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♔
I had never done that, I had never been so outwardly bold in my life. I liked it though, it made me feel powerful.
As I walked back to the dorms, I realized I had lots of homework to do. That would be a fun night, but I had to stay up late anyway, so I wasn't too upset.
I spent my free period catching up on Herbology work with the help of Neville. He was really a sweet boy, and so good at Herbology, so I was glad he offered to help me.
I wasn't necessarily struggling in that class, but it wasn't my strongest suit. I was better at Potions and DADA, but Herbology was where I needed the smallest of boosts.
We met in the greenhouse and I pulled out my notebook to jot things down that Neville would throw at me in hopes of helping me understand the tasks we were assigned better.
"What don't you understand? It's potting soil... but magic, how much do you use?" Neville tried to explain while interrogating me, but I was just not wrapping my head around it.
"I know, but... how..." I trailed off, re-reading my notes over and over again, even the ones from class.
"Do you remember what I told you the properties of a Mandrake are?" He asked, and I perked up. "Wait, I think so! The Mandrake-"
"Proper name?"
"Mandragora. The Mandragora's properties are purely restorative, but its cries, if heard, can be lethal. That's why we wear earmuffs when dealing with the young ones," I said, and Neville broke out into a smile.
"That's correct!" He exclaimed, and I beamed.
"We only have a few more things to cover today, but besides that, do you have any questions?" He asked, but I only shook my head. As pleased as I was that I was understanding Herbology more, I still didn't want to stick around all day and cram my head with magical root information.
Neville had a natural passion for this subject the way I had a natural passion for Potions, we would never willingly sit and do work for each other's favorite classes.
We finished up what we were working on, then I left and went back to the Slytherin common room. I did my remaining homework, seeing as it was now close to eight o'clock and the fire in the common room was dying out.
One odd thing about Hogwarts, I noticed, was that nobody in the Slytherin common room just hung out really. I mean, besides Draco, Blaise, and I occasionally, but everyone tended to keep to themselves.
I wondered where my dad was, where he could possibly have disappeared, and those thoughts left me incredibly unsettled. He could really be anywhere, and I didn't like to think about the possibility he could be dead.
I didn't think he was dead, though, I had a feeling in my gut he was still alive somewhere.
The problem was, however, whether or not he would tell the Dark Lord what I am.
At first, I thought there was no issue whatsoever. He had done so much to protect me, why would he give me up now? On the same token, he was a Death Eater. They swear their lives to serve Voldemort, and clearly, I didn't know everything about Fabian Warrington.
I didn't know as much as I thought, anyway.
I sat on the couch until I decided upon going upstairs to sleep away these remaining four hours until I was supposed to meet Draco.
Before I got to the stairs, however, a voice stopped me. "If you have time to kill... so do I," Draco said, his voice making me weak in the knees.
I turned around, looking at him. Luckily, there was nobody else around in the common room, nobody to question what this was.
"How'd you know?" I chuckled, and he shrugged, his hands in his pants pockets.
"I figured as much," He said.
"Well, I was just going up to change, can we meet back down here in ten minutes?" I asked, and he nodded with a smirk. "I'll do the same. See you in fifteen," He said, sauntering up the stairs to the boy's dorm.
I exhaled deeply. It was a sigh that was just waiting to come out of me, and I was nearly melting.
I rushed up the stairs, changed into something comfortable: soft shorts and a t-shirt, and put on a nice set of undergarments.
You know... just because I felt like it.
When I was done, I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked decent, but after fixing my hair, I decided I was done obsessing over the way I looked. Draco had seen me looking far more comfortable, I didn't need to worry myself all too much.
I went back down the stairs to see Draco sitting in his favorite armchair by the fireplace, and I fought the giddy smile that wanted to surface. He looked so good just sitting there.
When he saw me, he simply stood up and nodded his head in the direction of the painting, which I followed him through obediently.
This had happened before, me following Draco Malfoy blindly through the darkened school. I didn't ask questions this time, though.
We went up to the Astronomy tower, the receding summer breeze fading away as the night wore on. I stood at the edge of the tower and looked out past the railing.
"Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" Draco asked from behind me. I turned around, taking in his appearance once more: tousled hair, gray sweatpants, and a green t-shirt.
"Thank you," I said awkwardly, I really had no other rebuttal. A colder breeze ran a chill through my body and I shivered; something Draco noticed. He had a sweatshirt in his arms that he brought from his dorm, and he held it out for me.
"I had a feeling you might get cold," He said, and I took the sweatshirt from him. My fingers grazed his forearm as the exchange took place, and my eyes shot up to look at him.
When I saw he was looking right back, I grew nervous. Not a bad kind of nervous, a good nervous. Maybe it was the anticipation.
I put on the sweatshirt and his eyes raked over my body. "You look good in my clothes, Maggie," He said, and the deep, smooth tone of voice that graced my name nearly made me fall to the floor.
"I can't take this anymore," I breathed, stepping into his arms and connecting our lips. All it took now was his presence in a room to make me hungry for him. I was starving, in reality, starving for him and so malnourished of what we could have been last year.
As we kissed passionately under the stars of that breezy September night, I had all the sustenance I needed.
