I apologize for the delay on this chapter… I just got a new video game and I've been a little distracted…
But it's decision chapter time: Who will she go to the ball with? I think most of you want it to be Draco others want George and I believe at least one of you wants Katerina to be with Vik but unfortunately he's already going with Hermione. But who knows, she might not go with any of them =o
And I know there's bound to be someone who will be upset with who I pick but like I said in the last update chapter: reasons. I know what I'm doing.
Don't overthink this, kay? Kay ^-^
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I sat outside for a while, taking a break from reading. This wasn't the fun reading I usually did though. I was getting too behind on History of Magic and needed to catch up. Part of me was glad that the courtyard had plenty of seats to choose from so I could do my studying outside while another part wished they were in a more secluded area. Having people constantly laughing and screaming wasn't helping my concentration. I would have just studied in the common room but I got the feeling that if I did Theo would have tried to 'help' since he had 'actually studied' because that's what we were 'supposed to do in the first place'. If that happened I might have ended up hurting him in some way.
It could have been worse. With the cold weather people were less inclined to spend time outside. While there were still annoyances here and there if the weather had been just a tad warmer more people might have decided to spend time outside making the whole situation worse for me. I swung my legs back and forth watching the few people around pass by while my eyes rested; there wasn't much else to do in the courtyards. The cold nipped at my face in that lovely way I always missed. I said it a lot but I truly did love winter.
"Katerina?" called a vaguely familiar voice. I turned to it and saw a fellow Slytherin, just a year above me.
"Oh, hey Dylan" I replied. For a second he stood there. Guessing what he wanted I moved the book that was to my side allowing him a space to sit. He smirked and took the seat next to me.
"So how have you been?"
"Fine?" I replied though sounding almost like I was asking. It was a strange question I always thought. If one spent enough time with a person then there would be no need to ask. And if you didn't talk to said person often enough to already know the answer then why should the answer even matter?
"Good" he smiled, nodding to himself. "Are you excited for the Yule ball?"
"I guess" I shrugged and turned back forward. "I wouldn't say 'excited' but it looks like it might be fun. The little lesson with Professor Snape sure was."
"Yeah, it was" Dylan chuckled a little. His gaze turned down and to my legs which were still swinging back and forth freely. After a second he looked back up with a smile. "So, Katerina, have you decided who you're—"
"Hey you two!" Daphne appeared between us, literally. She took the little space that was between the two of us and sat down, making us both lean back.
"Hey Daphne" I grumbled. Whenever she made a sudden appearance it was usually because she wanted something. She didn't appear to be moving leaving me no choice but to scoot over to the side.
"Daphne" Dylan frowned at her, probably thinking the same thing I was about her wanting something.
"Hey, Dylan, I was looking for you" she smiled at him, which explained why she hadn't just talked to me when we were in the dungeon together. "There's something that I really need to tell you, in private."
"I don't care" he sighed at her. "I was talking to Katerina so if you don't mind—"
"Oh I don't mind" Daphne interrupted him before he could get her to leave. "Go on. Did you want her to tutor you or something? If that's the case I would go with Theodore instead."
"Hey!" I complained next to her. She turned to smile innocently at me, or at least attempted to.
"Relax you're still a lot smarter than most in our year but you have to admit Theodore is a little genius."
"Daphne" Dylan sighed again. Instead of looking to him Daphne turned to look over his shoulder at something. I followed glance and saw Draco standing at the edge of the courtyard. She smiled at the sight of him and turned back to us.
"Oh and Draco was looking for you" she said casually though with an undertone of interest in her voice.
"Of course he was. And I assume you're not leaving until I go talk to him." Daphne shook her head at Dylan and he frowned at her in return. Daphne turned to look at Draco one more time and as did I. He was frowning in our direction, at Dylan in particular. Whatever he needed him for must have been important because he looked rather annoyed to find him still sitting. Dylan sighed and stood up. "I'll see you later, Katerina."
"Okay" I muttered and waved as he left. I let him go off with Draco and turned from him back to Daphne. "So what was all that about?"
"What was all what about?" Daphne asked innocently though batting her eyelashes a little too much to be believable. I rolled my eyes at her.
"You might not be at the top of our class but I know you're not stupid. Dylan was about to say something and you interrupted. What was it?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. I was just saying hi and I remembered Draco wanted to talk to him so I—"
"You're seriously trying to lie to me" I interrupted her with a look. Daphne sighed but didn't say anything. I frowned once more at her. Normally I would have preferred this quiet side but she was hiding something, of that I was sure. "What was it?"
"Theo!" she yelled suddenly. I turned and looked behind me to see Theodore walking with Blaise and what looked to be a Ravenclaw. He looked to her with an expression of surprise and slight annoyance.
"What?" he called back.
"I'll see you later" Daphne told me before quickly making her way towards him. Theo and Blaise gave her curious looks but let her follow them as they continued on their way and with their conversation.
I kept frowning at her until I felt movement next to me. Someone had sat down next to me. For a moment I guessed that to be Dylan but when I turned in his place I found Draco. He smiled a bit in greeting before turning forward. Looking back I saw Daphne now getting into the boys' conversation. She was hiding something but I couldn't guess what. Usually it wasn't too hard to tell with her but this time was different somehow.
"I wonder what that was about" I muttered to myself as I watched them walk away.
"What?" Draco asked sounding halfhearted to do so. He rested an arm on the back of the bench, just behind my back.
"Dylan was going to tell me something but Daphne came and interrupted."
"Then ask her" he said still sounding uninterested.
"I tried but she left."
"Then why are you telling me?"
"I was thinking out loud" I gave him a look.
"Alright" he said almost like a scoff making me roll my eyes at him. Thinking about it Draco had talked to Dylan too. I became curious to know if the two topics related to each other but not enough to actually ask him. Draco stayed quiet for the moment but continued to look at me. "Kitty..."
"Yes?" I asked, wondering why his face looked so serious. A few seconds went by and no answer came from him. Instead Draco sighed then his expression changed. He looked at me with smirk.
"Your hair looks stupid" said Draco using the hand that had hung behind me to pull at a loose strand of my bun. I had put it up for a while so I could focus and read better but forgot about it.
"Your face looks stupid" I smirked back but let my hair down again. His smile grew. I stood up and stretched as he stood too. "Well whatever that was it was probably a good thing they interrupted. We have Arithmancy soon. Want to walk with me to class?"
"Sort of have to don't I?" he commented, handing me my History of Magic book. I smiled as a thank you and started walking.
"No one has to do anything" I called back to him. "There is such a thing as free will."
"Not when I'm around you" Draco replied quietly. I paused and looked back to him but he simply shook his head. He met me where I stood, smiled, and gestured ahead. "Well, don't just stand there like an idiot. Go on."
"What a gentleman you are" I replied making sure to emphasize my sarcastic tone. Draco smirked at that and followed after.
We sped through the corridors on the way to the lesson. We weren't late, in fact we had plenty of time, but with the Yule Ball being not too far away there were more and more girls giggling and whispering quite loudly through the corridors. They would shriek with laughter any time a boy would pass them as if expecting said boy to want to ask them to the ball. Others would just stand in the middle of the area for no reason other than to compare notes on what they were going to wear on Christmas night. I understood why they were doing it, some people just got really excited about events such as these, but I didn't really care much for it. Part of me knew I should be more excited for it but I had never been one to care for social gatherings. It just wasn't my thing.
Once we reached Arithmancy the lesson passed as usual. Draco spent the whole time narrowly escaping sleep, often nodding himself awake next to me. Hermione spent her time raising her hand on nearly every question. The only question she missed was one that Professor Vector had quickly answered before Hermione had a change. I took my notes making sure they were clear and precise since Draco would obviously be asking to borrow them later. Once class ended we were given our homework and dismissed. Draco then walked me to Study of Ancient Runes where we talked until Hermione showed up. They glared at each other for a second before pretending to not notice the other's existence, I said goodbye to Draco, and Hermione and I walked inside. It was pretty average overall.
Study of Ancient Runes was far more challenging. Yes, Arithmancy was one of the tougher courses that Hogwarts provided but with a basic understanding of calculations it wasn't too difficult to perform. Runes however were tricky and it took a lot of attention to understand correctly. But in part that was one of the reasons I enjoyed the class so much, it was a challenge. Once the lesson ended I rubbed my eyes and headed out with Hermione.
It had become a custom over the years for us to leave the class together. Normally she would walk me downstairs, stay on the fourth floor and go into the library, and then I would make the rest of my way down to the dungeon. As of late however that hadn't been the case. The last few lessons I had been walked down by someone else and just like those last ones this lesson was no different. I waved goodbye at Hermione when we excited the classroom. This time she was headed upstairs and I was headed downstairs, and apparently I was doing so with Daphne.
"So why are you up here?" I asked, already heading for the stairs.
"What do you mean?" she asked innocently. I gave her a look.
"Why are you walking me to the dungeon, again?" I asked, suspicious. Daphne didn't have class anywhere near Study of Ancient Runes and there was no other reason for her to be this high up in the castle. My classroom was on the sixth floor and the only other things there were Arithmancy, Divinations, and the entrances to the towers. And I highly doubted this was all an accident since it hadn't been first time she had done this. Daphne was about to answer but I interrupted. "I want the truth."
"Fine" she grumbled as we reached the next set of stairs. Daphne hooked her arm with mine and continued our walk down the stairs. "I'll tell you the truth but only because you'll find some way to get it out of me eventually... Your little blondie paid me to."
"What?" I asked surprised but knowing she meant Draco. "Why?"
"I don't know. You know I'm not one to ask unnecessary questions." I laughed openly at that making her smile since we both knew exactly how she was. "Maybe he's worried you'll sneak off to help with the skrewts or something."
"You're seriously not going to tell me?"
"If I do tell you I have to give him all of his money back; it was part of the agreement" Daphne grumbled as if that was a big part of the reason she wasn't telling me. "Besides, you don't want me to tell you. Trust me this is something he should tell you himself and not something you should hear from me."
I rolled my eyes at her reasoning. Thinking about it a little more this had gone on a lot recently. It hadn't been just her but Draco too. Either he or Daphne would offer to walk me to or from my lessons. The more I thought about it the more I saw the connection and the more curious I became. I was still frowning about that as I entered the common room. As soon as we got inside Daphne smiled, let go of my arm, and rushed up to our room, probably so I wouldn't ask any more questions. I let her go; I didn't care enough to follow. Instead I decided to stay in the common room. There I found Draco. He gave me a greeting nod when he saw me too. Okay, so maybe I cared a little.
"Hey" I smiled at him as he met me near the entrance to the common room.
"How was Study of Ancient Runes?" he smiled back.
"Fun" I said honestly though he rolled his eyes at me like I had given him some sarcastic comment. Fine, I cared a lot. "So, Daphne has been acting a little weird lately."
"Has she?" he asked not sounding interested. That wasn't too out of the ordinary. He didn't care for her gossip. But I believed her; he was hiding something.
"Yes, she has" I went on though keeping my tone casual. "Like just now she went all the way up to the sixth floor just to walk me down to the common room. This wasn't the first time either. It's a little strange. I can't think of a reason for why she would do that, can you?"
"Maybe she's trying to get on your good side before Christmas" Draco answered with a shrug. His answer was calm, he had probably rehearsed it.
"Makes sense I guess" I shrugged too. He had his reasons for not telling me I suppose. I trusted him enough to give the benefit of the doubt. Besides his answers sounded believable and if he had gone through that much trouble to keep something from me then maybe I should just leave it be. With that decided I moved to sit and he followed.
In between the other groups of Slytherin I found an empty sofa. Before someone else could take it I sat down and stretch a little, tired from the lesson. Draco sat next to me but didn't say anything. I felt mentally drained, having had to actually think and all. Seeing as my brain required a break I decided it was a good time to organize my notes. As I placed the notes on my lap Draco glanced at them and made a face. I giggled at the confused expression he held as he saw the different runes scribbled onto my parchment.
"Are those supposed to be two separate ones?" Draco asked me pointing to them. I smiled and nodded
"That is Illuminate and this one means Chill."
"And you're sure you didn't mess up?" he gave me a look as if he wouldn't put it above me to do so.
"Of course I didn't mess up! Who do you think I am? Someone who falls asleep during lectures?" I asked not being able to hold back the small smile on my face. Draco gave me smirked and got closer to me to look at the runes.
"So you say you're sure… But how do you know?" he insisted, squinting at the parchment
"You see how that one's top looks like an arrow while the other just has a little flick on the side? Also this one has a curved bottom and that one is more linear. The tiniest movements make a world of difference with runes. That's why this class is so hard."
"You are mad for choosing to take this" he shook his head and rested his back against the sofa.
"Maybe" I shrugged returning to fix my notes. Draco smiled and shook his head at me again. I liked a challenge and if everyone took the easy road then the human race would have ceased to exist long ago.
"Hello Katerina" Theo greeted as he walked to us. He sat down on the seat next to me.
"Oh, hi Theo" I smiled and he smiled back. To the other side of me we heard a sound; it was Draco. He didn't look at me, only stared at Theodore.
"Nott may I speak with you?" Draco asked in a seemingly friendly tone, though through gritted teeth.
"Relax Malfoy" Theo smiled at him knowingly. "I'm not here for that."
"Here for what?" I asked curiously. Draco still would not look at me and Theo's smile widened.
"Did Daphne tell you?" Theo asked as Draco's frown became more apparent.
"What did she tell you?"
"Oh, yes she did" I smiled at him with a nod.
"What did she tell you?" Draco repeated a little too loudly.
"Theo and Daphne are going to the Yule Ball together" I answered frowning, not understanding his sudden interest in other people's lives. He usually never cared about what was happening with others, especially Daphne. I had a feeling her gossip bothered him. Well it was more of a feeling, he had told me on several occasions. Draco always insisted that I shouldn't listen to it because she didn't know what she was talking about.
"As friends of course" Theo went on. "I didn't want to be bothered to look for someone and she didn't want to choose just one of her apparently 'many' suitors so we agreed to take each other" he added with a shrug. Theo smiled again and gave a meaningful look to Draco. "You know, it is possible to go as just friends."
"So why are you here?" Draco asked him ignoring the latter comment.
"Well," he began, turning back to me, "I wanted to ask if you were done with that book you told me about."
"Oh, yes. I have it right here actually" I replied and reached into my book bag. From the corner of my eye I saw Draco glaring at Theo as he started to shift slightly away from me. Once I had it I handed him the book ignoring whatever was going on between the two.
"Thanks. I'll give it back when I'm done." Theo smiled one more time at us then left. Before putting away my bag I began to gather up my notes, not wanting to look through them anymore. That and I had a feeling I wouldn't be given a change to arrange them anyway.
"What book did you give him?" Draco asked watching Theo walk back up the stairs to their room and confirming my suspicion.
"It's one on Dangerous creatures, according to the Ministry's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at least." In the book there was a section for each of the different creatures placed into the category. One of said creatures was the Thestral. While having a talk with Theo a few days prior we found that he could see them too though he didn't know exactly what they were or why he could see them. Thinking it would help clear up some of his confusion I offered to lend him the book.
"What?" Draco asked, acting as if I was speaking gibberish.
"It's quite fascinating. I'm very familiar with it and Theo was curious so I lent it to him" I answered with a shrug. He shook his head at me.
"I will never understand your fascination with beasts. Isn't it enough you have one for a pet?"
"I also have one as a roommate, what's your point?" I asked. Draco laughed knowing I meant Pansy. He smiled at me and sighed.
"I'm bored, let's go for a walk" said Draco in a commanding sort of tone and standing up. He stood in front of me as if waiting for me to do the same. I rolled my eyes at him in response.
"What if I don't want to go for a walk?"
"That's a lie and we both know it. Besides, you always drag me away when I'm doing something for your stupid reasons, now it's my turn." Draco smirked down at me.
"Fine" I grumbled a little, not wanting to make him think it would always be this easy to convince me of something. "I guess I could do with some fresh air."
"Good."
Draco continued to smile and offered me his hand. I took it and he stood me up too. With that we started walking towards the door. I kept my bag on me since it would have just been too much trouble having to go upstairs to my room just to come back down to then go back up and out to the grounds. Instead we just kept to the door. But before we could make it out we were stopped by a very familiar and shrill noise.
"Draco!"
"Ugh, not again" Draco whined under his breath recognizing the voice. Pansy was walking the last few steps from the dormitory's stairs and to us. I laughed at his expression. From my experience he didn't really mind her but just didn't want to spend nearly as much time with her as she did with him.
"Can I talk to you, alone?" Pansy asked him but with a look to me. I smiled sweetly at her which only made her frown.
"Sure," I shrugged making Draco give me a look too. "You two have a good talk. I'll be going for a walk if you need me."
"Wait" Draco called as I started to walk away. He followed me a little ways away from Pansy and looked down at me. "Katerina…"
"Go talk to Pansy before she thinks you're avoiding her" I smiled at him which he did not appreciate.
"The walk was my idea" Draco frowned down at me.
"And I appreciate you giving it to me. Now, since you're staying, hold my stuff would you?" I said handing him my book bag. Draco glowered at me as I smiled back. I waved goodbye, leaving him to talk to Pansy, and walked through passage out of the common room. He was about to follow but heard Pansy's voice complaining and stopping him. It was fine; he'd catch up eventually.
I made my way slowly up the stairs to the Entrance Hall; I wasn't in any hurry. It was a little cold outside so I stood by the door. The cold wasn't something I minded really but the human body could only withstand so much of it before desiring warmth. In other words, sooner or later I would want to return to the warmth of the castle. For the moment I stayed inside, at least for enough time to think of something to do. I was barely taking the steps outside when Draco showed up.
"How'd it go with Pansy?" I called to him, as his eyes found me.
"Let's just go for a walk" Draco sighed as he reached me making me giggle. I nodded at him and started walking outside again. Before I got too far Draco pulled me by my robes and back to him. He gave me a look and held up my bag which I had completely forgotten about. "I am not your pack mule."
"Well if you're ever interested I think you would do well in that profession" I teased, smiling at him. Draco glowered down at me for a second then moved on without a word, walking ahead of me. I let out a laugh and followed after. It took me a few jumps in between steps since his legs were longer than mine, seemingly significantly so. Once I reached him he slowed his pace and I hooked our arms together. Still feeling a little tired mentally I leaned my head against his arm as we walked.
"Are you really so lazy that you can't carry your own weight? You hardly weigh anything as is" Draco whined but made no attempt to keep me from leaning against him. I giggled a little.
"Are you really so vain that you can't lend a shoulder to your best friend who is obviously tired from having to study, unlike a certain someone" I added, nudging him at that last part. He scoffed but smirked.
"What makes you think you're my best friend?" he teased but couldn't get the sentence out with a straight face. I smiled back.
"I'd say it's the fact that only I can see you for who you are and still find you adorable" I answered poking his cheek. His smile faded a bit.
"Don't call me that" he said in a warning tone.
"What? 'You'?" I asked innocently.
"No—"
"'I'?"
"Really?" he lowered his eyes at me, not believing I was so far in pretending I didn't know what he meant.
"'We'?" I said slowly as if honestly trying to guess.
"That word wasn't even in the sentence!" Draco exclaimed throwing his hand out for emphasis. I couldn't stop myself from laughing.
"Oh, you mean adorable!" I kept my tone innocent, like I genuinely hadn't known that. He frowned at me.
"Shut up, don't patronize me"
"Well it's true, you know. You always were adorable and you will always be adorable; at least I hope so. It'd be a real shame if that went away because without it you're kind of an arrogant jerk."
"Shut up" he frowned at me. I smiled in return.
"See? If you're face wasn't so cute I might have taken actual offense to that" I cooed poking his cheek. Draco stopped my hand as I attempted to poke it again. He pulled it closer to him and me along with it.
"Do not treat me as a child" Draco said slowly, leaning into my face.
I narrowed my eyes at him and stepped away slowly. Draco was surprised by my sudden change in attitude and let go of my wrist. I continued to give him the same look as I put more space between us. Without saying a word to him I removed my wand from my robes and took off my book bag. His expression remained curious and confused as he saw what I did. Still looking at him I waved my wand and made my bag float, moving it up a nearby tree. Once it was securely up the branches I turned back to Draco's bemused face and smiled.
"Make me" I stuck my tongue out at him. With a laugh I turned around and started running.
"This is exactly what I'm talking about!" Draco called out, running after me. I had some distance to him though; the sudden change in mood had taken him by surprise. I turned to look back only for a second to find him chasing after me with a look of annoyance but with a hint of a smile. "Out of the two of us you're the child."
"Nah ah!" I shouted quickly turning a corner.
"I'm older than you too!" Draco shouted back turning the same corner I had.
"By a month! That doesn't even count!" I laughed but kept running. He was catching up to me already, yet another advantage to his height.
"Does too!" Draco smirked inching closer to me. It only took the stretch of an arm for him to catch me.
I let out a squeal as Draco pulled me back by my waist. He pulled me towards him making us both stumble a little at the sudden change in speed. We laughed and he stood us up straight, moving towards some of the nearby trees for support. I leaned my back against one of them. Draco leaned forward putting an arm against the tree, using only that for support. We stood there for a little bit, trying to catch our breaths.
"Face it, in age, maturity, and even height I am superior" Draco smirked down at me once his breath became steady again. I giggled and smirked back.
"Well at least I'm not a mama's boy."
"Shut up" Draco frowned, not finding our conversation funny anymore.
"You are so cute" I laughed again, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him towards me. He pulled back, not wanting to be babied.
"I told you to stop that!" Draco snapped at me.
"And I told you to make me!" I stuck out tongue in reply. I giggled but Draco's face remained serious. He looked at me for a moment before letting out a sigh.
"Fine" he said slowly and moved closer to me.
Just as slowly as he had said the words Draco leaned down. He got closer to my legs, still not saying a thing. I was confused and it wasn't until he began to wrap his arms around my thighs that I realized what he was doing.
"Draco, don't—!"
My cry was interrupted by my sudden change in position. Draco had tilted forward and stood up, throwing me over his shoulder in the process. I put aside my impression with his strength and tried to focus on using my own to make him let go. I kicked my legs and moved around as much as I could but he didn't budge. Even worse, he pretended not to notice it. And the more I kicked the more annoyed I became with his lack of a reaction.
"Draco put me down right now! I'm serious; don't you ignore me!" I snapped, having had enough of his silence. He continued to walk without any regard to me. Despite the fact that I was yelling fairly close to his ear Draco kept moving, not paying attention to me and not loosening his grip. Still his strength was surprising.
I sighed and stopped thrashing, figuring the whole idea for this was to annoy me and he would eventually just put me down. Or so I thought at least, until I felt a sudden breeze hit us. It was a cool one, the kind that usually emanated from bodies of water. Guessing what it was, but hoping I was wrong, I made an effort to look where he was going and found the lake. He was planning to throw me in it. Again I started thrashing about trying to break his grip with no success. From the corner of my eye I saw Draco smirk once he saw I had figured out his plan.
"What's the matter?" he asked innocently but not slowing his pace. I glared at him and kept moving.
"I swear if I go down I'm taking you down with me!" I screamed as he walked closer to the edge.
"I always expected you to say those words to me at some point, didn't figure it would be this early in our relationship though" he smiled, teasing me. Knowing that my efforts to get loose were all in vain I let out a groan and stopped. Draco took one more step towards the water and I caved.
"Alright, fine! I get your point!" I groaned. Draco stopped walking and turned to face me. He gave me a look as if expecting more and I sighed. "I get that you're not a child anymore, and I get that calling you adorable all the time makes you look to be childish… But think about it, do you really want me to stop calling you cute?"
Draco stayed quiet for a second, thinking about my words. He had a very self-involved personality and I knew he really did like being babied, just not in front of others. He also knew that I knew that and lying to me would be fruitless. I smiled and sighed as he continued to look on doubtful.
"I'll tell you what, how about we just pretend this conversation never started and you put me down, gently" I added guessing that if I hadn't he would have just let go of me making me fall and then blamed it on my phrasing.
"Fine" he grumbled and set me down. I sighed happy to be back on the ground. Draco frowned at me and gave me a stern look. "Just stop with so much of the cutesy talk, I am not adorable."
"Of course you're not, you're very manly" I cooed at him. Draco reached out for me but I stepped back, dodging him. Once again he reached out for me, this time catching me. He narrowed his eyes at me and I laughed. His expression changed from his frown to a grin until he was eventually laughing too. Draco pulled me closer to him and put our foreheads together. After a second, he let out a sigh.
"You're really infuriating, did you know that?" he told me sounding awfully genuine. I giggled at his words and he shook his head at me. "Really infuriating."
I pulled away from him slightly and got on my tiptoes, moving to pat his head as a form of consolation. He began to chuckle so I knew that it helped. Seeing him happy I looked back out onto the lake. If he had actually thrown me in there I would have probably hurt him. He knew that but I wouldn't put it above him to have actually gone through with it. With a sigh I turned back to him and linked our arms together again.
"It's getting dark we should head inside" I told him, looking at the deep blue sky above.
"Afraid of breaking curfew, are we?" Draco teased but started walking. I shook my head at him and moved to catch up to him.
"No," I began, nudging myself against him as I matched his steps, "I just want to make sure Lev doesn't stay up too late. He needs his sleep; he has been up all day without even taking a nap. I don't want him getting too tired…"
"You are one of a kind you know that" Draco looked down at me.
"I do but it's always nice to hear someone else say it" I replied, batting my eyelashes and ignoring the insulting undertone of his comment. Draco smirked at me and continued to move ahead.
It didn't take too long for us to reach the castle. We traveled along the side of it, near one of the courtyards. Since it wasn't too late there were a few bodies visible but most of the students appeared to have headed for their designated common rooms already. One of the few bodies began to walk to us and, unfortunately, revealed herself to be Pansy. I let out a sigh as Draco turned to see what had caught my attention. Once he saw her he understood my troubles.
"We were just heading back inside" Draco informed her when she reached us, before she could start some argument.
"You must be cold. Why don't we hurry off and find a place by the fire" Pansy offered with a smile. I was pretty sure she wasn't including me in the statement. This was confirmed by her attempt to completely ignore my presence. She focused her gaze on Draco not turning in the slightest even when readjusting her bag on her shoulder. And that's when I remembered.
"Ugh, great" I groaned finally realizing why felt so weightless.
"What?" both of them asked. Well Draco did, Pansy's was more of a snap.
"I forgot my bag" I answered him, placing a hand on my head, annoyed with my own stupidity.
"I'll get it" Draco offered, moving away from us and back towards the grounds. I shook my head and grabbed onto his sleeve to pull him back.
"No, it's fine. I am the one who forgot, I'll go."
"Why don't we both—"
"She said she'd get it, just let her do it" Pansy interrupted Draco answering his unfinished question. It was really none of her business but I actually agreed, as strange as that was.
"I told you, it's fine. I will get it and you go on to the common room. Just save me a spot by the fireplace" I smiled watching Pansy's face sour. Draco smirked at me and shook his head.
"Fine but hurry up, I'm not your domestic" Draco gave me a look. He never said it out loud because he knew I would always fight him on it but he didn't want me walking the grounds by myself. But he worried too much.
"I can take care of myself just fine" I rolled my eyes at him. "Just save me the seat and I'll be there in no time."
"No rush" Pansy called to me as she led Draco to the dungeon. I shrugged at her and made my way back to the grounds.
As I walked I turned my gaze towards the sky; it looked like it was about to drop snow. I loved snow. It was quiet, the only sound coming from the occasional animal wandering through the night. That and some annoying bickering that seemed to be happening between two students. I couldn't hear what they were saying but their voices sounded hushed, like they had done that on purpose. I tried to ignore them at first and focused on the sky but as the seconds passed their volume rose. At first I thought it to be just a sign of the argument heating but soon realized it was really because they were getting closer to me. I realized this when one of the two was suddenly pushed against me. I turned to yell at the two but only found one; a very familiar one.
"George?"
"Hey Kitty" George greeted me, placing a hand to the back of his head as he turned to me. He turned back for a moment to glare behind him. Fred was standing not too far away, smiling a little smugly at his brother. He looked away quickly once he saw me looking too and heads for the stairs. I frowned at that but turned back to George. "So what are you doing here?"
"I was just out for a walk. I wanted to take advantage of the lack of rain so I've been taking a lot of walks lately. Besides, isn't this weather lovely?" I answered, smiling up at the sky. Looking back down at George I noticed him smiling at me. He turned away slightly when he noticed my glance.
"Isn't it a little late for a walk?" he asked, seeming like he wanted to change the subject though I didn't see why. 'Weather' was a very common and mundane subject. Maybe that was why.
"Uh, yes it is. I was actually on my way inside but forgot my bag" I answered with a small frown. This new found topic seemed to interest him more.
"Would you like me to help you look?"
"Sure" I shrugged.
George smiled down at me and gestured for me to lead the way. Looking for a book bag in the dark didn't seem like the best use of time to me but it what his choice what he did with his life; I wasn't his mother. Maybe he was just bored. Or maybe it was one of those 'we have to help everyone all the time' moments that Gryffindors seemed to love. Either way I smiled back and began to retrace my steps.
We walked past the lake and towards the forest first. I had been too preoccupied with getting Draco to set me down to realize which way he had gone. It would have been a better idea to have him come too since he had probably been paying more attention to that sort of thing but Pansy would have insisted on coming too. If she had I would have probably ended up throwing her in the lake like I had with Robert; it had taught him a lesson it seemed so it might do the same for her. But on second thought being near two people to have both 'fallen' into the lake and probably attacked by the giant squid would have been too much of a coincidence.
"What are you thinking about so hard?" George chuckled next to me, snapping me out of my daze.
"Just that I need to be more mindful with certain situations" I muttered mostly to myself. He smiled at me and we kept looking.
It took a little longer than I would have liked but eventually George and I found the bag. At first he couldn't seem to spot it but after I got my wand out and began to lower it from the branches of the tree he finally saw where I had hid it. Apparently a good hiding spot since it took until it reached his eye level for him to notice. That or he was just not the best at finding things.
"So how did it get up there?" George asked as I looked through the content of the bag, making sure everything I had left in there was still in fact there.
"I put it there; had to make sure it was some place safe while I ran" I replied smiling at his expression.
"I never pictured you as a runner" George said slowly, sounding confused. I giggled a little.
"It was not in the traditional sense, no. But sometimes it's fun to act like a child, don't you think?" I asked putting my book bag on being sure that it had not been tampered with.
"It's my life's motto" George grinned making me giggle. His smile changed a little when I did but he moved on before I even thought to ask. "Since we're here… Well, listen, I wanted to ask you something."
"What is it?" I asked as he took in a deep breath.
"Have you decided who you're going to the ball with?" George asked looking quite serious. I blinked a few times not having expected that as one of the possible questions and shook my head.
"No, not really. Why do you ask?"
"Well I imagined you'd have a date already" he commented looking behind me as if expecting someone to show up. He smiled a little when he saw no one did and turned back to me for my reply.
"I don't know; I never thought much of it" I mumbled being completely honest. The Yule Ball wasn't very high so a date, or in this case lack thereof, wasn't very important in my eyes. "No one's asked me so I guess not."
"Well would you want to come with me?" George asked leaning in somewhat. At first I thought he was joking but he wasn't smiling, he looked rather serious.
"Really? I thought you would have wanted to take someone of your year, like Fred" I said taken a bit by surprise at his request. George laughed but in part I was being honest; I had thought he would go with an older girl if not with his brother.
"He already has a date" George faked a sigh as if to show disappointment. I giggled at the comment and he smiled at me. "Well, how about it? Will you go with me?"
"Of course" I smile. He did too.
"Great, um, well we found your bag so we should probably start heading back inside now" said George still smiling. I giggled and started walking.
George and I made our way back towards the castle. The night became still again. There was hardly anyone outside, the only sounds coming from our feet as we walked and the occasional voice coming from a distance. There was no bickering like last time; Fred and George's bickering. I frowned remembering that's how I had come across George and that Fred had left without so much as a hello which wasn't very like him.
"So back near the castle, you and Fred were arguing. It isn't still about the same thing is it?" I asked George, growing curious if that was the reason for their bickering since it was the only recent problem I had seen between them.
"It was but that's all settled now" George smiled down at me.
"Really?" I asked not too sure if that was true. If it was the same argument as they had this summer then that meant they had been on the same topic for months. A problem that big couldn't just disappear like that…
"Yes it is" George reassured me with a nod. "It turns out he was right; I should have done it sooner… Don't tell him I told you that."
"Okay" I smiled noting his serious expression on that last part. "So you're still not going to tell me what that was all about?"
"Maybe someday" he smirked at me. I rolled my eyes but giggled a little at him.
We kept on out walk back only to finally reach the castle. There were dim lights that now looked very bright, compared to the colors outside at least. They were darker than the last time I had noticed them. It was later than I had expected too. George and I passed through the Entrance Hall and I made my way towards the stairs to the dungeon like usual, George still by my side. He paused as we grew closer and I stopped alongside him. Giving me a strange look George stayed where he stood and I gave him a curious one in return.
"Are you going back to the dungeon?" George muttered the question, looking down at the stairs with distaste. Something told me that even after all the years I had known him he was still not completely over the fact that I was in Slytherin. I smiled at him.
"Yes, I still have some work to finish, among other things." I was interrupted when I had attempted to fix my notes and I also wanted to get History of Magic done as soon as possible. I knew that I could always wait for the holiday break and catch up to the class then, Daphne always reminded me of that, but I wanted it done quickly; I hated being behind.
"I'll see you later then?" George sighed, making it sound like a question. I smiled and nodded.
"Well we are going to the Yule Ball together aren't we? Unless one of us dies unexpectedly we're going to be seeing each other there" I replied with a shrug. We had agreed on that after all, unless he had already changed his mind.
"Yes, we are" he smiled back. I giggled at his complete overlook of the latter, more morbid, comment and started towards the stairs to the common room.
"So I'll see you later then" I reassured him and waved.
"Later" he nodded and watched me go.
I smiled but shook my head at how serious he looked. It was peculiar to see him like that, ad Fred too. Not only that but the fact that apparently now I had a date for the Yule Ball. Also, I was behind on a class and a lot of people seemed to be hiding something from me. It was a strange moment in my life.