𝐀 𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐋𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍 ↬ 𝔡.𝔪𝔞𝔩𝔣𝔬𝔶

11 | s p a r k

" {I} 'm sorry, what?" Draco said, slowly looking up from his meticulously-made flower crown.

"You heard me." I smiled, sitting up. My smile quickly melted into a frown, however, "Unless, of course, you don't want to. Which is totally understandable by the way, I can wait until whenever you're ready."

"No, no, I just- I pictured this a lot differently." He murmured as he placed the flower crown on my head, brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear. He lowered his face to mine with a lopsided smile stretching his lips, "I was going to ask for a kiss right after I put this on you."

He squinted playfully, "Potter, you look a little cuter than usual. Have you always looked like this?"

"I hope so. Is the flower crown flattering?" I raised a hand to cradle his jaw, pulling him closer.

"Of course. You pull off everything." Draco leaned in to close the space between us, his lips brushing mine softly.

There was no initial spark that you so often read in the books, but instead an instant rush of a variety of emotions: happiness, elation, confusion, a little bit of fear, but also the feeling of being blissfully content. It was like a collection of hummingbird heartbeats, lightheaded grins, and when everything in your vision becomes just a little bit brighter.

We pulled away after a few seconds- unfortunately. It was an innocent kiss, yes, but it marked the start of something more.

"Isn't it time to meet the others?" I asked, feeling my cheeks redden.

"Eh, we can squeeze in another one. They won't mind us being a few minutes late." Draco winked, his eyes drifting down to my lips.

"Well..." My conscience lingered at the back of my head, but one look at Draco's gorgeous face knocked it out of the way. "Come here, pretty boy."

"Pretty boy? That's new." Draco raised an eyebrow as he tipped my chin upwards before bringing his lips on mine.

"You taste like blueberries," I said, laughing into our kiss.

"Now that you mention it, I am craving another muffin." Draco stood up and extended a hand towards me. "Should we start walking down?"

Now it was my turn to want to stay longer. "I mean..." I sighed and took his hand, dusting myself off. "No, you're right. Let's go."

Draco's hand slipped into mine, and I didn't even notice time had gone by until Pansy and Blaise were suddenly in front of me.

"Hey is Potter sick or something?" Pansy asked, squinting, "She looks weirder than usual."

"Same with Malfoy," Blaise said suspiciously, "He looks... happy. I didn't know he could smile."

"Shut it, you gits," Draco said, pushing Blaise away.

"Can we stop by Honeydukes? I have to get some sweets for Remus."

"I still can't get used to you calling Lupin by his first name." Pansy shuddered.

"Remus. Remus. Remus. Remus-"

"Stop it!" Pansy laughed. "Merlin, it's like I'm talking to a kindergartener."

I bought a bagful of chocolates for Remus and the four of us headed back to Hogwarts, ready for whatever was to be thrown at us.

---

I peeked my head into the library, wondering if Cedric was there. I hadn't dropped by the library in quite some time, so I thought that I should give him some chocolate as an atonement for my guilt before I handed it all over to Remus. I also had to congratulate him on making it on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.

"Haven't seen you in a while," His familiar voice came up from behind me, muffled by the towering stack of books he was carrying.

"Cedric!" I greeted, "Oh, let me help." I took a few books off the top of his stack. We headed toward the rows of books to shelve them.

"Thanks," Cedric shot me a knowing smile, "You've been busy lately, huh?"

"Hm?"

"I heard the rumors. Congrats. You're dating Malfoy?"

I blushed, "Yeah. And congrats to you for getting on the team." I dug into my pocket until my hand wrapped around a chocolate bar. "Here, I brought this from Hogsmede. Want it?"

"Sure." he took it gratefully, and then checked the clock overhead. "You better get back to your common room, it's almost curfew."

"Alright. See you at the next Quidditch match?" I said, my feet itching to go see Draco.

"Oh, we're going to destroy you."

"Ha! You wish."

---

It had been a few weeks since Draco and I started dating, and I had almost managed to forget the whole fiasco with Lily and with Sirius Black. Ignorance really was bliss. I knew I had to get back on track, but every day with Draco was just so... fulfilling.

I headed down to the Great Hall to finally get some dinner.

I spotted Draco and the gang eating near the edge of the table. Blaise caught sight of me and waved me over.

"What's for dinner?" I asked sitting down next to Draco. He was picking at his plate with a slight frown on his face. The peas migrated from one side of the plate to the other, stuck forever in a sad loop.

I glanced at Blaise and Pansy to ask if anything was wrong.

Blaise just shrugged, while Pansy cleared her throat. "Turns out that Buckbeak's bound to be executed tonight." she said meaningfully to tell me what was wrong.

"Sorry, what?" I asked.

"Buckbeak. The ugly thing that nearly clawed off his arm."

"Oh! Gilda?" I exclaimed. "They're going to execute Gilda? For what? Being cute?"

"Apparently Malfoy's dad heard about the whole thing." Pansy muttered as Draco's grip on his fork tightened.

"I was getting kind of fond of the brute." Draco admitted softly, his voice so low that only I could hear. He always did have a soft spot for animals ever since we were children.

"You know... we could always sneak out again." I suggested, matching his volume, "Maybe if we get there before them, we could set it free or something. Or maybe we could try talking to your dad?"

Draco nodded hesitantly, pursing his lips.

"Great, it's a date." I winked, before heading to change my outfit to something more suitable.

——

Lol I finally updated😃 SORRY GUYS I LITERALLY COULD NOT READ THE BEGINNING OF THE CHAPTER CUZ IT WAS SO CHEESY BYE-🤠🤚