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Draco quietly walked next to her on the chilly dark night. Streetlights were on and they walked through a muggle street, comfortable in each other's silence, enjoying the cold air and environment around them. Draco took this chance to steal a glance at Jade and was surprised to see her silently crying. He didn't know what to tell her to make her feel better. There was nothing to say to get her to stop crying. He didn't believe that the words 'It'll be all right' or 'Don't worry' would be all right.
Instead Draco opted for something much more personal and friendly. "Do you want to talk about it?" Draco asked.
Jade shook her head, still not looking at him. She giggled softly and returned to crying again.
'Odd.' Draco thought.
"You might be thinking how stupid I am. How incredibly dumb and desperate I am to be in that club, letting my fiancé do all this to me." Jade said wiping her tears.
Draco shook his head and said no. "That's not at all what I was thinking. I was thinking what I should say or do to make you feel better. That's all." Draco said simply. He didn't know what else to tell her so he said the truth, hoping that it would make a slight difference.
"Thank you." Jade whispered. Draco turned to Jade who wrinkled her forehead and cried again. "Thank you." she repeated. They walked in silence again and Jade couldn't help but smell how amazing his cloak was. It was a strong and fresh scent that Jade could spend her whole life smelling. She let out a small sigh and looked at Draco who casually walked with her, both hands in his pockets. He wore a buttoned down black shirt that innocently defined his shoulders and chest, narrowing his waist.
He glanced at her to meet eyes and the two looked away, looking around nervously. "How's Alcaeus?" Jade asked finally.
"He's still upset that you left but he's actually doing pretty well." Draco said.
"He idolizes you, I hope you know that. If you just give him a little boost, he'll go very far in life." Jade said.
Draco nodded and spoke. "I read with him every night before I tuck him to sleep. We're always trying to learn new words every day…it's…nice." Draco said as Jade smiled. She placed a hand over her stomach and made a face. "What?" Draco asked.
"I'm starving. Merlin I even left my pocket money in that stupid jacket." Jade said to herself.
"Unless you have a favorite place to eat over here, I have a great recommendation." Draco said as Jade looked around.
"I honestly never came to this part of England before, so I wouldn't know." Jade said shrugging.
"That's my favorite restaurant. Everything is organic, soy, wheat, you name it it's healthy."Draco said as Jade stuck her tongue out. "What?" he asked.
"I'm guessing you don't eat those foods that are not heart friendly like fried, slathered in butter, oil, cholesterol fat loving riches." Jade said pointing to another restaurant.
"No, and I'd never eat from there. I don't want to die from an early heart attack." He said wrinkling his nose.
"You're only 25. You won't die from one greasy burger." Jade said smiling at him. Draco nodded and made way for her so they could go to the restaurant she wanted. "I was just joking, I'm not hungry really." Jade said.
"Then don't eat. I'm hungry." Draco said. They entered the restaurant and instantly they smelled the hot oil and the sound of fizzling fries just lifted from the oil. "There are no chairs or tables. Where the hell do we eat?" Draco asked looking around.
"I guess you just take it to go. They come in those heavy looking boxes." Jade said pointing to the boxes with an animated fat wizard plastered on it.
"You never told me you were the spokeswoman for 'The Fat Wizard.' Draco said lifting a box up.
"I was until you stole it from me." Jade said.
"Very funny." Draco said.
"Thank you." Jade said.
"That wasn't a compliment." Draco informed her.
"Welcome to The Fat Wizard my name is Helena, what would you like to have at The Fat Wizard today? Tonight's suggestion, we have a 10 pound roasted turkey all covered and roasted in a creamy natural butter sauce." The woman said.
"Er…do you want a ten pound roasted turkey?" Draco asked Jade who raised an eyebrow. "I guess not." Draco said turning to the lady. They ordered two sandwiches and drinks and walked outside, walking and trying to finish their food. "I've never eaten like this." Draco said going to take a bite out of his sandwich.
"Be careful, they're…slippery." Jade said watching the meat in his sandwich fall out the other end. The sauce was all over his shirt and pants, Jade felt incredibly sorry and wanted to laugh at the sight of him.
"You never told me they fly." He said trying to wipe his shirt.
"I…" Jade started giggling and pointing at him. "You have ketchup all over you." Jade said still laughing.
Draco wiped his shirt and threw it in the trash bin. Jade ripped a half of her sandwich that she didn't start on and handed it to him. Draco refused but Jade insisted. "I can't finish this whole sandwich by myself you know." Jade said taking a bite from her part of the sandwich.
They spoke to each other about little and small things and Jade spoke about her organization and the kids that were a part of it. "Many people might think it's boring and stupid to be around children all day. Dean calls them stupid…mentally retarded, things I hate, but he doesn't understand. A lot of people like him don't understand that it's in my interest, I actually love doing what I do and I don't like being ridiculed for that. A writer loves writing because that's what they love to do, a painter paints because of the same thing the writer and I do. We all have a passion for it, but people think we're crazy." Jade said.
"I used to draw a lot during Hogwarts. Father hated that about me so I stopped. After marrying Pansy, I had to be stable in life so I started to work and never found the time for it again. But I do understand what you mean. There are some people in our lives that I guess prevent you from doing something that you actually enjoy and steer you to do what they think is best for you, but there's a very big difference between you and I." Draco said.
"What's that?" Jade asked.
"You actually pursued your dreams…I just let mine go." He said. He walked off and Jade stood there for a few moments hating the idea that he gave up on one of the things he loved.
They both crossed a park where there was a small concert playing nearby. Couples started to get up and started to dance as Draco and Jade both watched. "This is interesting." Draco said as Jade nodded.
"Everyone here is dressed so casually. How can they just start dancing like this?" Jade asked looking around.
"Excuse me Miss. May I?" an elderly man asked, stretching his hand.
Jade looked at Draco and shrugged, smiling. "Oh…er yes, you may." Jade said touching his hand and shoulder softly.
"Oh Jillian! I have a partner!" he called out to his wife who walked towards them.
"Did you take the young girl and her husband's permission Jonathan?" the elderly woman asked.
"I'm sorry son, were you dancing with your wife?" the man asked.
"We're not really-" Jade and Draco started.
"I'm sorry my husband likes to be a bit too charming." The woman giggled.
Jade giggled as well and gave a small nod. "I love charm in a man." Jade said.
Draco turned to the old woman and handed his hand to her. "If you don't mind being the beautiful woman in my arms Miss?" Draco asked.
"Oh I'd love to!" the woman said taking his hand.
Jade started laughing and danced with the elderly man as the song came to a close. "But you'd never wanted to dance Jillian! This is our 40th anniversary. Same park, same music, 40 years ago, I met her. 40 years later…oh Jonathan I'm too tired. Oh Jonathan this oh Jonathan that. Excuses, excuses." Jonathan said playfully.
The musicians announced that they were going to play the final song for the evening and Jonathan kissed Jade's hand, thanking her for the wonderful dance.
"Thank you sir." Jade said giving a curtsey.
Draco kissed the old woman's hand and watched her pull Jade close to Draco. "It's the final song! You ought to start dancing before she runs off to find a younger and better looking you!" Jonathan said.
He held his wife and the two started to dance together to the music. Couples all around them danced slowly with each other, making them feel very odd because they weren't dancing.
Jade felt a slight push, causing her to take a step towards Draco. "I'm sorry." Jade said.
Draco said nothing but place a hand on her waist and a hand gently holding the other hand. Jade placed a hand on his shoulder and the two swayed softly to the music. Her scent wafted to his nose and he breathed everything about her. She felt soft and vulnerable against him, something he didn't feel when they were attached all of a sudden. She was pushing him sharply at the time so he didn't notice much of the good traits about her. But it was during that moment and the moment now that Draco felt the same flutter in his chest. Something he couldn't understand. He felt her shake a little and pulled slightly to see if she was crying. He saw her giggle silently, trying to cover her face so no one could see.
"What? What did I do?" Draco asked.
"You smell like greasy chicken with ketchup." Jade said, still laughing. She bent her neck to see him looking down on her, the same expression, the same strange desire, back in his eyes. Jade's smile fell slowly as he gained closer towards her face.
The musicians stopped their music and announced that the concert was over and people started to leave, bumping into Draco and Jade from time to time. They separated and felt embarrassed at what had come over them. Jade scratched her head, feeling her cheeks start to warm. This simple crush on Draco Malfoy had started to grow and in moments like these, it didn't help to stop the growth.
They had finally apparated to Hogsmeade, in front of Jade's flat and Draco went to say goodbye. "Thank you. For everything tonight. Honestly if you didn't come to the last minute to help, I would have probably been lying in a gutter somewhere." Jade said.
"You're a smart woman but you're easily misguided not because you're stupid, but you just can't say no. People take advantage over that and just rip you until you're down to nothing. Just say no, it won't hurt anyone, especially not you." Draco said.
"I will. Believe me; I've decided what's best for me and my future. Oh and if you're not busy tomorrow, is it all right if you can drop Alcaeus by my organization tomorrow? I haven't seen him in ages anyways." Jade said seeing Draco nod.
"I have a day off. I'll drop him there." Draco said nodding.
Jade smiled and went to push the door but cursed. "My keys! My bloody keys! In the bloody jacket that the bloody bastard-" Jade swore loudly.
"Alohamora." Draco said. The lock clicked and Jade walked in.
"That's great but how do I get into my flat? Alohamora doesn't work there. Goodness, I'm screwed." Jade said looking up to the windows of her room.
It took a half an hour to actually break into her apartment. Jade felt incredibly relieved that she was in her home, a place where she could call sanctuary and Draco apologized for having broken her door down. The two restored it back to its place and congratulated each other for the deed.
"If I ever need a partner for burglary, I'll definitely owl you." Jade said handing Draco a glass of cold water.
"Thank you." Draco said. He saw how relaxed and laid back she was in her own home. Everything was simple and very clean. Her refrigerator was stacked with food and on it were lots of notes and a calendar for events and classes. "You really do a lot of work." Draco said seeing her tie her hair up and in her pajamas.
"I don't call it work. I call it a hobby of mine." Jade said. Draco looked at the pictures of her, Dean, Hermione, Ron, Rose and Hugo, Samantha and her caretakers.
"Where do your parents live?" Draco asked.
"Don't know. These are my caretakers. My parents left me or died, whatever it was, I was too young to remember. These were the people that raised me, up until Dumbledore came and invited me to Hogwarts." Jade said seeing Draco place the frame back.
"I'd be better off if my parents left me." Draco said.
Jade was silent, not being able to comment on that. They stood in front of each other, near the sofa, in silence. Draco looked up to see Jade giving him a calculating stare. She stepped closer to him knowing that it was mad on her part but inside of her, it screamed to tell her how much she wanted it.
Draco bent his head and placed a small kiss on her lips, feeling a tingling sensation go through him when she touched his chest. Draco deepened the kiss, running his hands through her hair, removing the rubber band from her hair. Her hair fell through his hands like water and released a soft and sweet smell. He wanted to control himself but found his hands making their way down to her neck to her chest, making her intake a sharp breath. It had been ages since Draco ever felt this way. He had too much grief and pain over the loss of his wife, which he never looked once at another woman. Nowadays, he found himself losing his attention and doing things he would have never done on ordinary days. Her skin was soft, enraging his heart that he wanted more of her. Jade almost went mad kissing him. Her heart jumped to her throat and her body weakened by the kiss and by every touch he made.
"Oh good Merlin." Jade breathed when he traced his finger around her waist. He had to stop himself. He knew they were going to a direction that would take a strong will to stop. He didn't want her to regret what she had done later on so he stopped his face near hers.
"I have…to go." He said wishing he didn't. Jade bit her lip and nodded still dazed from the kiss.
"It's 2 in the morning." Jade whispered.
Draco nodded and pulled away, his heart hammering against his chest as he walked away. He made his way to the door and gave a final good bye to Jade. "Goodbye Draco." Jade said.
Draco apparated home and sat in his study, thinking about his night. He couldn't imagine himself actually letting go of himself and kissing Jade. For a while now, ever since she crawled under his skin about his son's dyslexia, he caught himself waiting for her to arrive, watched her teach Alcaeus and when he came home, he expected to see her before she left.
"What are you thinking about Draco?" a voice asked. Draco looked up to see Pansy sitting in front of him, casually sitting back with her legs rested on the therapist chair.
"I don't know." Draco said.
"You like her." Pansy said resting her chin on her fist.
"No I don't." Draco answered.
"Why did you kiss her then?" Pansy asked.
"I can't feel attracted to her. She's engaged to another man. I can't take her away from him, ough I don't know." Draco said with frustration. He hated to reason with himself. Nothing made sense to him.
"Sure. She's engaged to the world's biggest prat who will make her life into some kind of hell. You've heard what he said earlier didn't you? I'm sure you wanted to strangle him when he said he'll marry her for backup." Pansy said.
"I know but now I don't know what I should do. She hasn't broken up with him yet so it'll look extremely stupid if I appear to say I've come to take you away!" Draco said.
Pansy giggled. "You don't have to exactly do it that way Draco. If you trust her, she'll let go of him. If she truly feels the same way you do about her, she'll reciprocate her feelings by leaving him. That's all." Pansy said getting up.
"Wait, what does that mean?" Draco asked.
Pansy threw her hands up and shrugged. "Whatever you want it to mean! It might sound corny and I'd be the last person in the world or afterworld to tell you but follow your heart. In these situations, your heart can decide what's best for you, if you just follow it. Don't be so rational about it, or you'll lose her. Goodness I am so tired, kiss Alcaeus goodbye for me." Pansy said walking away.
"If you come back and just-" Draco stopped when Pansy disappeared.
"Father?"
Draco turned around to see his son standing there looking sleepy and confused."Why are you talking to yourself?" Alcaeus asked looking around. Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair and face.
"Because I've gone mad. Come now, you have a place to visit tomorrow." Draco said. With that, he picked Alcaeus up and closed the door on the study room.