**Disclaimer**- Again, I own nothing except Nicolette and her owl. Oh! The
Muggle has a name. It's Chris! Everything else belongs to the talented Mrs.
JK Rowling. Read and enjoy.
The Floo powder naturally took us back to Draco's house. This time, though, no soot or ashes were involved. I supposed that the Manor had more than one fireplace, but I never assumed that they had one just for traveling. Looking around, I noticed that the Manor was probably one of the most beautiful homes I had ever seen, and the gloomiest.
The walls didn't have paper on them, but they were made of the most intricate wood paneling, with molded edges and everything. The carpet was a deep blue color, and looking around in a circle, I noticed a bed, dresser, and closet all smushed into one corner. My mouth falling open, I realized that I was in Draco's room. "is this-"
He nodded. "Yeah, this is my room. What do you think?" I didn't have time to answer him, because at that moment, a house elf ran into the room, saying that the car waiting to take us to King's Cross was at the gates. The house elf then put some sort of charm on my luggage, and told us to follow him down the long staircases to the ground floor.
We must have gone down about four of them when we finally got to the entryway. Looking straight up, I saw that the ceiling was maybe twenty five feet above my head, and curved upward into a huge dome. Opening the door, Draco and I stepped out into the bright sunlight. Making out way quickly to the car waiting for us, we sat in the back seat. "I didn't want to make you sit alone." Draco took the seat next to mine, and when the car started moving, he pressed a button, making a partition come up between us and the driver.
"Now we can have a real conversation, starting with why you chose to dress like that." I looked down. Draco did the same. "I mean, not that it looks bad, or anything like that, but why? All you're going to do is cover it up with these stupid robes." Searching for an answer, finally, all I had to go on was the truth.
"Well, I wanted to look good. First impressions are the ones that last, and this is the first time I'm going to be meeting the Hogwarts students." I paused. "Does it look bad?" Looking at me like I was insane, Draco spoke again.
"You talk about first impressions? My first impression of you was a klutzy person. Then, when I finally saw you, I thought to myself 'oh no, Pansy has competition for the ditziest acting person at Hogwarts.' My mouth again dropped open. "Now I think- Nikki, can you please keep your mouth closed unless you're going to use it? Thank you. Anyway, now I think, 'why was I such an asshole?' She's cool." He stopped and looked over into my eyes, which were filled with tears.
"Did you really think that about me?" He nodded. "Well, Draco, that wasn't technically our first meeting." I went on to relay my memory of the party to him. Finishing, he looked at me with shock in his eyes. Now it was his turn to stare at me openmouthed. He looked kind of cute, actually, sitting there like that. Smiling, I looked back at him. "It's ok, actually, I just remembered that today." We both looked at each other silently for about five minutes. Draco shifted in his seat, and started talking.
"Well, Nikki, if you'll accept it, I'd like to apologize. I'm sorry I felt that way, but I didn't remember that party either. You seem like an awesome person, and we were neighbors for three years. So, apology accepted?" Looking him in the eye, I told him yes. "Good. In the Malfoy family, this is how we seal any deal between friends.
Still facing him, I wasn't prepared for what happened next. As if in slow motion, Draco's face moved closer and closer to mine and our lips, after what seemed like forever met in a short, light kiss. Pulling back even before it had begun, Draco grinned at me with a gleam of fire in his eyes. We simply sat and stared at each other for a few seconds, the looked away. Neither of us said another word until we had pulled up to King's Cross, and got out of the car.
We walked with out luggage on carts into the station at 10:25am. I didn't know how to get onto the platform, so I followed closely behind him. He told me to do exactly what he did, so running towards the barrier, we broke through, and there before me, was the scarlet steam engine, the Hogwarts Express. Leaning forward, Draco whispered three words into my ear "You'll be fine," and walked away to find his friends. Turning, I saw Harry and Ron. Waving, they made their way over to where I stood.
Within the next fifteen minutes, after getting a lot of unnerving glances, I had been introduced to a few people from each house, but mostly from Gryffindor. The Weasley twins were great, and so was their friend, Lee Jordan. Getting onto the train, I was ushered into a compartment with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Settling down, the decided that they wanted to nap, because they had gotten up early, and I agreed.
However, when I closed my eyes, I couldn't sleep. I kept seeing the kiss, if it could even be called that, over and over in my mind's eye. When I had my eyes closed, I could feel his lips on mine, and not only could I feel them, but I could taste them as well. Over and over the scene replayed in my mind, until it wasn't Draco's face anymore, but Chris'. My eyes popped open, and suddenly I was wide awake, thinking about Chris. Here I was, part of a couple, and yet someone else's kiss had me laying awake.
Not only was it wrong, but confusing. Sighing, I looked around. The other three were asleep, Ron with his head back against the cushion, and Hermione with Harry's head on her shoulder. Sighing again, I closed my eyes and tried to get back to being sleepy. Draco's face soon popped up again, and I didn't try to stop it. If this was what would get me to sleep, then so be it. Little did I know it, but elsewhere on the train, Draco was having similar problems sleeping.
***Draco's point of view***
He had to admit, the girl had an effect on him. He didn't want to admit it, but what he had felt in that short part of a kiss had been more true than what he had ever felt with Pansy, or any other girl, even Hermione in that short little relationship the two had had, back in third year. Closing his eyes, he relived the moment, for what could have only been the twenty thousandth time. For him, the true excitement had been the element of surprise. As a Malfoy, that didn't come often.
His family was in many aspects a private, secluded family, yet they were public figures too. That meant that the things they did, good and bad, were more often kept hidden. Sometimes, however, they were aired, like dirty laundry, for the whole wizarding world to see. It was times like those when he wished that he was less well known, and didn't have as much status as he had.
But, with Nicolette, he still had that element. She hadn't been in the immediate England area for his name to be too well known to her. She hadn't even known that she was the son of one of her parent's best friends. This was why he was able to surprise her with the kiss. She didn't know it was coming.
He had felt so bloody bad about telling her what his impression of her had been, he had to make up for it. Boyfriend or not, he knew she needed something like that to make her forgive him. After he had done it, he had regretted it, but only for a split second. If she felt even a little like he did, it had been worth it. The kiss, a peck really, had been so true, so spontaneous, that it had to have been real. No other words came to his mind, and he had thought for a long time.
Maybe, he thought to himself, maybe she didn't take it like I am. Maybe she thinks I'm a moronic twit who's too forward. Sighing, he opened his eyes. Looking around, and seeing that the group of Slytherins sharing the compartment with him were sleeping, he decided he should try to do the same. Closing his eyes, Nicolette's face right after he had pulled back popped once again into his mind.
Her eyes had been full of surprise, and a little bit of excitement. Looking deeper into them, he had noticed a little bit of fear in them, as well. The best part, though, was the surprise. He had been so happy, so content, that he had forgotten everything else, and that was why on the whole rest of the drive to Kings Cross, he hadn't been able to get that picture of her out of his mind. Come to think of it he still couldn't.
The landscape had begun to get familiar as the neared Hogwarts, where he would be able to see Nikki again without arousing any suspicion of his intentions to Potter and Weasley. Granger he could have cared less about. She would probably figure it out quickly anyway. Right before he fell asleep, a single phrase went through his mind. "How am I going to break up with Pansy?"
They didn't know it, but the situation they were in was much more complicated then either of them could have expected. Draco and Nicolette fell asleep at about the same time, and woke up just as they pulled into the Hogwarts train station, about two hours later.
The Floo powder naturally took us back to Draco's house. This time, though, no soot or ashes were involved. I supposed that the Manor had more than one fireplace, but I never assumed that they had one just for traveling. Looking around, I noticed that the Manor was probably one of the most beautiful homes I had ever seen, and the gloomiest.
The walls didn't have paper on them, but they were made of the most intricate wood paneling, with molded edges and everything. The carpet was a deep blue color, and looking around in a circle, I noticed a bed, dresser, and closet all smushed into one corner. My mouth falling open, I realized that I was in Draco's room. "is this-"
He nodded. "Yeah, this is my room. What do you think?" I didn't have time to answer him, because at that moment, a house elf ran into the room, saying that the car waiting to take us to King's Cross was at the gates. The house elf then put some sort of charm on my luggage, and told us to follow him down the long staircases to the ground floor.
We must have gone down about four of them when we finally got to the entryway. Looking straight up, I saw that the ceiling was maybe twenty five feet above my head, and curved upward into a huge dome. Opening the door, Draco and I stepped out into the bright sunlight. Making out way quickly to the car waiting for us, we sat in the back seat. "I didn't want to make you sit alone." Draco took the seat next to mine, and when the car started moving, he pressed a button, making a partition come up between us and the driver.
"Now we can have a real conversation, starting with why you chose to dress like that." I looked down. Draco did the same. "I mean, not that it looks bad, or anything like that, but why? All you're going to do is cover it up with these stupid robes." Searching for an answer, finally, all I had to go on was the truth.
"Well, I wanted to look good. First impressions are the ones that last, and this is the first time I'm going to be meeting the Hogwarts students." I paused. "Does it look bad?" Looking at me like I was insane, Draco spoke again.
"You talk about first impressions? My first impression of you was a klutzy person. Then, when I finally saw you, I thought to myself 'oh no, Pansy has competition for the ditziest acting person at Hogwarts.' My mouth again dropped open. "Now I think- Nikki, can you please keep your mouth closed unless you're going to use it? Thank you. Anyway, now I think, 'why was I such an asshole?' She's cool." He stopped and looked over into my eyes, which were filled with tears.
"Did you really think that about me?" He nodded. "Well, Draco, that wasn't technically our first meeting." I went on to relay my memory of the party to him. Finishing, he looked at me with shock in his eyes. Now it was his turn to stare at me openmouthed. He looked kind of cute, actually, sitting there like that. Smiling, I looked back at him. "It's ok, actually, I just remembered that today." We both looked at each other silently for about five minutes. Draco shifted in his seat, and started talking.
"Well, Nikki, if you'll accept it, I'd like to apologize. I'm sorry I felt that way, but I didn't remember that party either. You seem like an awesome person, and we were neighbors for three years. So, apology accepted?" Looking him in the eye, I told him yes. "Good. In the Malfoy family, this is how we seal any deal between friends.
Still facing him, I wasn't prepared for what happened next. As if in slow motion, Draco's face moved closer and closer to mine and our lips, after what seemed like forever met in a short, light kiss. Pulling back even before it had begun, Draco grinned at me with a gleam of fire in his eyes. We simply sat and stared at each other for a few seconds, the looked away. Neither of us said another word until we had pulled up to King's Cross, and got out of the car.
We walked with out luggage on carts into the station at 10:25am. I didn't know how to get onto the platform, so I followed closely behind him. He told me to do exactly what he did, so running towards the barrier, we broke through, and there before me, was the scarlet steam engine, the Hogwarts Express. Leaning forward, Draco whispered three words into my ear "You'll be fine," and walked away to find his friends. Turning, I saw Harry and Ron. Waving, they made their way over to where I stood.
Within the next fifteen minutes, after getting a lot of unnerving glances, I had been introduced to a few people from each house, but mostly from Gryffindor. The Weasley twins were great, and so was their friend, Lee Jordan. Getting onto the train, I was ushered into a compartment with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Settling down, the decided that they wanted to nap, because they had gotten up early, and I agreed.
However, when I closed my eyes, I couldn't sleep. I kept seeing the kiss, if it could even be called that, over and over in my mind's eye. When I had my eyes closed, I could feel his lips on mine, and not only could I feel them, but I could taste them as well. Over and over the scene replayed in my mind, until it wasn't Draco's face anymore, but Chris'. My eyes popped open, and suddenly I was wide awake, thinking about Chris. Here I was, part of a couple, and yet someone else's kiss had me laying awake.
Not only was it wrong, but confusing. Sighing, I looked around. The other three were asleep, Ron with his head back against the cushion, and Hermione with Harry's head on her shoulder. Sighing again, I closed my eyes and tried to get back to being sleepy. Draco's face soon popped up again, and I didn't try to stop it. If this was what would get me to sleep, then so be it. Little did I know it, but elsewhere on the train, Draco was having similar problems sleeping.
***Draco's point of view***
He had to admit, the girl had an effect on him. He didn't want to admit it, but what he had felt in that short part of a kiss had been more true than what he had ever felt with Pansy, or any other girl, even Hermione in that short little relationship the two had had, back in third year. Closing his eyes, he relived the moment, for what could have only been the twenty thousandth time. For him, the true excitement had been the element of surprise. As a Malfoy, that didn't come often.
His family was in many aspects a private, secluded family, yet they were public figures too. That meant that the things they did, good and bad, were more often kept hidden. Sometimes, however, they were aired, like dirty laundry, for the whole wizarding world to see. It was times like those when he wished that he was less well known, and didn't have as much status as he had.
But, with Nicolette, he still had that element. She hadn't been in the immediate England area for his name to be too well known to her. She hadn't even known that she was the son of one of her parent's best friends. This was why he was able to surprise her with the kiss. She didn't know it was coming.
He had felt so bloody bad about telling her what his impression of her had been, he had to make up for it. Boyfriend or not, he knew she needed something like that to make her forgive him. After he had done it, he had regretted it, but only for a split second. If she felt even a little like he did, it had been worth it. The kiss, a peck really, had been so true, so spontaneous, that it had to have been real. No other words came to his mind, and he had thought for a long time.
Maybe, he thought to himself, maybe she didn't take it like I am. Maybe she thinks I'm a moronic twit who's too forward. Sighing, he opened his eyes. Looking around, and seeing that the group of Slytherins sharing the compartment with him were sleeping, he decided he should try to do the same. Closing his eyes, Nicolette's face right after he had pulled back popped once again into his mind.
Her eyes had been full of surprise, and a little bit of excitement. Looking deeper into them, he had noticed a little bit of fear in them, as well. The best part, though, was the surprise. He had been so happy, so content, that he had forgotten everything else, and that was why on the whole rest of the drive to Kings Cross, he hadn't been able to get that picture of her out of his mind. Come to think of it he still couldn't.
The landscape had begun to get familiar as the neared Hogwarts, where he would be able to see Nikki again without arousing any suspicion of his intentions to Potter and Weasley. Granger he could have cared less about. She would probably figure it out quickly anyway. Right before he fell asleep, a single phrase went through his mind. "How am I going to break up with Pansy?"
They didn't know it, but the situation they were in was much more complicated then either of them could have expected. Draco and Nicolette fell asleep at about the same time, and woke up just as they pulled into the Hogwarts train station, about two hours later.
