Three Step Plan

Fourth Year

Eva sat down right under the big old tree by the Lake. She found that this was her favorite place to spend some time alone, and think about the day´s events. Also, since she loved to draw, she had taken the extra curricular on Muggle Arts with Professor Turner, and she´d entirely forgotten about the landscape she was supposed to present at class today. So she´d taken advantage of the free period to finish it.

Task that she was unable to finish though. She found herself staring over to the Quidditch Pitch, barely making out the green uniformed group flying around and shouting so loud she could even make out a few words from where she sat. She wondered silently if he was there, her grey-eyed obsession.

Eva first saw him during her first class, earlier this year, when they accidentally bumped into each other. He´d completely ignored his friends calling after him, and knelt down to help her pick up her fallen books. Cliche, i know, but hey...it happened. He hadn´t looked at her, at least that´s what she thought, but she definitely did. He was the most good-looking guy she´d encountered so far. Not to say Harry wasn´t. He was, in a raggedy kind of way. But this guy, Draco, he seemed somehow related to Veelas, like that Beauxbaton´s champion Fleur was.

There seemed no other explanation to his scarily good looks. White Blonde hair, pale porcelain skin, angular features, but it was the eyes, the mesmerizing blue grey eyes that caught Eva´s breath. Like miniature storm clouds were capsuled inside them.

Eva found herself thinking of him on a daily basis after that first encounter, regardless of the many warnings Hermione, Harry, and especially Ron had been throwing at her. They said he was mean, cruel, and heartless. That his family was involved in dark magic. But she did not care. Not tat she didn´t believe them, Eva did, she knew all those things were true, but she also knew there was so much more than just that. There had to be more to him than just family reputations and cruel traits.

She made it her priority to talk to him, she had to figure him out, break his mean bully facade. Eva knew that deep down, he was almost screaming for help. Others had given up on him, but not her. She was determined to right his wrongs, she didn't know why, she couldn't explain this feeling, but it felt as though she was being pulled towards him. Like she´s meant to help him.

So she cooked up a plan.

First step. She started stalking him, following him wherever he went to "accidentally" run into each other enough times for him to recognize her, to memorize her face. At first it had been hard, with that black haired girl always shadowing him, but Eva still managed to do it a couple times a week.

Second step. She sat down next to him during class, the perfect opportunity to start getting acquainted. They didn´t share that many classes, only 4 a week. But those 4 classes a week we're enough for Eva to find out that he had in fact a cruelty-free side, and she quite enjoyed his company. By now, Hermione, Harry and Ron had given up trying to stop her.

After that came the Third and Final step. Let things flow naturally. On the following few weeks, they´d been hanging out, talking on breaks, sitting together on every class they shared, Eva sometimes even dared to cross the Great Hall during meals to sit next to him at the Slytherin table. She was only a honorary Gryffindor after all, old house rivalries didn't apply to her. They shouldn´t exist at all, Eva thought. Guess old habits die hard at Hogwarts.

Eva started noticing how Draco would sometimes lean closer to her during class, or brushed his hand on hers as they walked. She remembered, with a very visible blush on her face, the one time in Transfiguration where he´d reached out and brushed a loose strand of hair from her face. His delicate, graceful fingers lingering over her cheek a little longer than they should have.

Now though, there were no shy glances, or blushing. Instead, Draco had taken her hand on their way to class several times this past few days. He no longer cared about who was around them, whether it was his insufferable friends of hers, as he kissed the corner of her mouth. His mean remarks had died down considerably, they even watched the first Tournament Task together, and managed to convince him not to cheer for Krum and support Cedric and Harry instead. He did, much to everyone´s surprise.

Eva knew they were getting closer, and she had been waiting for him to make the next step. After all, she took the first three.

She didn´t have to wait long. Earlier today, Draco cornered her after Transfiguration and asked her to Hogsmeade this weekend. Eva was sure something would go down during that trip. She had seen it in his eyes. So she had accepted.

And it wasn´t a surprise when their trip turned into a date, neither was she surprised when he asked her to walk with him through the same Lake Eva had sat by the entire morning. She hadn't even flinched when Draco stopped near the familiar Oak and faced Eva. When she asked her to be his girlfriend, she hadn´t hesitated one second.

But when he dipped his head to hers, resting both hands on Eva´s waist, and pressed their lips together, Eva´s every nerve overloaded. Her heart exploded inside her chest, feeling the soft touch of his lips on hers.

In that moment Eva knew, every step of her plan, every second spent on it was worth the wait if it meant that at the end, she got to kiss Draco Malfoy.