My Little Gryffindor

{5} Updated

Being at the Weasley's for Christmas was a godsend. The constant havoc in the house left truly little room for the mind to wander, especially since Mr Weasley had returned from St. Mungo's after the snake attack at work. It took little effort to avoid Harry in the house despite it being small as the twins had taken it upon themselves to take up every ounce of your alone time to test new products, any other second of your time being spent with Ron or in the kitchen helping Mrs Weasley cook. But although the chaos was welcomed, you needed the quiet to clear your thoughts, so they didn't plague you in the night. It took a thousand excuses to escape the house even once, but eventually you left the Burrow and was met with instant silence as you ventured out into the expanse of land surrounding the area. A mile or two out, you came across a single willow tree, leaves cascading down its branches and onto the ground, creating a small haven within. You parted the branches to let yourself into the tiny world, only to meet the gaze of another already sat at the foot of the tree, a book in hand. Your feet froze in place, not expecting to see another soul for hours.

"Are you going to stand there?" Their voice echoed out against the dome of leaves, bringing you back into focus. Your hands released the branches being propped up above your head, trapping you within the space with the man in front of you.

"I wasn't expecting to see anyone around here, let alone you," You spoke softly, but your sentence comes out harsher than planned. Setting aside the book in hand, a smirk crossed the man's face.

"I do just live over there," A hand stretched out pointed you to you left, causing your hands to part the leaves beside you to reveal the view of the Malfoy Manor just off in the distance. You stepped back into the tree's underbrush as a small hum of acknowledgement leaves your lips. The soft crunch of leaves showed Draco shifting his weight to the side to move along the ground, patting the space next to him. Gladly, you parked yourself beside him, picking up the book that the man had placed on the ground. The gold in-lay stood out against the velvet green cover to read a title of an old wizarding classic, which you might of compared to Dickens had you thought Draco would have any clue who that was.

"Bit pretentious of you to be reading," you smirked as you handed the book back to its owner, who chuckled as he clasped his hand around the book, fingers brushing against yours.

"Probably the least pretentious book in the house, though," he shrugged, head turning to look at you as he leaned back into the tree. His eyes flitted around your face, as you gazed up at the walls of green surrounding you, eyes softening in the dimmed light.

"Everything alright?" his question was less formal than before, but it seemed right with the mood.

"I'm doing better. The Weasley's are a good distraction," Draco snorted at your comment, turning to look up at the concealed sky himself.

"They are so loud I can hear them from my own house," earning the man a thwack to the shoulder.

"What do you have against them anyway? You don't seem to hate me, and in your eyes, I must be tenfold worse, no?" The man just shrugged, turning his head away from you. Frowning, you pulled his head back to look at you. You faltered slightly as your eyes see the ashamed look painted over his face. You went to release your hand from his face, but one of his own cupped the back of it and pressed your palm back against his cheek, leaning into it lightly.

"It's hard to unlearn what you are told to think as a child, but I'm really trying," his voice was quiet and lacked the confidence it holds whilst tormenting other. It felt more real, but actions speak louder than words.

"You've spent a lot of years tormenting others, Malfoy," he visibly flinched at the use of his surname from you, the grip he holds on your hands tightening as he pulled it from his face and let it rest in his lap between each of his own, eyes locked down at this entanglement to avoid your piercing gaze.

"I have to keep up some kind of persona at school, or my father, when I get home..." his speech trailed off, his hands now playing with the fingers on your hand as a defeated sigh leaves his lips. The pair of you fell into silence with nothing but the breeze through the curtains of leaves around you made a sound. It was a nice change of pace from the constant noise at the Weasley's.

"May I ask you something?" Draco's voice murmured though the silence, eliciting a nod from you.

"That day, in the room of requirement, you charmed the door, didn't you?" his question played out like he truly didn't know the answer. You did not pull your gaze from the sky and once again only nodded as a reply.

"You seemed shocked I came through, but I saw Harry couldn't," he didn't ask another question, but you knew he was looking for an answer.

"It was just a true intention charm, as all. If you intended to enter the room to find me, you could. I guess I just thought you'd found me by accident. But you couldn't have got through if you did." As you looked down, you couldn't help but notice Draco had never let go of you hand, still playing with to softly between his own.

"I thought I might not be Harry's first priority, so I cast the charm. I hoped it wasn't true, since my family died from me being too close to him as a warning from You-Know-Who to Harry, but I was wrong... I didn't even think anyone else would be looking for me other than Ron and Hermione..." You pull your knees in close with your free arm.

"I heard from Harry you were missing, and I guess I started looking too," you couldn't help but smile as the blush rises to your cheeks.

"I know we've never talked properly before, but I felt this weird connection between us. Like we're similar, I guess," Draco lets you hand fall between the two of you, still holding it in one of his, but his gaze doesn't reach you, seemingly embarrassed.

"I kind of thought of you as a nuisance for a while, tormenting my friends all the time," he nodded in agreement, his grip on your hand loosening. "but I noticed you never targeted me. And how it started to feel like more of an act than you truly being that kind of person. And then that day in the room of requirement. I guess I felt a connection too," his grip tightens again, sitting up and looking at you, almost like a puppy who had been shown a treat, causing you to laugh, stifling it into a muffle giggle with your free hand. Silence falls again as your eyes remain locked, soft smiles lining each of your faces. It takes a moment for you to notice the waning light, which draws your eyes away from Draco's.

"I need to head back," you pull yourself off the ground, Draco's hand releasing yours to follow suit. You turn to head back through into the outer area but turn back towards Draco as your hands brush the foliage.

"I'm staying at the Weasley's all holiday, so if you wanted to do this again?" Draco places a hand on your shoulder, a soft smile gracing his face.

"I'll be here whenever you want me." You feel a delicate kiss pressed against your forehead, causing your heart to leap from your chest as your breath leaves your lungs, and in that moment of hesitation, Draco disappears from your sight through tree's branches.