Draco spent the majority of the evening after the duelling club in a predictable sulk. Cornelia was irritated, she had wanted to celebrate with Draco and portray some of the pride she had felt watching him duel. Instead, she was curled up on an armchair in the common room with Draco lounging on the floor at her feet, alternating between staring blankly at the book in his lap and bitterly into the fireplace.
She had attempted to tell him how well he had done as they had left the duelling club, only to have her words brushed away with a "Outdone by Potter again though wasn't I?" so she had resorted to being his silent companion instead. That was until Pansy Parkinson approached them an hour later. Cornelia had watched her with narrow eyes, stiffening in her seat, but Pansy only had eyes for Draco - wide puppy eyes.
"I just wanted to say I thought you were brilliant tonight, Draco." She said breathlessly, and once again, Cornelia couldn't suppress the violent imagery that filled her thoughts at the sight of her.
Draco looked up from his brooding to stare at her with a nonplussed expression. "Err, thanks Pansy."
Cornelia watched with rising anger at the smirk that grew on Draco's lips as he noticed Pansy's adoring expression and as she continued to simper, "You would have wiped the floor with Harry if the duel had carried on!"
"Do you think so?"
"Oh yes!" Pansy made a move as if she were about to swoop onto the floor beside Draco, but Cornelia moved so quickly she seemed to stop her in her tracks. Cornelia swung her legs from beneath her to the floor so one pressed against Draco's arm, before leaning forward onto her knees and peering into Draco's face that had tilted backwards at her sudden movement.
"That serpent spell at the end – what was it?" She asked, capturing Draco's attention with an intense look.
"Serpentsortia, did you like it?"
"I did." Cornelia smirked as she saw Pansy hesitate from the corner of her eye. "I was thinking that, since we didn't get the chance tonight, we should have a duel of our own soon."
Draco's eyes lit up and his answering grin filled Cornelia with victory, Pansy didn't stand a chance at re-capturing his attention now. "Definitely! Where shall we do it?"
"Mmm, somewhere in the grounds?" Cornelia replied, but her eyes were following Pansy who was slinking away back to Daphne and Sally-Anne, throwing sour looks over her shoulder at them. When she was sure she was out of earshot she reached down and flicked Draco on the nose.
"Ouch! What was that for?" He exclaimed, shoving her hand away.
"So, you'll listen when Pansy tells you how 'brilliant' you are but not me?" She hissed. Confusion flitted across Draco's features as he stared up at her before being replaced with a smug comprehension, which Cornelia eyed suspiciously.
"You think I'm brilliant?" He sneered at her and Cornelia raised her hand to flick him again, but he flinched away laughing before launching himself on to the chair she was in to sit beside her. Cornelia couldn't help the huff of laughter that escaped her in response, and she rolled her eyes. "Well do you?" Draco pressed.
"Of course I do! I tried to tell you already!"
"Well, tell me now." Draco had curled up beside her, leaning heavily on her shoulder with an easy smile on his face, and a familiar, comfortable atmosphere fell between them. Cornelia realised then that these moments were getting fewer and further between for her and Draco. Perhaps this was the reason she caved in and gave Draco exactly what he wanted, even though she doubted feeding his ego was probably a good thing in the long run.
"Okay, okay, you were brilliant Draco." She said seriously and Draco's smile faltered for a moment.
"Thank you." He said eventually. "Continue." He added, nodding his head, and Cornelia shoved him away from her playfully.
"No way, that's all you're getting!" She laughed and the serenity of the moment seemed to whisk away all of the problems that year had already presented. The troubling letters from Rosalind, the opening of the chamber of secrets, hers and Draco's stormy relationship; all drifted away as they lapsed into the comforting companionship they had shared since childhood.
This serenity didn't last long as the next afternoon the entire school went into lockdown after the discovery of a double attack – Justin Finch Fletchley and Nearly Headless Nick were found frozen in a corridor, eyes wide and staring. What was even more concerning was that once again, Harry Potter was the one to discover them, apparently confirming the whispers around the school that he was the Heir of Slytherin.
"How can he be the heir if he isn't even in Slytherin?" Draco had groaned as they, along with the rest of the Slytherin's, were ordered to remain in the common room.
"He isn't the heir." Cornelia replied confidently and Theodore nodded beside her.
"Did you see his face when he spoke parseltongue? It's like he had no idea what he was doing." He added.
"Well, obviously he isn't the heir, he's an idiot!" Draco spat and Cornelia chuckled.
"That's true. You would have thought the Heir of Slytherin would at least be able to do a counter spell. Or maybe Potter just liked dancing around the hall yesterday."
The weeks leading up to Christmas were extremely tense and quiet around the castle, all of the students other than the Slytherins were terrified to be outside their classrooms or common rooms alone. There had been a big rush of students going home for Christmas which meant that Draco was amongst the few remaining in the castle for the holiday, as well as Potter, Granger and the Weasleys. When she thought about it, guilt curled in Cornelia's stomach. She knew that Draco would have much preferred to be at the manor for Christmas, it was an enjoyable time for him when he was pampered and spoilt by his parents.
The good thing about the abandoned halls and grounds between and after classes meant that it gave Cornelia and Draco the perfect opportunity to find a secretive spot for their duel. They decided to have it on a miserable Saturday, and Cornelia insisted on doing it outside in the pouring rain.
"Come on, it'll be dramatic!" She told Draco, who she knew wouldn't be able to resist her whims. Especially if it meant a duelling match.
"But it'll be cold!"
"No it won't, look – I'm pretty good at the warming charm."
"Why do you want to do it outside?" Draco whined, but he was still following her. Whilst they hadn't been given explicit instructions not to leave the castle, it was an unspoken rule amongst the students and professors, so they had to move quickly and quietly.
"Because I don't want you to get embarrassed when everyone sees me destroy you." Cornelia had whispered in a deadpan voice and Draco snorted.
"You wish."
"We'll see!"
They had taken the more conspicuous route to the grounds rather than the enormous double doors that opened out onto the front courtyard, and they hadn't met anyone along their journey which felt a little ominous. However, when they finally stepped outside and the sound of the rain hitting the castle walls and the ground met their ears, and their noses were filled with the damp smell of grass, it blew away all the tension and anxiety that the castle seemed to be harbouring. Despite feeling safe in their blood status and house, the atmosphere of the castle was catching and filled everyone within it with a sickening darkness.
Cornelia took a deep breath, and even Draco was uncomplaining as they took a moment to stare up at the stormy skies above them. Then Cornelia turned towards him with an excited grin, her wand in hand. "Keep still." She ordered, casting the warming charm on his chest and back beneath his cloak. Draco hummed in appreciation, his clothes suddenly toasty warm as if they had been resting upon a radiator, and suddenly he realised that Cornelia was right to have insisted they duel outside; it broke the monotony their lives had become under the reign of the secret Heir of Slytherin. He stomped excitedly on the spot as Cornelia cast the spell upon herself before she turned to him with a grin.
"Ready?" She asked, but rather than responding, Draco barrelled forward into the rain, his cloak streaming behind him as he sprinted across the path that lead down towards the lake. In a blink of an eye Cornelia was racing after him, a wide grin on her face that was soaked within seconds, her hair plastered to her forehead and cheeks. She held in her shrieks of laughter until she felt like she was far away enough from the castle walls to not be recognised as they slipped and slid down the muddy path, but she couldn't contain herself when Draco (who was now within reach in front of her) dropped like a rock to the floor, sprawling on his back in the mud. Her howls of laughter ripped through the air, and she clutched her slides as if to hold herself together, tears joining the rain on her cheeks.
Draco remained on the floor for a moment, his expression a little dazed before struggling as if he were trying to get up, only to draw his wand from his cloak, point it at the hysterical Cornelia and shout "Rictusempra!"
Cornelia's legs gave way as the tickling charm added to her hilarity, and she joined Draco on the ground, her shrieks of laughter on the verge of pain as she gasped for air. Draco sat opposite her, his sneer slowly giving way to laughter himself. Cornelia managed to somehow draw her own wand and before Draco could scramble to his feet to get out of firing range she had yelled "Flipendo!" between convulsions.
It felt as if he had been punched in the stomach by an enormous fist and he flew through the air some several feet away from Cornelia, landing in a heap on the boggy grass surrounding the path. Cornelia seized the opportunity to utter the counter charm on herself and, taking heaving breaths, managed to drag herself to her feet. Her legs were shaking as she took off running down the path again, hindering her speed significantly.
She continued to hiccup the odd giggle as she slipped desperately down the path, hearing Draco struggling to catch her not far behind. The thrill of the chase was intoxicating, and even though her mind knew she was perfectly safe with Draco, her body reacted as if the danger was very real. Every nerve was static with electric energy, the slippery ground underfoot and the heavy dampness of her clothes doing nothing but heightening her senses.
She thrust her wand out behind her and threw another knockback jinx at random through the air. She heard Draco yelp, but it sounded as if her spell hadn't hit. The red flash of his responding spell shot through the air close to her left foot and she screamed, jumping to the right and almost falling down again, her scream transforming into more manic laughter. She spun on her heel when she caught her balance and pointed her wand at Draco who had almost reached her.
His face was flushed, his soaked silver hair pulled away from his face, his eyes and smile were wide with excitement, and he was splattered from head to toe in mud. The sight stole the spell from Cornelia's mouth as she burst out laughing again as he slid to a stop in front of her, but the sight of his own drawn wand forced her to splutter "Expelliarmus!"
Her aim was true and his wand soared through the air towards her, but her reflexes didn't match and she dropped it, the wood slipping past her wet skin. They both dove for where the wand landed on the ground, and Draco's arm knocked Cornelia's feet from beneath her - she landed face first in the dirt.
Draco's previously hushed laughter burst forth in a roar as she pushed up, spitting foul tasting mud from her mouth, unable to see through the dripping sludge coating her face. The wand was all but forgotten as Draco cried laughing, flopping to join Cornelia on the ground as she attempted to wipe the mud from her face with an equally muddy sleeve. Eventually he took pity and grabbed her face, holding her still as he roughly wiped her down with his slightly cleaner robes, still guffawing heartily.
"I win." He chuckled when Cornelia's scowling face became visible beneath the mud.
"No!" she growled, pulling away from him and raising her wand. But Draco was too quick, swatting the wand out of her hand and watching it join his on the ground.
"Definitely." He grinned, and she pointed to her face.
"This does not count as victory!" She said vehemently, cracking Draco up again.
"H-how does it taste?" He spluttered and Cornelia huffed, grabbing her wand and getting roughly to her feet.
"Foul!" Her answer had him spiralling into fits again and she swiftly moved her wand, muttering the counter-charm to her warming spell that still lingered on Draco's robes.
"Gah!" Draco yelped as the true cold and damp of his clothes touched his skin, shocking the laughter from him. He grabbed his own wand and struggled to his feet, shivering slightly. "That's not very nice, Nelly." He said lightly, his grin dampened to a slight smirk tugging on the corner of his lips.
"I'm not nice." Cornelia snapped, beginning to stomp her way back up to the castle.
Draco caught up with her, easily falling into step beside her. "Good fight." He said after a few minutes of quiet between the two of them, holding out his hand to her. She glanced at his hand and then up at his face, a smile finally cracking the glum mould of her face. She grasped his hand and shook it firmly once before letting go.
"It was a pleasure." She added, and Draco leant down to catch her hand in his again, grinning happily at her, pleased she had finished sulking.
She wasn't sure why, but something felt different about this time from the other times they had held hands, and as Draco slipped his fingers through hers her heart stammered at the contact. They were used to clasping hands, they had been doing that since they were toddlers, but this new way felt much more intimate as their damp fingers intertwined.
They didn't speak again as they climbed the slope that seemed so long now, and the air felt heavy with implications between them. When they reached the point where the path widened towards the entrance of the castle, without speaking, they both reached the decision to drop the others hand. They glanced at each other almost sheepishly, both of their faces were pink, although Cornelia couldn't be sure if that wasn't from the trek up.
"We look ridiculous." Draco's voice broke whatever tension had built up around them and Cornelia realised that she had been holding her breath. She let it out in a whoosh of relieved laughter.
"Speak for yourself."
"Well actually I was trying to be nice, it's really mainly just you that looks like a swamp monster."
She barged him with her shoulder as they stepped dripping into the hall. Their shoes squeaked comically, the pattering of the water dripping from their robes following them as they made their way to the Slytherin common room. It was a wonder that they weren't caught by Filch, but the castle had remained exactly how they had left it, ghostly and still.
This was our first full Draco and Cornelia chapter! It was a little shorter than any of the others but I wanted to keep it full of the cute stuff. It's nice to see some good vibes between them - I genuinely love writing about the two of them together, they gots good chemistry. That being said, how long do you think this peace is going to last?