"What's the answer to number twenty-seven?" Draco asked you, voice muffled as his forehead was resting on his piece of parchment in boredom.
"Merlin's ass," you mumbled dryly, barely glancing up at him, intent on finishing your Potions homework.
You heard him swirl his quill in the ink with a tiny clink and begin to scribble.
"Wait, you're actually writing that?" you said, trying to restrain a laugh while attempting to peer over his shoulder.
"You told me it was the answer so I'll blame you when I fail Potions," he said, matter-of-fact.
You dropped your quill onto the large oak table in the dining hall you were both sitting at, side by side. "You can't do that. And you're not going to fail Potions with someone like me as your friend, anyway."
He rolled his eyes. "Oh, yes, I'm friends with such a stunning, perfect, intelligent and witty Ravenclaw, who is ten times better than me at everything, therefore I won't fail Potions?"
A giggle escaped you lips. His tone had been sarcastic, you realised, but the small smirk tweaking at his usual frown lingered a little too long, so that it almost looked sad. As if he was longing for something he couldn't have...
"Ow!" you exclaimed as a stack of curled parchment came in contact with your head. Snape proceeded to do the same to Draco, then continued his prowl around the high-ceilinged hall, muttering something about 'lousy, sloppy work' under his breath.
You raised your eyebrows at Draco and he snorted before you both returned to your Potions work, an unfinished conversation still lingering in the air.
-
"I really did mean what I said about you, by the way-back in the hall," Draco said that evening, not even dragging his eyes away from his book. He'd snuck you into the Slytherin common room again. No one really even gave you a second glance now as you came with Draco so often.
The common room was devoid of people anyway as it was well past curfew, but this was the only time you could possibly get some peace. Of course, apart from the rain splattering the ivy-covered windows and the crackling fire spitting glowing embers in the corner.
Draco sat slumped on a peeling leather couch while you lay sprawled across his lap-his thighs warm under your back-with your head propped on the low arm rest, allowing one of your legs dangle off the edge of the couch. Both still garbed in your Hogwarts uniforms.
You lowered your book slowly as you registered what he had referred to. Heat rushed to your cheeks and you hastily tried to conceal it by raising your book again. You absolutely hated blushing. It was so embarrassing.
Peering over, you caught Draco on the verge of laughter. "Are you...blushing?"
"What? No," you said quickly. Too quickly.
He knew you so, so well. "Did I get the ever stoic, emotion-concealing Y/N to blush?" He said it smugly, knowing it would annoy you.
You tried even harder to merge with your book. "No way. It's obviously the heat."
"Huh. The heat, eh? And not because I'm about to tell you I might just be in love with you?" he said, still smug.
It was such a casual bomb drop that you almost choked on your own saliva. You lifted the book ever so slightly just to look him in the eyes. They were strangely alight for once, flickering like the fire. "W-what?" you stuttered.
Draco only shrugged and returned to his book, brushing a few stay platinum-blond strands out of his face with only a hint of a smirk; the rest of his face unreadable.
You silently closed your book and placed it on the rough hard-wood floor and then somehow got into a position where you were straddling him, gently prying his book from his slender fingers and resting it on the couch beside both of you.
A look of confusion crossed his face. "What're you-"
And then you finally pressed your lips to his, meant to be soft but he tugged you even closer, hands on your waist. You entwined your fingers in his hair, and he didn't seem to care you were messing it up. But honestly, you didn't care whether he cared or not. All you could feel right now was warmth-as if the flame you had seen in his eyes was filling you up. You had never felt so complete.
When you finally pulled back from lack of oxygen, you stayed close-foreheads touching.
"Well, lucky for you, Draco Malfoy, I might just be kind of in love with you, too," you murmured, straight into his lips
He grinned. "I knew you were smart," he mumbled, and before you could force him to take back his horribly self-centred joke, he kissed you again.
