She was the only person who ever saw beyond the Malfoy name. Long before Hogwarts, before bloodlines and politics mattered, she was simply his best friend—the one who laughed with him in the gardens of the Manor, who knew the sharp edges of his temper and softened them with a smile. Wo allowed him to be silly and fun and relaxed before war and names meant anything. Their parents even wrote up a betrothal agreement, but children they didn’t even know what that meant.