𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐏 𝐌𝐄 𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐄𝐏 | 𝐝.𝐦 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

-6-

"Ah! Hogsmeade here we are!" Leila shouted spreading her hands out.

It was already the weekend that me, Leila, and Luna came to Hogsmeade to buy some butter beer. It was a cold, snowy day. Although, it was expected to be like that by the end of October. All of us three entered the 3 broomsticks and ordered 3 cups of butterbeer. I chugged it all down momentarily and asked for 2 more, even though Luna did warn me about the side effects it could have on me.

We stayed there for a while, until Harry, Hermione, and Ron, I believe, entered. They greeted us and then went ahead to sit somewhere else. I noticed Slughorn waving at me, so out of respect, I went up to him to say hello. The other two didn't seem to be interested in whatever the old man had to say.

"Hello, Professor Slughorn," I said holding out my hand for a handshake.

"Well, hello there, Miss L/N," Slughorn said happily. Merlin, how did this old man have that much energy in him to be so cheerful?

He continued introducing me to a few of his friends that were sitting next to him and then proceeded to ask me a question.

"Miss L/N, as a tradition, every year I call all of my exceptionally good students over to my classroom to have a little party, eh? I would like you to be there as well."

"That is an honor sir, I will be there, hands down," I replied.

"Well then, wait for an owl from me to know the exact date and time." Slughorn said happily then continued, "Would you mind telling the same to Mr. Malfoy since you are from the same house."

"It wouldn't be a problem, sir." I replied casually, "I will be waiting for your owl then. Yet again, thank you for the invitation."

"Don't be so polite, dear. Now off you go, seems like your friends are waiting for you over there," Slughorn said pointing at Leila and Luna.

I waved goodbye to the professor and then proceeded to go and sit back in my place. As soon as I sat down, I saw Draco come in and then go straight to what seemed the bathroom. I couldn't catch him to tell him what Slughorn told me, so we just paid for the drinks and got out of there.

We got to the castle and went to have lunch. I and Leila sat at the Slytherin table and started eating sandwiches. We talked for a while about some things in classes, but our conversation got interrupted by Luna who seemed to be in shock about something.

"Didn't you hear?" she started "Katie Bell just got possessed, rumors are, that she touched a necklace that was cursed or something."

I was quite shocked to hear the news, "How did that happen? Who saw it?" I asked.

Then Draco entered the great hall and went to our table to sit across from us. He put his coat aside and started eating. He seemed worried about something, but I didn't pay much attention to it, as the news that Luna just brought up was far more important.

"Well, Seamus overheard McGonagall having a conversation with Harry, and apparently, Katie was given a necklace by an unknown man who used Imperio on her and demanded the necklace to be delivered to Dumbledore," Luna answered.

"So, this means that even Hogwarts can't be safe anymore. I mean, it is forbidden to use Imperio, as it's a direct ticket to Azkaban," Leila chimed in, "Who knows, what kind of wizard could be out there right now, Dumbledore needs to take action. What if it's a Death Eater?"

"Well, that aside, let's hope for the best for Katie," I said hoping that this conversation would end. Who knew that the situation was far worse than I had imagined.

I looked at Draco to see him staring at the three of us surprised. Well, I don't blame him, it is a situation worth being shocked about.

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I couldn't stand being next to anyone as rumors started spreading fast and everyone was talking about it. I was uncomfortable, so as soon as I finished dinner, I went to the Slytherin common room to read a book. Not everyone was back, so it was comfortable reading without any distractions.

After an hour or so, everyone returned and started chatting about what had happened. Some went to bed not wishing to talk about the topic any longer, some sat down and started brainstorming about what could have actually happened. It wasn't too annoying, as I was concentrating on what I was reading, besides, they went to sleep approximately 30 minutes later.

I stayed up till 12 when I heard footsteps from upstairs coming down. I looked up to see Malfoy in his sleeping clothing.

"Hey, Draco," I said going back to my book.

"Hey," he replied and sat next to me, "What are you reading?"

"' Quidditch through ages'" I replied not taking my attention off the book, but then remembered Slughorn's favor "I forgot to tell you, me and you and some others are invited to Slughorn's special party for the 'exceptional students'. He told me to tell you."

"Is there a date and time for that?" Draco asked raising his eyebrow.

I looked back at him and replied, "Well, he did say that he would send an owl, so it will be written there, I guess."

An uncomfortable silence fell between us. We both knew what was on our minds and couldn't talk about it. All this deal with Katie being possessed, someone trying to kill Dumbledore, and some dark wizard lurking around in Hogsmeade, which wasn't far away from Hogwarts, didn't sit right with me. I could say the same for Draco, he was deep in his thoughts, but I wasn't sure if he was thinking the same as I. Who knows? Maybe he got problems far more important than the current situation.

"What do you think about what happened with Katie?" I asked nonchalantly looking up from the book and looking at him fiddling with his hands.

"Sorry," Draco replied not taking his gaze off his hands, "Could we not talk about that right now?"

"Sure."

He shuffled in his seat so he was now facing me, "Raise up your arms." Draco said looking at me.

"Why, Draco?" I asked laughing and raised my arms up.

I didn't have time to react when Draco then placed his head on my thighs: his face looking at me with a big smile plastered on it.

"May I ask what in the Merlin you are doing?" I shrieked blushing and glaring at him. Now I know why he wanted me to raise my arms up.

"Making myself comfortable," Draco replied casually closing his eyes and smirking to himself.

"On my legs?" I asked sarcastically rolling my eyes.

"Precisely." He answered.

I put the book aside and threw my head back on the couch. All my thoughts were racing in my mind, it felt like I was about to lose my sanity. I felt the red on my face increase as I realized how weird of a situation this was.

As I closed my eyes, I thought about how intriguing this whole experience with Draco is. All this time, he and I spent time together late at night, and simply being there for each other was so special. It felt like a fever dream. He did and said things nobody dared to do or say to me, but I loved it. And I couldn't reckon why. Yet again, he felt safe with me, and I felt calm with him.

Merlin, this guy is going to be the end of me.

"Say, Draco, thank you for being here with me," I whispered then looked at him seeing that he had fallen asleep already.

I chuckled, "I suppose, this was a 'thank you' too..."

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