Pure-Blood Prejudice

My eyes dropped to the counter of the bar and I prayed that he was coughing at anyone except me. He probably just wanted to rub it in my face that I was here drinking my sorrows away, when he was home in his nice, warm bed. Suddenly there was a tap on my shoulder and I breathed out, realizing I had been holding my breath. It was I who he wanted to speak to, not any other. Slowly, I turned around and could smell the aroma of vanilla waft off of his skin. His white-blonde hair was perfectly in place and his trademark sneer was evident on his face. I glared at him with a look that said "Do not mess with me.”

"What the bloody hell do you want, Malfoy?" I snarled, raising an eyebrow and glaring at him.

"Why aren't you home, Smith? Did mummy and daddy kick your sorry arse to the curb?"

"As if you didn't know already, of course they did. If you're here to make me feel worse than I already am, good luck. There is no way you can make me feel worse," I barked, turning back around to my drink and gulping it down, enjoying the heat going down my throat.

"That's the spirit! If there's a will there's a way." He sat down on the stool next to me. He ordered a glass of matured mead and gulped it down slowly. For a few moments all he did was stare at me which was making me feel immensely uncomfortable.

"Take a picture, Malfoy. It'll last longer," I quipped, staring him in the eye. It seemed as if Draco had changed a lot over the previous months and I was wondering how exactly he had. His actions didn't show he had changed, but as they say, eyes are a pathway to the soul.

"Whatever you say, Demi… whatever you say," he whispered to himself, turning back to his drink and asking the bartender for another. But this time he gulped it down with such a force that I thought he was going to tip backwards.

That was the first time he had ever called me by my first name, and it was very unsettling. He had this look on his face that said he wanted to say something but couldn't. It was such a look of internal conflict that I had to fight to not ask what he wanted to say. After all, why did I care what he had to say anyway? It wasn't as if he cared enough to ask me how I was; a caring person would do that, and Draco Malfoy was not a caring person.

"Well, if you don't mind, I think I'll be going upstairs to my room now. If you see my parents, tell them to sod off for me," I said as I picked up my suitcase and walked up the steps to the room I had previously rented for the night.

When I got to my assigned room I opened it up and sighed. It was pretty plain on the inside and didn't contain many pieces of furniture. The wooden floor looked worn down from overuse. In the center of the room laid a plain four- poster bed with blue curtains that felt very homey.

Stripping off the clothes and getting in the shower, I felt the warmth envelope my skin that made me sigh to myself. Once done, I got out and towel dried before getting into pajamas and lying in bed. The pajamas were comfortable and it felt good to finally be in a bed and resting. Dreams took me before I even had the chance to wallow in self pity.



In the morning, much to my displeasure, the sun beamed in through the window. My head was pounding from the hangover I was nursing. It was lucky for me that they had potions for such things and I had the pleasure of owning a few. Groggily, I searched through my luggage and slugged down the potion, instantly feeling better. It seemed as if by taking the potion the hangover had passed, so I went into the loo and took a quick shower. Then I dressed in casual black jeans and a red plaid jumper. A knock could be heard on the door.

Groaning, I walked over to the door wondering if Harry and the others had come to their senses. Rather than it being the other three in our quartet of friends, it was Draco Malfoy. He was clad in a green cloak and was looking down at his feet. He looked up and we made eye contact, but a second after I attempted to shut the door on him he stuck his foot in the threshold and the door stayed open.

"What the bloody hell do you want, Malfoy? Aren't I done talking to you?" I snarled, glaring at him through the crack.

"Now, that isn't a nice way to treat company, Demitria," he admonished, clicking his tongue which made my heart race and anger flow through my veins. For some odd reason there was also a flutter in my stomach - what the hell was that?

"Well, I only treat welcomed company nicely. As long as they are not spineless gits whose life goal was to be a servant for the 'Dark Lord'. Now what is your goal as long as he is gone? Is it to annoy me to the point of suicide?" I retorted, eyes flashing, trying to hide the flutter in my stomach and the internal fight from my face.

"That was the old Draco. This is the new and improved spineless git who wants to make amends with the people whom I have hurt, starting with the lovely woman in front of me." He chuckled, grinning his wide toothy grin which could be seen through the crack.

"So, what’s with the change of heart, Malfoy? Or is it an act that your mum and dad have planned for you to do? Trying to get back in everyone’s good graces are you?" I interrogated, raising an eyebrow, still glaring through the crack. His grin made my heart flutter yet again, and it was starting to bug the hell out of me.

"No, oh goodness no. I ran away, they acting as if nothing’s happened and I couldn’t stand their ways anymore. I just needed to get out of the manor for a while. Plus, maybe I just want to get back in your good graces. What if the others don't matter as long as I’ve got you?" he wondered, pushing the door opened as my foot slipped from the crack in the threshold. I attempted to push him back out, yet my forces were to no avail and he walked over to the bed and plopped down.

"You ran away? Why? You’ve never been known to be so brave, Malfoy. I’m afraid that shade of bravery doesn’t suit the spineless git mascara you are wearing."

"You are clearly avoiding the subject of us, Demitria."

"There is absolutely no us!"

"There can be if you want."

"No thanks, I think I’ll pass. Now answer my questions!"

"Fine, Miss Bossy. I ran away because they were being idiots that don’t respect anyone but themselves. One would think that after the whole Dark Lord ordeal they would be a little more understanding and less prejudiced. It also didn't help that they knew I had fallen for you and-."

"What?" I spluttered, my jaw dropping and my heart skipping a beat. "This isn't funny, stop joking around."

"You honestly think I would be run away from my manor all for a joke? I must be madder than I thought for falling for you if you're that thick, and with the way your breath seems to have stopped, I think you feel the same way."

"You are madder than you thought, except it’s because you honestly believe I fancy you, of all people."

"Who do you fancy then? Is it Potter?"

"Why would I fancy Harry?" I wondered, trying to hide my eyes widening with my hands as I sat down next to where Draco was lounging.

"I see the way you look at him when he isn't looking!"

"How would you? All of the time I have known you while at Hogwarts you have been nothing but an insufferable troll and could never stand to be near us! So, Malfoy, tell me when you have seen these so-called looks?"

"Maybe when you were looking at him I was looking at you; maybe I fancied you the most of the time we were at Hogwarts,” he blurted out, covering his face in shame and shock for having uttered the words out loud. My eyebrows wrinkled up in confusion and the damned feeling in the pit of my stomach spread into my feet and made me want to start dancing around the room.

The feeling was definitely weird and I recognized it as a feeling I had felt many times before.

It was a feeling for whenever I was near Harry.

"What made you decide you bare your soul?"

"You looked so depressed last night and if I didn't try to tell you, then moving out would have been for nothing. It looked as if you were trying to drink yourself into a stupor and I decided that you may be too saddened by whatever happened enough to actually hear me out. I just feel so vulnerable in front of you and I’ve figured out that it’s because I’ve been in love with you since sixth year. You are the most beautiful girl that I have ever seen and you deserve to be treated as such, not like your lousy friends have treated you."

"Are you kidding me, Draco?" I questioned, laughing and peering into his eyes, and for the first time in what must have been seven years, I actually said his first name. His eyes lit up and he stared into my eyes and shook his head.

For that moment in time when our eyes met there was a force that kept us frozen in that spot. It was as if my heart had stopped, yet I was still able to breathe and take in the wonderful aroma he emitted. Then, it was as if in slow motion. He took my chin and lifted it up to be able to look into my eyes better and slid over on the bed closer to where I was sitting. After that he pressed his lips down on mine and I was in heaven. It was such a hungry kiss that felt as if he was finally able to let out after a year of pent up lust. At first my eyes widened in shock, and then I pushed him away with all the force I could muster up. There was no way that Draco liked me like that - it was probably just a ruse to get in my pants. He wasn’t letting go and it resulted in my slapping him in the face. He flinched backward in pain and plain as day on his cheek was a red hand print. I felt somewhat proud for giving it to him. He was such a prick and he deserved everything he got.

“You should go,” I spat and pointed toward the door, closing my eyes. He nodded and went to the door. Looking back at me he made a movement to say something, but I glared at him and he decided not to risk it. My look plainly said “if you so much as say a word I will prevent you from ever having children”. He quickly went out of the room and left the door open behind him.

When the door was closed I put my back to it and slid down onto the floor. I would never have admitted it, but that was my first kiss and I was both thrilled and ashamed that it was with Draco Malfoy. It hurt me inside knowing that he was just using me and after all, it was my first kiss. While there had been many young suitors at Hogwarts, none of them clicked with me. My brain said push him away, yet my heart said let him in. He truly did seem like he had changed, but I could not excuse all of the things he had done over the years. There was nothing that could replace those memories. Fire replaced the hurt look in my eyes when I remembered that when he kissed me my stomach fluttered. Inside my head there was a civil war going on that gave me a headache.

You cannot like both Harry and Draco!

It's not my fault that I do! And why not?

There are worst enemies, for goodness sake!

I know that, but Harry doesn't even like me like that and Draco does.

You just need to give Harry some time, or at least tell him your feelings! How do you even know whether Harry likes you or not if he doesn't even know you like him?

And if the answer is that he doesn't like me, what would I do then? Then would I be able to date Draco?

Fine, but don't count your eggs before they hatch.

Then when the hell will I be able to tell him this? Plus, he is dating that rancid Ginny and he is happy!

He could behappierwith you.

With that I got up off of the floor and went into the loo to put on some makeup so I would be presentable when I got to Diagon Alley. I needed to buy my school supplies and make sure my parents hadn't cut me off from my Gringott's vault. My stomach clenched at the thought, changing the Gringott's vaults made this entire thing all too real. They had really disowned me, and that brought tears of anger to my eyes that I quickly put to a stop for fear that my mascara would run. I put on red trainers and exited the room I had been staying in and Apparated straight into Diagon Alley.

My first stop was Gringott's where I was overjoyed to hear that my parents hadn't cut me off from the vault yet. Quickly I bought another vault and transferred every drop of money from my old vault into the new one where I told them my parents were not to have any access. As soon as that was done I took out a sack full of Galleons, Sickles and Knuts from the vault and put them in the pouch that I always carried with me. Walking out of the bank I noticed a family of red heads, with the exception of a bushy-haired brunette and a jet-black haired boy, who were walking towards the bank that I was standing in front of. Hoping they hadn't seen me, I turned to walk the opposite way they were going.

The shop nearest me was Twillfit and Tatting's, so I jumped in there the first chance I got. Second after second passed before I figured they were probably deep into Gringott's and nowhere near the shop I was in. After all, this shop was very expensive and the Weasley’s didn't have much money to spend. I remembered when we went to get their money from the vault in second year and there was a tiny mound of money that Mrs. Weasley was easily able to put in her pouch. Opening the curtain of the dressing room, I peered out and sighed in relief at not seeing any of them in the store searching for me. It wasn't like I had honestly thought they would, I just hoped. We had never been in a fight that lasted more than a day or two, and I was hoping that this would be similar, yet I was still mad at the fact they jumped to the worst conclusion so quickly.

In the corner that I had not checked there was a chuckle that I immediately recognized as Harry’s. My heart skipped a beat and I banged my hand on my forehead sighing. Turning toward him I sent him such a glare that could make even Bellatrix Lestrange cringe. Of course he cringed and then walked out of the shadows.

"What the bloody hell do you want, Potter?" I asked with steel in my voice.

"Potter? Since when have you called me Potter?" he wondered, looking bewildered, his emerald eyes going big.

"Since your precious girlfriend kicked me out of her house and you all disowned me just like my parents." I spat at him angrily. Some part of my mind knew that I shouldn’t be taking all of my anger out on Harry, but I was just so hurt that I didn’t try and erase the bitterness from my tone.

"Ginny didn't mean it; she was tired and cranky and wasn't thinking straight. We all are terribly sorry," said Harry, stepping forward.

"Now you're sorry? How about when she kicked me out and you and Ron did absolutely, positively nothing?" I stepped away and turned my back to him.

"We panicked,” he admitted, “and we didn't know what to do."

"That isn't a good enough excuse." I sighed and walked out of the door and into the busy streets filled with students buying supplies, workers commuting to work, people getting money out of the bank, and much more. Before I had made it across the street into Flourish and Blott's, I was turned around by a hand on my shoulder. It was Harry and he looked mad.

“Demi, please don’t walk away. I’m not done talking with you,” he pleaded with a shout of anger and his eyes full of sadness. I had never seen Harry lose his temper like this toward me before, and my eyes widened with fear.

"Well, I was done talking with you," I shouted back, making my voice the same level as his. The people on the streets turned to look at what the commotion was and stopped in their tracks realizing that it was Harry Potter I was fighting with. It seemed as if the people on the streets were either under a freezing spell or were listening intently to our conversation.

"I don't care if you were or not! I was attempting to apologize, yet you are being stubborn!" he said with a raised voice as I shrugged off his grip and turned to walk away.

"Well, I am sorry that you blokes were being arses first. Because I mean, it's not like you didn't kick me out of the Burrow or anything!"

"And I apologized for that! We should have run after you, but that is in the past!"

"Go away! Haven't you hurt me enough for one lifetime?"

"No, I will not go away! You are my friend and I want you to come back to the Burrow with us."

"The lady said no, Potter," a silky new voice interjected and my stomach fluttered. I turned around to see Draco in the middle of us holding Harry back from coming after me.

"Why do you care, Malfoy?" Harry said, eyeing him.

"I was the one to comfort her after your lot betrayed her friendship. She was there helping you through everything all these years, yet when she needs your help you banish her to go fend for herself!" he admonished, pinning the blame on Harry. It was amazing how he knew exactly how I felt.

“Is this true, Demi?” Harry asked, looking surprised and angry. Throughout the years I had known him; Harry had always shown his betrayal and hurt through anger, always blanching out on unsuspecting friends.

“Harry, Draco was right. Don’t look at me like that. All through our years at Hogwarts I was there to help you out, and when I finally need you I am kicked out to go live on the streets. You know what, Harry? That makes me feel even more worthless than I already feel, which is saying something. I had thought we had a great friendship, yet by this display of betrayal I feel like I have been wrong. Do you know how much it hurt when Ginny told me to leave and you and Ron did absolutely nothing? It was like someone had stuck a knife into my heart and left it to bleed, not ever healing.

“You know how I never cry, yet it felt as if it was my duty to cry for all eternity like a fountain. While you and the others were still at the Burrow in each others company, Draco was the one who talked to me and offered me a friendly face. He said I was beautiful and complemented me, and it was all sincere which made it feel much more surreal. You lot didn’t even come after me once I had left for the Leaky Cauldron where I almost drunk myself into a stupor. Now that makes me feel worthless.” I shouted, not caring if my voice carried down the street and if I was heard by everyone in Diagon Alley.

“You honestly think that you are worthless? I am sorry if I had ever made you feel that way and you are right. About everything. We should have gone looking for you after you left and we should have stuck up for you when Ginny kicked you out. During all the time I had known you, you had helped me out and I should have helped you out also. It just hurt so badly knowing that you had kept us out of such a major part of your life. If you can ever forgive us, it would be greatly appreciated,” he apologized, walking forward to embrace me in a hug. Out of nowhere we were ambushed by two other figures: Ron and Hermione. Through our laughing heads I could see a lone white-blonde figure staring at his feet looking crestfallen. My heart yearned to make him happy, yet I was ecstatic that my friends had taken my words to heart and loved me still.

It seemed that our hug was endless and the happiness that emitted off me was easy to see. What the others didn’t see was a red headed girl in the background looking angry, yet understanding at the same time. She was wearing a secondhand blue sweater and a secondhand black pleated skirt. A shy smile was on her lips and you could hardly see the fire in her eyes. If one looked hard enough, which I was, you could see the extreme jealousy that she was trying to vanquish. You could see that she was extremely nice which showed in her smile, yet protective of her own and I respected her of that. Ginny was a strong person with a caring heart and it seemed that she knew that we needed our time, just the four of us.

Somewhere in my heart I felt bad that Ginny was left out, but there was no way in hell I was getting out of the hug. I missed Harry, Ron, ‘Mione, and Demi time and we hadn’t all been together in what seemed forever. The “Golden Trio” was always together and I never got to see them anymore.

Too soon for comfort we broke apart and started to head off toward Flourish and Blott’s where they had planned to meet the elder Weasley’s. Soon Ginny joined the quartet and linked arms with Harry who looked a tad bit reluctant. In the end we all linked arms, but before we had gotten far I looked over my shoulder at the saddened form of a Mr. Malfoy. I stopped making them lurch forward and told them I’d meet them there in a moment.

I ran back to where Draco was standing and embraced him into a bear hug. I attempted to put all my emotion that I felt toward him into one lone hug.

“Draco, thank you so much for what you just did. It’s like you could read my mind and I will forever be in your debt. Please owl me soon and I will see you when we return to Hogwarts,” I said as I placed a kiss on his cheek. The color rose in his face and his eyes brightened up. Turning to look up the street, I saw the turning figures of Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny laughing and smiling with each other. With one large, quick hug around Draco, I sprinted up the street following the trail of my friends, attempting not to trip and fall or bang into anyone.



The day turned out to be a lot happier than it started. Smiles started to creep onto my face and my eyes had brightened considerably. We were laughing, talking and joking, and we acted as if nothing had ever happened to tear us apart. The entire time we were together, Ginny seemed pretty distant but I just shrugged it off and let it go. There was nothing that could be done and the choice I had made earlier was stuck in my mind.

I had chosen to use Draco in order to get Harry to feel jealous over someone else loving me because Draco seemed like the best candidate to piss off Harry the most. It was terribly stupid for me to think that, but it still appealed to me in many ways. On one hand Draco was so sweet and had changed so much since the Battle, and on the other hand Harry was impulsive and one of my best friends and so brave - a true Gryffindor.

Whenever I thought about this new idea my heart began to pang at the thought of hurting one of them. In the end, if the plan worked, I would have to choose between them and that scared me, but the thought of Harry with Ginny scared me even more.

It seemed that as long as she was around, there would never be a relationship that was amounted to more than friends; knowing this made anger flash in my eyes as I tried to hide it from the others. We had just decided to Apparate back to the Burrow when I remembered that I still had my things in my room at the Leaky Cauldron.

I told them that I’d meet them there soon, yet Ginny decided to come with me. When she volunteered my stomach dropped and the frightened feeling seemed to grow inside of my chest. It seemed that Ginny would hex me as soon as we got upstairs, so I pretended to be polite and let her go up first. She was wary at first, probably thinking I’d hex her before she got the chance, but we finally made it to my rented room.

As we entered she lingered by the door and shut it closed. She stared at me as I gathered my clothing and toiletries and loaded them into my suitcase. When I was done I headed to the door, yet she would not budge. Her eyes were staring intently at me and it was very uncomfortable. It seemed as if she was trying to read my mind and I hoped that she wasn’t a secret Legimens.

“Demi, I know you fancy Harry,” she admitted, eyeing my response. I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of being right, so I raised an eyebrow and tried to look amused as if the mention of it was absurd.

“Not this again, is someone being overprotective?” I said the last four words in a baby voice.

“No, I see the way you look at him and I know how girls act around the ones they fancy. He doesn’t like you more than a friend, I’m sorry. I’m also sorry for kicking you out of the Burrow.”

I was shocked at first. The way she said it seemed so gentle and kind that I almost forgot she was the one trying to break my heart. Almost. She was still the same overprotective Ginny that she had been yesterday, the same one that threw me out of the Burrow. No apologies could take that back.

“Thanks for the apologies. I don’t like him, though. He has never been more than a friend in my mind and I know it will stay that way. I’ve known him too long to like him. He’s too… Harry.” I looked straight in her eyes to convey the fact that it was true, even though it was totally false words dripping from my lips. I could hear the sincere quality in my voice and on what I was saying, which of course was a load of bull.

“Now if you are done, I would really enjoy getting back to the Burrow,” I finished with a smile and gave her a quick hug. I tried to convey the fact that I accepted her apology in it, yet it may have felt a bit stiff. Considering the fact that I secretly hated her and did not in fact accept her apology.

“Fine, I’ll meet you there by Floo. See you back at the Burrow.” she smiled and gave my arm a squeeze as she left the room. I rolled my eyes as I watched her leave.

It took me a second to Apparate to the Burrow. I wound up in the middle of the living room and skipped over to where Mrs. Weasley was standing in the kitchen.

The day went on like normal. Ron, Harry, Ginny, and I played Quidditch outside while Hermione refereed. Throughout the games I would play Keeper while the others took turns shooting.

The day was filled with delicious food, loads of laughs, and stolen glances between Hermione and Ron and Ginny and Harry that made me feel like a definite fifth wheel. Whenever I had the pleasure of witnessing those glances my face would steel over and I would make a joke to ease the pain I felt inside, the pain of being left out and having no one to share stolen glances with.

My behavior of late was very uncharacteristic and it was annoying me; truth be told, there wasn’t much that didn’t annoy me. By dinner time I had had enough of their behavior and sulked into the field that was nearby. I took off my shoes and placed them onto the grass and set off into the dimming horizon. Before I knew it I was running. My face hardened and my feet carried me to an unknown destination; whenever I was troubled I could always console myself by running.

Not too long after I had set off I came across a cylindrical building in distance. A smile crept across my face as I realized this was the home of a good friend of mine, Luna.