Those Damn Eyes - A Draco Malfoy x Reader One Shot

"Watch it, filthy half-blood!" Malfoy snarled.

"Back off Malfoy," she retaliated.

"Ooh, fighting back are we?" he hissed.

She blushed. Normally she was shy and quiet, but it was his fault they had collided. The Transfiguration Courtyard was hardly a cramped space, but he seemed intent on barging into people. His goons chuckled; their fat faces reminding her of two witless trolls. She started to walk away, muttering a forced 'sorry' under her breath, making sure to shove him out of the way with her shoulder.

Merely two steps away from them; she felt a strong hand clasp her upper arm. Spinning around to glare at Malfoy, her angry stare was momentarily softened as her eyes locked onto his cold grey ones. If ever this idiot could have a redeeming feature, it would be his deep, almost silver eyes...

She pulled herself out of them and quickly resumed her glower when he started to speak. Crabbe and Goyle had fallen silent, and some first years scurried away, while others sneakily watched them.

She grasped her wand; still in her cloak but ready to be drawn. Time had slowed down, but her heart speeding up as they stared at each other.

In one swift movement, he grabbed his wand, aimed it at her, and yelled a curse she didn't know. She reacted instinctively and disarmed him with alarming speed and precision.

He flew back in the air and crashed against the far wall. His wand soared through the air in another direction, while Crabbe and Goyle stared with gormless expressions. Her first reaction was, regrettably, one of satisfied victory. But as she watched his limp frame slump in a heap on the floor, her heart started to feel heavy. With guilty pain, she was frozen.

Time moved unevenly, she saw him breathe every laboured lungful of air, yet didn't register Madam Pomfrey's busied actions until he was being taken away.

She was rooted to the ground until he was no longer in sight, at which point, her legs started pumping and she ran all the way to the seventh floor, where she knew she would find solitude.

She found herself crying at the thought of hurting someone, of hurting Draco.

She found herself closing her eyes and seeing the image of his sunken body.

She was calling his name in her head... Draco... Draco... Not Malfoy, as she would normally have addressed him, but Draco.

Images of his piercing eyes flashed before her in the darkness, while the feeling that she should have run to him, held him, helped him, coursed through her body like guilt-ridden-adrenalin.

She had stopped in a lonely alcove, unaware of her surroundings, other than the fact that she was alone.

She wiped her tear-stained cheeks, then dabbed her puffy eyes with the sleeve of her robes. She blinked miserably until her scenery made her vision focus instantly.

The light from the nearby window made the silver reflect from the green and black of a Slytherin banner like never before. The 'S' shaped snake seemed to slither slightly as the material bobbed in the corridor's breeze.

Her breath caught in her throat, as the eyes of the snake seemed to follow her, ridicule her... she didn't dare take her gaze from the banner as she backed slowly out of the corridor. Turning the corner, little by little she sped up, in the direction of the hospital wing...

Finally, she walked gingerly into the nearly empty hospital wing, but he was nowhere to be seen. She knocked gently on the office door and was asked to enter.

As the door creaked open, she braced herself to see him there, but no.

"Um, could you tell me where Draco Malfoy is please?"

Madam Pomfrey looked at her suspiciously, eyeing her Ravenclaw robes and her shaking hands.

She asked again, "Please?" and the crack in her voice made Madam Pomfrey's harsh features soften and she nodded.

Draco was hidden behind a curtain at the back of the room, unconscious.

She looked worriedly at Madam Pomfrey and she simply sighed, "Whoever did this doesn't know their own strength... He'll be fine. Fully recovered in two days, maximum, but whoever did it will have to be severely punished."

Guilt very apparent, the Ravenclaw just looked at the floor. "I... I, um," she looked longingly at the sleeping Slytherin, then into the matron's steely eyes. "It was me," she blurted.

Madam Pomfrey nodded, "I know, dear. You can stay with him for a while, if you wish."

Stunned, she took a seat by Draco's side and just watched his face for a moment. She couldn't help herself — she found that her fingers wanted to trace gentle lines across the soft skin of his arm. Seeing his eyes flicker under their lids, and his lips, slightly apart and subtle. It made her see him differently. She had known he was dissimilar to his cronies, from the moment she met him... it had been something in his eyes. Those damn eyes.

Lying there, vulnerable, and it was all at her hand, her doing.

She entwined her fingers in his and wiped a strand of white-blonde hair from his face. She was incomprehensibly sorry and undeniably regretful that this, now vulnerable and beautiful person, had been the victim of such an outburst.

Tears stung her eyes once more, but were quickly stemmed when Draco moved. Those eyes wavered for a moment before landing, with confusion, on her. She tried to smile, but there was hate in his expression.

For some reason, she found her heart to be breaking. He had always given her looks of hate, but this... this was shattering. She took her hand from his and only then did he seem to notice that they had been together.

He tried to sit up, but the best he could do was prop himself up on his elbows, taking in his surroundings. Her worried eyes scanned his face as she stood to leave.

"What are you doing here?" his cold voice was barely audible.

"I wanted to know that you were alright, Malfoy." She returned his anger naturally.

He looked her over. Her contempt for him raged, but it was pathetic, as greater feelings had been unwillingly discovered.

His voice rasped the insult, "Stay away from me, half-blood."

She glared at him before turning to leave. "Sorry if I hurt you Malfoy," sarcasm falling painfully from her lips.

"You will be," he threatened.

"Oh?" she turned and advanced on him, though he seemed so exposed, lying there.

"That's right, you and your little Ravenclaw friends are in for it now. My father will hear about this."

Their voices were slowly growing in volume. She laughed icily.

They were barely inches apart now, but their noise had bothered Madam Pomfrey, who bustled over and told them pointedly to, "Be quiet, now!"

They nodded, giving her a hopefully 'innocent' look, at which she scoffed and bustled away again.  

The Ravenclaw was about to walk away from the scene when she felt that demanding grip again, this time less tightly, and upon her wrist. She turned, with disrespect etched in her features, to see a soft, almost warm Draco Malfoy looking back at her.

All dislike faded and she turned fully to face him. His fingers gently traced her wrist before his hand slid down it, entwining his fingers with hers. She looked into those grey eyes to see something new where once lived icy hate.

She looked down at their hands and yes, they felt right together. But this was wrong. This was weird. She couldn't fathom a response.

She felt his other hand lift her chin to face him once more. He looked so intently into her eyes that she was sure her heart was melting, but at the same time, her mind kept warning her of the dangers of him...

He sat up, taking all his strength to do so. His pain apparent, she helped him. He gestured for her to sit next to him and she was powerless to resist.

He sighed. She watched him think for a second, and then he said, "I'm sorry."

There was a pause in which she considered the apology, then answered, "I should be the one saying that."

He looked at her, slightly confused, but when she put her hand back in his, he knew.

His lips formed words, but no sound came out, his gaze firmly embedded in the bottom corner of the plain curtain.

Moments of silence passed, because she didn't know what to say or do. Their hands stayed together, and they were both contemplating it all...

Finally Draco's eyes darted back to hers and his words came spilling out, "I never hated you. I always wanted you to notice me, but being so different... I think I... I think I..."

She scanned his features and stroked his hand, having never seen Draco nervous, or shy before. He smiled weakly and took a deep breath.

"I want us to be friends."

She smiled, all nervousness of this being a rushed, strained and badly thought-out change of mind draining away at the word 'friends'. He seemed to sigh with relief too, but his grip on her hand tightened and he continued, "I want us to be more than friends... eventually."

He watched her reaction. What felt like an eternity passed, in which a million things raced through her mind, all the while, his eyes were on her.

She came to the conclusion that, while they had always argued, she'd never hated him. It had confused her before, but it was becoming clear now. His handsome face was staring at her, waiting for an answer she didn't have.

He looked down and more silence followed. Slowly his hand was falling away from hers and it made her realise.

She grasped it firmly, causing him to look up. She realised that she couldn't bear for it to slip away... She couldn't bear to lose it... And she couldn't bear to lose him...

"Draco?" she was wide-eyed and timid.

He moved a little and put his other hand on their entwined ones. "Draco... I... I..." she couldn't find the words. She smiled widely and giggled through her embarrassment.

He smiled too, but their faces became happily serious as they drew closer and closer. Leaning into one another, they both knew what was happening and they both wanted it.

He kissed her with soft, yet passionate longing. She returned it, hoping she could give him the shivers he was giving her. Hoping that the electricity that flowed through her mind, giving her a most incredible high, was mutually felt.  

Their lips danced so delicately that she couldn't believe this was the same boy she had cursed. The same boy who had taunted her for years... All was forgiven. All was forgotten. She could love him, but first, and importantly, she could like him. Him and those damn eyes.