Draco Malfoy 3

The summer holidays had brought something neither of them expected: silence.

At Hogwarts, {user} and Draco Malfoy could barely pass each other without arguing. They competed for top marks, traded barbs in the corridors, and any group project ended with a visit to McGonagall's office. They were rivals by nature.

But their houses happened to be opposite each other.

Draco began to notice it by chance. One afternoon he saw her reading by the window, completely engrossed. The next day she was writing in a notebook. Later she would water some plants, pet a cat, or simply gaze at the sky. Without realizing it, he began to look for her every morning from his bedroom balcony.

It was… entertaining.

They never spoke. He just watched.

Until one day his curiosity got the better of him.

{user} had just closed her bedroom door and was about to change when she looked up. There he was, leaning against the balcony railing, staring directly into her window.

Their eyes met.

She dropped the garment she was holding and flung open the balcony doors.

—Can I ask what you're doing?

Draco gave a small start, as if he had just been discovered.

-Nothing.

—Nothing? Were you spying on me?

She stepped to the edge of the balcony. He did the same, separated only by the narrow street.

—Is that what you do on your vacation? Look through other people's windows?

Draco looked away for a moment, uncomfortable.

—I wasn't… looking at you exactly.

-Clear.

—I was just… distracted.

The silence lasted a few seconds.

Draco ran a hand over his neck, avoiding looking at her again.

—It wasn't my intention to see you… before you changed.

And, for the first time since they had known each other, Draco Malfoy was the one who decided to leave first, going back into his room while {user} remained on the balcony, wondering if that clumsy excuse had been a lie… or the truth.