When Winter arrived home beside Lucius, she noticed a slight chill in the air. Her fingers were still interlocked with his, and she had managed to stay on her feet this time, despite how terribly disoriented apparating made her feel.
"Much better," Lucius said with a small laugh. "No scraped knees this time."
"Yes." Winter agreed, loosening her grip on Lucius' hand, but he didn't let go.
Instead his grip tightened, and he turned slightly to face her.
This was when a breeze picked up, tangling itself in Winter's hair and wrapping it around her face.
Lucius smiled down at her, but in this moment she felt too anxious to move the hair out of her face, because Lucius was making her nervous; the feel of his fingers between hers, and the way his eyes felt so intense.
He raised his other hand to her face, and she almost flinched away from him out of reflex, but she stopped herself. His fingers swept the hair away from her face, and he gently ran his fingers across her cheek. She could feel the heat rising in her face as she began to blush, and she knew her fair skin would be an obvious shade of pink.
"I really am terribly sorry to cut the day so short." Lucius spoke slowly with his fingers still caressing her face. "But I would like to see you again, if that would be alright?"
"Of course." Winter answered far too quickly, which took her by surprise, as if her logic had no time to consider that spending more time with Lucius Malfoy could be a bad idea, considering the butterflies swirling in her stomach.
"Wonderful." Lucius smirked.
The wind caught Winter's hair again and she began to feel goosebumps tracing the skin on her bare arms.
"Well Winter," he removed his hand from her face. "I will be seeing you soon."
For a moment he didn't move, and the two of them stood silently staring into each other's eyes. Winter thought to herself how this would be the perfect moment to kiss him - if he wasn't Draco Malfoy's father, and at least 20 years older than her - but she said and did nothing. She merely stood there, her face pink and wind swept, as if she were waiting for some kind of intimate gesture from Lucius to assure her that what she was feeling wasn't one-sided.
But Lucius simply smiled and let go of her hand.
"Good day, Miss Bradshaw."
——
The following evening Winter had been preparing for her return to Hogwarts; she had finished packing and had laid out her clothes for the trip. She would usually wear something comfy on the train, but this year she felt more inclined to look good.
She had picked out a white and pink floral dress that sat just above her knee, a chunky brown cardigan and a pair of black boots.
The clothes sat neatly on her dresser, with her trunk and an over-the-shoulder bag beside it. She had packed items inside that she thought she may need for the journey; treats she had baked earlier in the day, a cherry lipgloss Daphne had sent to her from overseas, her wand and some peppermint sweets.
It was nearing bedtime, and the feeling of excitement was building, but she also felt a feeling of home-sickness looming over her. She would miss her home - even though Hogwarts had become a second home to her - simply because it was the place she felt most comfortable. She could be left alone for hours at a time, which was something she enjoyed considering her personality was relatively introverted, and she had a lot of free time when she wasn't expected to do any school work.
She would also miss her mother.
The two of them were opposite in personality and often disagreed, but Winter still had a bond with her mother that she didn't share with anyone else.
"Do you have everything packed?" Lydia asked Winter, as she handed her a cup of tea.
Winter nodded, taking the cup and sipping it before placing it on the table in front of her.
Though it was getting late Winter didn't feel tired at all. She struggled to contain her excitement every year before returning to school, and this was no exception.
She hadn't spent much time with her friends over the holidays, as her closest friend, Daphne, and her family had taken a trip across Europe for most of the summer; and her other friends were considered "school friends", so she didn't have a connection with them out of school.
In fact, Draco's party at Malfoy Manor was the only interaction she had with anyone from Hogwarts over the break, besides the few times Brielle had invited Adrian over to their house, and though Adrian was always nice to Winter, Brielle hadn't allowed him to spend longer than five minutes with her.
Of course Daphne had sent owls to Winter to tell her all about her travels, but they were vague and rushed, which Winter had assumed was because Daphne was so busy having fun.
Besides the vague letters from Daphne, Winter had received only one other owl. Another vague letter from Pansy Parkinson briefly explaining how she was set to be Slytherin prefect, alongside Draco.
Winter was unsure if the letter was sent exclusively to her, or if Pansy had made the effort to inform every member of Slytherin in their year that she had been made prefect, but Winter didn't send any form of response.
"Wow congratulations." Were the only words to come to mind, but when Winter had written them down it sounded sort of sarcastic and uninterested, so she said nothing.
As Winter sipped her tea, Lydia paced around the kitchen sweeping the floor and attempting to make small talk. Winter was thankful for the conversation, because it was a nice distraction.
"I didn't get the chance to ask, how was your trip to Diagon Alley with Lucius Malfoy?"
Winter tried not to allude to anything, and simply replied with "it was nice, but he was pretty busy. I think he had something come up with Gregory Goyle's dad."
"Ah Goyle, I was never fond of him. I hexed him once during potions class when I was about your age."
"What for?" Winter blurted out, trying to suppress a laugh.
"I heard him telling a friend he wanted to give me a love potion. I thought he was repugnant, so I used a scalping hex on him. It took quite some time for his hair to grow back, yet for some reason, even with his fat, ugly bald head, Lucius kept his company. The reason why, is beyond me, because the entire Goyle family are..."
She didn't conclude her sentence, and cleared her throat. "It was nice seeing Lucius again. He was a very close friend to your father. The two were inseparable at school."
Gene Bradshaw was a very taboo topic in the Bradshaw household, so Winter was surprised to hear her mother mention him. She didn't know how to respond, but luckily Lydia continued speaking.
"It's a shame you and Draco aren't closer, considering the history between our families."
"Draco's a good friend." Winter shrugged. "He's usually surrounded by all the other Slytherins in our year though, so he's usually preoccupied. We used to sit together in Divination but he dropped the class. I think there's only a really small group of people in the class this year."
"Oh?" Lydia stopped sweeping. "Do you have any friends to sit with?"
"I'm not sure. I think I might be the only Slytherin taking divination, so all the houses are taking the class together this year."
"Daphne doesn't take divination?"
"Nope. She thinks it's pointless. But I don't know... I like Professor Trelawney."
"I quite liked divination, I was never any good at it though."
Winter watched her mother clean the kitchen for a while longer, as she finished her cup of tea. It seemed odd to Winter that her mother spent so much time on housework, when she could easily use a few simple charms to clean up; but Lydia Bradshaw was very house-proud and enjoyed spending countless hours making her quaint cottage home look picture perfect.
When Winter had finished her cup of tea she made sure to wash the cup and place it in the drying rack, knowing that if she left a used cup in the clean kitchen her mother would scold her beyond belief.
She said a quick goodnight before ascending up the stairs to her bedroom.
——
Half hour later Winter was sitting on her bed, her legs crossed and a book clasped tightly in her hands. Her wireless was quietly humming in the background. But neither the book or the wireless was able to hold her attention. She was far too excited to focus on anything other than the thought of boarding the Hogwarts Express in the morning.
She knew Daphne and her sister, Astoria, would be waiting for her on the platform, but she was desperate to get Daphne alone to speak with her about the events that had occurred following the Quidditch team party at Malfoy Manor. She knew Daphne would be thrilled to hear every detail, because Daphne loved drama, and she was also certain Daphne would never judge her. She was the only person Winter could confess her deepest secrets to, and this secret was a big one.
She sighed, trying to remove the thoughts from her mind and calm down. Her eyes reread the same page for the fifth time.
She wondered when she would see Lucius again. She knew he had planned to attend the first quidditch match of the season, but that was hardly enough time to speak with him, and Draco would be there and she didn't want to raise suspicion.
She shook her head and laughed slightly, again trying to refocus her mind on her book.
Her eyes felt heavy and despite her eyelids falling closed a few times while she continued to read, her mind kept jolting her awake again.
She was about to give up the book as a bad job, and just before she could place a bookmark in her page, a small cracking sound emerged from right in front of her.
A figure had appeared there, towering over her sitting on her bed, and it took her a moment to realise what had happened.
Her heavy eyes were now wide awake, and her breath had hitched in her throat.
Lucius Malfoy had apparated into her bedroom.
He was wearing a pair of black pants and a white buttoned shirt, and though this seemed formal to anyone else, she had never seen him look quite so un-extravagant.
His sleek white hair hung neatly on each side of his face, and his eyes looked almost as startled as Winter's.
"Hello Winter." He said, his voice coming out smooth, as his mouth turned upwards into a smirk.
Winter looked down at her clothes; she was wearing nothing but an oversized Holyhead Harpies t-shirt and her large reading glasses, which she was certain made her look even more silly in this moment. She quickly pulled her glasses off of her face, and stood up, attempting to straighten out her t-shirt.
"Lucius, uh, Mr Malfoy," she stammered.
Her heart was hammering in her chest, as questions ran through her mind that she desperately wanted to yell at him.
What are you doing here?
Why are you in my BEDROOM?
The words didn't dare leave her mouth.
She tried to seem entirely unbothered by his presence, while inside she felt like she may spontaneously drop dead at the sheer shock.
He placed his hand on her shoulder.
She didn't flinch, but she felt her chest tighten and it became hard to breathe.
"I do apologise for my abrupt entrance," he sighed, and his eyes seemed to soften as she stared up at him. "I just..."
He trailed off, releasing her shoulder from his grasp.
A crease appeared between his eyebrows as he paused, seemingly in thought.
"I wanted to speak with you, before you returned to Hogwarts. You see, it would be really quite difficult to visit you there, and it's an urgent matter."
He quickly turned away from her and walked to her door. He raised his wand and with a swish he spoke lowly "colloportus".
There was an eerie tension that fell upon the room now that the door was locked, and Lucius stood still for a moment.
"What is it?" Winter asked, shifting awkwardly in her place beside the bed.
Lucius said nothing but his rigid posture seemed to relax as he paced the room. His attention turned to her desk, where the wireless was still humming away filling the silence in the room.
He reached for the dial to turn the volume up slightly, and then raised his eyes back to Winter.
She was standing frozen in one place, too anxious to move. She could feel her knees trembling as she became hyper-aware of her posture.
Lucius looked intense, and she couldn't bare to look him in the eye any longer.
He slowly paced back toward her and stopped right in front of her. He was standing so close to her now that she was sure he could hear her heavy breaths.
He sighed again before speaking, "I'm aware the risk I'm taking in saying this, and I sincerely apologise for being discourteous."
He stood in front of her, and she felt her hands beginning to tremble too as she squeezed them into tight balls, in some attempt to direct her nervous energy somewhere.
The atmosphere between them felt tense and rigid, and she didn't want to look at him.
Lucius reached for her hands. He gripped them tightly, as if he knew she was afraid, and thought this action would somehow calm her nerves. It didn't.
He spoke again.
"It seems in the time we have spent together, that I have become quite attached to you."
Winter's hands were still trembling, and her mouth felt very dry, but the atmosphere seemed to change immediately, like a weight had lifted.
She raised her eyes to meet his.
She wasn't sure what to say, because she truthfully didn't quite understand what Lucius was saying to her. 'Attached' had many meanings, and she didn't want to assume anything.
Lucius looked down at her hands.
"Are you afraid?" He asked.
Winter shook her head.
He stepped closer to her again, leaving a very small gap between their bodies, and he let go of her hands.
She could smell liquor as his warm breath hit her face, and he placed a hand on her cheek.
He leaned in toward her and for a moment Winter paused.
She had only ever been kissed once before, in third year, by Blaise Zabini during a game of spin-the-bottle in the Slytherin common room. But that felt much different to this. It had been rushed and meaningless, their mouths had barely touched before everyone screamed in laughter and the pair separated in embarrassment.
This was slow and deliberate.
Lucius hesitated, with his face hovering no more than an inch from hers. He was so close to her that she could almost feel his lips on hers, but he took his time to study her eyes.
She drew in a sharp breath as his eyes closed and he pressed one slow, opened-mouthed kiss on her lips.
Part of her wanted to move away from him and tell him that he was insane, because she knew how wrong it was, but the feeling coursing through her body made her kiss him back.
His hand tightened on her cheek as his fingers interlocked with the long strands of hair hanging down the side of her face. It felt hard to breathe as he continued to plant heavy kisses against her mouth, using more force with each one.
This caused her to lose her balance slightly, and she stepped backward. The back of her leg hit the frame of the bed, and she stumbled, landing heavily on the mattress in a seated position.
Lucius was hovering over her with his fingers still tangled in her hair. His other hand was pressed against the mattress to hold himself over her.
Suddenly she felt very conscious of how small she felt.
Lucius kissed her once more, before moving away slightly.
Winter didn't know what she expected, or what she wanted to happen next, but she knew whatever Lucius wanted, she wanted too. In this moment, and the next, all she wanted was Lucius.
He lifted himself from his almost-kneeling position and stood up again, silently standing over Winter as she sat on her bed feeling dazed by the whole encounter.
"I should go." He said slowly, seeming to pace out his words.
"No." Winter said suddenly, taking Lucius - and herself- by surprise. "Please stay a little while."
He smiled and his eyes seemed to sparkle.
"For a little while." He agreed.