The Slytherin Princess | Draco Malfoy x Reader

Chapter 25: Expecto Patronum

You wake up on the same grassy knoll you slept on. The events that follow are unexpected, to say the least.

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You woke up as the sun began to rise, still wrapped up tightly in Draco's arms. The grass sparkled in the light peeking over the horizon, the dew heavy on the ground.

You stretched as you rolled over, surprised at how sore you weren't. Sleeping on the ground didn't usually go very well for you, but you were grateful that it hadn't this time.

Your movements awoke the white-blond boy beneath you, and his eyelashes fluttered as his grey eyes opened.

"Don't leave," he said quietly, his voice soft and bogged down with sleep.

"'I'm not going anywhere, love," you said quietly, leaning down to gently kiss his head. "But the sun is beginning to rise, and we should get back to Hogwarts before we get in trouble."

He exhaled, pushing himself up off the ground and scrubbing at his face to rid himself of sleep. "I know you're right, but it feels a lot nicer to just lay here with you," he said slowly.

You chuckled as you picked up the two brooms that lay on the ground next to the two of you, holding Draco's out to him as he picked himself off the ground.

He brushed himself off and grabbed his broom from your outstretched hand, then hooked his free hand around your waist to pull you in for a heavy kiss.

His grey eyes searched yours as you pulled away—for what, you weren't sure. So you simply smiled at him and twirled out of his grasp, boarding your broom, and hopping off the ground, following him as he took off back towards the castle.

He stayed right by your side the entire ride, constantly looking back over at you to simply gaze at your face. You were confused by the affectionate actions, he'd never looked at you with such purity in his eyes. You couldn't tell if it was love, or if he just wanted to look at you, but you had never felt more beautiful in all your life.

You thanked your lucky stars that nobody saw the two of you land on the courtyard, hurriedly putting your brooms back into the Quidditch tent and running up behind the castle, miraculously getting back into the Common Room without even making a squeak.

"If we somehow get found out for this later, I'm blaming you," Draco said teasingly, poking you in the side as he disappeared up into the boys' dormitory.

You rushed upstairs right after he left, slipping into your room and getting into the shower before Juniper even stirred from her sleep.

You let the hot water rush over your body, not wanting to wash away the night before but knowing you couldn't show up to class with dirt in your hair and Draco's mark on your neck.

You spent your time on your hair, leaving it perfectly styled just the way you liked it. You smiled contentedly at yourself in the mirror, pulling on your Slytherin robes and making it to Defense Against the Dark Arts just in time.

You slid into your seat next to Harry, who almost immediately noticed the change in your attitude.

"You know, if you're feeling that much better, you should volunteer to try casting the spell," he whispered as Lupin continued his lecture on the powerful spell.

"The Patronus is a kind of positive force," the professor was saying, his eyes bright with joy at the idea. "It is a projection of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon...hope, happiness, the desire to survive...that, my dear pupils, is why the Patronus is such a powerful force against the Dementor. That is why the Dementor requires your happiest memories and your ultimate concentration. It takes work, however, which is why I again implore that you do not become discouraged if you do not see a corporeal Patronus at first try. You may not even see it at your fiftieth try. Just remain positive and understand that it will happen, because losing the belief that it will happen surrenders your Patronus and the ability to cast one for good."