after dusk - draco malfoy

xiii. | thirteen

POPPY AND STELLA HAD CONTINUED TO be distant with me but not particularly ignoring me. They would involve me in their conversations but didn't seem as engaged as they usually would be. I had stopped going to Hogsmede as often, in a bid to try and convince them nothing was going on between Draco and me.

If I would've gone to Hogsmede, I would notice Draco lurking around Honeydukes at approximately 1 pm every Saturday and Sunday, hoping I would come round the corner and we would head to the Three Broomsticks. Obviously, I never showed. Why would I? We had never arranged anything other than the first time we ever went there.

Draco had started to become distant with his friends as well. He tried to pretend not to be by making fun of Neville in class every now and again. To everyone's knowledge, that was Malfoy being Malfoy. It was all a facade. A mask. An act.

The more and more I said no to having a drink, the more and more he craved my attention. Of course, I didn't know that then, otherwise, I would've told him I didn't see him that way. It was probably for the best I didn't know, considering how the story played out in the end.

I started to feel more lonely with Poppy and Stella being off with me. It was an evening in March when things started to get back to normal with us. I had been sat in the Common Room, doing an essay we had been set for Charms, by the fire to keep warm. Tommy had joined me pretty quickly, getting on with his own thing.

The two girls sat on the sofa with Tommy, not doing anything in particular. I glanced up and saw them discussing something. They weren't discussing it out loud, more discussing it with their eyes and slight motions of their heads - a trick many girls had learned. I didn't think anything of it and carried on writing.

A few moments went by, the only sound in the Common Room being quiet, indistinct conversations between the other Gryffindors and the cracking of wood on the fire. One of the girls cleared their throat, gaining my attention. "How has your day been?" Stella asked me, playing with her red hair, rather subtly.

It had become a strange thing for her to ask me, as she hadn't asked me how my day had been in months. I was rather relieved she had made the effort, so I put my work aside, prepared for a conversation. "It's been okay, nothing of importance to note, really," I truthfully told her, thinking back to my pretty much regular day.

Poppy eyed Stella and decided to speak up. "We noticed you started sitting next to Malfoy in Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration," Poppy brought up and I immediately started to regret even bothering to speak to them. Tommy looked up at Poppy from his work and rolled his eyes, he had obviously had enough of the Draco talk.

Stella snapped her head to Poppy and almost let out a groan. "Okay, just for the record, she made that sound like we were about to have a go at you," Stella took over, a wash of relief coming over me. "We just wanted to say that with you, it seems as though you both get along quite well," she added on, starting to trail off. "We wanted to say that if you're friends with him... Well, we can't really stop you from being friends with whoever you want."

A small smile made its way on to my lips, glad I was getting my friends back. "So you've come to your senses then?" I joked and Stella finally let go of her red hair, letting out a soft laugh and nodding her head. "Right well, this weekend, how about all four of us go to the Three Broomsticks for a Butterbeer and spend all our money in Honeydukes?" I suggested, raising a brow at the three.

Tommy sat up, looking quite relieved himself. "Well, I'm glad you girls have sorted everything out," he admitted, closing his book and putting his work aside, clearly finished with it. "You two were starting to do my head in," he told Poppy and Stella. "I'm glad you have given your heads a rattle and sorted it out."

Tommy was always quite blunt but in a positive way. He told everything as it was, no holding back. It had sometimes caused arguments with him and Poppy but I had started to get the idea that she had feelings for him as she forgave him in a heartbeat. It made sense as it took her three months to fully forgive me for going to get a blooming Butterbeer with Draco.

I cosied up in the scarlet armchair and looked up at the three of my friends. "I'm glad Malfoy hasn't ruined what we had," I smiled at the three of them. Tommy sent me a simple nod, smiling back at me.

It was almost time to go to the Great Hall for dinner so Tommy and I went upstairs to put our work away and met the girls back downstairs before leaving the Common Room and slowly walking down to the Great Hall.

The four of us took our time to walk down to the Hall and just as we got to the door, Draco had stopped me, asking for a chat. I told Poppy, Stella, and Tommy to go ahead and I would meet them in there.

The two of us went on a short walk while we had a chat. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you," he started, looking as though he had a lot on his mind. I didn't say anything and just gave him time to get his words together. "I've got an Outstanding in Potions and an Exceed Expectations in Defence Against the Dark Arts."

A grin made its way on to my face, but Draco didn't seem too impressed with himself. "That's brilliant!" I praised him but his expression didn't change. "You should be proud of yourself, Malfoy, what's wrong?"

He broke his gaze with the floor to meet my eyes that all familiar feeling in the pit of stomach came back. The one from before Christmas. The one I quite enjoyed. "No," he shook his head, sitting on a bench near the Great Entrance. He let out a sharp exhale before speaking again. "I've always had those grades," he admitted, not tearing eye contact with me. "I was never failing."

I knitted my brows together, slightly confused as to where this was heading. Deep down, I had known all along but I had never acknowledged it at all. I barely knew that gut instinct had been there. He turned more in my direction, his eyes fixed on mine. "I told you I was failing because I wanted to spend more time with you," he finally admitted.

I opened my mouth to say something but he cut me off instantly. "Ever since you came to the hospital wing with me during the first week, it hit me how caring you were," he told me, explaining how it had all started. "No one has ever been like that with me before." He finally broke the eye contact and looked to the ground. "I know it's stupid but I wanted to get to know you more."

A soft smile brought itself to my lips and I rested my hand on top of his, making him almost flinch but then easing to it afterwards. "It's not stupid, Malfoy," I disagreed, instantly. "I probably wouldn't have seen this side to you if it weren't for me 'tutoring' you," I laughed, making him smile.

He turned his head to me again and I could see his thoughts were racing just in his eyes. He slowly started to lean in and I froze. I didn't lean back but I didn't lean in, either. I wasn't sure what I was feeling. I could feel his lips barely pressing against mine, just grazing them. He soon leant in the whole way, pressing them to mine.

He pulled away, unsure of how I was going to react. He began to look flustered and stood up quickly. "I'm sorry," he apologised, beginning to walk away. "Sorry." He backed away even more.

"Wait, Malfoy!" I called back to him, not moving from where I had been sat. I was in shock. Draco rounded the corner, completely ignoring my calls. I sat for a few moments, unaware of how to process what had just happened. Someone came round the same corner Draco had just run off around and I looked up, quickly, expecting him to have come back.

Tommy stood there, his facial expression dropping when he saw me. "Are you okay?" He questioned me, sitting down where Draco had just been sitting. "He didn't say anything horrible to you, did he?" He asked me, trying to get to the bottom of it.

I shook my head in response, my jaw still dropped, slightly. I trusted him. I knew I could tell him. So I did. I swallowed deeply, trying to stop my mouth from being so dry after having my jaw dropped for so long. "He kissed me," I admitted to him, pure shock in my voice. "Malfoy just kissed me."