after dusk - draco malfoy

xii. | twelve

THE FOLLOWING WEEKS, I DIDN'T HAVE much distraction until Harry received the clue from the golden egg. He needed help deciphering it but it seemed pretty straight forwards. "Come seek us where our voices sound," Harry repeated for what seemed like the one-hundredth time.

Hermione was pacing up and down, throwing the golden egg between her hands. "The Black Lake, that's obvious," Hermione nodded her head, trying to think things through.

"We cannot sing above the ground."

I sat forward and nodded my head. "That sounds like merpeople or perhaps a siren," I concluded, trying to rack my brain of what it could mean.

"An hour-long you'll have to look," Harry groaned on, his chin resting on the thick book below him. "To recover what we took."

Hermione shook Ron awake and passed him the golden egg. "Again, obvious, though admittedly potentially problematic," she stated the obvious, sitting on the back of a chair behind Harry.

Harry finally lifted his head from the desk and looked at Hermione in disbelief. "Potentially problematic?" He repeated. "When's the last time you held your breath underwater for an hour, Hermione?"

At the sound of the starting conflict, I decided to go look for more book. "We'll find a solution, Harry," I tried to comfort him. I walked away and started looking through the shelves for a book on any aquatic charms.

As I was scanning the shelves, someone cleared their voice from behind me. I turned my head to see Draco standing behind me. I hadn't spoken to him since the Yule Ball and I would've protested to talking to him but I actually was starting to miss him. I just watched him carefully as he was scanning my facial features.

Draco opened his mouth to talk but I shook my head. "No, me first," I spoke up, putting a book back on the shelf before guiding him to a small table. When he sat down, I paused for a moment. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for everything that happened," I explained and his facial expression softened. "I was just hurt that you didn't ask me to the dance and that you brought Dominique."

He shook his head at me, taking my hands in his. I felt stiff at first but after a few moments, I eased at his touch. "I'm sorry too," he admitted. "I shouldn't have taken Dominique, especially with the intentions that I had." We sat for a few moments in silence before he spoke again. "I think we just need to work on our communication."

I nodded my head in agreement, trying to solve our problem, maturely. We were only kids but it didn't seem like a school type of relationship. Draco meant everything to me and that's why what he did hurt me so much but I couldn't help but forgive him, straight away. "I guess I was hoping if we could take this a step further," he spoke up again. "Like officially."

A smile grew on my face and I nodded, feeling the pit in my stomach going away. "I would like that," I told him before he placed a peck on my lips.

Harry and Neville came round the corner at the completely wrong time and an awkward tension filled the room. "Uh - we're heading back to the Common Room now," Harry explained, pointing to the door. I nodded my head and said goodbye to Draco. As we exited the room Harry let out a loud sigh. "Again? Really? You're wrapped around his little finger."

Usually, I would've gotten a lot more worked up about comments like that but for some reason, I didn't. I still felt so happy that I could call Draco mine. I knew if I didn't reply Harry would've felt some kind of victory. "Haven't you got bigger things to worry about?" I prompted him to change the topic. "Like how are you going to hold your breath underwater for an hour?"