For some reason though, today it bothered him more than usual. He never liked these public displays of affection, but he'd learned to brush it off and ignore it. Malfoy shook it off and walked past the couple, pointedly ignoring them. Usually, he would go straight to one particular black leather couch, but it just so happened that it faced the couple on the other couch. So instead, he left the common room, as if that was what he'd been planning to do in the first place.
Malfoy just stood in the middle of the hall for a moment. He didn't have a real destination in mind, but now that he thought about it, a little time to relax would be nice. He sharply turned to the left and headed for the prefects bathroom.
Malfoy sighed contentedly. He leaned his head back to rest on the folded towel and let himself soak in the hot water. Although he'd die before admitting it, even to himself, he loved to just relax in a hot bath. He had at least an hour before all the other students started waking up, which gave him plenty of time to relax and unwind. He closed his eyes and sighed again. The bubbles smelled nice, like vanilla…
Time passed all too quickly for Malfoy. Eventually, he reluctantly dragged himself out of the bath and dried himself with a quick spell. He got dressed and stretched a little before walking out into the hall. Thoroughly relaxed, he walked back to the common room and went to wake up Crabbe and Goyle. He had to take the silencing charm off Crabbe first though. That guy's snoring caused earthquakes.
While his goons got up and ready for the day, Malfoy idly inspected his nails. When they were finally ready to go, he straightened up and walked downstairs. They followed him out of the common room and all the way to the great hall. They were just getting to the entrance when Malfoy stopped dead in his tracks.
"Oh god," he moaned, slapping his hand to his face, twitching irritably. And he'd been in such a good mood after his bath too.
There were several couples clustered around the entrance, all kissing or hugging or some other crap. And all the girls had either heart-shaped boxes, over-sized plushies, or flowers in one of their hands. This could only mean one thing.
'Well this is just fan-fucking-tastic.' He started walking again to the Slytherin table, trying to ignore the now blatantly obvious couples scattered everywhere. He sat down in his usual seat, and Crabbe and Goyle took their places on either side of him. Malfoy glared at the food in front of him darkly. "I hate Valentine's day," he muttered to himself.
"Oh Derek, I love you," the girl across from them told her boyfriend, then started kissing him again. Malfoy's eye twitched.
'This is going to be a long day.'
You would think that in a village like Hogsmeade, there would be somewhere Malfoy could go where he wouldn't have to be reminded of that stupid holiday over and over again. This was the reasoning that comforted Malfoy as he walked though the gates to the village, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle. Their school couldn't possibly produce enough students to fill up the whole town. There was just no way.
Turned out, he was wrong. Maybe not about the fact that the couples from Hogwarts couldn't possibly be everywhere. He couldn't really tell. But he hadn't considered that not all the people that came to Hogsmeade were from Hogwarts. Every store, every restaurant, every business in town was decorated for Valentine's Day. That was the theme for the merchandise sold in the shops, some of the specials served at restaurants, and even the owlery advertised their limited time-special on renting an owl for Valentines Day.
Everywhere you looked, couples were holding hands, kissing, giving gifts, et cetera, et cetera. That isn't to that say everyone was paired up. No, there were plenty of people just hanging out with a group of friends or hurrying along by themselves. It was just that the ones who were out on dates were EVERYWHERE. Even Crabbe and Goyle practically begged him to let them stay at the candy shop. They seemed interested in some of the girls near the "Exotic Sweets and Confections" section. Malfoy just rolled his eyes and waved them off.
And so, that was how he ended up sulking over at the Hog's Head. Sure, there were a few couples sitting around and talking or whatever, but it was a hell of a lot better than anywhere else. He just thanked god that even on Valentines Day, this place didn't have many customers. Then again, after looking around the place for a moment, it occurred to him that this wasn't exactly a romantic spot. It wasn't to his taste, but he could deal with it, if only to get away from the lovey-dovey crap.
He sat on one of the barstools, head propped up on one fist, idly looking around. An old couple in the corner caught his eye. His eye twitched. 'The only thing more disgusting than watching people make out is watching OLD people make out.' He shifted his gaze to the shoddy art hanging on the wall behind the bar. Then he sighed laid his head on the bar, using his arms as a pillow. Sulkily, he glared at the picture.
"Hey kid, you gon' order somethin' or you just gon' sit there?" the barman asked him. Malfoy lifted his head to glare at the bartender.
"When I feel like ordering something, I'll order something," he said sharply, then rested his chin back down on his arms. The barman frowned and scratched his head.
"What, your girl dump you or somethin'? What's with the attitude?"
"None of your business."
"Alright, alright! Cool it!" he said, putting his hands up defensively. "Jeez, try an' be friendly…" he muttered, moving away from him and going back to wiping the counter. Malfoy just scoffed and went back to glaring at the wall.
"Hey, Tom, get me a Firewhiskey, wouldja?" Malfoy looked up at the sound of his voice. He hadn't even noticed the guy sit down beside him. He looked familiar…
"You got it Charlie," the bartender called back cheerfully. Malfoy blinked, suddenly remembering who the guy was. Charlie Weasley. Malfoy scoffed. How far he'd fallen, to be sitting at a bar worthy of a Weasley.
"Hey, what's up Draco?" Malfoy blinked, surprised that he remembered his name. Charlie smiled and made this interesting gesture that was somewhere between a wave and a salute. But then he slumped over a little and frowned at him. "Something wrong?"
"It's none of your business, Weasley." Draco looked away from him.
"Oh, for the love of-" Charlie whacked him upside the head. Malfoy straightened up with a jolt of surprise and reflexively brought his hand up to the back of his head. He glared at Charlie and was about to say something, but Charlie beat him to it. "For the last goddamn time, it's 'Charlie', not 'Weasley!'" Just then, Tom put the glass of Firewhiskey in front of Charlie.
"I wouldn't try talkin' to him now. I'd let him alone if I was you." Charlie nodded in thanks and took the drink.
"What was that for you bloody Weasl-" He was interrupted by another swift smack to the back of his head. "Ow!"
"My name is Charlie. CHARLIE," he annunciated clearly. "It's not that hard." He took a drink from his glass and set it down. Damn, that guy was fast. Malfoy scoffed, but didn't say anything. Instead he pouted and went back to glaring at the wall. "Now what's got you looking like someone shoved a stick up your ass?" Malfoy coughed and blushed a little embarrassedly.
"Excuse me? I do not, as you so eloquently put it 'have a stick up my ass.'" Charlie rolled his eyes.
"It's an expression, Draco," he explained patiently.
"I know that!" Malfoy snapped, face heating up. "I'm not stupid!"
"Look, just-" Charlie suddenly stopped and looked down. He sighed and absently threaded his fingers through his hair. A second later a pulled his hand away and looked back at Draco with a sort of pleading look. "Would you please just tell me what's going on?" Malfoy looked away and muttered "None of your business." But this time his heart wasn't in it. "Please Draco? You look kinda down. And pissed. Just tell me, okay? Besides, if you glare at that wall any more, you'll burn a hole in it." Draco snorted before he could stop himself.
"If I tell you, will you shut up and go away?" he asked mock-hopefully. He looked up at Charlie, who grinned and said "I make no promises." Draco couldn't help but smile a little at that. Then he sighed and laid his head back down on his arms. "I'm just pissed because I hate Valentines Day. There. Now go bother someone else."
"I think not, fuzzy," Charlie replied. Malfoy twitched.
"What did you just call me?" he asked threateningly. Charlie just laughed and replied "Oh nothing, nothing at all. So anyways, what's wrong with Valentines Day?" Malfoy shook his head.
"It's just stupid. It's a stupid holiday."
"Oh, I get it!" Charlie said with a sudden look of comprehension.
"Get what?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You're jealous!"
"What!?"
"Yeah, it all makes sense now. You can't stand seeing all these lovebirds happy together because you don't have a girlfriend." Malfoy scoffed at that.
"No, you're not even close."
"Oh really?" Charlie asked, not believing him for a second.
"What do you care anyway? I never said you could talk to me!" Charlie shrugged.
"I didn't need to ask your permission. Still don't." Charlie drank a little more Firewhiskey.
"Just go away!"
"Um, how about no?"
"Ugh! What do you want from me, huh?" Draco glared at him. Charlie thought for a moment.
"How about you let me take you out?"
It took a full minute for Draco to register what he said. When he finally figured it out, he sat up straight and blushed fiercely.
"Wha- Are you- Are you asking me out on a date?"
"Did I say it was a date?"
"So it's not a date?"
"Is that a yes?"
"No, but-"
"So that's a no?"
"Well, no, but-" Charlie sighed.
"Sorry about this Draco, but-" Charlie grabbed Draco's hand.
"Wait! I never said-" But it was too late.
The sensation of Apparating was…disconcerting, to say the least. Draco held on to Charlie's hand for dear life as he struggled to breathe. When they appeared, Draco couldn't stand up straight and collapsed on Charlie. He would've fallen if Charlie hadn't caught him and held him steady while he recovered.
"Sorry about that. Are you alright?" Then Draco realized that he was being held against Charlie's chest in a very warm embrace. He pulled away quickly, red-faced with embarrassment.
"No, I'm not alright! You just kidnapped me! When my father hears about this-"
"Calm down, okay? Just give me a chance." Draco huffed and glared at him, but didn't protest further. Charlie sighed, then smiled at him. He lifted his arm a little, and for a second, he thought Charlie was going to ask him to take his hand again. But then he jerked it back, deciding against it. Draco noticed a faint blush on his cheeks before Charlie turned away. "Come on, we should probably get lunch or something." Charlie started walking down the crowded street. Draco ran up beside him and on impulse, and slipped his hand into Charlie's, interlocking their fingers. He was pleased to see the stunned blush that appeared on Charlie's face.
"So, where are you planning on taking me? Where are we anyways?" Charlie was still too embarrassed to look straight at him. Draco had to stop himself from laughing at him. Hey, he had to keep himself entertained some way right? If he was going on this might-be-a-date-might-not-be-a-date, he might as well enjoy himself. And teasing Charlie definitely qualified as entertainment.
"We're in Diagon Ally. And, um, I don't know where we're going. Um, what kind of food do you like?"
"Actually, I'm not all that hungry. I think ice cream will do, don't you?"
"Sure, whatever you want," Charlie told him. Draco allowed himself to be led to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. They sat at one of the booths, finally having to let go of each other's hands. Florean was more than happy to take their order.
"I'll have a cherry chocolate fudge sundae," Draco ordered.
"And you sir?" Florean asked after scribbling down his order.
"Um, can I get a double fudge sundae with those espresso bean thingies and any kind of hot peppers you can think of?"
"Not a problem. I'll be right back with your order."
"Ew," Draco commented, making a face. Charlie looked at him questioningly.
"What?"
"Your ice cream."
"What about it?" Draco looked at him incredulously.
"Just, ew!" Charlie pouted a little.
"There's absolutely nothing wrong with my ice cream," he said indignantly.
"You don't put peppers in ice cream!"
"There's nothing wrong with having peppers in ice cream."
"That's disgusting."
"It is not!"
"Yes it is. Just, ew." Charlie pouted and muttered something about his ice cream being perfectly good the way it was. Draco stifled a very manly giggle and watched Charlie mutter to himself. It was kind of…well, he didn't want to say adorable, but he couldn't think of any other word to describe it. Okay, so it was adorable. Draco barely managed to contain another totally manly giggle at the thought that he was calling this 19-year old guy, who wrestled with dragons for a living, adorable. Besides that, he was a Weasley! One of those annoying red-heads he hated!
…Actually, he decided he was fine with Charlie's red hair. It really didn't look bad on him. At all. Come to think of it, he didn't look bad period. He actually looked pretty good. If he thought about it, Draco had to admit the guy was attractive. Probably the type who had girls all over him. He frowned a little. This train of thought was disturbing. He pushed it away and looked around for something else to occupy his attention. Like ice cream! Florean was back.
"Hey Charlie?" He kicked his leg lightly under the table to get his attention. "Florean's got some kind of toxic concoction over there and I think it's for you." Charlie glared at him reproachfully, then thanked Florean for the ice cream.
"You're welcome, and I hope you enjoy your ice cream. Oh, and happy Valentines Day!" Florean left them and went back to work. Draco snorted and picked up his spoon. He happily ate a couple spoonfuls of his ice cream and was just about to eat another when he noticed Charlie wasn't eating anything. He was about to say something, but then he decided against it. Instead, he reached over and shoved his spoonful of ice cream in Charlie's mouth. The look on his face was priceless.
"Quit sulking and eat your ice cream," Draco ordered, failing to keep the amused smirk off his face. He pulled the spoon out of Charlie's mouth and started on his ice cream again.
"But I don't have a spoon. I wasn't sulking!" Draco rolled his eyes.
"Its right there," he said, pointing with his spoon.
"Oh! Thanks, I didn't see it."
"Tch, whatever."
They spent the rest of their time at Florean's eating ice cream and talking about Hogwarts. Draco found himself telling Charlie stories about things that happened at school and complaining about the amount of homework they got. Charlie's stories were hilarious, and Draco couldn't help laughing out loud when he heard them. Before either of them knew it, over an hour had passed, and the ice cream was long gone. When they got up to leave, Draco didn't even think twice about grabbing Charlie's hand.
They walked through the busy street, checking out some of the shops along the way. Eventually, they found a theatre that was selling tickets to a fairly new horror film. Draco easily convinced Charlie to buy tickets and concessions, and it wasn't long before Draco learned something new and rather unexpected about Charlie.
"Uh, Charlie? What are you doing?" Charlie was clinging to him like some teddy bear. His arms were wrapped tightly around his middle trapping both his arms at his sides. It was a little embarrassing. But Charlie's eyes were fixed on the screen, and he was shaking slightly. The monster lashed out at the lady onscreen, making Charlie jump and yelp fearfully. He squeezed tighter and half-buried his face in Draco's chest. Still, he couldn't look away from the screen.
Draco managed to free his arms with some difficulty, and hesitated before wrapping them around Charlie in an awkward hug. Personally, Draco thought the film was kind of dumb and unoriginal. It may have scared him once, but now? It was only mildly entertaining, and kind of funny. So, out of god-knows-what-emotion, he didn't laugh at Charlie's terror.
But that didn't mean he couldn't mock him later.
After the movie, they took a bathroom break, which was when Charlie realized they had less than fifteen minutes before all the Hogwarts students were required to return to the castle. Both were extremely reluctant to go back though. Draco realized that even if he hadn't planned on it, he really enjoyed his time with Charlie. He held on tightly as Charlie Apparated them both back into Hogsmeade.
They were outside in the snow, near where the shrieking shack was. There weren't many people out this way, so they didn't have to worry about being watched. Draco recovered faster this time and managed to stand up straight. But this time, he didn't let go of Charlie's hand.
"You alright?" Charlie asked. Draco nodded resignedly. Charlie frowned. He let go of Draco's hand and turned him so that he was facing him. He held him gently, but firmly in place by his shoulders.
"Hey Draco, look at me, okay?" Draco sighed, but looked up anyways. "What's wrong now? Didn't you have fun? I mean, I thought you did, but maybe I just-"
"No, that's not it," Draco said, laughing. "As much as I hate to admit it, that was…really fun." Charlie blushed at the compliment.
"Um, well, I'm glad you liked it, but if that's not the problem, then what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, I just…don't want to go back yet." Charlie blinked in surprise.
"Huh? What do you mean? Why not?"
"I just don't," Draco said, too embarrassed to look straight at him.
"I'm not following," Charlie said slowly.
"Ugh, you're going to make me say it out loud, aren't you?"
"Say what out loud?" Draco took a deep breath.
"I-I-uh…oh screw it, I can't do this," Draco said, pulling back. Charlie looked confused and a little hurt. Draco put his hands on his hips and shifted his weight over to one side. "I haven't given you permission to leave yet, got it? You're not going anywhere until I say so." His arrogant tone and sassy pose put him off at first, and Charlie was going to tell him exactly how he felt about being bossed around. But after going it over once or twice in his mind, he figured out what Draco was actually trying to say.
"I don't want you to leave just yet."
Without any warning whatsoever, Draco was suddenly pulled into a bear hug by Charlie, who was laughing at him. Draco just blushed furiously. When Charlie finally pulled back, Draco was still red-faced and staring at the ground.
"Y'know, if you wanted me to stick around, longer, you could've just said so," Charlie teased. Draco growled at him. Charlie suddenly felt something tug on his neck, forcing him lower. A pair of lip moved against his, soft, but forceful. Before Charlie even had time to react, they were gone, and Draco had grabbed his hand.
"C'mon, let's go," Draco said, trying to sound cool and completely under control as he tugged Charlie's hand. Charlie just laughed and gave his hand a little squeeze.
Draco led them back toward the gate, where a crowd of students was already forming. Suddenly aware of his peers, he swiftly retracted his hand and put it in his pocket. Charlie looked confused for a moment, then understood why he suddenly backed off. He nodded to show Draco he understood and silently walked beside him.
"Oi, Charlie! Is that you!?" Both of them recognized Ron's voice when they heard it. Draco mentally groaned and turned to face the trio.
"Hey Ron, what's up?" Ron, Harry, and Hermione bounded up to greet him, but stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Draco.
"Malfoy?" Harry asked incredulously.
"What're you doing here, Malfoy? Get lost!" Ron snapped, glaring at him.
"Weasley," Draco spat, glaring at him. He looked up at Charlie, then back to the trio. "Why would I want to spend my precious time in the company of a filthy mudblood, Weasleys, and least of all, Potter!?" Malfoy stalked off and didn't look back. It was over. No doubt those three would tell Charlie all about how awful he was, and Charlie wouldn't want to have anything to do with him anymore. Not that he cared, really. It was nice while it lasted, but no big deal. He just lost one of the best things that ever happened to him. Nope, definitely not important at all.
Now if he could just convince himself to believe that.
Draco heard the door open, but didn't bother getting up or even look to see who it was. He listened to the footsteps draw nearer.
"Hey, Draco? Where were you? I didn't see you at dinner."
"Why did you come and look for me?" Draco asked softly.
"Draco you idiot, its freezing!" Charlie said, noticing that he was just in a thin white blouse and black dress pants. Draco just shrugged. "Get over here! Let's go somewhere warm." Draco ignored him. "Don't make me carry you down from here," Charlie joked. No response. Charlie was actually irritated enough at this point to walk over to the balcony, scoop Draco up in his arms bridal style, and carry him out of the astronomy classroom.
"Put me down!" Draco demanded, struggling to get free. Charlie decided he would be nice this time and let him down easy. Next time, he was dropping him.
"Nice to see you to, Draco." Draco was flustered and irritated, and probably about to yell at him, but Charlie gathered up his courage and kissed him on the lips. Draco was shocked enough that he didn't resist at all, but it would have been nice if he kissed back. Charlie pulled away, still a little shy and embarrassed.
"But I thought-"
"You thought wrong," Charlie said, shaking his head. "Harry and Ron told me all about how you're a snotty, self-righteous git, so I assume you thought I'd agree?" Draco nodded, eyeing him suspiciously. "You do realize I've already heard most of that before? It's not new information." Oh, right, Ron probably told him everything before. Well, now Draco really felt stupid. He couldn't bring himself to apologize, so he shyly grabbed Charlie's hand instead.
"Hey, have you ever been in Gryffindor tower?" Charlie asked leading the way. Draco shook his head.
"Is that where you're taking me?"
"I see no reason not to. Besides, we've got some time before dinner ends."
"Speaking of dinner, I'm starving."
"I'll get us something to eat later, alright? But for right now," he said, turning to the Fat Lady. "I'd like to spend some time with you." Draco blushed again. "Pig Farts!" The portrait swung open, and Charlie led Draco into the common room. Draco looked around curiously as Charlie brought him over to the couch in front of the fireplace. They sat down, and without really thinking about it, Draco snuggled up to Charlie. Charlie wrapped his arms around Draco, who sighed happily. Draco fell asleep that way, and Charlie way happy to let him sleep while he played with his hair.
"Oh my god! What the bloody hell is going on here!?" Draco stirred a little and opened his eyes, yawning sleepily. It took him a moment to wake up enough to figure out what was going on. Ron, Hermione, Harry, Fred, George, Percy, and a couple other kids Draco didn't recognize were gaping at him.
'The hell are they looking at me for?' Then he felt Charlie shift a little, and flushed bright scarlet as he realized why they were staring. Charlie coughed embarrassedly, and Draco looked up at him. Charlie met his glance and they knew they were thinking the same thing. "Well, fuck." Then Draco yawned and decided that he was really too tired to deal with this right now.
"Sorry Charlie, you're on your own. I'm going back to sleep." He snuggled up to Charlie's chest, ignoring his protests.
"Wait, but Draco!" But it was too late. He nervously looked up at the small crowd of people watching them. He smiled sheepishly.
"Draco?" Fred asked incredulously.
"You call him Draco?" George asked in the same tone.
"For god's sake Charlie, he's 15! 15! You're, like, 4 years older than him!" Percy cried. It was at that point that Ron fainted.
How the hell was he going to explain this?
Author Note thing: Sorry Molly, I meant to get this finshed before Valentine's day, but better late than never, I guess. ^^ I hope I did okay. I probably royally screwed up their characters, but I tried. Read it if you want, and, uh, sorry if it sucks. We can't all be fabulous writers.