A/N: I like this chapter :) Enjoy! There are only four more after this, I think!
Around three, the portrait slid open and we both glanced over to see my friends walking in. They looked to be exhausted, but once Hermione and Ron saw me and Draco hanging out they both came up short. The rest that were with them crashed into them and looked around in confusion at their sudden stop. I waited for them to say something, but they continued to stare. Neville looked at us in surprise and was the first to speak.
"You guys haven't gotten tired of each other yet?" he joked as he slipped between Ron and Hermione and approached us.
Draco assessed him coolly which caused Neville to take a half step back and look apologetic towards him. "We've actually been having a brilliant time this afternoon," Draco drawled.
I sent Draco a warning glance, but he didn't seem to notice it as he was still staring Neville down. "That's great. I'm glad to hear it," he stuttered slightly before he moved away from us. Draco turned away from him and looked back at me. I narrowed my gaze at him and he blushed slightly and looked away from me.
Hermione and Ron seemed to snap out of their stupor and approached us. Draco and I had gone from homework to attempting to play chess. Draco was kicking my arse and quite proud of himself for it. I had reminded him several times that I was not that great at chess, but it didn't matter. He was just pleased to be better at something than me.
Ron's eyes brightened. "You're playing chess?" he asked eagerly.
Draco glanced up at him, reminded of watching him play the night before. "We are. Care to play?" he asked smoothly. I suppressed an eye roll.
"I'll play winner," he said excitedly as he bounced on the balls of his feet. I glanced over at Draco who had a challenging look in his eyes.
"Winner is Malfoy so enjoy," I said as I got up from the table and Ron took my seat. Draco met my gaze for a moment and I just grinned at him. His cheeks colored slightly and his focus went back to the game and setting it up. Ron was really good at chess and I knew that he would give Draco a run for his galleons.
I joined Hermione on the couch nearby. "Is he aware that Ron's pretty good at chess?" she whispered to me.
I nodded. "He knows. I just hope that Ron can wipe the smug smirk off his face that he had the entire time he played against me," I replied with no mirth and just a laugh. Hermione turned her inquisitive gaze to me and studied me.
"You guys really have enjoyed your time together today, huh?" she asked.
I couldn't look away from Draco as he was biting his lip and concentrating. I hadn't realized he did that until I was not playing against him. It was maddening to watch. I had wanted to kiss him for most of the afternoon, especially after he kissed me earlier in the courtyard, but we didn't and couldn't. I fully planned on rectifying that later. Hermione cleared her throat and I finally looked away from Draco and blushed. She was giving me a knowing look.
"Yeah, he's actually a lot of fun to talk to. I learned a lot about him. Real things and he learned a lot about me. The truth," I told her.
She smiled and nodded. We settled in and watched Draco and Ron battle it out. It was definitely a more evenly matched game than when I played either of them. Hermione rested her head against my shoulder as she went between watching him and reading a book.
Nearly two hours later, Ron let out a triumphant cry. "Checkmate!" He stood and pumped his fist in the air while Draco stared at the board, moving his eyes back and forth as if he was playing each of their moves over in his head to see where he made a mistake or to see where Ron must have cheated.
"I can't believe this," he muttered.
"Believe it, Malfoy!" he cried again. I walked over to make sure that they didn't come to blows for some reason. I stood closest to Draco, trying to gauge how he was feeling.
He stood and looked at Ron who had stopped celebrating and stood tall in case Draco was going to punch him or something. Instead, Draco placed his hand out. "Good game, Weasley," he congratulated. The room seemed to go silent and Ron glanced down at Draco's outstretched hand. He didn't hesitate much before he shook Draco's hand.
"Good game as well, Malfoy," he replied in surprise.
They let go and Draco smirked up at him. "I do, however, want a rematch," he replied.
Ron grinned. "Anytime, Malfoy. Anytime," he accepted.
Draco grinned and nodded. "Well, Potter, Granger, Weasley, Longbottom and any other Gryffindor I'm forgetting, it's been an interesting day with you all and I'm going to have to say that I surprisingly enjoyed it. You're not a bad lot at all. I do, however, need to head back and get some homework done. Thanks for the day, all of you," he said sincerely. He met my gaze and headed for the door. I turned and followed him.
"I'll see you out," I said as the rest of my friends muttered surprised good-byes. I followed Draco out of the exit. I watched as he glanced around and then turned to look at me. He cocked his head to the left so I followed him away from the portrait and down a couple of hallways before we were in an empty corridor. He pulled me into an alcove and pulled me towards him into a heated kiss. I moaned against his lips and brought my hands up to thread into his hair. His tongue slid across my bottom lip as he asked entrance which I granted immediately. He deepened our kiss and pressed against me, bringing us as close as he could.
He broke our kiss, but didn't quite untangle himself from me. "Thank you so much for today. I have had the best day with you. Thank you," he whispered gratitude quite evident in his words. He kissed me again, more gently and then pulled me against him, wrapping me in a hug. He seemed to be feeling a bit awkward, but soon he relaxed and just held me. He stepped back again, blushing deeply. He kissed my cheek.
"Thank you," I responded just as quietly and breathlessly.
He grinned and kissed me once more before he walked away from me. My heart was pounding and my stomach was fluttering. I felt so full of warmth and another feeling for him that surprised me. I shook my head and straightened my clothes as I made my way slowly back to the dorm. He was amazing.
I schooled my features as soon as I was back at the portrait before slipping inside. My friends were waiting and when I walked in they all looked at me expectantly. I gave them a questioning look. "What?" I asked.
"He's actually not so bad," Ron commented. He looked like he had swallowed a lemon at his confession, but he recovered from that and nodded in affirmation of his words.
"He was pretty great today," Hermione added.
I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he was. I actually really liked hanging out with him. I think being friends will be easy enough," I replied.
They nodded in agreement. I locked eyes with Neville who gave me a knowing look, but nodded as well. My friends accepted him as we were. Maybe that will make it easier to accept us when we finally come out as a couple. Merlin, I hoped so.
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The week passed with Draco and me spending as much time together as we could alone or with friends. We didn't get much private, private time, but we used alcoves often and left each other wanting, but satisfied enough. I had spent some time around Zabini and Parkinson which had gone surprisingly well. Parkinson had actually apologized to me for how horrible she was and trying to turn me over to Voldemort. It was fine. My friends were growing fonder of Draco as well and even Ron, who had been humbled an even amount of times as he had humbled Draco in chess, was asking about when we'd be hanging out again. It was going quite well. I got to know Draco more and more and he got to know me more and more. It was going perfectly.
It was Friday again and we were at lunch. "Oi, Harry, what do you think about a pick-up game of Quidditch this afternoon?" Ron asked as he shoveled some food into his mouth.
I glanced over at the Slytherin table and caught Draco's eye. He grinned at me and gave me a questioning look. "Should we ask Malfoy and Zabini to play?"
Ron turned around and looked at Malfoy as well. He waved stupidly which caused Draco to give him a confused look, but smile and wave tentatively back. "Yeah, why not?" he replied as he turned back to look at me. I looked back at Draco and grinned more broadly. He looked even more confused and maybe a bit apprehensive.
"Sounds good. What do you think? Four?" I asked. He nodded. "Cool, I'll go tell him," I finished as I left our table and headed over to the Slytherin table.
Ron watched me leave and watched as I settled in next to Draco. "Potter, why is Weasley looking at me and why did he wave at me?" Draco asked nervously.
I laughed. "We're wondering if you want to play a pick-up game of Quidditch with some of us."
Draco's eyes widened and he looked over at Ron again who was smiling goofily. Draco rolled his eyes, but laughed. "He seems to be very excited about the possibility of me playing," he pointed out.
"Yeah, he is. He lives and breathes Quidditch. So, do you want to play?" I asked. I looked at him hopefully and his careful, 'I can't show the world I'm with Harry Potter' look nearly slipped.
"I can't say no to you," he whispered for only me to hear. I felt my cheeks warm and I quickly stood to hide my reaction to him.
"Great. Invite any of your housemates to play too. See you at the pitch at four!" I told him. He was smirking at me, but it was his, 'I have a secret with Harry Potter' smirk which made it hard for me to keep my emotions in check and not show the world our true feelings.