Draco Malfoy strutted through the dungeon, the soft tapping of his feet made more audible with every step reverberating within the stone corridor. He was now making his way to the Slytherin common room after a very satisfying and fulfilling dinner in the Great Hall. He hadn't bothered to wait for neither Crabbe nor Goyle, as they had been stuffing their mouths full of the feast's many pastries. Having known them, they would remain there for the rest of the evening.

Draco smirked at the thought as he rounded one of the dungeon's many corners. He wasn't at all surprised to be greeted by another long, bleek stone hallway, it was routine for a Slytherin, yet something did seem a bit... odd. Amidst the gray stone was something a light yet striking green, unmoving on the ground ahead.

What...? Draco wondered, his footsteps faltering before seizing all together. He squinted his eyes, which were as gray and bland as the stone that made up nearly all of the dungeon. It was no use; he still couldn't make out what the object was. It did, however, register that it was relatively spherical and smooth.

Malfoy glanced around, in fear that a passing Slytherin student would see him practically making a fool of himself. There was no one; he was alone in the hall.

He returned his attention to the mysterious lime-green item on the ground approximately fifty feet ahead of him. Slowly, he approached it, now more than a little curious. Each step he took gradually closed the distance between he and the object. He picked up his pace, suddenly almost anxious to reach the damned thing. Finally, when he was about ten feet from it, it dawned on him what it was.

"An apple?" He snorted, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. Draco felt like a complete idiot. He had been so anxious, and for what? "A blimey apple!" He kicked the fruit across the corridor out of sudden spite. Straightening the white button-up he wore underneath his robes, he continued on his way to the common room, but for whatever odd reason, the crunchy fruit lingered in his mind...

-~x~-

Malfoy stretched his limbs, his bed sheet emitting a soft rustling as he moved underneath them. He hadn't slept well at all the previous night, and he wasn't particularly sure why. He hadn't had a nightmare and didn't necessarily have anything weighing on his mind.

He was somehow reminded of the incident with the random fruit the evening before. What was it again? He wondered. An apple? Yeah, that was it. He swung his legs over the edge of his bed, deciding to push the stupid thing from his thoughts for the time being and, hopefully, permanently.

Draco dressed leisurely, purposely buying his time since breakfact was still an hour away. He really had nothing else he needed to do, and he found it rather annoying that he had awoken so early in the morning, despite having had such a pitiful night of sleep. Shrugging on his Slytherin robes, he exited the boys dormitory and stepped into his House common room. It was a rather dull setting, similar to the rest of the dungeons, but he slumped himself into a leather sofa and took little notice. There were only a few people milling about the dimly lit room, which wasn't all that unusual this time of morning. Crabbe and Goyle weren't among them, however, so Malfoy was left with his own company. Those two often slept through even a portion of breakfast.

Malfoy found himself staring at the cinder-coated brick within the fireplace. He wasn't particularly keen on spending the rest of the morning before mealtime alone and utterly bored in the common room, but he didn't necessarily have any better ideas. He sighed, running a slender hand through his neat, pale hair. After about five minutes of idly gazing at miscellaneous items, he finally decided to exit the common room and enter one of the all too familiar corridors of the dank dungeon.

After having turned the first corner, the apple returned to his thoughts yet again. The image of it entered his mind with abrupt clarity, and he was, somehow, able to recall every detail of the wretched fruit's appearance. In fact, he was fairly certain that after having kicked it, a distinct bruise had formed from its impact against the wall. Draco was suddenly overcome with an uncharacteristic bout of guilt, which he immediately attempted to disregard. This was extremely unlike the callous Slytherin boy, and he was definitely aware of it. He scowled.

What are you thinking? It's an apple, a bloody fruit! You're delusional if you honestly feel bad for it. Malfoy curtly nodded, his guilt evaporating as quickly as it had arrived. His conscious was very correct, it was only an apple, yet as he rounded another corner, his ill feelings toward his actions the previous day returned, for there was the apple upon the ground, inches from his boot clad feet. His mist-gray eyes widened in surprise before suddenly narrowing as his lips curled into a sneer.

"Hello, you sodding fruit," Draco spat, looming over it. If he was going to think like an idiot, he didn't find it too far of a stretch to act like one as well. "We meet again. You've caused me quite a bit of..." he paused, searching for the correct term. "Grief? Inner turmoil?" He snorted and rolled mist-gray eyes. Hardly. "Well, I'm sick of it, and I'm sick of you. It's no wonder whoever threw you away didn't eat you." He smirked proudly, nudging the slightly over-ripe fruit with his boot. "You're pathetic, a nobody. And you know something?" He grinned maliciously. "I think you lost your crunch." Malfoy threw his head back and roared with laughter, striking the apple with his foot and sending it rolling down the hall, just as it had the previous day, except this time he felt no remorse. He wasn't feeling merciful. Not today.

His cruel, booming laughter continued to echo throughout the corridor, and he soon found himself clutching his abdomen as he had begun to cramp. Despite this, however, he continued cackling, stomping his feet wildly and gasping for air. After several minutes of this, or so it seemed, the handsome young Slytherin regained his composure.

"Phew.. You're quite amusing for a fruit," he smirked, slowly approaching the abused morsel while wiping a tear from his eye. "But unfortunately for you, that doesn't stop me from loathing you. Immensely." He let forth a soft chuckle before raising a blonde eyebrow at the fruit laying unmoving on the stone. "What's the matter, apple? Lost all your juice?" Malfoy sniggered, struggling to supress his laughter. He was now standing before the apple yet again. "You really are a pathetic sight."

Draco kneeled slowly so that he could closely examine its appearance, suddenly noticing a bead of clear liquid rolling down the apple's exterior. His usual smirk suddenly fell. It almost appeared as if the apple was...crying. Malfoy's face slowly contorted into a scowl.

"What are you doing, apple?" He sat for a moment, staring at the apple in a mixture of disgust and awe. Finally, Malfoy reached out a pale, long-fingered hand and wiped the droplet off, bringing it to his lips to taste. Just as he thought: apple juice. The juice was actually quite sweet, much to his surprise. He had figured that because of the torture it had endured from the cruel Slytherin it would have lost such sweetness. He realized he was wrong, however, as the taste of the small drop sent a trickle of warmth throughout his body, and he began to feel very light and...happy? No, that wasn't it. He felt content though and was so enticed by its sweetness, he hadn't noticed that he had lifted the apple from the ground and was now bringing it to his lips, eager to take a bite.

His lips parted hungrily, and he quickly sank his teeth into the delicious green fruit. Draco's eyes widened in surprise as he was immediately overcome by a nearly overpowering wave of heat. It was exhilarating, and he soon found himself wondering how something could taste so sweet and pure. He quickly abandoned the thought, however, as he became enraptured by the apple's astonishing flavor. But was it enough to call it a mere apple anymore? Draco didn't think so, yet he couldn't think of a more suitable title for it.

Malfoy took another rather large bite of the source of his momentary happiness, stroking a gentle finger over its pale green exterior. If possible, this bite was far tastier than the previous one, and it caused Malfoy's eyes to flutter in near mindless pleasure. It felt so...magical, as if he were under some sort of enchantment. He took another bite and another, another, until..

Draco stared blankly at the bare apple core in his palm. After realizing what he now held, his brow furrowed and his lips parted, releasing a shaky breath. What had he done? He clumsily dropped the fruit's remnants in horror, his eyes widening as it hit the ground with a tiny thud. "No," he breathed. After a little while of struggling to regain as much composure that he could, he slowly reached out, lightly touching the core before flinching. What had he done? "No!" he yelped, frantically grasping what was left of his beloved apple. "I'm sorry! Please come back!" He was almost shouting now, but why wouldn't he be? He was devastated and so wildly desperate for his lovely fruit to somehow return, it was almost natural in a sense.

He sprawled himself out on the cold stone beneath him, the apple core thin and sickening in his lap. There was nothing warm about it now, nothing inviting or sweet. It was now just a flimsy, mortifying chunk of pain and sorrow. Poor Draco couldn't deal with it, decided he wouldn't deal with it. He refused to.

Malfoy jolted himself upright, inserting two slim fingers into his mouth and pushing them down his throat in an attempt to make himself gag. He had to bring it back. He needed to re-taste its sweetness, re-experience the warmth it had allowed him to feel. He tried and tried, but each attempt proved futile. Sobbing, Malfoy let his fingers retreat from the inside of his mouth and slumped defeated against the wall. It wasn't coming back, not ever. He would never again experience such pleasure and contentment, for he was a Slytherin, and whatever sliver of happiness he would feel would only ever be momentary and bittersweet.

I hope you enjoyed this ridiculous story! After all, it was so much fun to write, so I hope you all had just as much fun reading it. Please take a moment to review, and let me know what you thought!

Oh, and consider this a warm up for my upcoming Dramione fanfiction (which I am in the process of outlining).