Draco may have complained, but he was still very supportive. He made sure I had everything I need, even going so far as to buy me a special silver spoon for that part of the potion.
We even went on a special trip together to Diagon Alley, chaperoned by Grandmama of course, to buy a few other specialty potion ingredients I needed.
Draco refused to let me pay for anything and even carried the packages for me and my grandmother.
Grandmama thought he was quite the gentleman for doing so. Of course she would. That woman seemed to have every intentions of buying out the entire inventory of several shops while we were here. Gifts for everyone. Some silly muggle thing for my father. The shop keep called it a hand mixer. It did not look like it would be good for mixing hands at all… not that I really wanted to. And yarn for mum and something for each of my brothers and Ginny.
Even new pair of gloves for Charlie in Romania.
I couldn't say I disagreed with her about him being a gentleman. Draco was immensely charming when he wanted to be.
I could not have been happier. I was so worried that when we started dating I would lose my best friend, but instead I got a two for one deal. He was an amazing boyfriend, and still the best friend I could ever have.
Finding a place to collect dew that had not been touched by sunlight or human feet for seven days was the worst.
I looked under the Quidditch stands finding plenty of places untouched by sunlight but trampled by the feet of couples looking for a place to get some privacy.
I searched the Forbidden Forest and found plenty of places untouched by human feet but touched by plenty of sunlight. Hagrid positively refused to allow me to go any deeper. He said the Ministry had riled up the centaurs and it wasn't safe for even a "foal" to go in amongst them at the moment.
It taken me three weeks of trying, and I was ready to give up in frustration and grow my own patch of grass and stick it on a balcony somewhere high up in the castle.
When I finally explained my frustration to him, Draco finally asked why I didn't just collect the dew and then store it away in the spoon to protect it for the seven days.
I had just stared at him in shock when he suggested this.
"Sometimes the most obvious answer is the answer, Alya." He had laughed at my look of gratitude mixed with annoyance mixed with the desire to snog my boyfriend senseless.
After careful research and a consultation with Professor McGonagall, in French as instructed (this French obsession of hers was getting down right odd) I decided that was exactly how to handle it.
I prayed and prayed the full moon would be nice and clear. I did not have the heart to tell Draco if it was cloudy I would have to start the month over. I was certain his reaction would be less than understanding.
I was in luck, the next full moon rose high and clear. I was finally able to spit that blasted mandrake leaf into the moon touched vial and add the dew I had collected.
I looked over the instructions one last time:
Brewing
· Place the now-soaked Mandrake leaf in a small crystal phial where it is struck directly by the light given off by the moon (if the night is cloudy or the moon is otherwise obscured, the entire Mandrake Leaf process will need to be repeated).
· Add one strand of hair to the phial.
· Add a teaspoon of dew to the phial.
· Add one Death's-head Hawk Moth chrysalis to the phial and place the mixture in a dark, undisturbed place until the next lightning storm.
Satisfied that I understood I pulled a strand of my hair and got to work.
When I finally mixed the potion just right I added the chrysalis of a death's head moth at the very end and put a stopper in it. Laying it carefully in the case I had purchased I pointed my wand at my heart and chanted "Amato Animo Animato Animagus". Something I would be doing every sunrise and sundown until there was a lightning storm.
When I was finished I noticed Draco watching me. I brushed my hands together and smiled at him. I was exhausted but it was worth it.
We left the potion room and started back towards the dungeons when he suddenly stopped me with a hand on my arm. When I looked up at him my heart did a double beat in my chest. His eyes were always so soft when he looked at me.
He smiled back "Close your eyes, Alya."
I love his surprises they are usually the best, but this one had me perplexed. I heard him murmur an incantation and then my mouth was filled with the taste of cinnamon and apples.
I opened my eyes and frowned at him, puzzled "Draco what was….mmmphh…"
I stopped as his lips crashed down on mine. Oh this was a good surprised. I smiled against him as I wound my arms about his neck.
He had clearly decided we had an awful lot of time to make up for. He pulled me into the nearest broom closet and barred the door, grinning down at me in a very wolfish manner before pulling me back in for another kiss that caused my brain to malfunction.
Afterwards I grinned up at him "Worth the wait?" I asked just a little bit tauntingly. It was his fault I wanted to tease him. Nearly daily he tested my resolve not to do any kissing until the month was over.
"Why?" he asked me suspiciously, clearly not liking the teasing tone of my voice. I handed him my brewing instructions.
"You mean we could have had to start this over from the beginning if the moon had been clouded over?!" he sounded horrified and shocked and relieved and just a teensy bit nauseated.
I wasn't really sure how someone managed to sound nauseated but he did it!
I nodded with a giggle.
"That is not funny you she-Weasel. Not funny at all!" He had stopped calling me "Weasley" after I made the brother comparison. It was almost three hours after I said that before he tried to convince me to kiss him again.
"Oh come on Draco, it is a little funny." I said, reaching out to tickle his sides.
He grabbed my roaming hands and pulled them around his waist kissing me once again until I stopped trying to tickle him.
I like his distractions a lot better than Professor Moriarty's but I doubt the real Sherlock Holmes would have enjoyed them as much as I did. Moriarty was not described as being very attractive!
When Draco lightly bit my lower lip I stopped thinking about evil villains.
It took a great deal of snogging to convince him that now that we did not have to worry about it that it was just a little funny.
