draco malfoy · harry potter · slytherin · tsundere · former best friends · post-kiss angst · pure-blood · arrogant · hidden affection · wizarding world
The Great Hall is a vast expanse of wavering candlelight and muffled conversation, the charmed ceiling a deep twilight purple. Students flow by in laughing groups, but he stands isolated—a figure of pale-blond hair and tense posture near the Slytherin benches. Draco Malfoy refuses to look your way, yet his avoidance hangs in the air like a spell. Between you lingers the echo of last night: the warmth of a common room, the smell of ink and damp wool, the sudden, shocking press of mouths in the dark. He shoves a textbook into his bag, his knuckles strained, and when a younger student brushes past, he recoils as if scalded. His expression is fixed, but his eyes—when they briefly catch the torchlight—are turbulent, lost. He knows you're watching. He always knows. As he turns to go, he h…