Contingent | D.M. + H.G.

Chapter 21: Incandescent

A/N: This chapter is unbetaed and unedited, so please forgive any mistakes!

Four chapters away from revealing the art I commissioned for chapter 25 ;)

xoxo, carmen

-

The air was finally starting to lighten – in terms of the weather as well as between himself and Granger. Winter was slowly starting to melt away and the harsh chill of the Scotland highlands was dissipating with every beam of sunlight that cut through the clouds.

Hogwarts' next Hogsmeade weekend was fast approaching, and a few weeks had passed since his conversation with Potter. There had been whispers between the two of them, hushed voices and transfigured notes passed in the hallways between classes. Things were finally starting to look up, and the Order – Lupin and Shacklebolt, mostly – seemed to buy what he was trying to sell them.

So far, it seemed he was in the clear. But he still had appearances to keep up. He could never quite tell who exactly was watching, or who may be a rat.

And so, they had to keep selling it. Luckily, it wasn't truly a ruse anymore – at least not to him. He still wasn't fully sold that Granger felt the same way or if she was playing into it to save his ass.

Regardless, he was taking her to Hogsmeade this coming weekend. Granted, they'd made a splash at the Anti-Valentine's day party last month, but they needed to confirm the rumors, the speculation.

"Granger," he asked her lowly during one of their study sessions. "Do you, uh," he stumbled slightly over his words, "want to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"

She met his eyes, and he could see the surprise in them, even as a smirk pulled at the corner of her lips. "Draco Malfoy, are you asking me on a date?"

"Well, it would make sense, would it not?" he chided. "We have a point to make if we plan on keeping my cover intact." Draco had instinctively bristled at her question, and she could sense it immediately.

Rolling her eyes, Granger said, "Relax, Malfoy. It's not like I would have said no." His heart skipped a beat as she laughed. "We need to keep some semblance of normalcy during all of this. So yes, of course I'll go with you."

He let out a quick breath of relief – one he didn't let her see.

Truth be told, he was extremely skeptical of Montague. His fellow Slytherin had raised more suspicion than he'd ever been capable of. He knew there was something off about him. And sure, maybe he was just really creepy. Or he was hitting on Granger and going about it in all the wrong ways.

Regardless, he wasn't going to take any chances about the matter.

Although, if Draco were being honest with himself (which really, was he ever?) he would have told himself that it was because he was a possessive fucker who didn't want him anywhere near his Granger.

But deep down, he knew that he just wanted to tell everyone that she was his. Undeniably, indisputably his. She had been since that first night in the classroom. Somehow, she'd snuck her way into his soul, staining it with her presence. And ever since then, he'd found that he hadn't wanted her gone, not really. Not after everything.

And so, he found himself in his dorm with Theo and Blaise, frantically stressing over what to wear that weekend.

"It will still be chilly," Blaise said logically. "It's early March. There's still snow on the ground. You're going to have your heavy robes on anyway, so why does it matter what you have on underneath?"

"Blaise!" Theo said, shocked, from his bed. "You know that the chances of Draco being a gentleman are very high. The odds of him giving her a part of his outerwear in order to keep her warm is more likely to happen than you give him credit for." Theo shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe you think so low of our boy. Clearly I didn't raise you well at all," he said. Blaise's left eyebrow was raised in a universal what the fuck gesture.