CHAPTER 2.
vexation

❝ 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑔𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑠
𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 ❞

IT WAS WITH COMPLETE BEWILDERMENT that Felicity somehow found herself walking beside Peyton Malfoy, of all people, trudging herself willingly along the platform.

Of course, she'd wanted to tell the strange girl no - she was a Malfoy, after all, and every nerve in Felicity's fragile body was screaming at her not to trust her - but somehow, she was compelled to comply. Perhaps it was because the situation was so intriguing, and she couldn't help but allow Peyton's words to pique her interest; or rather, perhaps she was just a fool. Either way, she had somehow found herself trotting along the platform beside the youngest member of the Malfoy family, dragging her trunk behind her.

"I like your cat", Peyton said rather abruptly, as she helped Felicity heave her belongings onto the luggage compartment, "What's their name?"

Felicity's eyebrows furrowed as she glanced down at the tabby by her feet, "Othello."

"Oh", the young Malfoy responded, "How peculiar."

"The name derives from a character in a muggle book", Felicity explained, "But I'm not entirely sure why you're so interested."

"I'm just making conversation, Felicity - relax", Peyton breathed with a smile, but just the sound of her name forming from the girl's mouth made her feel iffy, "I'm trying to be friendly, you know, I am capable of that. You needn't be so afraid of me, us Malfoys aren't inherently bad people."

Felicity's eyes narrowed, "Somehow I find that hard to believe, considering I'm exactly the type of person your parents raise you to despise."

Peyton took a firm step onto the train and began filing through the corridor, "When I was younger, I never really understood what my parents meant when they told me certain types of wizards were bad - impure, they said, but to me people were always just people. And so, I kept up with it for a while, naturally, given that they're my family and everything. But I grew tired of pretending to hate people just because they were different to me, and so I just stopped."

"That's an awful lot to share with a stranger on a Sunday morning", Felicity scoffed, but she hadn't intended to be entirely callous. Peyton's words weren't exactly alien to her, and her struggle wasn't either.

Peyton looked briefly over her shoulder in the cramped corridor and shrugged, "Perhaps I trust you."

To some extent, she had to say that she understood. Hermione had the tendency to overshare, and she had heard plenty of stories over the years about the extended members of the Malfoy-Black family. Harry's godfather, Sirius, grew up in a similar environment to what Peyton had - the son of a prejudiced family, built entirely on blood supremacy. He hadn't agreed with their values either, despite their determination to push them. And from other stories that she had heard through the grapevine, Peyton's own aunt - Andromeda - had been disowned by her family for marrying a muggle-born. Felicity couldn't help but notice one recurring theme though; both Sirius and Andromeda's stories had resulted in them being cast out by their family completely. It made her sort of sad, actually, imagining that this girl's story might end in the same way.

Still, from that perspective, Felicity supposed it wasn't so difficult to believe that perhaps Peyton was different from the rest of her family. Besides, feeling like an outsider in your own home wasn't a feeling that was necessarily foreign to her.

"I get it", Felicity nodded, "A shame the same can't be said for your demon of a brother."

"Draco is a difficult case", Peyton called above the strangled racket of students, "He worships my father, always has, so any word that comes out of his mouth is like a bible to him. But Draco and I have never let the differences in our beliefs affect our relationship. I know this might be hard to believe, but he's a good brother. Over the years he's just become a little... misguided."

"Misguided?", Felicity laughed in disbelief, "He's a vile little twit!"

"Believe me, Felicity. I'm not condoning my brother's behaviour", she stopped in her step and twisted her body around, highlighting that they had reached their destination, "If I did, I wouldn't be so willing to help you get under his skin, would I? Now, after you."

Felicity glanced inside the carriage and realised that it was the Prefects Compartment. Of course, it made total sense - Peyton had mentioned that she'd been made Prefect, and all Prefects were expected to attend the obligatory meeting on the train each year. To be honest, the thought had slipped Felicity's mind the moment she'd stepped on the platform.

Before she had even entered the compartment, her eyes fell onto several familiar faces; Colin Creevey, so Liam had been right about that one; Ron, her own sister, and crammed right into the far corner of the compartment, looking incredibly sullen and undesired to be there, were Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy.

Felicity had heard plenty of jargon from her sister last year about how poorly Draco and Pansy had abused their prefect duties. So much so, that Felicity was surprised they had even bothered to show up at all. But then again, Malfoy didn't exactly look pleased to be there. His face was almost entirely sunken, like somebody had taken a straw and sucked half of the blood from his cheeks, and his skin was somehow even paler than usual. There were rings around his eyes that suggested he hadn't slept for days, and his usual scowl had been dulled for something much more quiet, as though he was absent completely. It seemed like he was buried in his own thoughts, his vile spunk from the platform having died away, and each word Pansy spoke seemed to go completely over his head.

It puzzled Felicity for a moment, that he seemed so lost in himself now. It was as though hating her had been the sole source of his energy.

As soon as the two girls entered the compartment, Draco's attention immediately perked up.

Peyton didn't even seem to bat an eyelid, taking a seat to the far left of the compartment and beckoning Felicity to follow. The Prefects cabin was larger than most cabins on the Express; wider, with the seats forming a horseshoe-like shape to cater towards the vast number of students occupying it. Though, regardless of whether it was bigger than the average compartment, Felicity couldn't help but find it a tad claustrophobic. All of those faces, staring at her with their condemnatory eyes. Like she was an animal on display.

Of course, she could hardly blame them for staring. I mean, a Granger had just walked into the compartment, arm-in-arm with a Malfoy, laughing and joking with each other like they were the best of friends. When she really thought about it, it did sound like some sort of circus act, so bizarre that it couldn't possibly be real. It was no wonder really, that people were so intrigued. Still, their eyes were grating, and all Felicity wanted to do was fall back into the darkness and block them all out.

It wasn't until her eyes met Draco's, and she saw how aggravated he looked, that bearing the throttled stares felt worth it. Suddenly, she understood Peyton's intentions entirely.

And so, she took her seat next to her new ally, and treated her as exactly that - the best of friends.

After a rather dull and completely unnecessary speech from the Head Prefects, the students in the Prefects cabin were split off into pairs and given orders on how to man the train for the rest of the journey. Of course, naturally, Draco and Pansy hadn't lasted five minutes, scurrying off to their own group of evil cronies before the Head Girl had even finished her sentence. Ron and Hermione hadn't taken on their duties either, disappearing down the train as soon as they were dismissed, though that wasn't a surprise either; those three were always up to something.

Felicity had considered disappearing herself; she'd been so caught up in Malfoy business that she hadn't seen her own friends yet, and she didn't particularly feel like abandoning them the whole journey to babysit first years. Plus, she had been paired with Peyton, whom she wasn't required to tolerate now that her brother had fled the scene. But unfortunately for Felicity, she didn't fancy herself getting fired on the first day on the job, and so she had little choice but to do what she had been asked.

"I reckon the easiest place to patrol is probably the far right end", Peyton suggests once they leave the compartment, "There's never any trouble there, so it should be quiet."

"What?", Felicity scoffed accordingly, "You're actually expecting to work with me? For a whole train journey? Your brother isn't around anymore, we don't have to pretend to like each other."

"Well, we were paired together, weren't we?", Peyton said, "Besides, I thought I told you already. I'm not pretending to like you. And how can you say you don't like me, when you hardly know me at all?"

She was right, of course.

Funnily enough, even though they were in the same year, Felicity had never really taken the time to study Peyton Malfoy.

Perhaps it was just because she had never really cared, but there wasn't much she could say about the youngest Malfoy spawn aside from the fact that she was clever and reeked of designer perfume.

No, Felicity had never really noticed her, because when she thought about it, Peyton had never given her a reason to. She wasn't like her older brother, barging himself into every manner of her business simply out of spite, parading himself around like he owned the world. Peyton was quiet, and harmless, and she'd never once said anything to Felicity that even bordered on stepping out of line.

In fact, if you stripped away her ice-blonde hair, or the cold metallicity of her eyes, you may not have guessed that Peyton was a Malfoy at all.

"If you're so different from the rest of your family, how do you get away with it?" Felicity questioned bluntly, "I mean, from what I recall any member of your extended family who acted up found themselves banished and their face scratched off the wall."

The thought had slipped out before she had found the might to contain it, but Peyton didn't seem to mind.

"I'm quiet", she shrugged casually, "Harmless, content - I fly under the radar. I may not wholly agree with my family's values but I still endorse them gladly, depending on who's watching. And I don't make my disdain obvious. At school, I can do what I want, because I mind my own business and people hardly notice a thing. At home I'm exactly what they need me to be - these are awfully intrusive questions, Granger."

"Sorry", she responded sheepishly, "I guess to some extent I understand, though. I mean, I can't say I've ever disagreed with my family's values, but feeling like the black sheep? That I've grown pretty accustomed to."

"Really?"

"Yeah", Felicity rambled, "Believe it or not, the Granger family aren't just sunshine and rainbows, sometimes they aren't the most accommodating. I don't know, I guess in a lot of ways I just don't really fit in, my interests don't always align. Sometimes I feel like my family's disappointment."

She wanted to stop herself, because at this point she didn't even know what to think. She was telling Peyton Malfoy things - the kinds of things she had never told anybody, not even Aviana, and she couldn't even begin to fathom why. It just came naturally.

"That's an awful lot to share with a stranger on a Sunday morning", Peyton smiled, mimicking Felicity's own earlier words.

Felicity exhaled with a smile, "Perhaps I trust you."

"Touché", Peyton nodded, "Come on - we'd better change into our robes and start patrolling the train - we'll be at Hogwarts soon."

It was no news that Draco Malfoy hated the world, but there were few people that he hated within it more so than Felicity Granger.

She was nothing but a vile, troublesome, pertinacious little pest, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to get rid of her. She just wouldn't budge.

And she wasn't like her sister. No, Hermione may have been aggravating, but at least she mostly stayed out of his way, running around and busying herself chasing Harry's coattails. She didn't stick her nose into matters where she wasn't wanted, and she knew her place - it was only when she particularly had to, that she made herself involved in Draco's business. In fact, when it came to that group, the whole lot of them were nothing but trouble, but Hermione didn't stand out as any more vexatious than the rest.

But her sister? God, the sister. Just the thought of her made Draco's insides wretch. She was everywhere, constantly weeding herself into matters that were far from her business, like a bug that he just couldn't seem to squash.

Everything she did vexed him.

Ugh. Hermione Granger was, at the very least a real enemy, and when she fought him she presented him with a real kind of challenge. Felicity Granger was nothing but a complete and utter annoyance.

Even now, when he had far more important things to worry about, he found that little else could occupy his mind; because here she was again, bugging him beyond belief.

And if her mere existence wasn't already grating enough, now she was befriending his sister? Could she possibly be so audacious, as to think a Malfoy was even within her social reach? I mean, he might have even laughed at it if he hadn't been so blindsided.

"Hey", it was the sound of Pansy's voice that disturbed him from his spiteful slumber, "Is anybody alive in there? What's gotten to you today?"

They were finally at dinner, but Draco had to admit that he didn't particularly have an appetite for a feast after the events on the train that day, and looking around him, it didn't seem like anybody else did either. The atmosphere in the Great Hall was tense, so thick that you could cut it with a knife. The talk and the laughter went on as usual, but there was just something off, that most people couldn't place. Every student in the room looked ever-so-slightly on edge. And it was reflected in the scenery, too. The lighting was darker, with a brooding warmth radiating from the glow of flickering candlelight. People talked slower, ate more carefully, like everything was in slow-motion.

It wasn't a mystery to Draco though, obviously. He knew exactly what kind of darkness was looming over this place, waiting for the right moment to pounce.

"What?", he mumbled, not allowing his eyes to leave their fixed position.

"I said what's gotten you so riled?" Pansy repeated, leaning forward slightly to attempt to get into his eyeline, "You're so clearly aggravated about something, you're going to burst if you clench your muscles any tighter."

"I'm not aggravated", he attempted to lie.

"You say through clenched teeth", Pansy rolled her eyes.

"Alright, fine", Draco exclaimed, "It's her, she vexes me."

When he spoke about her, Draco's lips frowned with disgust, as if he had some kind of rotten taste in his mouth.

It was Theo's turn to question, "Her?"

The group of Slytherins all turned to glance at each other with clueless looks, but Draco's eyes remained fixed.

"Granger."

"Well, that isn't hard to believe", Pansy scoffed, "But what's Hermione done now?"

"Not Hermione", Draco seethed, "The little sister."

At his words, his three friends shifted from confusion to something of plain amusement.

"You're all hung up because of Granger's little sister?" Blaise snickered from behind his frown.

"Find it funny, do you, Blaise?" Draco raised an eyebrow, "You weren't there, so you didn't see what I had to witness. She was sitting there, whispering and giggling with Peyton like they were in some kind of friendship. It was insufferable."

"Well, you must be losing it if you're letting Felicity Granger get to you so deeply", Theo scoffed, "I mean, Hermione I could understand, that girl is grating. But Felicity, I can't say I've ever taken the time to even notice."

"Oh believe me Nott, I used to think Hermione was bad, but the sister?", every word that left Draco's mouth was uttered with an extra spark of spite, "She's repulsive, like a pest that just won't die, and she has this spark in her eye that glistens like the devil. She needs swatting, immediately, before somebody lets her roam free."

Draco couldn't actually bring himself to take his eyes off her. His vision was entirely fixed on her in a penetrating glare, as though he was trying to shoot laser beams through her skull. And as if her audacity on the train wasn't enough, she hadn't even noticed his daggers - she was too busy laughing, and enjoying herself.

She didn't even look like Hermione.

In fact, if it wasn't for her nauseating personality and her ability to get in the way, he might not have pegged her as a Granger at all. Her complexion was less freckled and more tan, her chin far more pointed. And she didn't possess Hermione's mane of mousey brunette curls, but rather, her hair was sleeker and a much darker shade. From what Draco could remember, Hermione's eyes were brown, but Felicity's were brighter; a mystically-luminous combination of deep blue and seagreen, and under a particular light he was certain they flickered with tiny specks of gold.

He may have been all the way across the room, but the image was so fervent in his head that he could easily have been next to her at the table. She had the front strands of her hair pulled back, twisted into a knot on the back of her head, and her nails were painted pink - they were always pink. She was smiling, but not freely; it wouldn't be a grin, like the showing of teeth that she did when she fully let go; it would be closed and subtle, like she was using every ounce of her might to remain in control. And she smelt like lavender and marshmallows, so nauseatingly sweet that it knocked him sick. She repulsed him.

It was funny, really, how much he knew about her. It was amazing how much attention you paid when you despised somebody beyond compare.

"She's got some tongue on her, though, that's for sure", Theodore laughed to himself, "Spatting with her earlier is the closest I've ever seen you come to flustered, Draco mate."

"Shut it, Nott", Draco spat, "She needs her tongue cut. It's about time somebody reminded her of her place."

Pansy's eyebrows knitted in contemplation, "You seem awfully fixated on this, have you ever considered that might be a little, I don't know, odd? Obsession isn't a good look Draco, even if it's fuelled by hate. Maybe you should ease off a little."

"Watch your words, Parkinson", was all he seethed in response, his jaw clenched, "I need some air. If you speak to my sister, tell her I'm in need of a word."

Completely riled up, Draco climbed out of his seat and left the Great Hall without another word, pacing as briskly as he could through the barren corridors. He didn't have time for this, any of it, and he certainly didn't have room for any kind of emotion. His father was in prison, his mother was a mess. Peyton was going to have to learn to behave, because berating her was energy that he just didn't have, not when everything he was doing was helping him keep her safe.

He had a job to do, to prove himself worthy, and he would do just about anything to finish it.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE... oh, you hate each other beyond compare? and that means you have to be overly observant of each other's every move? right, right, makes sense. please, I love them so much, they're so funny and dramatic. they do just flow so easily in my head, probably because felicity started out as a role-play character when I was nine so she's very easy to embody since I spent years literally playing her! and I love her so much, she possesses a lot of my traits but also is a very defined person in my head so I just love her like my child to be honest. I did however, finally find a face claim for her after THIRTEEN years of her being my OC? I may have honestly been through about a dozen felicity 'face claims' over the years and none of them ever felt right because felicity was such a defined character in my head. but, poppy drayton (particularly when she's young and has a fringe) is the closest I have ever come, she is perfect. and that is v v fun because it means I can now edit the fuck out of these bastards so get ready for allllll the video edits (I am almost finished with one already). anyway, lots of love, ─── dani xoxo