✓ | RECKLESS AND BRAVE | Draco Malfoy

58 | FORELSKET

FORELSKET
(n.) the euphoria you experience when you are first falling in love

IT WAS THE LAST WEEKEND OF MAY, AND THE FINAL MATCH OF THE QUIDDITCH SEASON HAD ARRIVED. It was Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw, and Tessa was really crossing her fingers and hoping all goes extremely well.

     "I mean, I can't get any worse, can I?" Ron said grimly on the morning of the match. "Nothing to lose now, is there?"

     Tessa clapped him enthusiastically on the back as she pumped her fist in the air. "You can do this! I believe in you." Her words seemed to have lift his spirits a little bit.

Tessa went on to eat her breakfast when someone approached her from behind. "Hey, Tessa," Theo said, sitting between her and Harry.

"Hey," she greeted back, brushing the crumbs from her fingers as she faced him. "Do you have what I asked for?"

Theo nodded, reaching something in his robes as he grinned mischievously. "Yeah — I hid all of Draco's ties and shirts all around the common room so he's going to be late coming down for breakfast." He passed her the thick book before he mock-saluted the other three and strutted over to the Slytherin table.

"Thanks, Theo," Tessa called out to him over her shoulder, "you're a real one."

"Anything for the daredevil and the mother hen."

Tessa grinned and went on to continue eating her pancakes as she flipped open the heavy book titled Top Places to Visit When in Europe. She skimmed through the table of contents, memorizing the pages for Spain, Italy, and Greece specifically.

"What's that for?" Hermione asked curiously.

Tessa let her eyes rove across Barcelona, Granada, Seville — and she felt excitement bubble in her. "I'm preparing for Draco's birthday gift. He told me on our third year he's always wanted to visit Spain, Italy, and Greece."

Harry choked on his drink. "I can't imagine Malfoy ever saying that."

"Now that I think of it," Ron said. "If you've seen both Malfoy's and 'Doesn't Matter's handwritings, then wouldn't you have figured out it was from him?"

Tessa shook her head, eyes focused on a photo to try and embed it in her brain so she could have a perfect vision of how the place looked like. "He writes his letters as Draco in elegant cursive, and Doesn't Matter in shitty print. I would have never guessed it was him."

"That was pretty clever of him," Hermione admitted.

Tessa felt pride swell inside of her for her boyfriend. "I told you he was smart."

ϟ ϟ ϟ ϟ

     "You know," Hermione said as she, Harry, and Tessa walked down to the pitch already packed with people, "I think Ron might do better without Fred and George around. They never exactly gave him a lot of confidence. Oh gosh, I forgot! Cho will be playing, won't she?"

Tessa took a seat on the stands and let her eyes rove across the field. "Yup — there she is."

The players all met in the middle of the field, and the game started with Lee commenting. "And they're off! And Davies takes the Quaffle immediately, Ravenclaw Captain Davies with the Quaffle, he dodges Johnson, he dodges Bell, he dodges Spinnet as well. He's going straight for goal! He's going to shoot — and — and —" Lee swore very loudly. "And he's scored."

Tessa groaned in annoyance when the Slytherins began to sing Weasley is Our King again.

Before the three could watch the game continue one, there was a familiar gruff voice next to them, "Harry — Hermione — Tessa." They turned and found Hagrid squeezing through some seats and bending to appear shorter than he really is. His nose was bleeding and had nasty bruises on both eyes. "Listen," he whispered, "can yeh come with me? Now? While ev'ryone's watchin' the match?"