Colleen walked up the stairs from the Slytherin common room towards the Great Hall for breakfast. Draco, Crabbe and Goyle walked straight ahead of her, laughing about something Draco had said, probably about Mud-bloods. How did she get into Slytherin anyway? This question had haunted her for the past 4 years at Hogwarts. She was a kind, caring and sweet person, and happened to be a muggle-born. She found most Slytherins repulsive and their jokes to be sick. All except Draco. She wasn't sure how long she'd had a crush on him, but it was huge. She longed for him to notice her, but she kept everything to herself most of the time and wasn't very outgoing. But that was prey to the other Slytherins. She was constantly picked on by the Slytherins, but she just ignored it, it wasn't worth the fight. The day drug on with her daily routines and at last arrived in her dorm worn out. She did her homework and fell asleep shortly after.
Colleen woke up the next morning like any other day, got dressed in her green and silver uniform, made her bad and then walked into the bathroom to brush her hair when the girl in the mirror let out a cry.
"EEEP!" Colleen shrieked at her reflection. Her ears pricked at a sinister laugh behind her that she immediately recognized. It could turn one's blood cold and make their hair stand on end.
"Pansy!" Colleen growled toward the girl whose reflection had just appeared next to her own.
"What's the problem dear?" her dorm mate inquired in a sickly sweet manor.
"Like you don't know," Colleen replied half-heartedly trying to drop the subject as she poured over the mirror. The girl who once had dark brown hair had morphed into one with neon green layers flowing from the top of her head.
"Don't worry; I can't get it to last for more than a few hours, you should be normal by tomorrow. Well, your hair should be normal." Pansy spat with mock encouragement.
"Whatever," Colleen mumbled in return, hoping to let the next few hours slide by with ease. She pulled her hair into a sloppy pony tail and began to ascend the stairs towards the Great Hall. She tried to hide her internal fuming, but all she could do was stare absentmindedly at her shoes. She was consumed in her sorrow so much that she rammed into something and stumbled backwards a few steps. She looked up into the gleaming grey eyes of Draco.
"S-Sorry," she stammered and tried to slip past him to avoid a fight.
"Easy there Mud-blood," he said smoothly. A smile played across his lips.
She really wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, why couldn't she have run into him yesterday? "Just move Draco, please?" she begged.
"Aww! How cute, you think I'll just move out of your way, that's not why I'm here, Freeth."
"Draco…" She sighed longing for muffins.
"Colleen…" He imitated back smirking. "Nice hair," he said, twirling a stray lock of green around his finger.
"Don't touch me," she said through gritted teeth. She chose this moment to try to escape and ran smack into him. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her inches form himself. She couldn't breath and felt like her heart had stopped.
"Thought you could get away that easy did you? It's OK goody-two-shoes, you're safe with me," he said mockingly as she tried (and failed) to wriggle out of his grasp.
"I'm NOT a goody-two-shoes," she spat, trying to sound as Slytherin-y as possible.
He leaned in closer, so close she could feel his breath on her neck, "Prove it."
She took her hair out of her ponytail holder and snapped his arm with it.
"Best you can do, Freeth?" he asked with a smug smile. "Surely you can do better." He said playfully, not even flinching. She flicked him several more times before he pulled her into a hug and she dropped the hair tie. Her arms were forced around his neck, as they had no where else to go. Her head was forced to rest on his chest; she could hear the steady pounding of his heart, a slight bit faster than normal. It was almost comforting to have a steady beat playing through her mind. Bum bum, bum bum, bum bum, it drowned out all noise and danced through her mind like a song.
"I still think you're a goody-two-shoes, Colleen," Draco purred.
She pulled away and looked into his eyes, "Oh really?" Before he knew what hit him, Colleen had leaned in and was kissing Draco hard. One hand entwined in his platinum blond hair, the other resting on his chest. He was shocked and proud of Colleen; he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. She might be a Mud-blood, but she would always be his Mud-blood. As soon as they pulled apart, Colleen's eyes shot to the ground. She had never kissed anyone before and wasn't really sure what to do now. Draco laughed at her innocence and tucked a lock of green hair behind her ear. His hand then trailed down her jaw line and caressed he chin and tilted it up until her ocean blue eyes met his grey ones. As her hand went up to nervously twirl her hair, Draco grabbed it and entwined their fingers.
"There's nothing to be nervous about, you're safe with me." This time, he had meant it.