AN: I'm not the biggest Harry Potter nerd, so apologies in advance if I get anything wrong, and feel free to correct me. Just don't get too mad, 'kay? (x

Rated T for now, but I don't know, I have a feeing this story's going to turn out pretty fluffly.

The dark haired girl stormed out of the ballroom and into the balcony. Why on earth did she agree to attend the Yule Ball with Ronald Weasley? She sighed, as she leaned against the stone railings and looked up at Hogwarts' night sky. Boys were such a waste of time and attention.

"Weren't having fun with the Weasle, I see?" Shoot. She thought she was alone. And she could hear his voice through gritted teeth, without having to look at him.
"Why do you care? Shouldn't you be accompanying Parkinson as of now, anyway?"
Draco let out a snort at Padma's final statement. "Who said I cared?..." He replied moodily. "I just thought a Ravenclaw would be smart enough to realise a date with a goof like Weasle would always end in disaster."
"You've got a point there."
Draco turned and looked at her. Her dark eyes reflected the stars in the midnight sky.
"... But it's not like anybody else asked me..." She looked up at him, just to catch him quickly glance away.
"Out of all people, how could a girl like you not have been asked?" He regretted that statement the moment he was done saying it.
"Um," Padma blushed, "well I wasn't."
There was a slight pause, before Draco sighed. "I only went with Pansy because she wouldn't stop bugging me about it."
"Hmm... So there wasn't anyone you would've liked to ask?"
"... I guess not."
There was another slight pause. "Maybe if you were a little more open with your emotions, Draco, you may have ended up with someone you like at least a little more than... Pansy Parkinson." She spat out angrily. She turned to leave and Draco suddenly got up from his previous casual position. Padma sighed as she saw a slight desperation in his eyes. He may not have been explicit about the way he felt, but Padma was a smart girl - she could read him like a book.
"Look, I'll see you around." She said, giving him a slight smile to reassure him. He nodded before she left.

Draco hated this. Because of his situation (or the one he knew he was going to be in soon) he couldn't get close to a girl he genuinely cared about. I'm no good for you, Ravenclaw, he thought to himself. He cared about Padma, he couldn't deny that anymore, but why he did was a mystery he couldn't solve, as he'd barely ever had even two conversations with the girl. Yet after the conversation they just had, one would assume they had some kind of long history together. She was pretty and a pureblood, but there were tons of "pretty purebloods" in his school house, so why her? He guessed it was just everything about her. The way she asserted herself - especially when it came to Pansy Parkinson (which he couldn't help but think that that was down to jealousy), the way she always bravely spoke out for what she believed in, the way she contrasted her bimbo sister, everything.

He smiled as he thought back to the first time he had spoken to her: It was almost the end of their second year at Hogwarts. Padma was just about finished lecturing Pansy Parkinson for the day before Parkinson stormed off in a huff, showing defeat - although their feud would still go on.
"Seems like you've got quite a bit of Slytherin in you, Ravenclaw." Blaise Zabini commented, obviously impressed.
"Um, thanks. I think." Padma replied, clearly not seeing it as much of a compliment.
Draco had noticed Blaise eyeing the girl for quite a while now, and before giving it a second thought, he quickly jumped in. "Patil? Padma Patil, right? Pureblood?" He asked, in his smoothly cocky way.
She frowned slightly. "I don't think it really matters if I am or not... But yes."
Draco stood stunned for a second. Great, another muggle-lover, I see. "Draco Malfoy." He grunted his introduction.
"I know." Padma replied, taking out her hand and smiling. Draco slowly lifted his hand to hers and shook it. After that, she flashed another smile, turned on her heels and swiftly walked away. What was she playing at? First she seemed quite hostile and then she was smiling... At him?
"Well I'm not going to bother in chasing that," Blaise began, "she's clearly a muggle lover."
"... Good." Draco replied, still in slight confusion.

After that, he felt a weird "connection" with her. There had been several classes, and meals in the Great Hall where the time would just pass by with either him looking at Padma, and then glancing away once she noticed, or vice versa. Something was just there, which neither of them could deny. Even when Padma had made it quite clear that she thought Draco's idea of pureblood superiority was silly, he would take it light-heartedly (well, as light hearted as he could be) and it would just turn into a sort of banter, even. Which is definitely not how he would have treated anybody else.

Why Draco, of all people? Padma thought to herself as she stared up at her ceiling, What's wrong with me? She turned to her side. It's just a crush, she reassured herself.
Draco refused to believe it was anything of the sort. I'm a Malfoy. Malfoys are serious, we don't get silly "crushes". But whatever it is, it has to end soon, before someone gets hurt.

Another AN: So yeah, not sure where this is going, kinda just wingin' it. If you have the time, please review? Maybe it will give me some direction (: