"she looked at my demons in the eye and smiled. she fell for the very thing i thought she'd fear"
~the slytherin prince falls for the hufflepuff angel~
{year 3 - year 4}
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*** She hadn't talked to Draco since she was chosen. It wasn't because she didn't want to be friends with him anymore, it was because she didn't know how he felt about her being chosen. She was terrified of how she would react to her being a champion. After what happened last year with Buckbeak, she was afraid that he was sick of her and how different they were that anything would just make their friendship snap.
She had sent him a note that was delivered by Cotton to have him meet her at their spot. The Astronomy tower. She would be lying if she said that she wasn't nervous.
As she walked in, Astrid saw Draco sitting with his back to her and his feet over the edge of the balcony. As she walked closer, she could hear him clear his throat before he asked his first question.
"Did you do it?" It sounded almost pained as he choked out those four words. Like he was afraid of the answer. Astrid smiles softly and said, "No, I didn't Draco." With complete sincerity.
Draco let out the breath caught in his throat as he stood up and turned to her. Before she knew what was happening, he pulled her into a tight hug, as if he was afraid that if he let go, she would disappear.
Astrid could feel her face get hot and there was a weird feeling in her stomach. It wasn't like the feeling she got when he called her his friend, that was more of a burning bubbly feeling. This felt like as if there were insects in her stomach.
He pulled back before she could do something. "Thank Merlin, I was afraid that you had. What are you going to do? Did you tell them that you didn't do it?"
Her face fell into a more solemn look as she said, "I have to compete."
His heart froze. "What?" He asked barely above a whisper.
"They said that since my name came out of the goblet of fire, I have to compete. It doesn't matter if I wrote it or not." She was looking at the ground as she talked, afraid of looking up to see Draco's expression. He ran a hand through his hair as he talked, "Is there anything we can do? Anything I can do?"
"You can cheer me on.." She said shyly as she looked up at him. He laughed at her statement since it was very obvious that he would be rooting for her.
"Of course I will! I just don't want to see you get hurt."
"I won't! I'm a big girl, I can do it!" She said Defensively as she tried to look scary but failed, making Draco laugh ever harder at her angry puffed out cheeks.
The rest of the day was filled with laughter and talking as they talked about their summers more and what had happened while they were apart. Which was something she need, someone to talk to about something not involving the Tri-Wizard tournament.
Astrids cheeks continued to flush red when Draco laughed at something she said or did or even just when he talked or smiled at her. The feeling in her stomach didn't go away, even if she wanted it to. She had gotten his way around him before but never this intensely. It felt weird but...nice at the same time. She didn't know how to explain it. Maybe her mom could tell her...
"Astrid?" She was snapped out of her thoughts when Draco called her name softly, "Hmm?"
"Promise me that you will try not to get hurt during the tournament."
She sighed as she looking back at him from her fingers as she said, "Draco, you know I can-"
"Please?" It sounded more like a statement then request but she agreed. "I promise Draco."
He held up his pinky to her and said, "Pinky promise?" He had gotten in the habit of doing pinky promises when he wanted to confirm some thing but only with her.
She giggled at his childish behavior but still curled her smaller pinky around his and locked them together.
