Cynical Relations

The Whomping Willow was as still as ever as Lacie studied it’s bark. She was sat a great distance from it but still she could see the way that the wood twisted and curved making the tree look just like it was at home within with the school grounds.

“Hey,” She looked up as Draco spoke before sitting beside her on the grass. “So you got my letter.”

“I did,” Lacie answered simply and returned to studying the Willow.

“You’re not easy to find you know,” Draco said with a small laugh, “I was planning on giving you the letter myself but I couldn’t find you. You don’t hang around much in the common room, do you?”

“No, it’s best for me to just bypass everyone as I’m not particularly accepted by the rest of the Slytherins,” Lacie mumbled, glancing to her right to look at Draco. She was taken back by how close to her Draco was sat when she inhaled deeply and her nose was assaulted by his scent. Lacie suddenly shivered although she wasn’t sure if it was because of the boy beside her or the cold wind that whipped around them. Nevertheless, she pulled her knees to her chest to try to stop another shiver from attacking her spine.

“Well stick with me Lacie and you will most definitely be accepted,” Lacie could hear the cockiness in Draco’s voice and immediately looked away from him.

“You and I are too different,” She mumbled, looking over to the Whomping Willow again to distract herself; sure he was handsome, but he also had quite an evil streak.

“Opposites attract and well, well you’re definitely my opposite but you’re beautiful none the less,” Lacie didn’t know what to think of the sudden change of atmosphere but challenged him nonetheless.

“Rather shallow of you Draco,” Lacie couldn’t help but blush - despite her own words - at what Draco had said though. She looked to the blonde again as he started to move. He moved in front of her so that she found it difficult to avoid his eyes.

“Well your personality then. I’ve noticed you in classes before and you‘re so intelligent,” He reached forward, pushing her brown hair behind her ear as best he could with the wind whipping it about, “Like right now, we’re having a conversation aren’t we? That just shows how perfect you are for me; usually all girls want is physical attention,” Draco knew he was all up for the physical aspects of a relationship but he wasn’t about to go and tell Lacie that. She was his new challenge.

“This is hardly a conversation, Draco,” Lacie argued, noticing how Draco’s forehead crumpled in annoyance. “Aren’t you and Carly Huntchester dating anyway?”

“No, she’s trying to get me to take her to the Yule Ball but that’s not going to happen,” He merely muttered before suddenly smiling, “Lacie, why don’t you come to the Yule Ball with me?”

“No,” She hadn’t been expecting that at all but still managed to utter out her answer. Draco moved again and Lacie followed him carefully with her eyes until he disappeared behind her. She tensed as she felt his hands on her. Gently he pulled her long brown hair from her neck and moved it to the side the best he could.

“Please,” He whispered softly in her ear, causing one of those dreadful shivers to hurtle it’s way down her spine again.

“No, Draco,” She said more sternly, trying to find the will to pull from his grasp but she couldn’t bring herself to.

“Please,” He repeated softly and she could just imagine how he was pouting behind her. Lacie couldn’t deny that she was close to melting into Draco however the moment she felt his lips touch her neck was the moment something snapped inside of her.

Lacie pulled away quickly and stood so that she looked down on Draco. His affection towards her had caused something inside of her to just snap and the moment was gone in a flash.

“You hurt people Draco, you hurt me the other night. You’re vicious and manipulative,” Lacie was acting out of character but at that moment she didn’t care one bit.

“Then change me! You need me as much as I need you Lacie, you just don’t want to believe it,” Draco told her, not moving from his position still, just looking up at her. She couldn’t believe that this was the boy that had just been speaking so softly to her.

“You don’t get it, do you Draco,” Lacie moved forward, bending at the knees until she was the same height as the boy again, “I do not want to be accepted, I do not care about what the other Slytherins think of me anymore and I definitely do not want anything to do with you.” Her words were blatant lies but how would Draco know that? When he simply smirked at her though she growled out in anger, grabbed her books and stood to walk away.

“We would be perfect together,” Draco called out to her as she walked away. Unfortunately for Lacie when she had grabbed her books from the grass she had missed how her notebook had slipped from her grasp. Draco noticed though and instead of calling her back, he picked it up, studying the aged cover and then proceeded to open it.

After her encounter with Draco, Lacie had stormed off to another part of the school grounds. She couldn’t escape him though and had his eagle owl swooping down beside her every few minutes holding pieces of parchment in it’s beak. She ignored these notes and sent the bird back every time without anything to return to it’s owner. Honestly Lacie wouldn’t have minded it if Draco hadn’t been so full on earlier and would have accepted his apology. But the fact that he was pushing himself onto her was what angered her the most. Before Saturday, he had barely said one word to her and now he suddenly found her attractive and wanted to get to know her? It didn’t make sense. And the fact that all of this was happening after he had attacked her was making it even more unlikely.