place has gone to the dogs." He snarled as Potter focused on him, dropping his bag off his shoulder. "Wait until my father hears that Dumbledore's got this oaf teaching classes." He nodded towards where Hagrid had gone off to.

Olivia rolled her eyes as Draco glanced around at his friends, while Crabbe and Goyle cackled.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Potter countered, moving forward with annoyance swirling behind his circle glasses.

"Ooh!" Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle howled, all staring at the famous boy in front of them.

Draco handed off his bag to Crabbe with a smug smirk on his face, the one that Olivia was slowly learning to like—just like, nothing more... at all. She watched closely as the blonde boy dropped his arm and faced Potter once more with that sly smile still on his face.

"And what about you, Mallard?" Potter continued, glancing over at the girl before Draco could do anything else. "Did you finally decide to embrace your Slytherin after everyone found out that you helped Hagrid and me last year?"

Olivia narrowed her eyes at the boy, not missing the warning looks his friends behind him sent him. Students around them muttered, "Ooh," like Potter had done something worthwhile. Rolling her eyes, she dropped her foot from the bark of the tree and straightened her spine. Then she began towards the boy, brushing past Draco.

"I take offense to that, Potter," she began, looking him up and down with narrowed eyes. "I've always embraced my Slytherin; thank you very much." She gave him a snarky smile, taking another intimidating step forward. "And I want to make one thing clear: I did not help you and Hagrid."

"No, that's right. You were just standing alongside Riddle, gossiping while I was almost killed," he retorted with a hint of sass, glaring at her.

"What can I say?" She shrugged. "He was quite interesting to talk to," she admitted, sending him a teasing smile.

Rolling his eyes, Potter scoffed. "Whatever."

Olivia breathed out a small laugh, not caring about the boy's words. She turned around, ready to go back to her spot next to the tree. Draco looked at her with something she couldn't quite place swirling in his cloudy eyes, and then he began walking towards Potter.

The girl brushed past the blonde boy, going to the tree, where she propped her left foot on the bark of the tree trunk again and watched the boys with boredom in her gaze. Draco came to a stop in front of Potter. He looked the glasses-wearing boy up and down, then his eyes focused above his head.

Noticing this, Olivia furrowed her brows, looking where he was looking, and saw nothing. She dug her back a little deeper into the tree, crossing her arms across her chest, and she focused on the boys just in time to see Draco stepping back, now seeming frightened.

"D-Dementor! Dementor!" he stammered, pointing to the sky.

Students gasped, quickly looking to where he was pointing. Olivia stood up straight, dropped her foot, and glanced at the sky again. She was certain she hadn't seen anything. Perhaps she hadn't been looking well enough. Focusing on the sky, she proved herself right. She hadn't seen anything.

Feeling the annoyance boiling in her blood, she inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, trying to calm herself. She glared at the back of Draco's too-blonde hair, her heart embarrassingly racing from the brief belief of a dementor being there, as he backed towards his spot in front of the tree. The Slytherins, excluding her, began to laugh, and she rolled her eyes.

She hoped her friends (besides Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were clearly laughing) weren't joining in. But as she stepped from the left side of the tree to stand somewhat behind Draco, she saw him, Goyle, Pike, and Pansy throw the hoods of their robes on their heads (Crabbe didn't because he wasn't wearing his robes), and her hope was quickly gone. She should've known that Pansy would take any chance to poke fun at Potter and, well, anyone who wasn't Slytherin.

Theodore, Blaise, and Daphne (not her friend!) remained silent, though. And Olivia could've sworn she saw Theodore roll his eyes as the laughing Slytherins raised their hands and wiggled their fingers while muttering, "Ooh..." in a shaky, haunting tone. Their laughter got even louder as Granger grabbed Potter's robes and turned him away, giving the boys a snarky look while she was at it.

Pushing Goyle to the side so that she could stand next to Draco, Olivia glared at the overly-blonde, cloudy-eyed boy. Draco just gave her a snarky smile as she pulled the hood off of his head.

"That wasn't funny," she admitted, dropping her hand from his hood and placing it on her hip. "In case you forgot, Draco," she paused and cracked her knuckles against her side, digging her skin into the soft fabric of her robes. "Potter was not the only one who was attacked by a dementor." She narrowed her eyes tellingly.

His smile dropped as the memory hit him in the face, like Olivia had often thought of doing (which only came true in her dreams). "Oh," he muttered, watching her intently. She could see the regret in his eyes, and she was sure he could see the annoyance on her face. "I-I'm sorry, Olivia. I forgot."

Was she annoyed and a tad bit upset? Yes, of course. But was hearing him apologize so easily music to her ears? Absolutely. She couldn't help but let a small smirk overtake her features as she continued to stare at him like he was so gullible (which he was).

Glancing down at her lips to look at her growing smirk, which sent a wave of something through Olivia, Draco quickly realized what she was thinking and how she was feeling about his joke. "You don't actually care, do you?" He sighed, relieved but irritated that she had been able to fool him so easily.

She shook her head, giving him a teasing look. "No," she muttered. It wasn't the complete truth, but it was close enough. She let out an exaggerated breath, looking away at the bright sky for a moment. "You're just so easy to get to apologize when it comes to me," she confessed, focusing on him as she shrugged her shoulders. "It must be that weird obsession you have."

Before either could say anything else, Hagrid cleared his throat, finally coming back from wherever he ventured off to. When all of the students looked at him, well, besides Draco, who was still staring at Olivia with that unknown something, the man lifted his arms out to whatever was behind him and sang, "Da, da, da, da!" He sounded so cheerful, like whatever he was showcasing was something spectacular.

Olivia nudged Draco's shoulder, giving him a pointed look, and gestured towards Hagrid. "Pay attention," she quietly ordered, causing him to give her a confused look as he opened his mouth to speak with disbelief.

But before he could even utter a breath, she turned away from him, focusing on whatever Hagrid was presenting. When her eyes finally landed on the subject of their lesson, they went wide with excitement. It couldn't be...could it? There was no way. But yet here it stood.

The croaking of the hippogriff that stood in front of them was met with the murmurs of the students as they tried to figure out what exactly they were looking at. Olivia rolled her eyes at their cluelessness, and especially at the twisted look of confusion that was on Draco's face.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid asked, sounding no less than happy. Then he tossed the creature a dead ferret, which he caught effortlessly, and that made Olivia grimace in disgust. "Say hello to Buckbeak."

More students muttered to themselves, but Weasley voiced, "Hagrid, exactly what is that?"

Hagrid opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Olivia stepped forward. "It's a hippogriff, Ronald," she informed, exhaling like he should've known. "Can't you tell by its large-tipped wings, curved beak, and sharp-shaped head, which is that of a giant eagle, and its body and hindquarters, which is that of a horse?" she continued, crossing her arms over her chest and giving him a bored look.

Everyone looked at her in confusion, and Weasley opened his mouth a few times to speak. He furrowed his brows, closing his mouth, and stared at her as his face turned a little redder. "No," he finally muttered, taking a step closer to Potter and Granger.

"Yes." Hagrid nodded to Olivia, giving her a small, this-is-my-lesson smile. "Thank you, Olivia."

She dipped her head in response as she took a step back.

Hagrid took a few steps forward, coming closer to the students but still leaving some distance. "First thing you want to know about hippogriffs is that they're very proud creatures," he began, planting his feet. "Very easily offended." He lifted a telling finger. "You do not want to insult a hippogriff. It may just be the last thing you ever do," he warned, raising his chin. "Now"—he clapped his hands, then dropped them to his sides—"who'd like to come and say hello?"

He turned to face Buckbeak as everyone, except Olivia and Potter, quickly backed away, not wanting to go anywhere near the hippogriff after the man's words. Olivia couldn't blame them—it took someone with real guts to go near a creature that could easily kill them. But also, who wouldn't want to go near a creature that could easily kill them? How ever were any of them going to have fun in their lifetimes?

The students continued to whisper amongst themselves in an incoherent manner as Hagrid turned back around to face them. "Well done, Harry and Olivia. Well done," he praised, glad that at least one of the students had enough courage and curiosity.

Olivia smiled as Potter turned around to look at his classmates, who were all looking at him like he was crazy. They didn't look at Olivia that way, and she supposed it was because they already thought she was crazy. She would gladly take that belief as a compliment. It was better to be crazy than to be boring.

She sent an excited glance at her group, who stood behind her, still next to the tree. Theodore gave her a wary thumbs-up, while Pansy and Daphne gave her frightened smiles, and Blaise motioned for her to go forward. Then she focused on Draco, who stood between Crabbe and Goyle like always. He looked a mixture of worried and confused, which wasn't a new look for him. But when his eyes met Olivia's, he quickly replaced that look with a small smile.

Ignoring the blonde's smile and looking at Hagrid, Olivia saw the man rock on his feet once, going from his heels to his toes, then his shoes were flat on the ground. "Come on, now," he muttered, gesturing for Potter and Olivia to move forward.

Olivia glanced over at Potter as she walked forward, seeing Weasley give him a slight push. Stifling a laugh at both boys' worried expressions, she rolled her eyes in amusement and continued to step closer to Hagrid and the hippogriff, being careful not to move too fast.

"Now, you have to let him make the first move," Hagrid began, making sure to get his words across. "It's only polite," he added as a reminder as Potter and Olivia moved closer to him. "So, you step up. Give him a nice bow. Then you wait and see if he bows back," he explained, and Olivia and Potter slowed their movements, easing closer to Buckbeak. "And if he does, you can go and touch him."

The excitement Olivia felt was insane. She had only ever read about hippogriffs, and she never thought in a million years she'd actually see one in real life, let alone touch it! Still, she kept her nerves and jitteriness to herself and remained focused. She didn't want to alarm Buckbeak, and she was sure Potter would do enough of that for the both of them (she could practically smell the fear seeping from his pores).

After a pause, Hagrid continued, "If not..." He fell quiet, trying to think of what to say. "Well, we'll get to that later." He waved a dismissive hand, chuckling slightly. Olivia and Potter took a few more slow steps forward, feeling the eyes of everyone on their backs. "Now, make your bow," the man instructed, his voice a little quieter. Olivia shared a look with the boy next to her, then they looked at Hagrid and began to bend down as he said, "Nice and low."

As they stilled, bowing to the creature in front of them as a peace offering, Olivia took slow and steady breaths. She wasn't nervous because she thought Buckbeak would reject and attack her (perhaps Potter, but not her); it was more so the fact of being so close to a creature she had only ever dreamed about meeting. She didn't know why she had such a fascination with hippogriffs (or most magical creatures at that), but she did, and she loved it.

Buckbeak looked at them as he turned his head to the side, back and forth, as he bleated, taking steps in place. He let out a squawk as he lifted his wings, showcasing the span of them. This was not going as planned. Olivia swallowed the lump in her throat.

Hagrid threw a telling hand, gesturing for them to move back. "Back off, you two. Back off," he warned in a low tone.

The two took a step back, but, of course, Potter stepped on a branch, snapping it in half. Olivia grimaced, squeezing her eyes shut as a wash of panic overtook her body. She sent a glare at the boy next to her but stayed in her bowing position, not wanting to make anything worse as she calmed herself.

"Keep still," Hagrid ordered, still in a hushed tone, so as not to startle the hippogriff. "Keep still."

Slowly, as if they shared the same instincts, Potter and Olivia looked up at Buckbeak, who was still slightly panicked. The creature stopped his front feet—those of an eagle, unlike his back ones that were matching a horse—and bleated some more. He focused on the two in front of him, giving them a curious look, and Olivia would be lying if she said that it hadn't slightly worried her.

But then he slowly bowed back.

The relief that washed over Olivia was something entirely different. She inhaled deeply before finally being able to relax her muscles. Her heart pounded against her chest with loud thuds that only she could hear.

She glanced over at Hagrid as he chuckled, impressed by what had just happened. "Well done, you two. Well done," he gleamed. Then Buckbeak stood tall again, and the man threw him another dead ferret. "Eh, you big brute, you," he addressed the hippogriff.

Olivia's lip curled in slight disgust as Buckbeak caught the animal with no issue. Then she thought better of her judgment—the ferret didn't seem appetizing to her, but perhaps it was to Buckbeak. What was that saying? Never knock on something until you try it. Still, she didn't believe she'd ever try a ferret—well, not if she could help it.

She and Potter stood up straight as the thoughts left her mind. The boy exhaled as Buckbeak belched loudly.

"Right. I think you can go pat him now," Hagrid told them, causing Potter's head to dart over to him as he gave him a blank look. "Go on. Don't be shy."

Olivia began moving forward, expecting Potter to follow along. But after she took two steps, she looked back, only to see him standing in the same spot, looking rather hesitant. Sighing, she grabbed a hold of his sleeve and tugged on it. When he looked at her, giving her a confused look, she nodded her head to Buckbeak. "Come on," she whispered.

He slightly narrowed his eyes at her, but either she missed it or simply did not care because she just faced the hippogriff again and slowly stepped towards him, no longer feeling any worry or panic in her bones. She heard some movement behind them, but it wasn't enough to make her look away from Buckbeak.

He was magical, with his salt and pepper feathers and his different features from two different (and completely opposite) animals. It was all so beautiful—something so unusual and unique. With the back of his body being that of a horse—the hindlegs bared with hoofs and the long tail—and the rest of him being that of a giant eagle—large, feathered wings, front feet paired with sharp talons, and a pointed head and beak, he was completely and utterly beautiful. It all made Olivia wish there were more hippogriffs flying around in the world so that she could see them all the time. But then again, perhaps if that were the case, she'd get too used to them, and the beauty and uniqueness would slowly fade away.

"Nice and slow there," Hagrid muttered. "Nice and slow. Nice and slow."

She lifted her hand to Buckbeak, letting him decide when he wanted to come closer to her. Potter, who stood a step behind her, did the same. They continued to step forward, Olivia's footfall a little slower than Potter's, and for good reason.

Buckbeak snapped forward, letting out a small squawk in warning. "Not so fast, Harry," Hagrid cautioned. Olivia could hear the sound of panic behind them, and she was sure the students were freaking out. Then she heard some laughter—Draco's laughter—and she rolled her eyes. "Slow down, Harry," the man whispered, which reassured Olivia that her slow pace was good because he hadn't said her name. "That's it. Nice and slow."

Even though Potter had been moving faster than her, Olivia still reached the creature first since she had been in front. Her hand remained raised, ready for Buckbeak to greet her if he wanted, and she watched him closely.

"Now let him come to you," Hagrid reminded, watching intently just in case he needed to intervene. Olivia stopped her movements at his words, and she could feel Potter do the same behind her. They all watched Buckbeak, who seemed hesitant at first. But then, much to their relief, he moved forward. "That's it. Slowly now," the professor(?) muttered. "Slowly, slowly," he repeated as Buckbeak eased towards Olivia.

In a blink of an eye (not her own because she thought better of blinking at the moment), Olivia felt soft feathers under her touch. Buckbeak had come to her. He had finally come to her. She was patting the beak of a hippogriff. The creature nudged her hand up, and she felt a weight being lifted off her shoulders. Then he nudged her face gently, rubbing along her skin, and she let out a small laugh, cheerful for the experience. "You're a playful one, aren't you?" she asked, not expecting an answer (though that would've been really epic).

"Oh, you're a natural with animals," Hagrid gleamed as Olivia continued to pat the side of Buckbeak's head and Potter eased forward a bit more.

"I love animals," she admitted, reminding herself of Tommy for a second. She sent the man a small smile, then looked back at Buckbeak. With one last pet, she backed away, letting Potter have his turn. She moved to stand next to Hagrid as Buckbeak turned to look at Potter before stepping forward and rubbing his head on the boy's hand like he'd done with Olivia.

"Well done. Oh, well done, you two. Well done!" Hagrid cheered, looking between both Olivia and Potter, who were both still focused on the creature. Potter had a bright smile on his face as all of the students began to clap alongside Hagrid.

Olivia glanced back at the crowd of her classmates but focused on one specific blonde boy, who was eating a green apple. She believed he had mentioned those were his favorites once... but that's besides the point. He was the only one, alongside their housemates, who wasn't clapping. She supposed he didn't want anyone to mistakenly think he was showing support for Potter—she'd do the same if she were being completely honest with herself.

"I think he may let you ride him now," Hagrid confessed, moving towards the boy.

Potter's head snapped at him, his eyes wide in surprise. "What?"

"Come on." Hagrid placed his hands under Potter's arms, lifting him up in the air like he weighted the same as a feather, and moved closer to Buckbeak.

Olivia let out a laugh as Potter stammered, "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!"

"Put you over here," Hagrid grumbled, more so to himself than anyone else.

"H-Hagrid!" Potter called out, panicking.

Hagrid dropped him down onto Buckbeak, causing the creature to squawk. "Just behind the wing joint," he added, ignoring Potter's protests. "Don't pull out any of his feathers, 'cause he won't thank you for that," the man explained, walking behind the hippogriff and to the other side of him. Then he smacked Buckbeak's backside, alerting him to go.

"Whoa!" Potter shouted as Buckbeak stood up on his hindlegs. Then he fell back down on all fours and began racing to the opposite side of the area as Potter held on for dear life.

Olivia watched in amusement, with her arms crossed over her chest and a smirk on her face. Once the boy and the hippogriff reached the end of the field, they took off into the sky, and Potter let out another shout. The other students raced over to where they could see clearly, shouting amongst themselves as they cheered on the flying duo.

Olivia stayed in her spot, though, watching from a distance, glad that she was not the one in Potter's place—she hated flying with her entire soul.

She didn't keep up with how long Potter and Buckbeak were flying for, but just before they landed, Hagrid whistled, calling the hippogriff back to him. Once they touched ground, everyone, excluding her group of friends (which had Daphne and Pike standing with them), loudly cheered, giving Potter many "Well done!" praises. They continued to clap as Buckbeak raced back over to where he'd stood before.

"Well done, Harry!" Hagrid beamed, walking back over to him. "And well done, Buckbeak!" The man put his hands under Potter's arms again and lifted him off of Buckbeak's back, setting his feet on the ground.

Olivia was focused on the new professor and the famous boy, but when she heard the shoving of students, she looked over at the crowd. Then she let out a sigh and rolled her eyes, her annoyance growing a little more.

"Yeah," Draco began, strutting over to the hippogriff. He truly was an idiot. "You're not dangerous at all, are you, you great ugly brute?" he asked, the jealousy of Potter's praise clear in his steps and tone.

Just turn around; that was all Olivia wanted to say. But she couldn't help that little lingering voice in the back of her mind telling her that he needed to learn his lesson, even if that meant getting hurt due to Buckbeak. Still, she took a few steps forward, dropping her arms to her sides. "Draco," she warned at the same time as Hagrid, who said the boy's surname instead.

But the blonde didn't pay them any mind.

Buckbeak rose to his hindlegs, feeling defensive and ready to attack. It was like Olivia wasn't thinking as she moved forward, turning her back to Buckbeak, raising her arms to her head, and blocking Draco from the talons he was so close to facing. Her classmates screamed in fear, but all Olivia could feel was the sharp pain running through her body like a madman running from his own thoughts.

They fell to the ground with a hard thud, but luckily for Olivia, Draco broke her fall.

Wait, Draco broke her fall?!

She gasped in pain and peeled open her eyes, meeting the squeezed-shut eyes of the boy underneath her. She studied his face for a moment, and it seemed like he, too, was in pain. How could that be? Buckbeak didn't even touch him. Perhaps it was because she had fallen on top of him.

She was on top of him, she realized, and her eyes went wide. And that was it; in that moment, she wanted to die. Her face heated, and the sharp pain in her back, the wet feeling of blood on her skin, and the loud screams of her classmates grew more apparent with every passing moment.

Quickly, she rolled off of Draco, saving herself from the embarrassment of him opening his eyes and looking up at her.

When her back touched the hard surface of the earth, she groaned in pain, her face contouring into nothing but discomfort. She whined as Hagrid moved in front of Buckbeak, probably trying to calm him. Olivia did not know, and she did not care.

"I am going to kill you, Malfoy!" She gritted through her teeth, her eyes squeezed shut as her head throbbed against her skull. She was sure she had finally caught his attention.

Or perhaps not...

"It's killed me! It's killed me!" Draco whined, rolling back and forth on his back, holding his uninjured, untouched, perfectly fine arm.

"Oh, calm down, Malfoy. That's just a scratch from a branch," Hagrid interjected, not in the mood for the boy's dramatics.

"Hagrid," Olivia heard Granger call out as she rolled onto her stomach, trying to muster the strength to stand. Someone might have called her dramatic like Draco, and she would've told them to get three deep scratches on their back from a hippogriff and see how they felt afterward. "Olivia needs to be taken to the hospital!"

"I'm fine," Olivia assured weakly as she held up a dismissive hand. She'd spent too much of her time at Hogwarts in that stupid hospital. Worst of all, she knew that if she were to go to the hospital, Dumbledore would know, then he would tell Snape, and then Snape would tell her parents. She didn't need her parents in her business, especially not after they told her to literally watch her back... Look how well that went!

"No, you're not!" Granger retorted, taking another few steps closer.

Olivia glared at her as she stood on the ground. She stumbled a bit, trying to regain her wits, as Draco jumped up from the ground and rushed to her side. "I'm fine," she seethed, glaring at him. She watched as he swallowed the lump in his throat and backed away a few steps.

Everyone watched her closely as she pulled off her three-strikes-on-the-back robes, slightly wincing in pain at the slow yet extremely painful movements. Once her robe was off, she ignored the heat coursing through her body, much like it had when she was stabbed (something she still believed was a fever dream), and turned so that her back was to Draco. "Is it bad?" she asked, trying to look over her shoulder at her own back.

He met her gaze, giving her a sheepish smile, and that was how she knew it was bad.

Chills ran through her body, then it was a hot flash, and it was back and forth from there on. She felt lightheaded and like she was going to throw up. She knew the feeling all too well, and she wanted to do everything in her power to stop it. But she couldn't. Her robes fell from her hands and onto the dirt as she stumbled in place.

"Olivia, are you alright?" Draco asked as he cautiously moved closer to her.

She somehow managed to glare at him again as she continued to stumble forward a bit more, almost falling to the ground. But luckily, Draco caught her by the elbows, looking down at her with worry.

She tried to hold her eyes open; she really did, but they were just growing so heavy. And she tried to fight against the continuous blood loss, but it eventually became too much, and she fainted into Draco's arms. She really wished he would've dropped her to the ground because she didn't want him to have the idea that he helped her.

Hagrid stepped forward, worried, looking down at the now-unconscious girl.

"Hagrid, the hospital," Granger repeated, placing her hands on her hips.

"Right." He nodded, inhaling deeply. "I'm the teacher; I'll do it." He took another step forward, removing the girl from Draco's hold and lifting her into his own arms like she were a flower he'd just plucked from the garden, with little to no effort at all. Then he began to walk away, calling out, "Class dismissed."

Draco followed him for a few feet, glaring at the man's bushy hair, still extremely worried about Olivia. "You're going to regret this!" he called out, stopping in his tracks and digging his heels into the dirt when Hagrid didn't even so much as glance back at him. "You and your bloody chicken!"

No, Draco. The only one who was going to regret something around here was you, and only you.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

━━━━ ella's speaking !
ah, just olivia getting hurt once more—nothing new to see here

also, i'm sorry that i've been slacking a bit on the frequency of updates. this month i've been trying and trying to write but i've been in a bit of a slump, but luckily, i think i'm finally climbing out of it!

make sure to comment and vote!

kisses.

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

word count: 5864.   written: 11.8.23.   published: 11.20.23.