Green Apples and Parchment

Chapter Twenty-Five

Word always travels fast at Hogwarts, but the news that Draco Malfoy was dating a half-blood Hufflepuff spread like wildfire. By the next morning, nearly the entire school knew about my relationship. 

As I walked into the Great Hall for breakfast,  everyone was looking at me with a renewed interest. A few seemed impressed, but more seemed skeptical. Others still were downright mean. Pansy even sneered at me; I had almost forgotten that she had a thing for Draco. This wasn't going to be easy, but it was worth it. 

I made my way over to the Hufflepuff table and sat down. The people around me were a little calmer, as they had their chance to harass me for information last night. Still, many of my housemates seemed a little weary around me. One of the only people that seemed unaffected was Hannah, but that was no surprise, as she had known for months. 

"I can't believe my best friend is Hogwarts' newest celebrity." Hannah said with a smirk, offering me a muffin.

"I'm not a celebrity." I scowled.

Hannah laughed. "Please. Harry Potter has nothing on Cassandra Connolly."

I laughed with her. "If you say so. At least he did something important. All I did was date someone."

"What, am I not special enough for you?" I heard a cocky voice say. 

I looked up as Draco slid into the seat across from me. His hands were crossed in front of his chest, proudly displaying the Slytherin emblem on his robes. Heads turned at the white color of his hair and the emerald green of his robes. I smiled to myself, knowing that it was a sight that people would just have to get used to. 

"I wasn't aware that I would have to boost your ego this early in the morning, Draco." I teased.

"It's never too early." He retorted. 

Megan looked over at us, taking in our banter. "How long have you guys been dating, anyways?" I guess it was easy to tell that we weren't a new couple.

"February." I said at the same time that Draco said "January."

He looked over at me with mock hurt on his face. "Are you not counting our first date?"

"You didn't ask me to be your girlfriend until the second." I reminded him. 

"Yes, but why wouldn't you want to be my girlfriend after our incredible first date? I just assumed, of course." 

I rolled my eyes. "January, then." I amended to Megan.

She raised her eyebrows at us. "You've kept this a secret for five months?"

Several people at our table were looking over at our conversation. Zarcharias was glaring at Draco, and he wasn't the only one. Draco stood up, sneering at everyone around us. "I'll see you later, Cass." Without another word, he turned and made his way across the Great Hall over to the Slytherin table. Whispers followed him, equally loud at every table. 

Once he was gone, a few people from other houses made their way over to me. 

"Is it true that you're dating Draco Malfoy?" A rude looking Ravenclaw asked me. I nodded. "You do know that he only likes purebloods, right? And rumor has it that your mother is a muggle."

I stared at her in distaste. "I think I know my boyfriend a little better than you do." Finished with my breakfast, I stood up and walked away, ignoring her retort. 

I wasn't able to get far before being intercepted again. I had just left the Great Hall when I ran into Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. 

"Hey Cass!" Ginny said cheerfully. I was grateful for the normalcy. 

"Hey Ginny." I smiled. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever. Are you free soon?"

Before Ginny could respond, Hermione cut her off. "Cass, are the rumors about you and Malfoy true?" she asked cautiously.

"Well, I suppose it depends on what rumors you listen to." I told her. 

"Are you snogging or not?" Ron asked impatiently.

"Yeah. We've been dating since January."

Harry scowled, and Ron balled his hands into fists. "Why didn't you tell us?" Hermione asked me.

I laughed, but there was no real humor behind it. "Clearly I had a reason, didn't I? I knew everyone was going to act like this."

"Out of all the people you could date, why did you pick Malfoy?" You're way too good for him, Cass." Harry said.

"You don't even know him!"

"I think Cass should be able to date whoever she pleases." Ginny stated. I looked over at her gratefully. "Granted, I'm not super happy that it's Malfoy, but you can't pick her boyfriend for her."

"Thank you, Ginny. Now if you guys don't mind, I have to get to class." I said, pushing past them.

*

By the time lunch rolled around, I was already fed up of answering people's questions. In my last period, I had started saying "yes, it's true." as soon as anyone walked up to me, just to avoid the redundant conversations. I was sick of the accusing statements, and people acting like they knew Draco better than I did. Of course I knew his reputation, and I didn't need to be reminded of it every five minutes. It was clear that no one else knew how kind and amazing he could be. 

I couldn't make myself sit in the Great Hall and get harassed by everyone again. I quickly walked in, grabbed a sandwich, and walked out without stopping to talk to anyone. I traveled down a few hallways and found a hidden alcove to sit in.

This was much better than the whispering in the Great Hall, which I hoped would die down soon. I just wished that Draco was here. Sighing, I got out my book and started on my sandwich. 

Soon, I heard the sounds of people approaching. I pulled myself further into the alcove to make sure I wouldn't be seen. 

"So, Malfoy, who's this girlfriend I've been hearing about?" a loud voice called. 

"And why haven't we seen her around? Are you hiding her from us?" another person asked. 

"You haven't seen her in the common room because she's not a Slytherin. And you haven't seen her in classes because unlike you, Flint, she's actually intelligent." replied Draco's cool voice. 

"What house is she in then?"

They were close enough now that I could finally see them. I watched as Draco's eyes flicked over to my hiding spot. We made brief eye contact before he looked away with a slight smirk on his face. As much as I wanted to talk to him, I was grateful that he didn't give up my hiding spot; he understood that I needed to meet his friends on my own time. Yet again, I was reminded of how much I loved him. 

"Not that it's any of your business, but Cass is a Hufflepuff." Draco told them.

"Who would've known that Draco Malfoy would break family tradition. Haven't all your ancestors been pureblood Slytherins?"

"I don't do everything that my father wants me to do." he grumbled. 

The other Slytherins erupted in laughter. "Sorry to break it to you mate, but yes, you do."

A/N: I tested negative, so yay i guess! also, theres a lil nas x concert tonight on roblox and I'm staying up until 1am to go to it because i have literally nothing better to do. this really isn't how i expected to spend my teen years oops :,)