9 – With Words Unspoken (Hogsmeade – Part 2)

DRACO

Draco hadn't known that kissing someone could feel like dying. He didn't exactly think much about dying to begin with. But never would he have imagined that death was such a sweet thing.

He had been afraid at first. Afraid that Potter would be able to see through him completely. See everything he wasn't ready to show her. He had been afraid that once she found out how he truly felt about her she would reject him after all. Or worse, feel disgusted by him and run away. But when he had looked at her after pulling away, he hadn't seen anything like that on her face. If anything, she had seemed somewhat confused…

With searching eyes she looked up at him, her cheeks slightly flushed and her lips even redder than before. From kissing, Draco realised. And then he chided himself for wasting time, worrying himself half-stupid when he could just as well be kissing Potter. So he did just that.

No wonder she had been confused when Draco wasn't giving her a chance to understand him. He hadn't even been able to properly confess his feelings to her. And then it happened seemingly all on its own. All of the walls he had so carefully constructed were crumbling down around him and suddenly there was nothing but Haley. She was all around him, filling his mind and making every thought that had nothing to do with the girl disappear. It was like everything he made her feel – impatience, worry, anger, fear, affection – was being poured into the kiss. There were so many things he had wanted to tell her but hadn't found the right words to do so.

How beautiful he thought she was. How much he liked seeing her smile. Or how the sound of her laughter made him want to sing. Although he didn't remember the last time he had sung. Or the seemingly simplest of them all: That he cared about her far too much and that this fact frightened him more than anything else. Maybe she would understand without him having to actually say it out loud. Maybe she would hear the words in his kiss.

Draco felt the urge to laugh at all these cheesy thoughts. How had it come to this? How could a girl make him feel this vulnerable? Like a pathetic fool. He felt so much. He felt as if he was drowning in the sudden wave of affection that was crashing over him, leaving him drenched in nothing but raw emotion. It was all too much. The kissing, the proximity, the sudden overwhelming rush of feelings.

He had to pull away, his eyes clenched tightly and breathing heavily. He felt as if he had just run two miles. Half-reluctantly Draco let go of Haley's hand and let himself sink onto his back next to her. His heart was thumping in his chest so forcefully he felt the beats reverberate all through his body. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. It didn't stop. Of course it didn't. It wouldn't do him much good if his heart actually stopped. Still. It was beating much too fast. This couldn't be normal.

"Malfoy?" A voice asked quietly, close to his right ear. He didn't open his eyes, still waiting for his heartbeat to return to normal.

Then he felt a sharp pain in his arm. Almost like someone had pinched him. Draco turned to lie on his side.

"Did you just pinch my arm?" He asked the girl in front of him in puzzlement.

"I thought you were asleep," she argued, shrugging. It looked awkward, since she was also lying on her side, facing him. Draco watched her for a moment, frowning. Was he the one who had gone crazy or was it Potter? He wondered whether it would be childish to pinch her back. He cleared his throat.

"Have you ever seen someone fall asleep in less than five seconds?" The Slytherin asked scoffingly. He noticed that his heartbeat was fairly normal again. It was probably all thanks to Potter and her stupid pinching. Or the fact that she was saying stupid things.

"I… don't know," she admitted, seemingly considering his question, "but that doesn't mean it's not possible."

"Right," Draco breathed, her answer reminded him strangely of something Lovegood would say.

"So… you weren't sleeping," Potter questioned, biting her lips like she was trying not to grin.

"Obviously," he whispered, forcing himself not to stare at her mouth. She hadn't said anything about their kiss. Wasn't she going to? What if she hadn't liked it?

"What were you doing then?" She asked playfully, one corner of her mouth was tilting upwards slowly.

"Thinking," Draco said lamely. Well, it wasn't a lie.

"About what?" Potter inquired, her voice no more than a whisper. Draco closed his eyes again. He couldn't keep looking at her intense green eyes that were trying to suck all of the secrets out of his head. You, he thought, I was thinking about you. I was thinking about kissing you and how it made me want to kiss you more. And more and more. And how it suddenly all became too much. Because I felt too much. I still do. In a way it has always been like this with you. Feeling too much. At first I strongly disliked you and then… you… made me care.

"About what?" Haley repeated impatiently. He opened his eyes again.

"This…and that," he waved her off.

Haley raised an eyebrow at him, like she was waiting for him to elaborate. But he stayed silent.

"If you say so," she rolled her eyes and turned away from him.

Draco bit his lips nervously. Should he tell her?

"I really like…" He started to say, but trailed off, when she suddenly turned to face him again.

"I really… really like…" He tried again.

She looked at him curiously.

"Head massages," he finished lamely. He couldn't do it. Not while Potter was staring at him like that.

"What?" She asked, sounding perplexed.

"I said 'I really like head massages'," Draco repeated foolishly. It was true. He did like head massages.

"I heard you the first time," Potter informed him.

"So?"

"So what?"

"So, aren't you going to give me one?"

Potter looked at him as if she thought he was nuts.

"I think, I'll pass," she murmured after a pause. Then one corner of her mouth started to twitch upwards in amusement.

"I don't want my hands to get oily after all."

That hurt. Now she was insulting his hair?

"My hair is not oily," Draco growled in a dangerous tone.

Potter actually snorted at that.

"Anything that helps you sleep at night," she quipped with a chuckle.

"Fine," Draco sneered, trying for an indifferent tone, "I'll ask Pansy to do it later. She really enjoys massaging my head, you know? And she's good at it, too."

That's what Potter got for calling his hair oily. Draco raised an eyebrow at her in challenge. What was she going to make of that? Did it make her jealous to hear him talk about Pansy that way?

If it did, she didn't let it show.

"You should do that," she encouraged him instead, "That way everyone wins."

Draco glared at her. She was too cruel. Would it have killed her to at least pretend she was a little jealous?

He decided he didn't want to talk to her anymore. Not ever. Or at least not right this second.

…

HALEY

Was Malfoy seriously attempting to make her jealous? Haley suppressed an amused grin. This was ridiculous. She wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to think. There were at least a thousand thoughts chasing around one another in her head and at the same time she felt like she wasn't thinking at all. Like her mind was totally blank. What a strange sensation.

As she lay there on her back with her eyes closed, she sensed movement from the left. And not a second later a heavy weight settled on her stomach. What the-? Haley opened her eyes only to see that Malfoy was using her as a pillow. What the hell was he thinking?

"What are you-?" She started to ask but the boy whose head was currently lying on her stomach interrupted her.

"I'm not talking to you," he said petulantly. How old was he, four?

"And now you're getting that hair gel all over my shirt!" She complained half-heartedly.

"I can't hear you," Malfoy sing-songed, making Haley snort in amusement.

She felt the urge to hit him playfully but before she could do more than raise her arm, the Slytherin caught her right hand and placed it next to his face on top of her stomach.

"I'm keeping this," he mumbled softly, interlacing his fingers with hers.

"At least your hand doesn't talk back," he said with a snort. It would have been funny, if Malfoy hadn't decided to press a kiss to the back of her hand.

"I'm not letting go of this hand," he whispered seemingly to himself and it sounded almost like a promise. Haley had to close her eyes and try to calm her heart that had started to thump wildly in her chest. Then she felt a feather light touch on her pointer finger. And another on her middle finger.

He was kissing her fingers, she realised. With each little kiss that followed, Haley felt something fluttery inside her stomach. Were those butterflies? Whatever it was it felt scary. And overwhelming. And she didn't want it to stop. So of course it stopped in exactly that moment.

Malfoy was stroking his thumb over the back of her hand now. His hand wasn't as cold any more. She wondered whether there was a reason why it was always so cold in the first place. It couldn't hurt to ask, right? It wasn't like he was going to tell her he was a vampire or something.

"Your hands, they're..." she started to say but somehow it felt stupid to just ask in such a straight forward way.

"They're always cold. Why is… that?" She asked quietly. There. She had said it. She didn't know what she had expected but it was definitely not to be ignored.

Haley opened her eyes in annoyance and stared down at Malfoy.

"Hey!" She exclaimed, "I'm talking to you. I thought we were over the whole ignoring thing?"

But Malfoy didn't answer. In fact, with the way his eyes were closed and the calm rhythm of his breathing it almost seemed as if the boy was sleeping.

"Hey, Malfoy," she hissed, shaking his shoulder lightly with her free hand, "Hey, I know you're not sleeping. It wasn't funny the first time around."

All the Slytherin did in response to her administrations was pout slightly, and bury his face further in her shirt. It looked as though he really had fallen asleep.

Haley laughed. Not out of amusement but more over the sheer absurdity of the situation.

What would her friends say if they could see her right now?

Lying on a blanket underneath a magic umbrella that recorded memories together with bloody Draco Malfoy who had fallen asleep on top of her. What a crazy picture this painted.

For a moment, she allowed herself to really look at the sleeping boy. He looked so innocent that you might think he had never done a bad deed in his life. Well… Haley knew better. She could do anything she wanted to him now. Get revenge for all the times he had treated her badly. Nothing was there to stop her. Nothing except the tiny fact that Malfoy clearly trusted her not to harm him. Otherwise he wouldn't have been able to just fall asleep like that. No matter how tired he was. But maybe this was only a test. Maybe he wanted to know what she would do with such an opportunity. But that was stupid. It didn't make sense. Hadn't he said earlier that he had barely slept the night before? Or had that been a lie? Well, it couldn't hurt to let him sleep for a bit. Maybe she could try and sort out her feelings in the mean time.

…

It was oddly dark around her when Haley opened her eyes. She could hear the soft pitter-patter of the rain on the leaves. When had it started to rain? And when had it got so dark? Where was she in the first place? The dormitory? She couldn't see much but it seemed just like Crookshanks had decided to use her as a bed again. She chuckled softly and reached down to pet him lightly.

"Crookshanks, how did you-?"

Haley froze. Since when did Crookshanks' fur feel this smooth? Just like… human skin.

Her eyes were slowly adjusting to the light that was beginning to fade to darkness but it was enough to confirm that it was indeed someone's face she had felt with her hand.

And then it all came back. She was somewhere in Hogsmeade with Malfoy who had fallen asleep. But she hadn't meant to fall asleep as well. From the looks of it it was already terribly late. Too late.

Haley sat up abruptly. Malfoy grumbled softly in his sleep but she couldn't be bothered to worry about him as well. This was bad! They had to get back to the castle quickly.

She shoved him away unceremoniously and started to look around for her jacket.

"Hey, what's wrong," Malfoy mumbled softly, sitting up as well and rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"We don't have time!" Haley exclaimed. There was a hint of panic in her voice, "Quick, we need to pack everything up! There's no time! Don't just sit there. Help me!"

She couldn't understand how Malfoy just sat there and looked at her. Didn't he understand? They didn't have time for this. They needed to get back! And fast. Or else someone would notice.

That couldn't happen.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" The Slytherin questioned confusedly, "We don't have to be back for another two hours."

"You don't understand!" She almost yelled.

"Understand what?" He asked just as hotly.

Haley sighed, biting her lips anxiously. "Ron and Hermione. I told them I was going to head back to the castle early. But look how late it is! I don't even know exactly how late it is but – but – they'll know I lied – and – and what do I tell them?"

Malfoy frowned at her. "Just tell them you changed your mind," he offered with a shrug.

"That'll convince them," Haley replied sarcastically. For a moment she had forgotten she was talking to Draco Malfoy. Of course that was the kind of thing he would tell his friends.

"Will it not?" Malfoy asked cautiously, seemingly picking up on her mood.

"Of course it will not convince them! If anything they'll be even more suspicious than before," she explained impatiently, "Why did I even ask you?" It came out harsher than she had intended to.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Malfoy asked, almost dangerously.

Haley took a deep breath. She needed to stay calm if Malfoy was about to go all dramatic on her. This wasn't the time for a fight.

"Nothing," she said quietly, silently pleading with the boy to just let it go.

"It didn't sound like nothing," he argued, "To me it sounded like you were implying I was too stupid to–"

"Please," Haley interrupted him. On an impulse, she reached for his hand that was on the blanket next to him and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I didn't mean it like that… Let's just… quickly pack everything up and go… okay?"

Malfoy glanced back and forth between their hands and her face almost in wonder. This was the first time she had taken his hand of her own accord. It seemed like the Slytherin realised that, too.

His eyes lingered on their hands for a while longer. It was almost as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Then a slow grin started to form on his face. He tried to fight it by biting his lips but it was a fruitless effort. Haley had already seen it. She even saw it in his eyes.

"Sure," Malfoy muttered, facing away from her to hide the joyful expression on his face.

Haley chuckled. Was this all it took to get him to stop arguing? Just holding his hand?

She squeezed his hand one more time, causing the boy in front of her to grin even wider.

What even was this? If only she had known she had this kind of power before. Her life could have been a lot easier.

…

They packed up the food and the picnic blanket and stuffed it all into Malfoy's shoulder bag. It was marvelous that it all fit into the small bag. It reminded Haley of a magical bag she had once seen in a movie about a nanny with magical powers.

It was probably charmed in some way. The only thing that was still left was the magical umbrella that wasn't an umbrella. Haley frowned. She still didn't really understand how it worked.

Malfoy stood in front of it and beckoned her to come closer. Haley walked over to him and waited for the umbrella to do something extraordinary.

"We need a password," Malfoy informed her, gesturing toward the umbrella.

"Can it be anything?" She wondered.

"Basically," he answered.

"How about 'Hogsmeade'?" Haley suggested.

"Wow, that's original," Malfoy scoffed.

"You come up with something then."

"Fine. How about… um… how about…" He trailed off, never finishing his sentence. A faint blush was littering his pale face, making Haley wonder what he had been thinking about.

"What?" She asked curiously.

"Nothing," he said, too quickly.

"Just tell me!"

"No!"

Haley stared at him for a moment, realising that he wasn't going to budge.

"Okay, fine. I'll do it then. You just have to push that button and then say the password, right?"

Malfoy nodded.

Haley grinned as she pushed the button above the handle of the umbrella. She had come up with a good one.

"Sugar Tea," she said to no one in particular and let go of the button. There was a flash of light, reminiscent of a camera flash and then the umbrella folded itself up. The only thing that was shielding them from the rain now was the tree they were standing underneath.

"Sugar Tea?" Malfoy questioned, frowning slightly, as he picked up the umbrella and stuffed it into his bag as well.

Haley shrugged. "You drink your tea with lots of sugar," she said amusedly.

"So?" Malfoy asked, squinting his eyes at her dangerously.

"Nothing," she retorted, biting her lips to keep from grinning even more, "It's just something I noticed is all."

"Really. And here I was, thinking you were making fun of me," he muttered sarcastically.

"Me? Making fun of you? That's ridiculous. I'd never do something like that," Haley replied, chuckling. It was too funny.

…

DRAGO

This was quickly becoming one of Draco's favourite things. Potter's laugh. This was already the third time today. He remembered all the times he had seen the girl laugh and smile in front of other people. How much he had wanted to have her be this open and carefree in front of him. Just once. And now here he was. And it didn't even matter that she was sort of making fun of him. He knew she didn't mean it in a mean way. Well, he hoped as much.

This was just a little fun. They were having fun together. And if that wasn't the most absurd thought he had ever had he didn't know what was.

His head felt as if there were a million tiny little fire flies flying around inside of it, making him dizzy. And wasn't he floating? No, his feet were definitely still on the ground. A quick look confirmed that. As he looked up again, he noticed that Haley wasn't laughing anymore. She was still smiling though.

"Come on, we should go," she said, voice still tinged with laughter. Draco didn't want to go. If they left now it meant their time together was almost over. The walk back to Hogwarts was all that was left.

"We can't," he objected, trying to come up with a convincing reason.

"Why not?" Potter questioned.

"Well because… because it's still raining," he argued. That ought to convince her. She was a girl after all. Surely she wouldn't want her hair to get wet.

The Gryffindor frowned at him. "We can just use your umbrella," she stated.

"I didn't bring an umbrella," he argued. What was she talking ab–

"Oh, you were talking about my time machine," Draco chuckled condescendingly, "It may look like an umbrella but that doesn't mean it also works like that."

Potter watched him in a doubtful way. She didn't seem to believe him.

"That's not a problem," she said in an almost challenging way, "I'm not afraid of rain."

Before Draco could utter something clever like "Neither am I", Potter had already turned around and walked away from the protection provided by the tree and right into the rain.
Was she being serious? It seemed Potter didn't care much for her own hair but Draco was sure as hell not about to let his own precious locks of gold get all wet.

He reached for the hood that was attached to his cloak and made sure it covered his hair sufficiently. Then he ran after her.

…

HALEY

Honestly, it was just a little bit of rain. Nothing to be scared of. Haley was more worried what she was going to do about her friends' questions.

There was the sound of quick footfalls behind her. Malfoy. Not a second later he came to a stop in front of her, effectively blocking her way. It was all she could do not to walk right into him.

"What-?" She started to ask but she was distracted by the two hands that were reaching for her face. Or more precisely, past her face. He brought up the hood from her jacket and pulled it over her head.

"What's the point of a hood if you don't use it?" Malfoy asked almost chidingly, as he pulled on the fabric until it completely covered her hair and face. For someone who had complained about getting wet only seconds before, the boy sure took his time, doing useless things. Although he stood directly in front of her, he wasn't meeting her eyes. It seemed as though he was completely focused on the task of tucking lose strands of her hair away, making sure the rain wouldn't be able to reach them. It seemed like a rather domestic thing to do. Intimate even. Too intimate for her liking.

"Stop that, it's just rain," she argued in a whisper, removing his hands from her face.

She had never really thought of him as dangerous before. Not with his snarl, not when he had insulted her, not when they had thrown hexes at one another. But this soft and caring side of him, she realised, was the most dangerous of them all. It wasn't an obvious kind of danger. It was the kind of danger that came unnoticed and wormed its way under your skin when you least expected it.

"Fine," Malfoy retorted, crossing his arms in front of his chest, "But don't complain if one of your little friends recognises you." He seemed slightly miffed. Haley was just about to argue that it wouldn't be too long before it was too dark to see much anyway, when the softly falling rain suddenly turned into a heavy downpour. Well, she was glad for her hood now.

…

DRACO

Draco was slightly out of breath. Or maybe a lot. He knew it had been a stupid idea to run back to the castle. Surely the rain wouldn't have been worse had they walked in a slower pace. Well, it hadn't been his idea.

The castle was looming above of them. A black shadow against the darkening sky. It was almost up now. His time with Potter. He glanced over toward the girl that was leaning against the castle wall, catching her breath as well. She was looking up toward the towers, frowning slightly. She was probably worrying about her friends. With a pout Draco sank back against the wall next to her.

Potter turned to look at him. "It's over," she said quietly. Draco's heart sank at her words. What? Why was it over when it hadn't even started yet?

"The rain. It has stopped," she added with a smirk, sticking her hand out in front of her and bringing it back dry.

"Very funny," Draco muttered with a scowl. This was unsettling. How just a couple of words were enough to make him doubt this. He really didn't want their date to be over. Or anything else between them for that matter. How could Potter joke about that?

"I guess it's time to –"

"No."

…

HALEY

"No?" Haley echoed in surprise.

"No," Malfoy repeated, stepping in front of her and shaking his head slowly. Haley didn't understand. They were here, back at the castle. The Oak Doors were just a few metres away. She needed to get back to Gryffindor tower. Her friends had probably returned ages ago. There was really no reason to stay here.

"But I –" She started to say but two fingers on her lips stopped her.

"Potter," Malfoy whispered, capturing her eyes with his own unwavering gaze, "I've been wondering..."

Malfoy's face was mostly hidden in the dark. The few strands of his white blond hair that weren't hidden under his hood were shining in the moonlight. And his eyes seemed like tiny stars, glimmering in the night. She had never thought there would come a day where she would find herself thinking that Draco Malfoy was kind of beautiful. In an elvish sort of way. But here she was doing exactly that.

Malfoy removed his fingers from her mouth and started to speak.

"Today… was it enough to convince you?"

"Convince me? Of what?"

"That I am... not messing with you. That I have been... telling the truth."

She wasn't used to this. Him being all serious like that. What did he expect her to say? 'Yes, you convinced me. I'll never doubt you again'? Something like this? Or was it better to say something like 'You wish', walk away and laugh at him? No, that was too cruel. Although it would certainly be more fun than the first option. Maybe she would find something fitting between overeager and cruel.

"Not…completely," she offered, her tone not betraying any emotion.

There was weariness in Malfoy's gaze as he raised his head and looked at her. "What is that supposed to mean?" He asked, mildly disconcerted.

Haley bit her lips to keep herself from chuckling. It was almost too easy to mess with the boy.

"It means," she said slowly, "that as far as I know there are still three weeks left to convince me of your honest intentions."

Malfoy scoffed at that. "Who said my intentions were honest?"

"I assumed they were," Haley replied with a shrug.

Malfoy raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't you think it's unwise to assume a Slytherin would have honest intentions?"

"I'm not a Gryffindor for nothing," she answered cheekily, finally allowing herself to grin.

"I didn't know stupidity was a Gryffindor trait," Malfoy mocked her. The git. But she wasn't about to back down so easily.

"It's not. I was referring to the bit about bravery."

"I think the word you're looking for is 'recklessness'."

"If it weren't for my so called 'recklessness' who knows whether I would have agreed to go on a date with you," She retorted, raising an eyebrow at him. How was he going to reply to that?

He squinted his eyes at her. "Flattering, Potter."

"It wasn't meant to be flattering," she informed him.

"I was being sarcastic."

"I know."

"Are you trying to make a point or something?"

"It's probably due to my recklessness. I can't help it. It's a Gryffindor trait."

Haley grinned even wider. Malfoy shook his head in disbelief. But she could see the tiny smile in the corner of his mouth he was obviously trying to suppress.

"Potter," Malfoy began in a sombre voice, "I wonder… would another date be enough to convince you?"

Haley should have anticipated something like this. Of course, he was going to ask her on another date. She wasn't exactly an expert on dating. But as far as she could judge their date had gone surprisingly well. They had laughed and argued and held hands and even kissed… She felt heat rush to her face at that particular memory.

"W-with you?" She asked nervously. Why was her heart beating so fast all of a sudden?

Malfoy chuckled softly. "Do you see anyone else around?" He asked in return.

She shook her head stupidly. What else was there to do?

"So..." he urged her.

Right. He was still waiting for an answer. It shouldn't be this hard to answer such a simple question. It would certainly be easier if the boy in front of her wasn't trying to burn a hole into her head with his intense stare.

"Maybe... I guess," she mumbled, "I did say I was going to give you four weeks – well three weeks now. But I always keep my word so..." She trailed off and shrugged. Had she said something wrong? Malfoy wasn't reacting at all. He just stared at her, the expression on his face frozen. It seemed almost like somebody had cast a full-body-bind on him. Haley frowned. There. He had blinked. And his lips were definitely twitching slightly.

"Okay," he finally muttered, "Great." Then he closed his eyes, for a few seconds like he was trying to take in something he couldn't quite believe.

She waited for him to open them again and when he did she was once again reminded of the stars. That's how brightly they shone. Two silver gems in the night. There was a smile spreading quickly on the boy's face but before Haley could take a second look, he had already taken a step toward her and squeezed her to death.

…

DRACO

This was better than flying. In fact, Draco felt like he was floating somewhere above the clouds. It was ridiculous. But it was real. As real as the girl he was finally holding in his arms.

She wanted to go on another date with him! Wasn't that simply amazing? He laughed delightedly.

So much for putting on a cool and indifferent mask. He had tried that for a few seconds. But in the end he had lost the battle against the ambush of his feelings.

He decided it wasn't too bad. He had acted on his feelings and now he got to hug her. Draco tightened his grip on Potter just because he could. He smiled contentedly into her shoulder. Her scent was all around him. It was something sweet and warm and – yes, he could get used to this.

Something was tugging at his arms. Was that Potter? He pulled away slightly to look at her.

Her cheeks had turned a faint pink. Was it because of the unexpected proximity? Whatever the reason, it looked endearing.

She cleared her throat and looked at her hands that were still holding onto his arms.

"It's late," she whispered.

Right. It was late. And Potter had her loyal friends waiting for her, didn't she? The only problem was that Draco wasn't any more ready to let her go than he had been five minutes ago.

He raised his hand toward her face and tilted it upwards, making her look at him. The movement caused her hood to fall away from her face, but it didn't matter. They were the only two people in the night.

That's when Draco stopped to think. The only thing that was important was the girl in front of him, looking up at him out of her green eyes that were filled with curiosity. But she wanted to go. She wanted to leave him alone with his feelings. With his thundering heart that was foolishly urging him on to just lean in another few inches and at least feel those cashmere soft lips another time.

He closed his eyes and leant in ever so slowly, giving Potter plenty of time to stop him if she wanted to. Then he felt them. Soft lips touching his own, sending tingling sensations all over his skin. There were hands on his chest. Was she actually pulling him closer? He smiled against her lips. But no. She was pushing him away. What?

Draco opened his eyes in surprise, blinking down at the girl confusedly. She was frowning slightly and pulling him away from the Oak Doors and deeper into the shadows. The Slytherin turned around to see two dark figures approaching the entrance to Hogwarts slowly. His heart almost stopped. They had been that close to being caught! He turned back to Haley.

"How did you–?"

"Shush!" She whispered, cutting off his words, "Don't look. Your hair."

She was probably right. With how shiny his hair was, they would spot him at once. He looked at Haley instead, who was carefully glancing back toward the two figures. Was she affected by the kiss at all? Either she was exceptionally good at hiding her feelings or she didn't care at all. Or perhaps it was more important to her that they wouldn't get caught.

Whatever it was, Draco already wanted to kiss her again. It hadn't even been a real kiss in the first place! It had been far too short. Not like the kiss before that… He smiled at the memory, closing his eyes. Why had he wasted all this time fighting with Potter when kissing her felt so good?

"I think, they're gone," whispered the girl in question, making his eyes open slowly. She was watching him contemplatively.

"I'm going to go in first," she whispered, "You should wait a few minutes before following me. If I don't come back it means the air should be clear."

Draco frowned. He had hoped… But of course they would part ways here. She wouldn't want anyone to see them together. It's better that way, he tried to tell himself, Less suspicious.

Before Potter could take the first step away from him, he reached for her arm.

"Wait," he called, suddenly remembering something.

"What is it?" Potter asked, looking over to the castle impatiently.

Draco opened his shoulder bag and took out the wooden box. He opened it and retrieved a sandwich and two of Potter's favourite treacle tarts.

"What are you –?" The girl started to ask, as Draco handed her the box, so that he could wrap the treats up inside a handkerchief. It didn't look as neat as his mother would have done it but it would do. With one hand he took the wooden box from Potter's hands and placed his little snack package inside her open hands. Once the box was safely stored inside his shoulder bag again, he looked up at her.

'You must be hungry,' he wanted to say, 'I noticed you haven't eaten much today'.

It was the truth but he couldn't exactly say that without completely giving away how deeply he cared. What he said instead was, "I don't really like those. They're much too sweet for my taste. You can have them."

Potter snorted, raising an eyebrow at him. "Well, it can't be helped then," she said lowly, "If they're too sweet for you." It was weird how she stressed the word 'sweet'. Didn't she believe him?

"I –" he started to say, another excuse already forming on his tongue. But he was stopped by a tiny hand on top of his.

"Thank you," Haley murmured quietly, without looking at him. Her warm touch sent an even warmer tingle over his skin.

She looked up at him slowly. There was the hint of a smile on her lips.

"Goodnight, Malfoy," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She let go of his hand. Then she turned around and made her way toward the Oak Doors.

She was walking away from him again. He hated watching her go. So, he decided he wouldn't. Not this time. With no more than three steps he had reached the girl and stopped in front of her.

He shook his head, almost as an afterthought.

"You wait," he said, ignoring the surprised expression on Haley's face.

"Goodnight," he whispered in return. Then he turned around, walking in the direction of the castle.

There. He didn't have to watch her go now. Not this time.

…

A/N: Hello my dear readers ! Sorry for making you wait forever for that update! But as always life got in the way and this will probably be the last update for this year. I've just started my masters and it's so time-consuming, I barely get any time to write. Well anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'm happy to hear your thoughts :)
Oh and to anyone following my fic "A Little Braver", there will be an update of that soon :)

Title is from "Will you love me tomorrow" by The Shirells.

On a different note, I need to recommend some reading. It's basically anything written by Walter Moers. He is a German fantasy author and his writing is glorious. Maybe you've heard of "City of Dreaming Books"? Check him out if you have some time :)
Also I've become a major GoT addict. Anyone watch that? If you do, please don't spoiler cause I'm still somewhere in season 6. I'll stop now :D

Have fun and keep reading

Feather :)