Draco had never felt giddy before. Giddiness was for little blonde schoolgirls with frilly pink skirts and pigtails. But he felt giddy as he made his way back to the Slytherin dormitory very early that Sunday morning. He allowed himself to live in the moment he had just experienced, his head spinning with lightheadedness and his body weightless with relief. He felt unstoppable. She hadn't said no. She had given him a chance. Some would have thought this detail insignificant, but to Draco, it was everything.

He didn't stop smiling the entirety of his trek through the cold musty dungeons.

He spotted her the minute he stepped into the nearly-deserted Slytherin common room. Daphne was sitting in her favorite lounger in the far corner of the room, obviously waiting for his return. Her lips stretched into a knowing smirk and she sat forward in anticipation when he entered. Though he figured the smile fixed to his own face revealed nearly everything she wanted to know, he still engaged in the pleasantries of polite conversation, or, rather, the asking of questions he already knew the answer to.

"Have you been waiting for me all evening?" he asked curiously.

"Well, I did go to dinner" she replied innocently. He shook his head, still smiling.

"You're a real piece of work, you know that, Greengrass?"

"Please," she scoffed in a bored tone. "Tell me something I don't know."

He made his way over to sit with her, slinging his school bag down next to the chair right across from her. She gave him a smug look. "Well, I wasn't originally going to rub it in, but I've changed my mind. THIS piece of work was totally right, so ha!" Even if he could have stopped smiling, he wouldn't have. She had every reason to gloat and he had never been so immensely happy to be wrong. But Daphne dropped the self-righteous act almost instantly, evidently overcome with a hunger to hear the details of what had gone down.

"You have to tell me everything."

Draco dreamily recounted the events that had taken place not twenty minutes prior. When he finished, he was smiling even wider than before. Simply recounting her fingers pressed against his heart and the gentle sensation of her lips on his made him soar all the higher. Daphne sat on the edge of her seat with a gleam in her eye.

"That is so wonderful Draco. Truly." She reached a hand over to rest supportively on his.

"I'm not sure I'll ever be able to wrap my mind around this," he admitted with a uncomplaining sigh. "I feel free Daphne. These past few years I've felt so trapped and now I have a chance to be who I want to be and love who I want to love… It's all so overwhelming and invigorating at the same time."

In an instant, the happiness disappeared, his features shadowing as a dark though crossed his mind.

"What if I screw this up?"

Her face twisted with frustrated disapproval as she retracted her hand. "Merlin, Draco, can't you just be happy for one second? You've just been given a huge opportunity here with someone you didn't think would give you the time of day-"

"I know," he cut her off. "That's what I'm worried about. What if she suddenly decides I'm not worth her time anymore?"

"Well obviously you can't force her to love you. But honestly Draco, I don't think you need to. The way you talk about her and the look in you get in your eyes tells me that you really feel for her.

"Look, she asked you to convince her, right? Well, you've already got me persuaded, and I don't think for a second that she won't be convinced if you just continue to show her what's in your heart. Don't waste your time worrying about the things you have no control over. You focus on what you can do and how you can do it in the best way possible. If it's meant to be, it'll happen."

Draco stared off to the side, soothed yet again by her words. He hated when she made so much sense, though by now he knew he should really expect it from her. After several quiet moments of thought he spoke again with the most sincerity he could muster.

"What would I do without you, Daphne? Thank you. Truly." He knew that he had just fallen grossly short of conveying how truly grateful he was to have her, but an understanding he couldn't explain seemed to pass between them nonetheless.

"You're welcome," she said gently. One of the most genuine smiles he'd ever seen formed on her face. After a long moment of silence, it twisted when she unabashedly remarked, "But I really did tell you so." His smile dropped long enough for him to shoot the most unconvincing of sneers in her direction before immediately reforming as if permanently affixed to his face.

He headed back to his room for the evening and plopped down on his bed, his mind still racing with excitement. She hadn't said no. She'd said maybe. And that was better than anything he could have asked for.

Draco didn't fall asleep quickly that evening but even after he did, the grin was still persisting upon his face when he woke the next morning.

Indeed, it didn't seem inclined to leave him at all. He caught himself grinning stupidly on numerous occasions throughout the week following, not that he was complaining, for he felt the happiest he'd been for a very long time. At one point, he wondered if his face might not become stuck with it forever, but excused the thought with the realization that it certainly wouldn't be the worst thing to happen.

School seemed determined to ruin his new-found happiness one assignment at a time. He wondered why every teacher thought it necessary to pile on so much work before the end of the school year. He supposed that his professors were trying to cram every ounce of knowledge possible into their brains before the end of the years tests, but he wished they could lay off even just slightly. Obviously the exams weren't called nastily exhausting for no reason. Why not give them a little bit of a break?

He had also realized very suddenly, one morning at breakfast, that in just under five months he'd be saying goodbye to the castle's familiar stone walls. He was torn on the matter. Part of him was quite ready to get on with his life. He had already dedicated seven long years before the school decided to tax him an additional year beyond what was usual. Yet as much as he was ready to leave, he knew he would miss the castle and its many charms. Hogwarts had given him plenty of memories both good and bad, but the vast majority were positive.

He would miss his dormitory and the few people in it he still knew and liked. He would miss attending and playing in quidditch matches, though he hadn't done the latter since sixth year. He would miss his little spot next to the lake and school trips to Hogsmeade. The more he looked back on his time, the more upset he became. It saddened him to think of all the years he'd spent in the company of his old gang and how much time he'd wasted as a consequence. He'd spent far too much time worrying about other people, Potter being the most obvious example that came to mind, and hadn't spent enough time just enjoying his time for all it was worth. It was far too late by now.

When he imagined the dark halls of Malfoy Manor he would sadly wish that he could come back for another year. His future's uncertainty was a touchy subject which he tried as much as possible not to think on. He'd never felt a strong pull in any particular direction. As a child, he'd often dreamed of becoming a professional quidditch player, but in recent years the appeal had worn off. Daydreaming had been a luxury he couldn't afford. Since then, nothing had particularly caught his fancy. So even if he managed to pull top marks on his N.E.W.T.s, he didn't have any particular profession he wanted to use them in.

Most of his stream of consciousness, when undistracted by school work, was taken up by thoughts of Hermione. He wondered what their relationship- could one even call it a relationship?- would look like five months down the road. Hermione Granger wasn't the type to be ill-prepared for anything. He expected that she knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life once she left. Was it even possible for him to become a part of whatever plans she had? He was far more inclined to think not, but refused to let the depressing idea get the better of him.

He hated the feeling of uncertainty, and so would do his best to keep the worrisome thoughts out of his immediate train of thought. Trying to do as Daphne had told him, he put his mind instead to thinking on the things he could do before the end of the year to boost his chances of somehow becoming a part of Hermione's future.

Because the only thing that scared him more than the uncertainly of his life going forwards was that she wouldn't be a part of it.