Chapter Eleven

Third Person POV

He couldn't believe it! She was playing hard to get! He didn't know if he could handle that, didn't know if he wanted to wait and befriend her before taking it further anymore. She obviously felt something for him, but he didn't want to scare her off by coming on too strong. He needed to talk with someone immediately. Giving the Great Hall one more glance, he rushed down the corridor and headed for the one person he knew he could truly talk to. Someone who would be able to give him the advice he needed.

It didn't take him long to reach the DADA classroom and let himself in. Climbing the stairs, he quickly rapped on the door and waited for his godfather to answer. He didn't have to wait long and moments later, the door opened. "Draco? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the Great Hall for dinner?" Snape asked as Draco pushed past him into the office. "I need to talk with my mother. My plan is crumbling away every second I'm close to her." the blonde said, starting to feel agitated.

Snape only chuckled and nodded. "I figured this might happen. There's a pouch of floo power in the top drawer of my desk. I'll step out and give you some privacy." he said and grabbed a pile of papers before leaving Draco alone to his own devices. Once Draco was positive he was completely alone, he walked over to the desk and found the floo powder exactly where Snape told him it was. He then stepped over to the fireplace and lit it with a flick of his wand.

After a moment, he opened the pouch and took a respectable handful of powder. Giving the address of Malfoy Manor, he threw it into the fire and watched as the fire changed color and threw off a green glow in the darkened room. He'd never liked using floo for communication, but at this point, it was necessary. Kneeling on the floor, he took a breath, closed his eyes, and stuck his head through the fire, feeling his head spin for a moment until he felt grounded all of a sudden. Opening his eyes, he was looking into the library of the manor where his mother was lounging on one of the couches with a book. "Draco, dear, what are you doing?" she asked suddenly, shutting her book and placing it on the end table before coming over to the fireplace and kneeling down so she could speak with her son.

"I needed to speak with you as soon as possible. I need advice and you're the only person I trust to speak of this with in depth." Draco explained and Narcissa nodded in understanding. Maneuvering her robes, she sat on the rug next to the fireplace so she could speak with her son in comfort. "What do you need advice on, dear?" she asked, ready to help the boy in any way she could. "I don't know what to do anymore. I thought I could befriend her, let her get to know me, before making any advances. That was my plan, but now I don't know if I can go through with it. I spent a majority of the afternoon with her and...it was the most wonderful feeling. I don't know if I can wait." Draco said and his mother knew he was lost on what he should do.

She didn't blame him. She'd had trouble when she was younger and still in school. She had been luckier, though, she'd known Lucius since their first year, been friends since and when she'd come into her inheritance, he'd taken it better than she could've ever hoped. She knew it would have to happen, but it still tore her apart knowing the love of her life was locked away in Azkaban. She visited him as often as possible though. He'd been thrilled to hear that their only son had found his mate, but Narcissa decided it was best she left out some of the things Draco had told her in his letter. They may have switched sides, but that didn't mean her husband was as open-minded as he should be now that the war was over and the Dark Lord was vanquished.

"Draco, you know your father and I are more than happy you've found your chosen, but this is something you need to do on your own. I can talk with you, give you advice, but in the end, you have to make the decision on what you think is best for her." Narcissa said, knowing her son was nervous and on edge. Draco sighed and nodded his head in understanding. "What should I do though? I know I have to make the final decision, but I just want to know what you think I should do." Draco pleaded.

Narcissa smiled and reached through the flames to stoke her son's cheek. "I know, dear. Now, tomorrow is Saturday." she said simply and Draco gave her a questioning look. "If I remember correctly, seventh years have the choice to visit Hogsmeade on the weekends instead of once a month like underclassman. Why don't ask her to spend the day with you. Not only would it give you the chance to get to know each other, but it will also let her know you're interested in her. If things go well, then you might want to start thinking about letting her know about why you feel the way you do." she advised and Draco smiled softly at his mother.

"Thank you, mother. You have no idea how much it helps." he breathed and Narcissa smiled. "Anything for you, dear. I look forward to when I get to meet the young woman." she told him and he smiled wider at his mother. He leaned forward and kissed his mother on the cheek before saying his goodbyes and pulled himself out of the flames, feeling his head begin to spin again until he was standing again. Brushing some soot off of his slacks, he placed the floo power back in Snape's desk and left the office, nodding to his godfather before heading to the Head dorms.

Nodding to Heromine, he went straight to his room and sat down at the desk. He pulled out of pice of paper and began to write.

Taylor,

I know it's a little late and I ask earlier, but I would like to reword my question. Would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow? I'm not asking for an answer tonight, but if you decided yes, then I'll be waiting in the courtyard at noon. If you decide no, I understand and would still be willing to tutor you. I really hope you accept. I really like spending time with you and I hope you feel the same about me.

Sincerely, Draco Malfoy

After what felt like forever of writing, rewriting, and rewording, Draco finally finished the letter. Clicking his tongue, the black owl on it's pedestal flew over and landed on his desk. He carefully tied the letter to his leg and opened the window. The owl hooted and flew out of the window. Taking a deep breath, he left the window open and dropped into the lounge chair and waited for his owl to come back.

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Taylor's POV

I was just starting to drift off when I heard tapping on one of the windows. Looking around the room, I realized I was the only here. The others were at a Hufflepuff party, leaving me and a few others who really didn't want to go in the Gryffindor common room. I'd already spend about an hour talking with Neville about Herbology, but I was starting to get a little tired. So, I grabbed the book I'd borrowed from Heromine and headed upstairs to read until I fell asleep.

I was almost asleep when the pecking began. Throwing the light blanket off, I got out of bed and went over to the window and opened it. I nearly screamed when a pitch black owl flew into the room and landed on the closest bed post. Once my breathing returned to normal, I walked over and gave to bird a once over. It didn't look like any bird I'd seen before. It definitely wasn't Ellie's or Bobby's and it wasn't our family owl. Realizing there was a note attached to it's leg, I carefully untied it and gave the feathers on top of his head a pat. Without waiting for a reply, the owl hooted and flew back out of the window.

"Hmm." I mused and went back over to my bed. Dropping down, I untied the lovely green ribbon and opened the letter. As I read, I couldn't help but gape at the letter. "Oh my god." I kept saying under my breath and by this point Apollo had wriggled his way out from under the blankets to give me a bad look. "He's asking me out!" I said louder, looking at Apollo as if he would answer me. He only cocked his head to the side and continued to look at me. "What do I say?" I asked, getting only a blink in reply.

"Ugh!" I groaned and flopped onto the bed. Folding the letter, I put it under my pillow and decided sleep was my only logical option if I didn't want to stay up all night just because of a letter.

A/N: Sorry for not updating for a few days. Snow days and such. I got distracted by the rare thing called snow in North Carolina. Don't forget to review and let me know what you think!