Wicked Serpentine (Part 8)
pairing: draco malfoy x femravenclaw!oc (some like george weasley x femravenclaw!oc too)
summary: slowburn enemies to lovers fic, a TON of parts. (continued after ... 3 years..) i'm back lol)
warnings: blood purism, bullying, swearing, descriptive physical danger, violence. Awful Draco
taglist: @gloryekaterina
taglist: let me know if you’re interested in being added!
Roughly a month had gone by, my last real interaction with Malfoy being my first school day in the Great Hall.
Snape had reassigned partners and tables after only the first day, likely due to Harry and Ron’s noise from the first class. I was paired with Hermione, thankfully. She was pleasantly quiet but helpful when she needed to be. My friendship with her had furthered quite a bit, but less so with the boys. I wasn’t actively attempting to befriend Harry after Snape’s hostility.
Flitwick and I hit it off and he quickly became my runner-up favorite teacher, just behind Snape. I frequently stayed behind in his classroom to discuss muggle music and the world as a whole. It was the only part of my day I could get truly lost in.
I’d eventually learned the schedules of Luna and Cho, sitting with them on days they’d be in the dining hall. Rarely was my attention drawn to the blond across the hall on the days he was there, either. He’d been looking rather sick, lately.
Not that I actively tried to look at him.
It just struck me whenever I’d happen to catch his silvery strands in my peripheral. His face looked sunken, his cheeks hollow. Instead of marble, he looked almost grey. It made my heart hurt a little. How could someone look so ghostly, as if he was always floating? It reminded me of a dried volcano, stiff and cold.
His head bobbed up, his eyes meeting mine for the first time since I’d walked off from him a month ago.
“Eris?” A voice snapped me back to the present. It was Hermione. She had said something that I didn’t catch at all.
I looked at her, my mouth slightly parted. Dumbly, I replied, “Huh?”
She gave me a small laugh and stabbed at her food, cocking her head to the side exasperatedly.
“I said, Snape is assigning new partners, something about people falling behind already. I’ll miss the quiet of sitting next to you. Seriously, I will.” She let her shoulders droop sadly, a glimmer of sadness in her eyes.
I heard her teeth slide on the fork as she ate, mildly sullen. I felt bad. I hadn’t even known we were switching partners, I must have been too caught up during potions to hear Snape mention the change.
“Hey, we’ll still eat together. Maybe I’ll kick Ron out of his seat every once in a while.” I joked. Her mood seemed to perk back up a bit at that, nodding.
“That’d be perfect, wouldn’t it, Ron?” She nudged him jokingly.
He whipped his neck to face her, food falling out of his mouth. He was too busy talking to Harry to notice our conversation, so he looked absolutely lost.
“Wha…?” Food tumbled from his mouth. I groaned and Hermione bit her lip in a laugh. The way she looked at him was cute, a twinkle in her eyes lighting as if everything he did was enchanting.
“Nothing, Ronald. Just… Chew your bloody food!” She choked out, noticing the knowing smile I was giving her halfway through her sentence.
He scrunched his nose up, confused and annoyed. He finished, crumbs still dusting his lips.
“Whatever, ‘Mione.” He dismissed, turning back to Harry. They were discussing something Quidditch related.
She exhaled through her nose, rolling her eyes. I watched as she packed her sprawled books and papers into her bag, deep in her thoughts.
Her eyes lit up for a moment and she immediately looked back at me.
“Oh! I almost forgot. We all have lessons but you’re free after this, right? Snape said he’d post a parchment outside his room with the partners. You should check it out.” She beamed.
I paused in thought for a second. Should I go check? I shrugged.
“Yeah, sure. I will.” I saw no harm in making my way to the classroom. I’d gotten a much better hang of the hallways to my classes and the library. The dungeons and the Room of Requirement remained untraveled for now, the map buried in the bottom of my bag. I’d taken it out to mark it up whenever I discovered a new direction or an alternate way to a class.
It was incredibly helpful and I was glad I befriended Hermione. Maybe I could go check out partners and find her later to let her know who she got. I’m sure she’d appreciate knowing beforehand what she was in for.
Satisfied, she dropped her last book in her bag and stood.
“Right, well I’ll see you!” She waved farewell, already taking off from the table. Ron and Harry were still engrossed in their conversation about Quidditch. I tuned in, a name immediately catching my ear.
“Of course we’ll win, Harry. Malfoy’s played like shit lately. Serves him right, bloody bastard.” Ron bragged. Harry nodded in response, noticing my sudden interest in the conversation.
“Eris, you haven’t been to a Quidditch game yet, have you?” He asked, already knowing the answer.
“Ah, no I haven’t.” I sheepishly rubbed the back of my neck. I didn’t have an intense interest in sports in the muggle world and wasn’t sure how much more exciting they could be in the wizarding world, so it hadn’t piqued my interest.
Harry’s head leaned against his hand and he seemed to nod slowly for a second before smacking his hands on the table.
“Come to the game today. I’ll ask Hermione to save you a seat.” He mused decidedly. Ron shrugged, agreeing.
“Okay, sure. I’ll come then.” I confirmed.
Glad at my response, he turned his attention back to Ron.
“Ready to go?” He asked him.
They got up and left for their next lesson, which I’m pretty sure was a history class I’d often heard them complain about. I still sat, popping a final piece of food into my mouth. I planned out my route in my head. First to Snape’s, then to the library to study intensively.
It felt like a solid enough plan.
I stood and left the hall, making sure I didn’t leave anything at the table. I made my way to Snape’s classroom. It was a different way than when I’d originally followed Malfoy and I was grateful I didn’t have to relive my cowardice every time I went to Potions in the mornings.
The clock tower chimed while I was walking and people pushed by me as I made my way down the hallways. Some people stood idly and hung out with one another, sitting in window sills or quickly scurrying somewhere.
I watched a class fill into Snape’s classroom and I walked up to the doorway. A small plaque with a scroll of parchment hung on the wall.
“FIRST PERIOD PARTNERS
HERMIONE GRANGER - NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM
HARRY POTTER - SEAMUS FINNIGAN
RONALD WEASLEY - PADMA PATIL
ERIS WOODWORK - DRACO MALFOY “
There was more, but my heart stuck in my throat. This couldn’t be real. I reread it several times, finally making my way to the bottom.
There was a tiny footnote stating partner changes were not permitted and must remain as written on the parchment. I felt myself shrink. Maybe Snape didn’t know how bad Malfoy would treat me?
I shook my head at the thought. It was quite obvious how poorly he treated everyone. Just because my interactions with him have been few and far between doesn’t mean he didn’t endlessly snip at other people.
In fact, the only times I ever heard his voice was when he was chastising Harry or Hermione, or making a comment about how Ron lives in squalor. It was unpleasant but at the very least I could be glad it wasn’t directed towards me.
I dreaded this partnership, but at least now I’d read the list like I said I would. Later, I’d be able to tell Hermione and the boys who they’d been partnered with.
I took off to the library, my mind spinning. I accidentally bumped into someone in the hallway and his hands shot out to steady my shoulders before I could fall to the ground. I recognized him as Malfoy’s original partner in Potions.
He eyed me up and down, removing his hands once I was steady. I vaguely recalled Ron calling him Zabini.
“Be careful. Never know who you’ll run into in these halls. You’re lucky it was me.” He spoke smugly, clearly a bit vain.
I raised an eyebrow at him, nodding.
“Yeah, I’ll be more careful.” I replied. I started to walk off when he spoke, tucking his hands in his pockets.
“Fuckin’ better be.” Was all he said as he continued to walk as well.
It unsettled me in the weird way that Slytherins were good at. A switch seemed glued to their emotions, fully able to flip at any time. It was startling. A chill eased down my spine and I hurried toward the library, no longer taking my time as I had before.
Finally arriving a bit breathless, I entered the space that had become most familiar to me over the last month. Giving a nod in Madam Pince’s direction, she gave me a puckered and stiff smile.
She was an intolerable vulture that only cared for her books, but I’d come to be in her relatively good graces. With my quiet presence and care for the texts, I was often the only one in the library with her. In her own way, I think she kind of liked me there.
Tucking into my usual space behind a few large bookshelves, I pulled a lesson book out of my school bag, along with a parchment and quill. We had just gone over a new spell in Flitwick’s class and I was determined to study it down to every flick of the wand.
A seat pulled out beside me and a book dropped down onto the table just loud enough for me to wince. I glanced over. It was “Libatius Borage’s ADVANCED POTION MAKING” book. I recognized it from my class with Snape.
I watched black robes swish down into the seat beside me, defeated looking. My surprise was immeasurable when I met empty, silvery eyes and messy moonbeam-colored hair. I couldn’t stifle a tiny gasp that slipped from my lips.
“Malfoy…?”
He leaned his head back against the top of the chair, remaining in quiet for what felt like a couple minutes as I dumbfoundedly stared at him. Seeming to find his resolve, he sat up. He leaned forward towards the table and didn’t meet my eyes again.
“Snape reassigned everyone because of me.” He stated. He was looking straight ahead, his eyes travelling up the spines of books in front of the table we were at. It felt wrong hearing a real sentence from him, especially one that wasn’t littered with insults.
“He thinks I’m fucking falling behind.” He was the second Slytherin I’d heard swear today, but his anger didn't quite reach his eyes. I watched a stray strand of hair fall from his slicked back ones, lightly resting on his forehead. He looked hopelessly disheveled the longer I looked at him.
My eyebrows knit together with concern.
“Are you okay, Draco?” I tried to be genuine, my voice soft and low. I barely breathed it and regretted it the second I said it as he flipped to face me. His lips were pressed in a tight line, chapped and pale.
“Don’t you dare call me by my first name, mudblood.” He snapped.
I felt my body tense up and my blood run cold at the tone he used. I desperately fought the water that immediately welled up in my eyes, coaching myself to just breathe carefully. I hoped he couldn’t tell how pathetic he made me feel. I just wanted to move on, now.
I decided that if he didn’t want my help, that he didn’t need it. There was nothing I could do to help him, and talking clearly wouldn’t solve anything. I wasn’t going to give him power over me, so I did the only thing I could think of.
I went on as normal. I focused back on the book for Flitwick’s, pulling my wand from my bag and placing it on the desk. Flitwick had even written a couple notes for me himself, explaining things in a better way the book could.
I had spoken to him about Scourgify, mentioning how Cho had done it and it was something I wanted to learn. He included notes about how to perform it, but I kept failing without a physical example of how to cast it.
All I had in my head was the memory of Cho, which I’d been too in shock from Malfoy’s prank to fully grasp the technique of. I had been trying to practice on dirty spoons I’d snagged from the Great Hall. I kept one wrapped in a fabric napkin and tucked into my bag, switching the spoon out for a different one each time I went to eat.
Ignoring the blond sitting next to me, I pulled the spoon out and placed it on the table in front of me. I unraveled it and there it was, just a gross spoon.
Taking a deep breath, I picked up my wand and reread Flitwick’s notes, as well as the pages in the textbook. Holding a book in one hand and my wand in the other steadily, I focused on the spoon.
“Scourgify.” I half whispered, trying to work with the tiny bit of light that sparked on my wand. I could never get farther than just a tiny emittance from my wand. It had been weeks and I still struggled to get it. It was clear from my frustration that this wasn’t the first time.
I heard a scoff from my side. I realized a set of steely eyes had focused on what I was doing as if I were some kind of entertainment. I ignored him, trying it again. And again.
I had attempted Scourgify on the spoon a good four times before he shot up out of his chair, blatantly annoyed.
“You’re literally doing everything wrong.” He muttered crossly.
I heaved a sigh, dropping my book to the table. I turned to put my wand away in my bag but he stopped me. He stood behind my chair, leaning over my shoulder. Mint and cologne overpowered my senses as he corrected me sourly.
“No, just… Merlin, you have to-” he grabbed my wrist and pointed towards the spoon, swishing my hand in a sort of ‘S’ shape. “Swish it, like this. Say it. Now.” He instructed rudely, guiding my hand to motion correctly. His cold, silver ring made me clench my wand as tightly as the night I’d got it.
“Scourgify.” I spoke boldly, jumping a slight bit as the grime left the spoon in an immediate little spark. I swallowed loudly, a disbelieving laugh bubbling softly through my lips. I turned my face to thank him before my mind could reject the idea.
However, when I turned, he had simply gone. I guess I was a bit glad he had disappeared, otherwise I would have proved his point by thanking him. Stroked his ego, probably.
I turned back to my book, writing down what I had just learned. I felt so excited and accomplished that I’d pushed away how weird that situation really was.
Did he really just grab my wrist like that? Why did he never seem to have a grasp on personal space? I tried to move on, finding the dustiest book I could find to try the spell again.
Much to my disappointment when, just as before, trying the spell only made my wand fizzle slightly.
Disappointed, I slumped down into my seat. I spent the next half hour trying to focus on Potions instead, opting to note things I noticed during class. Such as the physical traits of ingredients I was confused by.
Out of my peripheral, I noticed a light-blond head duck quietly from between some shelves, past me, and out of the library doors.
There was a book on the opposite end of the table that wasn’t there before.
I stood and walked over, picking it up. I flicked through it and much to my surprise, it was a Charms book. It was filled with neatly scribbled notes in the margins, shapes and arrows showing how to cast some simple charms I knew would get covered this year.
Some of the ink was slightly smeared a tiny bit, clearly brand new. Whereas other notes in it were old and the ink slightly faded.
Flipping to the very back cover, I read
‘If lost, return to Draco L. Malfoy’
in the same handwriting as the notes throughout, slightly faded.
What the hell?
A piece of parchment slipped from between some of the pages into my lap.
“You’re dense. Read my notes and maybe you won’t look so ridiculous.” It read.
That made much more sense. I guess I'll just... Study this all, then.
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HP No Nut November 2023 Roundup
Something Fun
by Likelightinglass. Lily/Severus. Rated: E. Words: 2,049.
Lily and Severus skip class and have fun in the Forest.
Lily wants to try out a new charm. Severus lets her.
Touch Me, Tease Me
by RottenPleasures. Cho/Ginny. Rated: E. Words: 1,170.
Cho has been more quick to anger recently, snapping at Pansy for simply chewing too loudly near her. It was nothing like the reserved, almost timid nature, at least to those who didn’t know her, that the girl usually exuded. But Pansy did know her. She knows how whenever Cho gets in these moods; she desires nothing more than Pansy pinning her down and using her until she has nothing left to give.
Cho craved the release that only Pansy could give her.
Denial By Mail
by Likelightinglass. Harry/Severus. Rated: M. Words: 1,014.
Severus recieves some instructions to spice up his alone time.
there's no 'o' in team
by nocturn. Ginny/Pansy. Rated: E. Words: 570.
“Focus, Weasley,” Pansy said, snapping the hem of one of Ginny's socks.
Serpentine Suffering
by Likelightinglass. Harry/Severus. Rated: M. Words: 718.
Severus is tormented from afar by his lover.
Regrets
by Likelightinglass. Harry/Severus. Rated: E. Words: 247.
Severus might have been a little overconfident in his request. Harry holds him to it.
Double or Nothing
by jtimu. Draco/Harry. Rated: E. Words: 2,522.
“Make you a bet,” Draco said, eyes flashing under the first burst of lightning. His hair hung limp around his shoulders, and Harry could smell the ozone in the air, hear the faint murmur of the announcers in the distance. The edge of his broom dug into the meat of his thigh, and he leaned in to hear over the crash of thunder and the pelting drum of rain against his skin.
“Name your terms, Malfoy,” he said, his grin vicious.
“First to the snitch gets to come tonight.”
Isn't that better?
by jtimu. Draco/Harry. Rated: E. Words: 3,572.
“Angry, Harry?” Draco leans in, pressing against Harry’s hand on his chest.
“Yes,” he hisses. He shoves him again. “Yes I’m angry.”
“Good,” Draco says, and he leans back against the wall, his eyes closing as though he hasn’t a care in the world, as though Harry isn’t standing in front of him, simmering with rage. A slow smile spreads across his face. “Isn’t that better?”
or
Harry can ignore the crowds, the events, the quiet desperation of a life that's so far from what he once had, but he's never been able to ignore Draco Malfoy.
An Eye for an Eye
by CharlotteRhea. Ron/Severus. Rated: E. Words: 6,307.
Ron is straight and he will not share, especially not Hermione, especially not with Severus sodding Snape! Whatever twisted arrangement they are planning, they will have to do it without him.
Right?
Afterglow
by Likelightinglass. Harry/Severus. Rated: E. Words: 712.
A snippet of post coital cuddles.
War and Heartbreak
by danpuff. Neville/Severus. Rated: E. Words: 880.
When Harry asked Neville to look after Snape, he probably didn’t mean this.
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The holy Trinity
Or: harry potter's parents
James Evans
Took Lilly's last name
Bisexual, polyamorus, nonbinary he/him
Uses dad
Had a brief going with regulus before cutting it off
Redeemed himself on Fourth year
I love him look at him he's my baby
Ray of sunshine the optimist of the trio
Only started to realize everything after he started to care for Severus after the prank
Thought Lilly was dating sev so was just like yeah we're boyfriends in law
He is definitely a service top but in a sub way
He would have been the best dad ever like he was a dad to the first years in grfindor
Refers to Lilly as his dawn and Severus as his eve
Severus evans-snape
Do not come at me he is my baby boy
Bisexual, Demi romantic, polyamorus, nonbinary , they/the. Or he/him. not interchangeable
Prefers father or mother
Big trash fire of a person trying their best but getting no where
Has the biggest grudge against Dumbledore wants to maim him but can't because "greater good"
It took them nine years for them to realize they were dating Lilly and three years to realize they were dating James
This bitch is autistic
If they look fem to you that was on purpose I did that on purpose
They were in a qpr with mulciber until the whole he joined the death eaters thing when sev socially isolated himself for months
Wasn't as mean to harry in this Version he was just a strict teacher
Either a power bottom or the most submissive bitch to ever submissive
Lilly evans
My love my life my sweetheart
Look at her look at her and be amazed
Bisexual, Demi sexual, polyamorus, nonbinary they/she interchangeable
She was adopted by the Evans
I love her so much just look at her
They were such a little shit man like they would get detention every two weeks for pulling pranks on the marauders
For a while didn't date anyone saying that Severus was enough
And yet it still took this girl three years for her to realize that they were dating
Okay so the polyamory wasn't intentional at first
Lilly asked Severus how they felt about dating James and Severus was like "okay cool" so Lilly thought polyamory sev thought monogamy
It all came together when Lilly introduced them both as her boyfriends
Gentle Dom
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