Calm And Collected
The moon was out and shining, reflecting on the ripples in the otherwise calm lake. The light played on the disturbance of the water caused by a hand dipped delicately in.
The girl attached to the hand was humming a gentle tune, her eyes fluttering closed as she glanced up at the castle.
"Having a good night?" breathed a voice next to her ear.
Startled, but not bothered, she nodded absent-mindedly, finally removing her hand from the warm water.
"It's a beautiful night," she informed him. "Even you must realize it."
Silently he nodded, lowering himself to sit onto the plush grass next to her. Glancing around in a fashion similar to hers, he said, "Yes, I suppose it is."
"How often do you take the time to appreciate moments like this?" she inquired in that soft voice of hers. "How often do you really stop to smell the roses?"
She hadn't looked at him yet, and he paused before answering.
"Not that it really matters, but not often," he admitted. "I don't have the time for that garbage."
Finally turning to him, she protested, "Of course it matters! Perhaps if you did, you would be a different person."
His calmed mood was ebbing away at her words, and he was offended that she could pretend to know him the way she did.
"Some of us don't live in a sugar-coated world, miss," he replied harshly. "Some of us have real responsibilities to act upon."
"Are you calling me irresponsible?" she accused with the faintest hint of anger. "You're impossible, really. You know I work hard to get to where I am!"
"True," he allowed. "Then, you haven't much of a life, have you?"
He was pleased by her own growing anger, pleased that she had as well been roused out of her sedative mood.
"Of course I have a life!" she growled at him, wrenching her gaze away, and turning to stare once more at the peaceful lake.
"Reading books about other people's lives doesn't count, Granger," he whispered in a deep voice into her ear.
She waved her hand at him, as if he were some pest.
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't breathe into my ear again, thank you," she replied coolly. "It makes me nauseous."
He blew softly into her ear, simply to spite her. Smirking at her irate reaction, he opted to stroke her upper arm. It was not as smooth as he'd expected, and was in fact covered with goosebumps.
"Chilly?" he asked so quietly she had to strain to hear him.
"Not at all," she answered defiantly. "Not as though you'd care," she added.
Without her noticing his movements, he draped his cloak around her, and began to get up to leave.
"Where are you going?" she asked sharply, quickly.
"I thought I'd go back up to the castle, and go to bed. Like the rest of the sensible people in school," Draco answered her.
"But I thought… we were just… you were…" she sputtered, losing her cool, collected behavior.
"Acting like your friend?" he finished.
"Yes," she breathed tiredly.
"Well, we could be friends," he started, watching her expressions.
She looked up at him, her brown eyes clouding over with contemplation before he uttered his last words and left her swiftly.
"But where's the fun in that, right?"
A/N: Another part of my series of ficlets to inspire me! I just wanted to write a story that ended with that line, so this is what I came up with. I do hope you enjoyed it.
A/N Edit: Unfortunately, the computer that has all of my old, un-updated stories on it has crapped out, and there isn't much hope for it in the near future. So this is my apology to all readers of MW, GA, and any others that I haven't updated.