My Father will (never) hear of this

[ Drabble; Read on Ao3 ]

Narcissa Malfoy, Luna Lovegood Bribery; Malfoy Manor Rating G

Prompt: "I'll do it, but on one condition."

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“Two hundred Galleons?”

“Every month. Yes.”

Luna stared vacantly at the woman, though her mind was sharply present and curious.

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure I understand.”

The Lady of Malfoy Manor smoothed her robes where she sat, her chin lifted such that to return Luna’s gaze meant peering slightly down pointed nose. Narcissa’s lips pursed.

“I can’t say I fully understand my son, presently, myself. But he needs an outlet, amongst other things, and this is perhaps the least ruinous way to indulge him.”

[ Drabble; Draco Malfoy - Ao3 Fic ]

Tags: Battle of the Astronomy Tower - Fear/Anxiety - Death mention / imagery

Prompt: I earned this

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The time has come. Dread lends it a crushing weight as it settles in his lungs like a sickly haze, and Draco feels like he cannot breathe. He cannot get enough air, no matter how fast he sucks it down, or how hard his heart hammers it through his pure blood. His blond head is spinning, so dizzying he fears he might next wet his dry lips with vomit.   Hard stone meets his knee as he stumbles upon the steps, clutching at his wand with white knuckled desperation.   There is chaos below. Draco can hear it over the pitch in his ears, just as he can hear the Headmaster beyond. His death, a prize. A release. Even the tremble in Draco's palm cannot prevent it, because it must be done. He’s come too far now to turn back. Everything has come to this, and if he falters, everything will be lost.   Dumbledore is talking, murmuring low— is he not alone? What if somebody else is there? What if there’s a witness?   Does it matter? Will it make a difference, now that he is to be a marked killer? Everyone will know, soon enough.

[ Daily Lives of Slytherins Drabble ] Rated T; Yule Ball Secret crush Theo > Draco, shallow Pansy/Draco, Draco > Hermione attraction =

For all the fuss that it was, the Yule Ball being hosted there at Hogwarts, Theodore remained lonesome. He didn't mind this, despite some needling from his fellows (and at least one declined request). Nott was quite content to people watch, lingering at the fringes. Taking in the minutia of the spectacle.

Watching Draco Malfoy too, as he ever did.

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[ Read the full fic on Ao3 ] @hprecipe-recfest

Rated T Adult Draco/Hermione No Major Warnings Apply Mild Angst/Romance with Humour

Pavlova Recipe Included =

Three times, she had watched him come back for more.

Perhaps it was a deep seated paranoia, or the admittedly generous donations he’d made that night, but Hermione found it difficult to take her eyes off of Malfoy.

A pot-luck banquet— raising awareness and funding towards matters of Gnomish zoning rights and displaced fungal harvesters— was not the sort of event she’d ever expected him to attend. Just turning up to mock her efforts seemed like a particular stretch even for him, let alone putting forth a ridiculous sum of money for his trouble.

There was nothing on Earth that could have convinced her that Draco Malfoy actually cared about the issues affecting the Gnomish community. Whatever bizarre agenda drove him to attend remained an utter mystery to her clever mind, even after observing him for the better part of an hour.

He was relatively well behaved, all things considered. Clipped small talk and certainly not the most popular man in the room, but he busied himself with gluttony. An enchanting assortment of food currently swept the hall, levitating in a fantastical rotation to suggest themselves to the guests and serve up portions to those interested in them. Yet, the only dish he’d even acknowledged that night was a dessert. Malfoy had pointedly chased it down twice more, harassing the dish, responsible for disappearing nearly half of it into his stomach.

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He sat beside her on a courtyard bench.

Her hands worried at borrowed serpent necklace.

“I wasn’t supposed to be Ravenclaw, Granger.”

“Wasn’t supposed to be my friend, you mean?”

Silence.

“I got what I really wanted, though.”

“Draco...”

“Great Wizards, and all that. Right?”

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“Think, boy. Carefully.”

Between the shadows and the jar-lined shelves, Snape’s sallowness reminded Draco of Death.

“The answer will change the course of both of your lives.”

“But sir... a Mudblood—”

“Do you care for that girl?”

“I...”

Snape’s eyes closed.

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Malfoys led superfluous lives.

Sons imitated fathers to replace them.

Each individual rendered unremarkable, impressive mostly through cumulative familial success.

Seasoned by ravenous expectation.

Swallowed whole. Sacrificed to their sacred name.

No such beast chased Granger.

Unchained ambition. Not shackled to tradition.

She disappointed nobody.

A Different Track

D/Hr microfic compilation; 50 word chapters of an overarching story.

First years Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy accidentally befriend one another on the Hogwarts Express, when Draco mistakes her for the relative of a famous Potioneer who shares her last name.

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“You filthy liar!” Malfoy sneered, “You said—”

“Hector Dagworth, yes, I know, but—”

“But you don’t know!”

“You’re the one who suggested the connection! You obviously knew all about Wizarding history—”

“You don't even have any!”

Hermione’s eyes glistened, pink faced.