BORN TO DIE    ╱    DRACO MALFOY
꒷꒦ · ˚.‧ . written by ella . . . © -lostgardens
052 ━━━━━ ❛ insufferable know-it-all ❜

The laughter filling the room instantly cut when the door swung open. Entered a flat expression, pacing to the front of the room in a hurry, Snape, closing the door roughly behind him.

That was typical; there was nothing odd about it, except for the fact that Olivia, alongside her classmates, was sitting in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Which, unless the man had lost his mind and forgotten, was not Snape's class, despite how much he not-so-secretly wanted it to be.

She watched the man walk to the front with broad steps. He lifted his wand as he went, pointing it at the windows that let the bright daylight in, and closed each of the shudders with loud slams. Every student followed him with their eyes, but only a few muttered their confusion as to why he was there aloud.

Olivia's eyes stayed on him with furrowed brows as she leaned back in her seat, her arms crossed over her chest. She sat next to Goyle, which, perhaps, was strange to most, seeing as though she usually sat next to Pansy or Dra—Malfoy. Maybe that was why they had those wrong thoughts about her and her feelings... But it wasn't strange; she and Goyle got along perfectly well enough. She was even still teaching him how to read.

Theodore and Blaise sat with one another behind Olivia and Goyle, with Pansy and Daphne behind them, and Malfoy and Crabbe in front of Olivia and Goyle. All was dandy in her group—nothing awkward at all. (She was lying to herself; everything was awkward but no one made a point to say anything about it, knowing that neither Olivia nor Malfoy would speak of anything going on.)

Snape pulled on a long string hanging from the ceiling and let down the large screen. Then he swiftly faced the class of students, sitting still at their tables. His eyes roamed around everyone coldly, landing on Olivia for a moment longer than the others. She sent him a sarcastic smile, like she was so wonderfully happy to be there.

He ignored her. "Turn to page 394," he instructed in his usual tone.

No one said anything and did as he told them. Olivia sat up straight, letting out a small breath, and pulled her book closer to her. She opened to page 394, noticing the title immediately. Werewolves. Her brows creased, and she looked up, only to see Snape beginning to walk the length of the classroom again, going between the tables.

"Excuse me, sir?" Potter said, catching Olivia and Snape's attention. The man came to a stop, giving the boy, whom he no doubt despised, a bored look. "Where's Professor Lupin?" he inquired, leaning a bit forward in his seat.

Most of the time, Olivia would scold Potter for asking such useless questions. But, in this case, she was wondering the same thing. Most likely for majorly different reasons than the Golden Boy, but the same nonetheless.

"That's not really your concern, is it, Potter?" Snape countered. He took a small breath and continued walking. "Suffice it to say that your professor finds himself incapable of teaching at the present time," he explained, despite what he told the boy.

It was such a vague answer, and Olivia wondered if Snape had learned the trick of the trade from their dear headmaster.

The man came to a step at the back podium, which held an open book on its top, and repeated, "Turn to page 394." He tapped his wand on the magic-using projector, giving it the means to work. Olivia watched him closely as his eyes seemed to be trained on Weasley. Snape flicked his wand in the direction of the boy, and his book opened to the correct page.

"Werewolves?" the redhead breathed out as he read the title of the page.

"But, sir," Granger, who sat next to Potter, began, turning to face Snape, "we've just begun learning about Red Caps and Hinkypunks. We're not meant to start nocturnal beasts for weeks."

Leave it to that girl to inform the professor of what they will be learning in class. Granger was such a know-it-all. Olivia rolled her eyes and rested her chin on the hand of the arm she held propped up by the elbow.

"Quiet," Snape's monotone drawl rang in their eyes with the drag of the word.

"When did she come in?" Weasley asked breathlessly, looking and sounding horrified. "Did you see her come in?" He looked at the Potter, who sat to his right with wide eyes.

"Now, which one of you can tell me the difference between an Animagus and a werewolf?" The professor continued on with his assignment, despite what Granger told him, as he slowly walked to the front of the classroom once more without looking at anyone.

Olivia and Granger both raised their hands, one boredly and the other eagerly.

"No one?" Snape, who stood back at the front of the class, sounded almost annoyed. It was barely there, but Olivia thought she heard it somewhere in his tone. She wondered if he had any emotions at all—it wasn't likely, but still. He wasn't even looking at the students as the slides on the screen changed, yet he assumed no one wanted to answer. "How disappointing," he added, slowly turning to face them.

Olivia opened her mouth to speak, but Granger beat her to it.

"Please, sir." The girl's voice was so soft and calm that Olivia hated it. Both girls put their hands down as Olivia sent a glare in the Gryffindor's direction and had it returned. Granger took a breath before she focused on the professor, who had nothing but dislike for her. "An Animagus is a wizard who elects to turn into an animal. A werewolf has no choice." She paused, sitting up straighter. "With each full moon, when he transforms, he no longer remembers who he is. He'd kill his best friend if he crossed his path." The slide on the screen changed, showing a picture of what she was describing. "Furthermore, the werewolf only responds to the call of its own kind."

Malfoy howled loudly, mimicking what Granger had explained and catching everyone's attention in the process.

Olivia looked away from Granger and focused her glare on the back of the blonde's head, watching him stare at Crabbe, who was laughing along with him. He thought he was so clever, that one. Both of them did. From beside her, she heard the faint chuckles of Goyle, and she gave him a pointed look, causing him to go quiet and clear his throat.

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy," Snape said flatly, eyeing the boy, unimpressed. He then focused back on the Gryffindor girl. "That is the second time you have spoken out of term, Miss Granger." He took a large step forward. "You were not the only one who had their hand raised." He glanced at Olivia with Granger, only to see her smirking at the simple fact that Granger was getting called out. He returned his focus to the girl to whom he was speaking. "Are you incapable of restraining yourself, or do you take pride in being an insufferable know-it-all?" he asked, his voice clipped.

Olivia covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hold back her laugh. She heard Weasley whisper to Potter, "He's got a point, you know." That only added to the warmth in her heart, knowing that Granger's friends weren't completely blind to her annoying nature. Olivia had felt off the past few days, but there was nothing like Granger being knocked down a peg that could make her feel better.

"Five points from Gryffindor," Snape added, causing the Gryffindors to sigh in frustration.

When Olivia looked forward again, she watched Malfoy blow a paper bird in someone's direction, and her face twisted in confusion. Following the bird, she saw it land in Potter's hands, enhancing her confusion and curiosity. What did he have to say to Potter aside from insults? She leaned forward, her eyes trained on the back of the blonde's head. "Sending love letters to your boyfriend, Malfoy?" she whispered teasingly, letting a smirk on her face.

Malfoy's head whipped around with narrowed eyes at the sound of his name coming from her voice. He looked rather annoyed as he met her gaze, which only made the smirk on her lips grow. Then his expression twisted into something she didn't like at all. "Jealous?" he retorted in the same tone, raising his brows.

She took offense to that. She would never be jealous of Potter, let alone something to do with Malfoy or Potter. "What would I have to be jealous of?" Her brows lifted questioningly, giving him a slightly disgusted look.

He just rolled his eyes and faced forward.

"As an antidote to your ignorance, and on my desk by Monday morning," the professor continued on, alluding to the loss of points for Gryffindor House as he moved around the tables. "Two rolls of parchment on the werewolf"—students around them started to groan in annoyance as he continued to speak over them—"with particular emphasis on recognizing it."

"Sir, it's Quidditch tomorrow," Potter countered.

Snape paused in his movements before he took a dramatic step forward and placed his hands on the boy's table, getting closer to him, which only made the boy lean further back into his seat. "Then I suggest you take extra care, Potter," Snape told him. "Loss of limb will not excuse you." He fell silent for a moment, just as everyone else in the classroom did, not taking his eyes off Potter. Then he repeated, for the third time, "Page 394."

He stood straight and stepped past Potter and to the back of the room once more, back to that podium. "The term werewolf"—he started as everyone focused on their books, now all turned to page 394—"is a contraction of the Anglo-Saxon word 'were,' which means 'man,' and 'wolf'—'werewolf' —'man-wolf.'" Snape went quiet for a beat. "There are several ways to become a werewolf. They include being given the power of shape-shifting, being bitten by a werewolf, and being born to..."

His voice drowned out in Olivia's ears, since she already knew all there was for him to teach and for her to learn—one of the many perks of being alone most of her life, only accompanied by her brother and house elves. She focused on a piece of parchment in front of her, doodling whatever came to her mind.

Time was closing in on her.

She needed to act on her ever-growing to-do list, and she needed to act fast. She needed to figure out everything that was being hidden from her before it came back to bite her in the arse. She needed to seek revenge on the girl she once called a friend. She needed to figure out all of the secrets.

She needed to know everything before it could be used against her.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

Later that day, the beginning of the last few days of the autumn-month breeze danced across Olivia's skin, leaving bumps in its path. She walked alongside Lucas, going back from the library to the common room.

Her brother was going on and on about Quidditch. He hadn't made tryouts that year since he wanted to focus on his studies, and he planned on trying to make the team next year, which is something he assured her many times. And the point of his conversation with her this time around was about the game the following day—Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff. From what she was gathering, he was going to, despite not being in either house and having no one else to go with—none of their friends would be caught dead at a game that wasn't Slytherin's.

Olivia's eyes were focused strictly on the scenery in front of them as they made their way through the courtyard. And when Lucas glanced over at her, he stopped talking and gave her a gaze of boredom, assuming that she wasn't paying him any mind. "Are you even listening, or are you too busy daydreaming about Malfoy...?"

"I'm not daydreaming about Malfoy," she cut him off, hastily lifting a telling finger as she focused on him. "And yes, I am listening," she stated matter-of-factly, pulling the strap of her bag a little tighter on her shoulder.

He snorted, knowing that she hadn't been completely paying attention, and rolled his eyes. "I was going to ask if you were too busy daydreaming about Malfoy's letter to Potter since you're so curious as to what it said," he explained to her with a knowing smirk.

She opened her mouth like she was going to retort, but then quickly closed it, not finding anything to say. She looked away from him and back onto the sky in front of them. Her face heated in embarrassment from her jumping to conclusions, and words failed to come to mind, so she just muttered a small, "Oh."

A beat of silence passed over them, flowing away in the cool breeze. "What were you thinking about?" he inquired, knowing her too well. She was always thinking of something.

Sighing, she offered a small shrug, looking at the ground and then at the sky. "Hogwarts' grounds remind me of the manor in a way," she told him, focusing on the disappearing scenery as they stepped into the outside corridor.

He simply nodded in agreement with a small hum, and then they fell into silence the rest of the way to the common room. When they entered, they saw what they expected to see: most of their housemates lounging around in the midst of conversations, but their focus landed solely on their group, who sat on the couches.

They walked over to them, both ignoring the whispers and names that still trailed a burning path behind Olivia because of the twisted rumor. They'd died down somewhat over the past few days, people quickly forgetting about it or not finding any joy in it when they got no reactions from her in return. And others were just smart enough not to test her too much.

Olivia brushed past the chair that Lucas moved to sit in and made her way over to the couch that Blaise and Theodore occupied. She took a seat in between the two boys, ignoring Pansy and Theodore's banter and the curious looks she was getting from everyone else. She just opened her bag and grabbed the book that she was currently reading, flipping to her marked page.

Everyone in their group remained silent, aside from the two still bickering on and on about... Olivia didn't know. Perhaps something meaningless, like always.

Daphne was reading her own book, minding her own business; Lucas and Blaise watched Pansy and Theodore in entertainment, with small smiles on their faces; and Malfoy was just staring at Olivia, not speaking but making her aware of him the most.

She tried to ignore his gaze, but it was so apparent. She despised it.

So, after another moment of trying and failing to ignore him, she glanced up from her book and glared at him.

Malfoy just narrowed his eyes, matching her actions.

Olivia rolled her eyes. She looked away from him and adjusted herself to lean further into Theodore's side, resting her head on his shoulder. She barely realized what she was doing, not until Theodore's eyes were on her and his and Pansy's conversation was over.

The boy on whom she rested her head looked between her and Malfoy, who was glaring holes at the both of them. He quickly focused on the floor in front of him, clearly not knowing what to do, and cleared his throat.

This caused Olivia to catch the eyes of everyone as they stared at her slightly confusedly. Her eyes landed on Lucas, who was looking at her with disappointment burning in his green eyes, and she sighed.

She didn't have time to be bombarded with questions or disappointment from anyone, especially her little brother.

She closed her book with an audible snap and straightened her spine so that she was no longer leaning against Theodore. The boy next to her seemed to have started breathing again, relaxing in his seat. Focusing on her best friend, she saw Pansy open her mouth as if she were going to speak. Olivia didn't want to deal with whatever Pansy was going to say, so she stood.

Pansy's mouth snapped shut as Olivia threw the strap of her bag over her shoulder and began to walk away without a word. But right before she was far away enough to ignore the words sent her way, her roommate spoke. "What is going on between you two?" Pansy blurted, sounding almost scared to ask the question.

Olivia stopped in her tracks, slowly turning around to face Pansy with a bored gaze. Her best friend's eyes slowly met hers, seeming like she was a pipe that finally burst. Her breathing was ragged, and she looked stressed. "Between you and Draco," Pansy elaborated, glancing between the two to whom she was referring.

"Nothing," Olivia replied.

"Oh, come on, Olivia." Malfoy stood from his seat, giving her a pained smile. "It isn't nothing. Well, it meant nothing, but it isn't nothing," he continued, knowing that only she understood the real meaning behind his words. (Lucas did too, but Malfoy didn't know that.) He took slow steps towards her with that slightly dulled upward twist of his lips remaining on his face as everyone followed him with their eyes.

Olivia steeled her spine, looking at him with trained-back fury in her eyes. "I don't know what—"

"Might as well tell them," he cut through her words, causing the anger to rise throughout her.

It wasn't their business; they needed not to know. She wanted to forget that night even happened, but he just wouldn't let up, always there to remind her of the mistake. Only she, he, and Lucas knew what happened; there was no need to bring the others into it.

"No need," she clipped with a tight smile, not realizing the candles around them flickering like they always had when she had a rise of emotions or the fact that everyone in the room had gone silent, more interested in her and Malfoy's conversation than their own. She breathed in a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but just staring at him made her irritated—something to do with his face, his too-blonde, and the usually cloudy eyes that she seemed to notice more blue in with each passing day.

A moment of silence passed. And then, having had enough, she quickly turned around, almost colliding with Lucas, who was now standing behind her. Her brother's eyes were fixed on Malfoy with the same small anger she held.

She tried to move past him, but he grabbed her arm, pulling her closer to him before she could.

She looked at him with narrowed eyes, wondering why he couldn't just let her go.

"Draco negeren en niet onder ogen zien wat er is gebeurd of wat je voelt, is neit hoe je dit moet aanpakken," Lucas whispered with a bit of force, as if he were trying to get his point across. Yes, Lucas, it was exactly the way to go about this.

She wanted to roll her eyes, but she didn't. Instead, she narrowed them. "Ik ben de oudere, wat betekent dat ik degene ben die ongevraagd advies geeft, neit jij, Lucas," she retorted in the same tone as him.

They both could feel the others' eyes on them, knowing that they didn't understand what they were saying to each other. That was one of the main reasons they'd speak in Dutch if there were people around and they wanted to keep their conversation to themselves—so that they couldn't eavesdrop or speculate.

They just stared at each other for a long moment, both with anger and small, flickering flames around them. And then Olivia tore her arm from her brother's grasp, adjusting the fallen strap of her bag back onto her shoulder, keeping her eyes on his. She sent a nasty look in Malfoy's direction just before she walked away without another word.

Everyone, not just her group, was watching her as she left the common room with a hard slam of the door. The dancing of the candles around them settled down once she was gone. And Lucas turned to face Malfoy, seeing a look on the boy's face that he didn't particularly like.

"Get off your high horse, Malfoy." Lucas caught the blonde boy's attention, narrowing his eyes slightly. "She only left so that she wouldn't do something that would get her in trouble." He took a big step forward. "You"—he pushed his finger into Malfoy's chest—"had nothing to do with it."

Malfoy sneered, and Lucas dropped his hand with bored eyes, not finding him the least bit threatening. And with that, the Mallard boy walked away without another word, following the way his sister went.

Tension was high in the group, and no one knew how to fix it.

Could it be fixed?

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

━━━━ ella's speaking !
i would've published this a lot sooner but i kept wanting the change the title—and i finally settled on one, obviously.

also, can we talk about how this book is so close to 10K reads?? that's crazy oml!! i'm so grateful to everyone who continues to read this book bc it and these characters mean the world to me. i just want to say thank you for reading and giving me the motivation to continue writing <33

there's only eight more chapters left of act three 🤭

kisses.

━━━━━━━━━━ born to die,
© -LOSTGARDENS,      jan 2024

word count: 3535. written: 1.7.24. published: 1.13.24.