Green Apples and Parchment

Chapter Sixteen

I woke up the next morning with a start, vaguely wondering if the events of last night were all a dream. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. After pulling an oversized sweatshirt over my head, I got out of bed and headed to the common room. 

"Oh good. You're finally awake." Hannah bombarded me as soon as she saw me. My friend grabbed my arm and pulled me over to a group of two armchairs in a secluded corner of the room. "Tell me everything about last night." She said as soon as we sat down. 

I ran my hands through my hair and sighed. So it definitely wasn't a dream. "I went on a date." I told her.

Hannah sat up straighter in her seat. "A date? With who?" When I didn't respond, she gasped. "Oh my god. You went on a date with Malfoy, didn't you?"

"Keep your voice down!" I hissed. Hannah looked around the room to make sure no one was listening. She leaned towards me, and gestured for me to keep talking. "We went to the astronomy tower to look at the stars."

"And?"

"And.." I hesitated. "He kissed me." I told her finally. 

"Are you serious?" Hannah asked loudly. A few heads turned our way. I shushed her, and Hannah shrunk down in her seat. "Sorry." She muttered. 

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm serious." 

Hannah grinned. "I knew it! I don't really like it, because it's Malfoy, but I knew it!" I shrugged.  "What happened after that?" She asked. 

"He just walked me back here, said goodnight, and left." I sighed. 

"Just like that?"

"Just like that, yeah." 

Hannah looked confused, and I laughed at her expression. "Yeah, and imagine being me." I said. "I have no idea what to do. Should I talk to him or leave him alone?"

Hannah thought for a moment. "I'm not going to pretend that relationships are my expertise, but you like him, right?"

I sighed again. "Unfortunately, I think I do." 

"Okay, well then you should probably go talk to him." 

I had survived my past few years at Hogwarts by listening to Hannah, as she was normally right about stuff, and I wasn't going to stop now. I stood up. "Alright, I'm going to go get dressed."

I walked back into my dormitory. I spent a decent time picking out my clothes. I wanted to look presentable, but not like I was dressing up for him. I finally decided on a pair of jeans and a mock neck sweater with sneakers. I smoothed my hair and made sure it wasn't frizzy, but I didn't style it. I put on a minimal amount of makeup. Before I knew it, an hour had passed. God, why was I overthinking this so much?

After I was finally satisfied with my appearance, I left the dorm and walked back to the common room. Hannah looked up from her book as I entered. 

"Oh my god." She said, putting down her book. "You really do like him. Honestly, I didn't really believe you until just now. But I know you, Cass, and you don't spend over an hour trying to look casual for just anyone." Hannah started laughing. "You and Malfoy. Merlin."

I scowled at her. "I'll see you later."

"Make sure to tell me everything."

"Maybe." I said sarcastically. I took a few steps towards the entrance of the common room before freezing. I turned back around to face my friend. "Hannah."

"What?" She put her book down again. 

"It's Saturday. And I've just realized that I don't know where Malfoy goes on the weekends. I only ever see him in class and in the library." I walked back to the set of armchairs where Hannah was sitting. 

"Don't forget the Astronomy tower. You've certainly seen him there." Hannah laughed. I rolled my eyes at her playfully and collapsed in the chair across from my friend. "But seriously, you're snogging and you don't even know where he likes to hang out?"

"We're not snogging! We've only kissed once." I defended myself. I could see Hannah holding back a 'so far', so I continued before she could open her mouth. "And its Draco. Do you really think he would talk to me about his favorite spots around Hogwarts?" 

"I have been wondering, what do you guys even talk about?" Hannah asked me. 

I ran my hands through my hair. "Well, normally we just study and talk about school until he asks me some random question."

"Like what?"

"Why do you care about school, what do you do over the summer holidays, why do you hang out with granger. That sort of thing." Hannah nodded. "So it would start a conversation, and after a while I would shush him and we would go back to studying. I used to think he was just doing it to procrastinate, but now I think that maybe he was trying to get to know me? Oh, and we normally get into an argument at least once a week." 

"At least once a week? How can you even stand him?"

I shrugged my shoulders. My mind brought me back to last night, when Draco told me he thought I was attractive when I was mad. A slight blush rose on my cheeks, which Hannah thankfully decided not to comment on.

I leaned back into my chair until I was staring at the ceiling. "So what do I do? Wonder around Hogwarts?"

Less than an hour later, I was doing just that. After a late breakfast in the Great Hall, I roamed the hallways of the castle. I tried to look casual, but it probably wasn't working, as I scanned every face that I passed. None of them were Draco. It was such a large castle, and he could be in his common room. The chances of me running into him were extremely slim. I went back to my common room defeated. 

I repeated this ritual after each meal for the rest of the weekend. After dinner on Saturday and Sunday, I sat at Draco and I's usual table in the library, finishing up homework and reading a book. I hoped that if he was looking for me that this would be an easy place to find me. Of course, I had no such luck. 

I went to bed Sunday night with my stomach churning. I had hoped to see Draco on my own terms, but now I couldn't. At least we would actually see each other. He couldn't ignore me forever, not when we share three classes and sit next to each other in once of them. Not that he was ignoring me. Not that I knew of, at least. God, what if the reason I didn't run into Draco was because he was ignoring me? Did I do something wrong? I rubbed my eyes and forced myself to think about something else. After a while, I drifted into an uneasy sleep.