Wake Me up When My Story Ends

Draco pushed himself away from the wall, directly standing within Alexa’s path. He was still dressed in the same ebony suit from dinner even though it was very late at night. He had a feeling that Alexa would be up and about and he couldn’t allow her to roam his house unsupervised. At least, that’s what he told himself. Secretly, he was interested in the reason behind her previous night’s dramatization.

Returning from the bathroom with her face freshly scrubbed off, Alexa stopped when she saw a dark figure by her door. Based on his size and proud stature, she realized it was Draco.

When Draco didn’t speak, she resumed walking and neared her door. Draco noticed her puffy eyes as she passed him, also noticing that she hadn’t changed into her charming nightwear either.

Draco nearly slapped himself in the face for noting such a thing. She’s a pathetic Gryffindor, he thought, rubbing his temple.

Truthfully, after the last couple of days, Draco had grown very curious about Alexa Yaxley. He had never known she was the daughter of a previous Death Eater; Yaxley had avoided custody just as his father had. Acknowledging her reputable heritage yet lowly house was difficult and Draco couldn’t wrap his head around it. From when he had first found out that the Yaxleys were coming over for break until Christmas Eve’s dinner, he had concluded that Alexa was just a rebellious brat. Later that night, when Alexa nearly bowed down and worshipped her parent’s feet, he realized that he was wrong about her… again.

This cycle of confusion was infuriating Draco. He shouldn’t even care to begin with, noble family or not, she’s still a Gryffindor. Yet whenever her house was brought it up, she looked ashamed…

Draco just wanted to understand her and move on with his life because currently he was hung up on this. His enemies were typically simple to follow: Potter was a conceited, attention-seeking brat; Granger was a filthy mud-blood; Weasley was a pathetic blood-traitor. They were all straightforward with their motives while Alexa’s were still hidden from Draco.

Taking a deep breath, Draco decided to take matters into his own hands. Gently rapping his knuckles against the door, he resolved that he had to end this. He wasn’t going to sympathize with Alexa anymore. After successfully reverting her to an enemy status, he can call it a night.

Seeing her cry like that though…

Shaking off any qualms, Draco attempted to look untroubled at her doorway. In front of him, two wide, blue orbs peeked at him from the opened crack of the door.

Alexa’s eyes swept over Draco twice, not entirely sure if she was lucid. Maybe the glass of wine from earlier got to her more than she thought it did.

Rubbing her eyes, Alexa looked to see Draco still standing there, unmoving, “…Erm, can I help you?”

Draco nodded at Alexa, uneasily glancing around him, “Yeah, I have a couple things I want to ask you.”

“Okay…” Alexa trailed off, fidgeting within her prickly sweater. She had planned to immediately shed the bothersome sweater after returning to her room but that would have to wait, “Shoot.”

Draco’s eyes flew to his left, scanning the hall once more. His mother was an absurdly light sleeper so this would have to be more discreet, “… Care to let me in?”

Her lips pursed as she reluctantly allowed Draco into the room, gently closing the door behind him. His musky scent wafted up her nose as he passed her and the fact that she enjoyed it proved that the wine was indeed affecting her.

Draco stiffly sat down in the chair in front of the vanity, equally as uncomfortable as she was. He too began considering the effects those last few glasses of wine were having on him.

Alexa drifted over to her bed, awkwardly seating herself by end while facing Draco as well. A small lamp on her dresser was all that illuminated the room.

The lengthy silence that followed bemused her. She was already stumped as to what Draco had to ask her but the fact that he wasn’t speaking made it worse.

Draco’s eyes swept the ground, unsure how to begin his questioning. Where should he start?

He chose the first and most basic issue that bothered him, “Do you like Gryffindor?”

Draco’s even stare unnerved Alexa and she endeavored to hold eye contact as if this were a proper conversation. His civil voice bothered her very much, nearly even more than the question itself. She’s never heard him speak to her without a mocking tone.

Unsure of what he meant exactly, she warily replied, “… Yes?”

“Really?” Draco asked, suspiciously watching Alexa’s face to see if it would betray her words.

“Yes… Do you not like Slytherin?” Alexa questioned, unsure of where this was going.

“Of course I like Slytherin,” Draco protectively snapped, huffing. He crossed his arms against his chest in a subtly prideful manner before continuing, “That’s not what I asked.”

Even though Alexa began glowering at Draco, she was secretly thankful for his familiar behavior. He was beginning to creep her out, “Well I’m not even sure what you’re asking to begin with.”

Draco exasperatedly sighed, rolling his tongue repeatedly over the back of his teeth, trying to word his question correctly, “… Why are you a Gryffindor?”

“Excuse me?”

Draco irritably grunted, anxiously tapping his foot against the ground while Alexa incredulously gawked at him, “Why aren’t you a Slytherin?!”

A stillness took over the room as both teenagers stopped fidgeting and observed each other in silence. Alexa finally realized what Draco was leading on to but she didn’t know why he was asking about it. It should seem obvious to an outsider after all.

Alexa chose to give him a straightforward answer, hoping he would drop the subject, “Because the sorting hat placed me in Gryffindor.”

“But your fathers a Death Eater!” Draco quietly and impatiently exclaimed and Alexa’s eyes hardened, her defensive, stoic demeanor returning.

Draco was bringing up memories that she was hoping to shelve permanently. She was just languishing over this the previous night when Draco caught her crying-

Alexa’s expression softened, her gaze hidden within her lap. Draco’s curious stare never wavered but now she understood the origin of his questioning. Though she still didn’t quite understand why he was bothering with it, apologies were in order before she could question him herself.

“Draco…” Alexa trailed off, trying to meet his eyes but failing to do so. She was so humiliated that she broke down last night, especially since a Malfoy saw it. Maybe if she blew it off, he’d forget about it, “Last night was a moment of weakness for me. You called it correctly: I was being pathetic. I promise I won’t leave my room to-“

“That’s not why I’m asking,” Draco interrupted, remembering his cold words from last night. Even for him, they were heartless, especially since they weren’t particularly enemies. He didn’t know how else to react to her vulnerably sobbing all over his library. Everything had just caught him off guard, that’s all. But now, if he can grasp her, he hoped, feeble reasoning, he’ll be able to go back to insulting her without any lasting guilt.

“Then what are you asking?” Alexa asked, sighing. It was late and she wanted to sleep, but here Draco was keeping her up with absurd questions. She even considered telling him to turn around so she could change into something more comfortable, but then she remembered it was Draco Malfoy, not a reasonable John Smith.

“I’m not sure,” Draco admitted, lowering his gaze from her face. While trying to sort all of his thoughts, he absently continued, “I just feel like… I think… I think you’re ashamed of being a Gryffindor.”

Just like that, Draco Malfoy swung a home run. He watched Alexa’s eyes shoot wide open, her body suddenly rigid. Draco knew he had hit home with that one so he was finally able to lean back in the chair into a more relaxing position.

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Alexa lied, her eyes flitting everywhere except for Draco. The corner of his mouth twitched, a small smirk forming. He was much more at ease with this situation now.

“Don’t play dumb, I saw how you’d act around your parents when they mentioned you in Gryffindor.”

Fearful adrenaline was now surging through Alexa’s body. This was the closest anyone’s ever gotten to her secret and Draco Malfoy would be the last person she expected to find it.

When she didn’t speak, Draco continued, confident that he was successfully putting the pieces together, “They wanted you to be in Slytherin didn’t they. You just had to rebel and become a petty Gryffindor-“

“NO!” Alexa cried out, furiously glaring at Draco through her welling tears. Draco lost his current untroubled front, taken aback by her shriek. Anxiously, he held up a finger to his lips as to shush her but she couldn’t care less about his request.

Tears began uncontrollably spilling out of Alexa’s eyes while she wrathfully glared at the disconcerted teen. Yet again, Draco was at a loss of what to do. He couldn’t bring himself to get up and comfort her, not to mention that she might strangle him on the way, but watching her cry was uncomfortable.

Alexa’s fury subsided after a couple minutes, only soundless tears sliding down cheeks. Her helpless expression reminded Draco of the previous night and he cursed himself for bringing her to this state again. How was he going to get an answer out of her now?

Alexa’s desolate voice cracked while she spoke, trying to clear her name of his seeming ridicule, “I-It wouldn’t let me in to Slytherin… I tr-tried.”

Draco struggled to comprehend her words while she sniveled. The fact that she wanted Slytherin was news to him. He had always figured that everyone wanted Slytherin going into Hogwarts, but the fact that a Gryffindor was openly admitting to it was astonishing. Apparently, she requested the Sorting Hat for Slytherin as well as he did but it denied her instead.

By this point, Alexa began gushing nearly everything, unable to restrain herself. Talking about her issues felt so foreign to her in an oddly relieving way. Distracted by her own sentiments, she disregarded the fact that it was Draco listening.

“They were so mad at me for not getting into Slytherin. It’s all my fault and I let them all down. I just can’t bring myself to hate muggles or-“ Draco stood, taking deliberate steps over to Alexa who was loudly weeping on her bed. She looked even more susceptible than last night and he’d heard enough for now. It’ll take him another hour just to absorb what she had said because he didn’t understand yet how she could care for her Death Eater father and still somehow value muggles at the same time. He couldn’t comprehend how she could end up being a Gryffindor after being raised in a Death Eater’s household but he wasn’t going to question it now.

“… Shhhh…” Draco awkwardly patted her back in an attempt to soothe her. She wasn’t being that noisy but even in this large manor, his mother had the ears of a hawk.

Alexa immediately stopped crying, surprising Draco. He had expected this to go on for at least a few more minutes. She turned her head up to accusingly stare at Draco, flinching away from his touch, “Wh-Why are you comforting me?”

Draco didn’t have a proper answer. He chose not to stumble through words and to simply back away from the emotional girl. What he’d give to be able to apparate out of here right now...

“Change and go to sleep,” Draco said, walking towards the door. Knowing he’d regret it, he still glanced back at Alexa from the open doorway. Her wide, ashamed eyes were still leaking tears, staining her grey jeans. He couldn’t do anything more for her now though. He’d gotten what he came for.

Before slipping out into the darkness completely, Draco faintly murmured, “Good night Alexa."