Who Knew?

The Window

The flicks of rain trickle down the large window in the library, a daze of clouds swirl about outside.

A storm is coming.

"Abbott, about yesterday.." Draco begins, "I was being foolish- In over my head." He looks down at the table to avoid my stare. He's nervous.

"You've always been a fool, Draco." I begin teasingly, but pretend to sound serious, "It's funny how you've only now realized." He looks up with a solemn look, but then cracks a smile.

He shakes his head still laughing, "You're such a prat." He then puts his hand on top of mine on the wooden table, "And please don't ever change that."

My heart does a double take and I flash him a genuine smile. I look down at our hands and lace my fingers in between his. His expression softens and his cheeks turn pink.

We sit in a comfortable silence, hands intertwined and rain dripping outside. It was perfect.

"Draco?" A voice loudly whispers from behind a neighboring bookshelf.

Draco slips his hand out of mine instantaneously and adjusts his tie. Pugface Parkinson emerges from behind the shelf and dramatically poses herself at the end of our table. She brushed her hair back behind her ears with a loud huff.
Draco crosses his arms and stares her down, clearly bothered by her sudden interruption.

"What is it you want, Parkinson?" He asks flatly, trying to keep up a rigid front. She flicks her eyes over to me and rolls her eyes.

Pugface looks back towards Draco and narrows her eyes, "Why is she here with you? Didn't she put you in detention?"

He clears his throat, "We were discussing Professor Snape's written reports on our last brews. Nothing more, nothing less."

This seems to soothe Pugface's suspicions but she seats herself next to Draco and loops her arm through his. This takes him aback but he doesn't fight it. It's uncomfortable to watch. I take this as a cue to leave and briskly walk out of the library before Draco says anything.

I feel stupid.

***

I make my way over to the Astronomy Tower after my final class of the day to take care of the owls. As a prefect it is one of my duties to occasionally attend to when asked. Walking up the winding staircase is exhausting and I have to catch my breathe when I reach the top, but someone else is already there.

Oliver Wood, Gryffindor's quidditch captain.

Oliver flashes a friendly grin, "Hello (Y/N), didn't think I'd see you up here."

"I'm here" I say in a joking tone, even though the last thing I felt like doing was being funny. Oliver noticed my immediate attitude shift and cleared his throat.

"Something on your mind?" His Scottish accent grew thicker with every word, a hint of worry and curiosity creeping up in every syllable. I look down at my shoes, studying them rather than making eye contact.

"Have you ever thought.. you liked someone? Someone you could never have?" I continue to keep my head down.

"Blimey, that's why I'm up here." Oliver sighed, "I needed some air to stop thinkin' about her."

My curiosity had been peaked, I ask, "Who's this her?" I wiggle my eyebrows and it cracks a chuckle out of him.

"She's this wonderful girl, she plays for Hufflepuff's quidditch team. I believe she would've been great in Gryffindor-" He stops talking, catching himself before he let too many details slip. He glances over at me as I pretend to be jotting down notes. Oliver lets out a hearty laugh.

"You'll never figure it out," he chuckles, "She's not easy to find."

I give him smirk, "Try me."

"Who's got your thoughts all up in flames?" He whips the conversation back towards me unexpectedly. My eyes go wide as my brain tries to explain without giving any details.

I clear my throat anxiously, "There's this.. boy" I spit 'boy' out as if it were a curse word. "He has been acting as thought he likes me, but then he goes around with this other girl." Oliver nods his head.

"As I thought," Oliver begins. "He's a prick."

I take in his statement thoughtfully. Oliver is right.

He puts his hand on one of my shoulders cautiously and looks me in the eye. "You should find someone better, you deserve better." I begin to nod slowly and then give quicker ones. He lets go of my shoulder and begins to descend down the staircase.

"I'll see you at practice, Abbott. Take care!" He shouts as he continues his descent.

I whip around towards the stairs and shout back, "You too!"

A crack of thunder then rings out in the distance and the wind picks up. I put out food for the owls and I follow Oliver down the stairs and inside the castle.