Fire & Ice - A Draco Malfoy fanfiction

Chapter 27 - Why was he doing this?

Two things define you. Your patience when you have nothing and your attitude when you have everything.

- Imam Ali

DRACO'S POV

I couldn't get her out of my damn head and it was infuriating! Why the hell had she done that? Why had she kissed me? And why the bloody hell did I kiss her back?

I had felt it before and it was dangerous. When I saw her at the Ministry's Ball, I had thought that she looked beautiful. And I had kissed her. I denied it and I would continue doing so, but I knew that it was true. I had kissed her.

I liked who she was that night. I liked that she related to what I was going through and I liked how excitedly she announced that she wanted to be a curse-breaker. I liked that I had noticed that she was so much more than her last name.

But then that feeling was gone. I hadn't thought about her in that way until yesterday. Or had I?

I had beat up Adrian Pucey for placing that bet, I had talked her out of her starting depression because I hated seeing her so ... different, so much like me.

She was nothing like me, which is why this was bullshit. I didn't like her like that! My brains were playing tricks with me. She was Eleanor Selwyn for Merlin's sake, annoyingly flawless, stuck-up, arrogant, snobby Eleanor Selwyn. She talked back to me and she dared to insult me. That was not a person I could be into.

I wasn't into anyone anyway! This was bloody Hogwarts and I'd be damned if I'd be one of those fools who start a bloody high school romance. Never in a million years and definitely not with Eleanor Selwyn.

And she hated me! She positively hated me, I knew she did. She never looked at me the way Daphne did. Maybe she was friendly sometimes out of necessity, but she'd never like me as a person. So why the hell did she kiss me?

And why did I kiss her back?

The night passed by painfully slowly and I didn't sleep for a single second. My mind was completely messed up and it was all her fault. Who did she think she was? I hated her. I hated her for doing what she did and for messing with things she wasn't allowed to mess with.

I was Draco Malfoy. I shouldn't be thinking about a girl so much. It was ridiculous. I was losing myself. I was Draco Malfoy. No one throws me off like that.

ELEANOR'S POV

Friday was a filled day, luckily, meaning I could easily distract myself. First Ancient Runes, then Divination and then Care for Magical Creatures, and I wasn't seated next to Draco Malfoy for any of them, which was delightful.

"Lea, you're all quiet again. You're okay, right?" Tracey asked at breakfast.

"What? Oh yes, I'm fine", I said, trying to wake up fully. I hadn't slept much and I was noticing the repercussions.

"Ancient Runes is going to be an absolute drag", Tracey sighed. "If I have to translate one more text from Tales of Beedle the Bard I'm going to unleash all my fury on Professor Babbling.

I didn't mind Ancient Runes as much. It acquired maximum focus and I left every class with a massive headache, but I liked it, it was puzzle work. And the maximum focus was welcome too in my current situation.

Dolores Umbrige walked through the Great Hall, followed by Cho Chang. She had been talking to many students because she suspected some kind of student group involving - no surprise - Harry Potter and was interrogating students about it. Of course all Slytherins were spared, but the other houses had less luck.