Hogwarts 1996

Every sound in the Great Hall felt amplified until Draco wanted to disappear. Cutlery scraped against porcelain dinner plates, glass cups clinked against each other and the wooden tables, and his classmates' low whispers buzzed in his ears. Overhead lighting reflected off the gold platter in front of him, the glare blinding him.

Draco hunched over his dinner, using his fork to poke the food around his plate while he counted the seconds until he could leave without arousing suspicion. His appetite had been gone for days, but if he missed another dinner, he would draw unwanted attention to his whereabouts. Umbridge's critical stare surveyed the great hall from her position at the head table; she was dressed head to toe in her signature pink with a smile on her lips that was more of a threat than any frown would have been.

To Draco's left, Theo was making his rounds asking others for help on his star chart for Astronomy. On Draco's right, Pansy was waving her wand and showing Astoria a charm that made her cat dance with a rhythmic wiggle of its tail to a silent tune. He looked farther down the table and briefly made eye contact with a pair of Slytherin girls who were watching him and giggling to themselves. He looked away.

If only Granger were so easy to read.

His gaze drifted over to the Gryffindor table, seeking her out. It was dangerous how often he searched for her in the corridors, in class, at meals, but he couldn't help himself. To no one's surprise, she was seated between Potter and Weasley. Potter was busy sulking into his meal and staring up at Dumbledore with a sour expression while Granger happily chatted with Weasley, pausing between spoonfuls of her soup to add to their conversation. Draco looked down at his food and scowled.

"Who do I have to curse?" Blaise asked conversationally, using a serving spoon to portion himself the last of the potatoes. The itchy feeling of Draco's shirt rubbing against his neck drowned out Blaise's question. He felt like he was suffocating.

The empty bowl magically replenished itself to the brim. Using the tines of his fork, Draco pushed the fried fish to the edge of his plate, making space next to his chips and giving the appearance of having eaten something.

"Draco?"

"What?" Draco looked up from his meal at his best friend whose forehead was wrinkled with concern.

Blaise repeated himself, this time with less inflection. "I asked you who I have to curse."

Surely, Draco missed something. "What do you mean? Also, your mother distinctly told you to stop doing that."

"That was merely a suggestion of hers; she would understand. I'm asking because you're looking at that chip like it ruined your life." Blaise nodded at the plate with a wry grin. "Was it the potato? Because if so, it looks like it's already had its comeuppance—it's delicious, delicious comeuppance."

"It's nothing. I'm just knackered."

His friend shook his head and selected a chip from Draco's plate. "Probably because you aren't eating. Here, open up for the broomstick." Blaise turned the chip on its side and zoomed it towards Draco's mouth, mimicking the sound of a broomstick cutting through the air.

Draco swatted Blaise's hand away and dodged the chip. "I'm not an infant!"

"Then stop acting like one and tell me what's wrong. I'm your best friend, you think I can't tell when something is wrong?" Blaise dropped the chip and wiped his hands on the serviette in his lap. "I've never seen you like this before."

It had been days since Draco had slept, and it showed.

Two nights ago, he dug out a medallion from the bottom compartment of his trunk that had been in his family for generations. It protected the wearer from mind-altering spells and was priceless in value. After a full day of wear and no improvement, he took an antidote, assuming his food or drink must have been spiked with Amortentia.

But no.

Draco wasn't cursed—at least, not by magic.

This was something much worse.

Weasley leaned in and said something to Granger, with his mouth overflowing with food like a caveman, a gnawed leg of chicken still in his hand. Much to Draco's horror, she tilted her head back and laughed. Her laugh was warm and inviting, like a cozy mug of tea on a chilly winter's night.

Why did it look like she was fawning over Weasley like a besotted schoolgirl?

Maybe she had always looked at him like that but Draco had never noticed. Maybe it was him looking at her with new eyes.

Granger was too bright to fall for someone like Weasley. She knew better. No, Granger would want someone who could challenge her, someone who would understand her, someone who brought out a new side of her. Someone much better suited for her than Weasley.

It enraged Draco to see her laughing like that for him.

He wasn't even clever.

"Who isn't clever?" Blaise prompted, washing down his food with a glass of pumpkin juice.

Draco hadn't meant to say that out loud. "No one."

He never thought he'd be jealous of a Weasley, but here he was. His ancestors were probably rolling in the family's marble mausoleum.

"Mate, you're a wreck. Are you positive you aren't feeling ill?"

Jealous of a Weasley—he just might be. "I promise I'm fine."

"You've always been stubborn. If you change your mind, I can go with you to the hospital wing." Blaise offered.

Draco looked back down at his food in disgust before pushing it away and standing up. "Thanks for the offer. I'll see you back in the common room."

In an attempt to clear his head, Draco began wandering through the halls of Hogwarts. It was a privilege to be able to freely roam at all hours without being questioned, one he was granted as a member of the Inquisitorial Squad. He passed by the wall of educational decrees, which was covered with so many decrees, he could hardly see the stone underneath. While he walked, his mind raced to pinpoint the exact moment where everything went wrong.

Perhaps his dancing had been unseemly. Granger was raised with proper ballroom training, after all, but it was by Muggles who might have different customs. But what could he have done or said to offend her?

He kissed her hand.

In the moment, he hadn't been able to resist, but after the rush of adrenaline wore off, he found himself second guessing it. But she had accepted his blazer, which she wouldn't have done had she been upset.

She wore her hair down.

Then again, he knew she disliked flying and yet he had insisted on it. She might resent him for not being considerate of her feelings, even if she appeared to enjoy the flight while they were out.

What does a bloke even do when a witch is mad at him? His father bought his mother diamonds, but Granger didn't wear jewellery.

Girls were so confusing.

Draco settled down on the stone ledge beneath an arched window, staring out onto the grounds below. During a normal year, the grounds would be filled with students studying in the sunshine, practicing Quidditch, or playing Exploding Snap. So much had changed with Umbridge's rules. Dozens of students passed by on their journeys back to their respective dorms, and it seemed that Umbridge had dismissed them after dinner.

He was right in the path of the Gryffindor Tower, which meant—

Granger's wild mane of curls appeared down the corridor and Draco hopped down from his spot on shaky legs, skimming the crowd for signs of Potter or Weasley. Thank Merlin, she was walking alone.

"Malfoy," she breathed out, looking startled by his sudden appearance.

"Can we talk?" he asked, rubbing at the back of his neck. He tugged at his tie, loosening its chokehold.

She glanced around them and nodded, signalling for him to follow her into the nearest empty classroom. After closing the door behind her, she looked up at him in distress. "What's wrong? You look…"

He let out a hollow sort of laugh, void of any amusement. "It's nothing, really. I just didn't think my dancing was that atrocious—I know I'm rusty, but did that really scare you off?"

"Your dancing?" she echoed with a frown. "I liked your dancing."

His half-smile crumbled and he felt his heart drop. "Then what was it? I had to have done something for you to avoid me like I have a wicked case of Spattergroit. I've been wracking my brain to figure out what I did wrong."

"You didn't do anything wrong," she assured him quickly and her voice dropped. "To be honest, I thought I had to have dreamed that night." She looked down at herself and nervously smoothed down the pleats in her skirt.

"Then what happened? I thought we had—I thought we had a moment, Granger." His question felt scratchy in his throat.

"We did."

"I don't understand. You stopped coming to the library, you stopped reading my notes, you've been avoiding me in class, Hell, you don't even look at me anymore. Why won't you look at me?" he asked, his voice raw. A whirlwind of emotions from the past month surfaced all at once until he couldn't breathe. He gently tipped her chin upwards, encouraging her to meet his gaze.

"What are we even doing?" she whispered, her eyes wide.

The question made Draco's heart leap into his throat and he brushed the pad of his thumb across the underside of her chin. Her skin felt so soft and smooth. "I've asked myself that a thousand times. I don't know. You're all I can think about—I'm pretty sure I've gone mad."

She shrugged and her teeth pressed into her lower lip. "I think I have as well."

Her line of sight dropped down to the silver badge pinned to the front of his robes. Suddenly, he felt the burden of the badge weighing him down like a stone through water. Before she said another word, he ripped it off. "Is it because of the squad? I can quit, it's all shit anyway." It fell from his hand and the metal scraped on the stone flooring.

Granger wrapped her arms around herself, clenched hands bunching up her robes. "It's not that. This year has been Hell for so many students, and here I am just running away from it all, spending it with you. It's not fair."

He felt a sliver of hope spark inside him. Maybe he hadn't ruined everything after all. "Fair? Nothing about life is fair. Shouldn't that mean we have an obligation to find happiness where we can?"

"It's more than that. Harry is worse than I've ever seen him, the students are terrified of Umbridge and I'm supposed to be their Prefect, and instead of helping them I'm over here falli—here I am... with you."

"Here you are with me," he repeated; his pulse raced through his veins and he took her hands in his. The feeling in his chest soared when she curled her fingers around his.

"We're risking everything with Umbridge and our friends and your family. Nothing about this is logical—"

"I don't care about logic. Granger, I've watched you devote years of your life to being what other people need and you take nothing in return. What is it that you want?"

"It's selfish," she said softly, tightening her hold on his hands.

"One thing the Slytherins understand that I think you Gryffindors could take note of is that sometimes it's okay to be selfish," he murmured, searching her eyes. "It doesn't make you a bad person to take care of yourself."

"Malfoy." Her tone sounded like a warning, but there was a warmth in her gaze.

In a moment of madness, he brought her hands up to his lips once more, just like he had at the end of their dance. He pressed his lips to the back of her hand, holding her gaze. "What do you want, Granger?"

"You," she whispered, her answer like a breathless caress against his cheek.

After a week of worrying himself sick, he could finally breathe; relief expanded in his lungs and chased away every unspoken fear with his exhale.

Voldemort himself could break down the door to the classroom and Draco wouldn't be able to look away; every part of him was completely, utterly, absolutely enchanted by her.

"May I kiss you?"

She nodded before he could even finish asking the question, and he closed the small space between them, pausing for a fraction of a heartbeat before pressing his lips to hers. The world exploded in colour, like the burst of light funnelled through a kaleidoscope.

Draco never thought a gentle kiss could feel like the strike of steel on flint, creating a spark that ignited a fire burning in his chest. All too quickly, the kiss ended, and he stepped back, admiring the light blush on the apples of her cheeks.

"That was my first kiss," she breathed out, her fingertips touching her bottom lip in shock.

A feather could've knocked him over by her admission. "What?" he said incredulously. "But I thought you had kissed Krum or Potter last year—at least, that's what all of the girls in Slytherin say."

Granger simply shook her head and her wide eyes fell to his lips. "Those were only rumours. I've never… I mean, I hadn't…"

Part of him felt a possessive sort of pride at the thought of being the first one to kiss her.

Now he was as much a part of her story as she was his. For a moment, no matter how brief, their lives had intertwined and come together to share their first kiss.

Before he could say another word, she pulled him in by his tie until their lips collided once more. She raised onto her tiptoes and threw her arms around his neck, pressing herself flush against him. He couldn't form a coherent thought to save his life; the only thing he could think of was how small she felt in his arms and how he'd do anything in the world to protect her.

Draco found the meaning of life in the touch of her lips.

The months following that first kiss were some of the happiest of Draco's life.

Draco held a single Bertie Botts bean up to the light, squinting at it and looking for little grey specks. There was no grey in sight and he gently placed it into a growing pile of dark brown beans on their library table.

He selected a light green jelly bean from the container between them and popped it in his mouth. Grass. His face twisted and he quickly ate a red bean next, hoping to get the taste out of his mouth. This one was cherry, which was not a flavour he usually enjoyed but definitely surpassed grass. The next one was brown, so he carefully looked again before dropping it in the second pile.

"Would you like to tell me what you're doing?" Granger asked, peering over the top of her book. "You're distracting me from my reading."

"I'm looking for flecks of grey in the beans. It's subtle, but grey means it's dirt-flavoured so I'm not taking any risks," he replied matter-of-factly.

She looked curiously between the two piles of brown beans before closing her book. "You have my full attention. And just what do you plan on doing with these dirt flavoured beans?"

"They're going into Umbridge's personal candy jar. She deserves the inconvenience."

Granger guffawed. "She deserves a lot more than dirt-flavoured sweets. And the second pile?"

In lieu of a response, he selected a bean from the first pile and brought it up to her lips. She smiled and opened her mouth, and he fed her the bean.

After a couple of chews, her eyes lit up and she exclaimed, "It's chocolate!"

"The second pile is for you," he said, dropping a quick peck on her cheek. "I noticed last month that you sorted through the box for the chocolate ones and didn't want you to be subjected to dirt as well.

Even though chocolate jelly beans were Draco's favourite flavour as well, he'd sacrifice every last one of them for her. Granger turned to him and planted a kiss on his lips with both of her hands on his cheeks.

"Would you look at that? My new favourite way to taste chocolate," he murmured, leaning into her touch.

Then she smiled.

He would never ever grow tired of that feeling.

"I can't believe you've had the patience to sort through these while I read." She glanced down at the container of sweets settled between their cups of tea. "How many beans have you eaten?"

He shrugged, ignoring his growing stomach ache. "A few. I know how much you love the chocolate ones. I demand nothing but the best for the girl I'm courting."

"Courting?" she blurted out before clamping her hands over her mouth and giggling. "Is that what this is? It sounds so… formal."

"I thought I'd made my intentions for you quite clear," he said, his tone still light and playful.

"Well, perhaps I could do with a reminder," she teased, stealing another chocolate bean.

He threaded his fingers through her hair, gently cupping her chin, and looked between her eyes. "My intention is to make you happy, to hear that laugh of yours as frequently as possible, and" —he dipped his head down, slanting their lips together, and drew out the kiss— "to never have to go a day without that."

"Wow," she breathed. "You're quite good at that."

"Am I now?" He felt his ego swell.

"Yes, it's" —she whimpered so softly into his lips as he kissed her again— "very distracting. At this rate, I might lose my class rank."

"Meow." The sound seemed to have come out of nowhere and was distinctly unamused.

"Crookshanks!" Granger called out, breaking their embrace and twisting her head to look down at their feet.

A cat, equal parts fluffy and dirty, had plopped itself on the floor next to their table. It began rubbing against Granger's leg and purring.

Draco's eyes narrowed and he sneered. This had to be the cat Granger always went on about; there was no way that mangy cat could read minds. In fact, she probably found him scrounging in a bin for scraps in Diagon Alley. The cat probably rivalled Weasley in intellect and that skewed her perception.

Crookshanks stopped mid-rub and turned to Draco, hissing and baring his teeth.

No fucking way.

That had to have been a coincidence, or it used its feral animal instincts to know that Draco was irritated and didn't appreciate the interruption of their snog. Somewhere in its simple mind, it had to recognise that Draco would take its place as the most important male in her life.

Crookshanks very slowly and deliberately shook his mini lion's-mane of a head.

With two jumps, utilising the unused edge of Granger's chair as leverage, the cat hopped right onto the table and scattered the piles of beans with a swish of its tail.

Draco returned the feline's scowl with his most menacing glare. The cat settled himself directly in front of Draco, staring into his eyes—and perhaps his soul.

"Oh! My two men are introducing themselves," Granger sang out, unaware of the mental warfare waging between them.

Draco briefly considered tossing his cup of tea at the cat, wondering if he could make it appear accidental.

Crookshanks let out a low growl from deep in his little chest. While still maintaining eye contact, he swatted at Draco's tea cup with his paw, pushing it twice before it fell to the stone floor of the library and shattered into a half a dozen pieces.

A challenge.

"Crooksie!" Granger admonished, jumping up to repair the teacup and clean up the spilled tea. "I'm so sorry, Malfoy, he does this sometimes. I'll get that."

One thing was for certain, Draco refused to be the one to blink first.

A worthy opponent, Crookshanks' beady stare was unwavering, and his amber eyes hadn't blinked once.

This cat was too clever to be any ordinary cat.

Draco's dry eyes burned with the need to blink and he lowered his voice. "Are you positive that he isn't an Animagus?"

"Oh, you've never heard about Ronald's rat, have you?"

"What?"

"What I mean is that I can guarantee Crookshanks has been thoroughly tested." She muttered something under her breath as she cleaned up the spilled liquid with her wand. "Fool me once."

"What are you on about?" Her reaction had broken his concentration and he blinked.

Damn it.

Crookshanks' tail flicked in the air once in victory.

Perhaps I was wrong about you, Draco thought in the cat's direction. I would like to propose an alliance, at the very least a truce. Let me pet you; it will make your mum happy that we are getting along. In exchange for your compliance, I'll set a bowl of fresh cream for you outside Gryffindor tower during my rounds.

Crookshanks paused, as if contemplating the offer.

And as much salmon as you can eat, he mentally added.

The cat's whiskers twitched, and just in time for Granger's return to her seat, he nudged Draco's hand with his head.

Granger gasped in sheer elation and swatted at his arm, seeming to have forgotten all about her annoyance over the spilled tea. "Oh my god, I can't believe he just did that! He's never taken to anyone but me."

Draco pet Crookshanks on the head, taking care to rub around his ears and down his back. "It would appear that we have a mutual interest at heart."

"Pardon the interruption, Professor Sprout, but I need to pull Granger out of class," Draco drawled, assuming a disinterested countenance with the menial task at hand. "I have to follow up with her for the Inquisitorial Squad."

The class was abuzz with conversation at their individual stations with potted plants in front of them. Some students were pruning their plants, carefully extracting leaves that would be set out to dry and crushed into a powder for second years to use in Potions.

Granger's eyes widened and she avoided Potter and Weasley's inquiring looks.

Professor Sprout pursed her lips and waved him off, nodding once to Granger that she was excused. Granger jumped up from her seat and quickly cleaned the dirt and grime off her hands with her wand before trailing after him out of the greenhouse at a safe pace.

Draco walked through the grounds at his usual speed, careful not to attract attention. He could hear Granger several strides behind him and he took a sharp left, headed towards a nearby storage shed for the Quidditch pitch.

"You can't just use your badge for whatever you want, Malfoy," Granger hissed from behind him.

He opened the door to the shed and she stomped through. When the door shut behind him, the lighting in the broom shed dimmed. Beams of light shone through the small cracks in the wooden planks that formed the walls. Even through the darkness, he could see her faint smile.

"You're being reckless," she said breathlessly.

"I don't care," he replied, and then he kissed her until she didn't either.

Long after he lost track of time, she broke their kiss and rested her forehead against his with her eyes closed. "I suppose that I am a bit of a perfectionist. It is nice to have more time to practice."

"Practice?"

Her breath caught and she placed her hands on top of his, picking them up and guiding them to rest on her hips.

"Oh." He swallowed thickly, staring into her blown pupils.

"That is, if you want—"

Before she could utter another word, he lifted her up onto the top of the nearby table, knocking over several bottles of broom cleaner in the process. In silent synchronisation, she opened her legs and pulled him closer, and he slotted himself between them.

They fit together like puzzle pieces, and his whole body responded to her every move. Granger's forearms rested on his shoulders, her hands crossing at the wrists behind his head.

If she shifted an inch to the left, she would feel the bulge in his trousers on her inner thigh, and he might die of mortification, left to haunt the grounds of Hogwarts with a perpetual hard-on.

Her brows knitted together and she whispered, "I want to stay but I shouldn't be gone much longer. Harry and Ronald will want to know what we talked about."

"Have you told them about us?"

She let out a deep exhale. "I haven't. Ever since I met Harry and Ron, I've never really had anything that was only mine. I'll tell them, I swear, but I want you all to myself for now. Is that terribly selfish?"

He knew exactly what she meant. There had been so many moments where he almost told Blaise or Theo about her, but at the end of the day, he snuck away to the library with a handful of practiced excuses and relished in their time alone. "It's not. I want the same."

"I think Herbology can wait a bit longer," she whispered with a sly grin.

"And maybe even Care of Magical Creatures, too," he murmured against her lips. "I'm not sure I'm willing to give you up just yet."

"I have to say, there are many beautiful things about magic, but my favourite has to be extendable pockets." Granger jammed her hands in her pockets and spun around twice, causing the skirt to billow in the breeze. Her enthusiasm was contagious as he watched her twirl. Draco was as selective as any Malfoy when it came to his clothing, but had never once thought about pockets. "The pockets?"

"You don't know the plight of women and their pockets! Any pocket at all is a win in my book. The fact that I can fit a small library in a single pocket is nothing short of a miracle, worthy of its own religion."

He leaned against a nearby tree and crossed his arms with a smile. "You're impossibly adorable, you know that, right? I've never considered what it would be like to be without extendable pockets. I guess I always took that sort of thing for granted."

"Oh!" Granger leaned down and picked an ugly weed full of fluffy white seeds from the grounds. She closed her eyes, puffed her cheeks, and blew; the seeds separated from the stem and flew through the air, catching in the wind.

It was a simple act, but he loved how she found beauty in the smallest of things. He had walked past those same weeds a thousand times and never thought anything of them. Now, when he saw them, he'd think of her.

At this rate, they'd never return to class; they'd spend the whole day in their own hidden corner of the grounds, and he couldn't be happier about it.

A rustle followed by a soft meow pulled Draco's attention right out of his schoolwork. He was in the library, waiting for Granger to join him for their date.

"Crookshanks, what are you doing here?" Draco asked before reaching down to pet his furry ally.

Tied to his collar was a small glass jar of cherry blossoms and a note from Granger, apologising that she was running late after class.

"While you're here, there's something I've been meaning to do," Draco said, untying the bottle and dropping it into his bag.

Crookshanks responded by hopping up onto the table so that they were eye-to-eye. His large amber eyes inspected Draco curiously. Draco had been leaving him treats for weeks, and he was proud to say that they were on friendly terms these days.

Your mum is her own person and can speak for herself, but I would like to ask for your support in courting her, he thought to the cat. I know I may not deserve her, not yet anyway, but I want her in my life for as long as she'll have me.

The feline seemed unconvinced and began to pace around the table.

If the time comes where I can no longer bring her happiness, I swear I'll step away.

Draco rubbed his sweaty palms on his knees. It was embarrassing how much he craved Crookshanks' approval and he could feel it slipping away.

I love her.

Crookshanks faltered and looked up at Draco.

The first time that he'd admitted those words, and it was to a cat who can read minds. He had gone completely mad. He should give the medallion another go.

Just when he thought he may have made a mistake, Crookshanks rubbed up against his arm and purred, loudly.

"I promise I'll take care of her," he said to the cat, meaning every word.

"You and Granger?" Blaise repeated, his eyes bugged out. He leaned closer, balancing his weight on his left arm that was resting on the back of the black leather sofa. "You're taking the Mickey."

Draco glared at his oldest friend. He wasn't sure what reaction he expected, but it wasn't this. "It's not so outlandish that I would date Granger."

To his surprise, Blaise snorted. "Not that part. I've seen you follow her around for years. You did everything but pull her pigtails and rig a game of spin the bottle."

"Wait, you knew?"

"I'm your best friend. Of course I knew you fancied her. You're not exactly subtle." Blaise rolled his eyes. "I just never thought that she would date you."

"Thanks, mate," Draco said dryly.

Blaise winked and clicked his tongue. "Here to keep you humble. I'm proud of you for finally making a move. How serious are you about this?"

"I've never been more sure about anything in my life," Draco confided softly.

Without even waiting a beat, Blaise grinned and said, "Then that's good enough for me."

"You're not going to try to talk me out of it?"

"Would it work?"

"No."

Blaise slapped him on the shoulder, twice. "Then there's your answer. I'll save my breath." He had a mischievous glint in his eye when he asked, "So, is she a good kisser? She seems the type to read up about it beforehand and come prepared."

Draco ducked his head to his chest and elbowed his best friend in the ribs. Even though Blaise knew he hadn't kissed anyone before, he wasn't going to share those intimate details without her permission.

"You dog! I can't believe she didn't sock you again!" Blaise laughed so loudly that Draco hushed him. The dungeon echoed too much to talk that loudly in the Slytherin common room.

"Quiet down." He watched as a third year appeared in the entrance to the commons and rushed back to their dorm before continuing. "That was one time in third year. We've both matured since then."

"Still more times than I've been hit by a girl," Blaise guffawed. "Should I go and have a formal discussion with her about her intentions and make sure she's a gentlewoman with you?"

"Very funny," Draco muttered. He sat up straighter on the sofa and took a deep breath. "I'm going to give her my signet before the end of the year."

Swearing under his breath, Blaise instantly sobered. "Are you sure? She's Muggle-born. She won't understand the significance."

"But I will, and I feel like she's it for me."

Blaise brought his hand to his chest. "Oh, young love."

"It is love." Draco smiled to himself. "Isn't it?"

Draco nervously looped through the aisles of the library, unable to sit in one place while waiting for Granger. On his third pass through, she finally appeared.

"Goodness, I don't know what I'm going to do for Charms next week because I saw that—" Her gaze caught on the book clutched tightly in his hands. "What do you have there?"

"I found the funds to purchase the damn thing," he replied with a half-hearted smile, lifting the book up slightly. "It's for you."

Her cheeks flushed with recognition of her own words being repeated back to her. Without further ado, he handed her the gift.

She stared down at it in shock and stammered, "Malfoy, I didn't—I—I mean, you didn't have to purchase it for me. I was being cheeky."

"Just open it, Granger."

Forcing a swallow, she flipped open the front cover. On the side of the book, he had tied his signet ring with a green satin ribbon.

"I want more than a friendship bracelet—more than friendship. Granger, how I feel with you, it's ineffable."

Her breath caught and she looked up at him. "I… can't take this, this is too much."

"I don't even want to consider what this year would've been like without you," he said quietly, his voice sincere.

To his surprise, her eyes filled with tears. "Why do I feel like you're going to end up breaking my heart?"

The thought made him feel dizzy and panicked.

"I'd never." He shook his head so quickly he feared he might give himself whiplash. "I won't ever hurt you, I promise."

She gave him a watery smile through her tears. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Malfoy."

"I am a man of my word." He untied the ring and placed it in the palm of her hand, folding her fingers closed around it. "As long as you have this ring with you, you'll have my heart with you as well."

"It's a bit big," she whispered. "I'll find some way to wear it."

The thought of her wearing his ring made him glow with pride.

"Draco Malfoy, a romantic. No one would believe me," she teased, her nose wrinkling with a smile.

He loved the sound of his full name on her lips. He hoped to hear it again and again. For the first time, he felt like he had a future of his own making to look forward to. It was no longer what had been decided for him by his parents.

"Maybe I am," he admitted softly. "Who would've thought you'd bring that out of me."

She looked down at the gold ring in her hand and smiled. "I promise that I'll wear it every day."

The best was yet to come, and no matter what happened, he was sure that he could handle anything with her by his side.

A/N: Hey everyone, I just wanted to warn you in advance that I'm going to be on a trip with family next week and won't be able to update on my usual schedule. Instead of posting the final chapter on October 17th, I'll be posting it the following Sunday on October 24th. Thanks for your understanding :)