Disclaimer: If I one day directed/created the screenplay for the remake of Harry Potter would I technically own Harry Potter? Wait no I still wouldn't...shit. Well, no I don't own Harry Potter.
I was not looking forward to going to the Great Hall for breakfast this morning.
I knew that the Slytherins would be gloating like no tomorrow, and it's not as if they didn't do any of that last night.
They won one game and all of a sudden they think they're the best team in existence. Well, they've always that thought that but still...
And they only won because they cheated and Snape was a referee.
If Madame Hooch was there Gryffindor would've won – no doubt.
To make matters worse, I used all of my Bruise-Removal Paste after the last game we had, so now the round shiner on my eye (courtesy of Marcus Flint) would have to stay until Fred and George owled more to Ron on my behalf.
Makeup could only do so much.
"You ready for breakfast?" Hermione asked once I exited the bathroom, looking sullen because I still could barely cover the purple mark around my eye.
"Do I have a choice?" I mumbled, slipping on a cardigan. "I have to face them sooner or later – and I'm no coward."
Hermione pat me on the back, "It's alright Christina, I'm sure they forgot all about it."
No – they certainly did not forget all about it.
Once Harry, Hermione, Ron, and I entered the Great Hall, the Slytherin table jeered loudly and broke out in a fresh chorus of 'Weasley Is Our King'.
Ron flushed red with embarrassment, and I grabbed onto his sleeve and led him to the Gryffindor table.
"Just ignore them," I muttered, plopping myself down and scooping myself a healthy portion of eggs and toast.
"We can ignore them all we want, but they still won't stop," Harry groaned from beside me. "I felt the snitch on my fingertips...if only I closed my hand sooner," he murmured, shaking his head.
"It's not your fault," I told him. "Harry, please don't think that."
"She's right mate, it's not your fault," Ron agreed, but then his expression fell. "It's mine."
I sighed, "Ron, it isn't your fault either."
"But it is, Christina. I let them get to me – the Slytherins. If I only blocked out that bloody song and focused on the game...I would've been able to stop the Slytherins from scoring," Ron complained, looking very disappointed with himself.
"Boys!" I nearly shouted, looking at them emphatically. "We all played a good game, trust me. The Slytherin's cheating and Snape being referee was just rotten luck. It's only the first game of the season; we still have all year to kick their arse."
"I'm sorry – whose arse will you be kicking?" We heard Flint sneering from the Slytherin table, apparently eavesdropping on our conversation. "Because, if I remember correctly, we gave your arse a good kicking last night." The Slytherin table erupted with more cheers and jeers.
"Control your egos, we all know Gryffindor is the better team," Hermione said indignantly from beside me.
The Slytherin table immediately silenced and looked at Hermione coldly.
"Watch who you're talking to, mudblood," Flint said angrily.
"Aye! Take that back!" Ron shouted, his body tense.
"Or what, Weasel? You can barely block a hoop, what could you possibly do to me?" Flint scoffed, and the Slytherin table burst with loud laughter.
Ron's eyes darkened, and I knew there would be a fight if this didn't stop.
"Okay, so you won one game, Flint. And if I recall...so did we. And we won ours fair and square. You can celebrate now all you want, but we all know who's going to get the Quidditch Cup in the end," I said, glaring at the whole table before looking back at Flint. "Now kindly bugger off."
"Nice eye you got there, Christina," Flint sneered, ignoring my statements. "Wonder how you got it?"
"Funny story – some oaf elbowed in the face! What a prat, right? He's just very aggressive, I think it's a way to cope with his lack of being well-endowed," I shrugged nonchalantly.
Flint's eyes darkened so much that I thought they turned black. He shot up from his bench, knocking over a couple of glasses and plates in the process. His wand was in his hand and that was when I knew there would be trouble.
But I wasn't going to sit here without defending myself. I pulled out my own wand and stood up quickly, meeting him in the middle of the aisle.
"I suggest you take that back, Miro, before things get messy," Flint said coldly.
I rubbed my chin thoughtfully, "You know, I could. But...I don't think I will. Can't help the truth, Flint."
By this time some Slytherins gathered around Flint, and Hermione, Harry, and Ron stood behind me.
"Christina, you need to stand down before the teachers come over here. Do you want more detention?" Hermione whispered frantically into my ear.
Ron and Harry, on the other hand, drew their wands out as well, ready to step into action at any movement Flint made.
Draco was with Flint too, and he had his own wand out as well. "You've got quite the mouth there, Miro," Draco said quietly, subtle amusement in his tone.
It was a slight change, though, because before we started whatever we had, he would've been solely annoyed or insulted, and now he was slightly amused.
I decided to play along. "So I've been told," I smirked, looking Draco squarely in the eyes.
"Maybe you need to be taught a lesson," Draco replied, and only I could see the twinkle of pleasure hidden in his eyes.
Flint looked like he agreed, but that was because he thought Draco was talking about a whole other type of lesson.
"Or maybe not," I said simply, still looking at Draco. By now, any anger I had towards Flint had morphed into attraction to Draco. I could get Flint back anytime – I still needed to plan with Ginny, anyway. Though it was difficult, I managed to tear my gaze away from Draco's eyes and look at Flint. "I'm not stupid enough to duel with you in the Great Hall, you tosser," I put my wand arm down and glared at Flint with annoyance. "Let me know if you want to settle this the fair way. Until then, so long."
I gave him one last glance before walking forward, pushing passed him.
As I went by Draco, he grabbed my arm inconspicuously and whispered into my ear, "Meet me at the kitchens tonight, after curfew."
I nodded unnoticeably and continued to walk until I exited the Great Hall, with Harry, Ron, and Hermione following me.
"Are you alright, Christina?" Harry asked, walking next to me.
"Mhm," I nodded, shrugging my shoulders.
"You shouldn't have drawn your wand in the Great Hall, Christina," Hermione admonished. "You could've gotten into a lot of trouble!"
"I wasn't seriously going to duel him, Herms," I explained, sighing. "But he drew his wand, and I wasn't going to sit there defenseless."
Hermione opened her mouth to say something again, but Ron cut in this time.
"Nothing happened, Hermione. Don't get so worked up," he said. Hermione had a tendency to overreact at times – it was a fact.
Hermione crossed her arms over her chest indignantly, but stayed silent.
"So, what is there to do on this fine Sunday?" I asked, trying to think of ideas.
"You know who we haven't visited lately?" Harry questioned, and Ron, Hermione, and I turned to him curiously.
"There could be a number of answers to that question – so who?" I replied.
Harry paused for a moment before looking at us with amusement, "Fancy a trip to Hagrid's Hut?"
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I traveled down the green hills until we reached Hagrid's Hut. I noticed that Hagrid wasn't outside tending to his pumpkins or playing his flute like he usually was. It was slightly odd. I looked to my side and I saw that my friends seemed to be thinking the same thing.
"You think he's alright?" I wondered, walking up to the large door.
"I hope," Harry murmured before knocking firmly a couple of times. "Hagrid it's us – are you here?"
We heard some slight noise coming from the inside of the hut, and seconds later the door slowly opened.
Hagrid peeked out of the small crack and looked down at us.
"Hi Hagrid – are you okay?" Hermione greeted cautiously, trying to gauge his mood.
"Hello all of yeh. Now aint really the best time for yeh lot ter be here...I'm not feelin' ter good..." Hagrid started to close the door, but Harry held out his hand.
"Hagrid, tell us what's wrong," Harry said with concern.
"Can we come in?" Ron asked as well, and Hagrid seemed to be contemplating.
"O' – alright," Hagrid gave in and opened the door fully, allowing us to enter the hut.
It was just how I remembered it - only one room, with hams and pheasants hanging from the ceiling; their aromas wafting through the small hut. A decent sized fireplace decorated the east side of the hut, and I could see a copper kettle in it, boiling water. In the opposite corner stood a massive bed, and on it was a patchwork quilt, very colorful yet shabby.
"Do yeh want tea?" Hagrid asked, walking over to the fireplace which held the copper kettle, now whistling.
We all agreed quietly, so Hagrid pulled out five small mugs went about making the tea.
Hagrid definitely wasn't acting like himself – he seemed out of it and down. I hadn't seen him this way since Umbridge had been around last year.
As Hagrid handed us our mugs, his hands were shaking, causing the glasses to bang together repeatedly. He sat down with his own mug on the large armchair next to the fireplace, and everyone was silent for a few moments.
"Christina - what happened teh yer eye?" Hagrid asked abruptly, apparently just noticing my black eye.
"Quidditch," I replied, "Marcus Flint elbowed me."
"He did what?" Hagrid questioned. "That nasty boy...are yeh okay?"
I waved an arm, "Yeah I'm fine."
"I didn't catch the game yesterday, did yeh win?" Hagrid asked.
I bit my lip sharply and looked to Harry and Ron.
"No, we lost," Harry mumbled, looking sullen.
Hagrid nodded slightly.
But that was another thing I noticed was off - Hagrid never missed a Quiddtich game, especially when we were playing.
The hut was filled with silence again, and we each waited for someone to talk.
"Hagrid – would you like to talk about what's wrong?" Hermione asked eventually, taking a sip of her tea.
Hagrid sighed quietly, and closed his eyes. "Yeh lot haven't taken Care of Magical Creatures this year."
I immediately felt a pang of guilt at the hurt in his voice.
"I'm sorry, Hagrid. I..." I started, but fumbled with my words.
"We're taking all N.E.W.T level course this year," Harry explained. "Ron, Christina, and I want to become Aurors...and Hermione wants to work in the Ministry."
"We wouldn't have had time to take your class – even with a Time-Turner, right Hermione?" Ron added.
Hermione nodded, "The entire stock of Time-Turners at the Ministry of Magic was destroyed during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries last year," she informed. "But even without it, we're just taking too many classes."
Hagrid nodded his head stiffly, but I could still see his unease.
"Hagrid," I began, looking at him carefully. "That's not the only thing you're upset about, is it?"
This time, Hagrid let out a low sob and we all immediately straightened.
"Hagrid, what is it?" Harry asked.
"Aragog got sick over the summer...he's dyin'!" Hagrid cried quietly, his tears gathering at the top of his bushy beard.
"That thing?" Ron shouted incredulously. "You're worried about that thing?"
Hagrid cried louder, and Hermione elbowed him in the side while Harry gave him a sharp look.
"Well sorry – but if you don't remember Harry, that thing tried to kill us in second year! Forgive me for not being heartbroken," Ron mumbled, holding his side.
"Do you know what he has?" I asked. "Or if there's any way to help him?"
I had no ill will towards Aragog, but I could understand where Ron was coming from. He had a massive phobia of spiders...and he was right, Aragog did try to kill him and Harry.
But Hagrid was really broken up about this, so right now we just needed to give him support.
"Nothin' is workin'," Hagrid groaned pitifully. "I tried feedin' him giant grubs, but he just aint gettin' any better."
"It'll be okay, Hagrid," Hermione consoled. "Whatever happens, we'll be with you."
Hagrid smiled slightly through the tears. "Thanks Hermione...and the rest of yeh. Yeh lot have always been there for me...thank yeh."
"Just let us know if anything changes in his condition...have you visited him lately?" Harry asked.
"I went a couple days ago...he's gettin' weak, Aragog. And his children are gettin' hungry. He aint got a lot of time left," Hagrid answered, sadness in his tone.
Ron nearly dropped his mug of tea, "So you're saying that his children would...would eat him?" Ron's voice turned shrill as he turned to Harry. "Spiders, mate. They're evil!"
"How would you stop that from happening, Hagrid?" Hermione questioned.
"I dunno, Hermione," Hagrid shrugged dejectedly. "I want teh give Aragog a proper burial...so I got teh get his body outta there."
"We'll come and help you, Hagrid," Harry said determinedly.
"Yeh will do no such thing!" Hagrid said sternly. "Yeh think I want yeh lot in the Forest? The acromantulas are gettin' aggressive and desperate," Hagrid then leaned in towards us conspiratorially. "And with You-Know-Who risin' to power again? I wouldn't let yeh lot out there...especially yeh, Harry."
"But you'll get hurt too, Hagrid!" I protested. "If Aragog isn't there to keep his children from harming you, you'll be grossly out numbered."
"I appreciate yer concern, Christina. Yeh know I do. But I know acromantula behavior, and I'll be careful. I'll be fine," Hagrid replied, patting my shoulder gently.
We all were silent once more, before Hagrid sat up, wiping away the rest of his tears.
"Okay, enough of this gloom. It's nice to see all of yeh, I was wonderin' when yeh would come visit me," Hagrid turned to Harry. "Harry, how was yer summer with the Dursleys?"
Harry chuckled darkly, "Same as always," he replied, shrugging. "It's good to be back at Hogwarts."
"And Hermione, how are yer parents?" Hagrid asked.
"Very well, thank you," Hermione answered.
"Ron – how's the family?"
"Fred and George are busy with the shop, you know, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. And mum and dad are both fine," Ron said.
Hagrid finally turned to me, "And Christina...how are the Miros?" He spoke the name with animosity, and I couldn't blame him. Everyone knew that the name 'Miro' was associated with Voldemort and Death Eaters.
"It's the same," I said, my shoulders slumping. "Not so good."
Hagrid grew concerned, "Are yeh safe, Christina? Did anythin' happen?"
I momentarily contemplated my answer. "No – I'm okay," I finally replied, lying.
Why should I worry Hagrid when he had enough to worry about?
It was 9:13pm, precisely thirteen minutes after curfew.
Hermione and Ron had left five minutes ago, going to do their prefect duties.
The common room was rather empty, since all the students were going to bed early for classes the next morning. Harry, Ginny, and I were the only ones still there, just talking.
Once Harry started to doze off, he gave us a farewell and retreated to his dorm, leaving just Ginny and I.
Now I just needed to find a way to leave – I had to meet Draco at the kitchens. I would constantly look from Ginny to the door, even while she was talking, trying to think of a solution.
"Somewhere you need to be?" I heard Ginny ask in amusement a couple seconds later.
Apparently she caught on.
I sighed, deciding to just tell her. I mean, she sort of knew anyway.
"I have to meet Draco in the kitchens now," I said quietly.
Ginny immediately smirked, "Oh really?" she questioned. "How are things going with that, by the way?"
I blushed red, for some reason, and quickly turned my head. "Fine," I mumbled.
"You're having fun?" Ginny asked.
"Lots," I chuckled, grinning slightly.
"So, how long do you think this is gonna last?"
I shrugged, "I honestly don't know...everything is going so well. Though he drives me crazy sometimes – scratch that – all the time."
Ginny raised an eyebrow and gazed at me carefully, "Christina," she began, seriously, "You don't...fancy him, do you?"
My expression fell, "W-what gives you that impression?"
Ginny bit her lip, "I don't know. I just see...never mind," She shook her head. "Just remember Christina – it's alright to have fun with him, but you can't fall in love with him."
I could feel the color draining from my face, "I know that," I said quietly. "It's impossible."
Is it? Is it impossible?
"Good," Ginny seemed relieved by my answer. "Well then, go meet Malfoy and have your fun. I'll see you later. And don't get caught!"
"I'll do my best," I chuckled, but I was still uneasy about our previous comments.
Peering out of the common room entrance, I looked both ways to see if any prefects were coming.
Seeing none, I slipped myself out of the portrait and headed towards the staircase leading to the Hufflepuff basement, where the kitchens were.
Luckily I didn't have to travel a great distance, so I quickly found myself descending the stairs. The painting that lead to the kitchens came up on my right. It was a bowl of fruit, and one such fruit was a pear. I tickled it slightly and it began to squirm and laugh. Moments later it transformed into a green door-knob, and I was able to open the entrance.
The kitchen was a gigantic, high-ceilinged room with four tables identical to the ones in the Great Hall, and they were also in the exact same position. There were large amounts of pots and pans piled around the stone walls on counter-tops and stoves, and a large brick fireplace decorated the other end of the hall away from the door.
My eyes finally fell upon the table closest to the wall, and I spotted Draco sitting there, carefully gazing at me.
"I was wondering when you would show up," he said quietly, getting up from the bench slowly.
"Worried I wouldn't come?" I teased as he got closer.
A small smirk graced his face when he finally reached me. "No, you'll always come."
It was more of a promise than a statement, and my stomach clenched tightly.
I raised my lips up to kiss him, but Draco slipped away quickly and headed for the food storage, leaving me frustrated and confused.
"Are you hungry?" he asked, scanning the food selection.
"A bit. Are you?" I replied, looking at him curiously.
Draco shrugged nonchalantly, "Not so much for food," he said simply, still searching the food.
My insides fluttered, and I bit down on my lip.
How can he say things like that and keep so calm?
"We can have a bit of dessert, if you'd like?" Draco finally turned to look at me, his icy eyes practically penetrating through my soul.
I could only nod, not trusting my voice to speak.
Draco nodded as well, and pulled out some chocolate pudding. "Can you get two spoons?"
I nodded again and went to fetch the utensils. When I turned back around, I saw that Draco already brought the pudding to the table and was sitting down, waiting for me.
Walking over to the table, I took a seat next to Draco and handed him his spoon.
Draco Malfoy and I were sharing chocolate pudding – what a crazy world.
"Romantic enough for you?" Draco murmured, scooping out a spoonful of the pudding.
I grinned cheekily, "Oh – definitely," I said, nodding. "It's actually making me slightly suspicious. Did you poison the pudding before I got here?" I accused teasingly.
Draco raised his eyebrows. "I only wish I thought of that sooner," he said, and laughed when I hit his arm. "Fine then, I'll just have to eat a bite first to prove that, no, I did not sabotage a good pudding."
Draco lifted the spoonful of chocolate pudding to his lips and I nearly internally combusted when his tongue peeked out and practically caressed the spoon, before dipping it slowly into his mouth.
"That looks good," I whispered, not even knowing myself if I was talking about the pudding or what Draco was doing.
Draco smirked with amusement. "Then maybe you should taste it."
I was just about to grab my spoon when I saw Draco's face moving closer to mine, and I got his real meaning.
When Draco's lips touched against my own, the first thing I tasted was the chocolate pudding.
And it was good.
The next thing that hit me was Draco's familiar mint, and I smiled into the kiss unconsciously.
When Draco pulled away I was still smiling, and he looked at me curiously.
"How is your eye?" he asked, and for a moment I was confused.
My eye? What – OH.
I instinctively raised my hand to cover my black eye from Draco's view. I completely forgot about it before coming here.
Draco rolled his eyes and scoffed, latching onto my wrist. "Why are you covering it up now? I just saw it."
"I know...but still..." I trailed off pathetically. "It's embarrassing."
"Well, what do you want me to say to quell your worries?" Draco asked patiently, completely amused.
I narrowed my one good eye at him, "I don't need you to say anything," I stated stubbornly.
Draco chuckled, "Perhaps...purple is a good color on you?"
I hit him again with the hand not covering my eye. "You're a git, you know that?"
"I know. I have a reputation to maintain and all," Draco said sarcastically. "And you still haven't answered my question. How's your eye feeling?"
I shrugged, "It's sore...tender. And I have bloody Flint to thank for that. Seriously, can you 'accidently' punch him in the face or something?"
Draco laughed loudly, "That would be disloyal to my House, but I'll see what I can do."
"Thank you," I said, eating a spoonful of pudding. "But hey - what was that song about at the Quidditch game? You know that was uncalled for."
Draco shrugged, "I'm still not sure how Weasel managed to make it onto the team. Are you just letting people walk on now?"
I hit his shoulder sharply, "Stop. Gryffindor has a great team this year."
"I'm sure. But I do admit, you're rather good. But to answer your question, we made the song to rattle Weasel. It must've worked since we won...oh wait, that was because I caught the snitch," Draco said smugly.
I rolled my eyes, "You must be so proud," I said sarcastically, but then tilted my head. "But good job to you. It's rather difficult to be better Harry."
"Better than Harry? Better than 'The Chosen Captain', 'The Boy Who Scored' or whatever they're calling him these days," Draco sighed with annoyance.
I shook my head and unconsciously reached up to itch my eye. A wave of pain shot through my head, and I clutched my eye in pain, pouting slightly.
"Would you like me to put ice on it?" Draco asked, and I raised an eyebrow.
"My eye?" I questioned stupidly.
Draco tilted his head to the side. "Well yes, I thought that would've been obvious. Unless, there's another part of your body you need me to-"
"No, no ice," I muttered, shaking my head.
"I think it'll help," Draco insisted, and moments later I heard him say, "Accio ice."
Seconds later some type of icepack was in Draco's grasp, and he was pulling my hand away from my eye. He glanced at the bruise for a second or two, before brushing his thumb against it. I fought to keep from flinching.
"It's not too bad," Draco observed. "I'm surprised you haven't gotten rid of it by magical means."
"Wow, why would I do that? I just love having a discolored eye socket, it's sexy, don't you think?" I began sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "I'm out my Bruise-Removal Paste, you idiot."
"Hey, don't be hostile to the help," Draco murmured, holding up the ice. "Now, turn around and lie back across the bench, and put your head on my lap."
I glanced at him for a few moments before following his instructions. I swiveled my body so that I was facing away from Draco, and in a quick movement, I leaned back and placed my head down onto his legs, draping my arms across my stomach.
Looking up at Draco, I noticed he was already staring down at me when an unreadable expression on his face.
"What are you thinking about?" I asked.
"I don't know. Why?" Draco responded softly.
"Your face...it's weird."
Draco raised an eyebrow, "At least there's no discoloration."
I sighed explosively and tried to sit up, "See – I know this was going to be a bad-"
Draco gently pushed my shoulders back down and chuckled. "Stop moving," instructed, and then placed the ice against my eye. "You're the one who insulted me."
"I just meant that I didn't recognize the expression you had on," I muttered petulantly.
"Ah – I see," Draco said, nodding.
I looked up at him with my good eye, "So, are you going to tell me?"
Draco pursed his lips in contemplation. "No."
I tried to sit up again, but Draco held me against his lap.
"Stop moving," he repeated.
"Then tell me."
"I'm not going to tell you."
"Why not?"
"Because."
"Because...?"
"Because I don't want to," Draco said in a tone signaling the end of that topic of discussion.
"You're a-"
"Git? Yeah, so I've been told," Draco smirked.
We sat there in silence for a few minutes, and I faintly mused at how comfortable Draco's lap was. Turning my head to the side slightly, I inhaled his familiar scent as I closed my eyes. I reached one of my arms up above my head, and took a hold of Draco's free hand.
Draco flinched at first, but I inwardly smiled when I felt his fingers interlock with mine, grasping tightly. I let my mind drift, telling myself I would only relax for a couple minutes.
Well, it seemed like a couple of minutes later when I felt someone gently nudging my shoulder.
"Christina," Draco whispered into my ear.
I groaned and tried to turn onto my side, trying to stay in my sleep state.
I heard Draco laugh, "Christina – wake up. We have to go."
"No," I moaned, keeping my eyes closed.
"Christina, come on," Draco began to lift me off of his lap, and I finally opened my eyes.
"What time is it?" I questioned sleepily.
"1am."
I shot up off the bench quickly. "I slept for four hours?"
"Just about," Draco replied. "I dozed off too and woke up now."
"Merlin, we have to get to our common rooms," I said.
Hermione would definitely be back now and wondering where I was.
Draco put the ice and chocolate pudding away, and met me at the kitchen exit.
"Are we going to split up?" I asked.
Draco shook his head, "I'll walk you to your common room."
"But that's going out of your way," I replied.
Draco shrugged indifferently, "It's fine."
I smiled slightly and exited the kitchen, with Draco behind me. We walked quickly and quietly, keeping an eye out for any signs of trouble, and we finally managed to make it to the Gryffindor common room.
"Thank you for the chocolate pudding and for putting ice on my eye, Draco," I smiled at him.
"It was my pleasure...but one more thing..." Draco trailed off, and drew out his wand.
I immediately tensed up as he pointed it at my face, waiting for him to curse me or something. His face twisted in concentration, and moments later orange spurts of light came out of the tip of his wand, and a tingling feeling washed over my skin.
"There," Draco said, putting his wand away. "Good as new."
I instinctively put a hand to my eye and was surprised when I felt no pain. "You fixed my eye?"
Draco nodded.
"How?" I asked.
"My secret," Draco smirked, and leaned his face in close to mine. "Goodnight, Christina," He gave me a chaste kiss on the mouth, but pulled away when I tried to deepen it. "Ah, ah, we have classes tomorrow, and if we start that, I don't think we'll get much sleep."
I grinned widely and nodded my head in agreement. "Until tomorrow, then. Goodnight, Draco," I said quietly.
Draco gave me one last smirk before walking off down the hall. I turned to give the password to the Fat Lady when I heard Draco's voice again.
"And, Christina?"
I turned back and looked at him expectantly.
"Bruised or not, you're still beautiful...for a Gryffindor."
I had to put a hand in front of my mouth to stop myself from laughing.
And as Draco strolled off down the hall, a realization dawned on me.
I could.
I really could fall in love with him.
A/N: LONGEST CHAPTER YET! Hope you enjoyed. And now for shoutouts...
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