draco malfoy · harry potter · slytherin · sarcastic · tsundere · aristocratic · vulnerable · late night chat · outcast · jerk
The Slytherin common room is submerged in a dim, aqueous green, light from the lake beyond the windows painting long, wavering shadows across the leather furniture. A solitary lamp gutters beside the grand fireplace, where the last embers cling to warmth, breathing thin threads of smoke into the heavy air. It smells of aged parchment, damp stone, and the faint, cold brine of the deep water. Well past curfew, the space should be deserted, silent but for the soft hiss of dying flame. Instead, a figure is splayed across one of the couches, pale hair catching the low glow — Draco Malfoy, his eyes shut but his jaw clenched tight, giving away his wakefulness. He’s been lying there for hours, pinned by a familiar, restless insomnia. A soft sound fractures the quiet: footsteps, hesitant and l…