DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling
Hate is easy; love takes courage. ~ Anonymous
CHAPTER 2: The Whisper of Fate
He had kissed her once before, a year ago. It had been a joke, a cruel jest. The summer of their sixth year. It was strangely pleasant, but he forced himself to not thing much of it. He is an expert at making himself do things.
But now he can't keep his mind away. The memory torments him and he hates the lack of detail. What did she smell like? Did she kiss him back?
By day three, he can't stand it any longer. The silence breaks.
"What's your favorite book?" He isn't sure what surprises him more, the fact that he has the nerve to ask or that his voice is soft and non-judgmental. Curious. She lifts her gaze from the floor and raises an eyebrow.
"Alice in Wonderland."
"It doesn't really make much sense as a story."
"That's why I like it."
"Okay."
Her eyes narrow in suspicious. She is not used to compliance, especially from him. He doesn't push the subject, simply sitting there and twirling his wand in his hand idly. He tries to look calm and uninterested but his heart beats fast. She is watching him with slightly widened eyes, her head cocked to the side. She seems to make a decision.
"I like the abstract nature of it. It leaves so much room for interpretation. And the best part is, there is no right answer. You just have to sit back and enjoy the nonsense and laugh and let yourself me amused. The message is that there is no message."
"It doesn't have a point," he says. "Doesn't that bother you?"
She takes a moment to think. "No. That's the magic of it, I suppose. It makes you ask questions and it never gives you the answer, but it doesn't bother you. A wonderful thing like that, it's unexplainable. It seems right."
It is as simple as that and the stories begin.
The next day he tells her about his first day at Hogwarts and she describes the day she brought home her cat. He speaks of swimming in the lake behind the manor and she tells him about her favorite color. He has a soft spot for Muggle classics and she likes watching Quidditch. Each day they both learn something different and he feels like he's giving away pieces of him one by one. The information that she gives him in return is precious and sacred and he is not surprised to learn that he would rather spent each day in the Golden Girl's cell than sit through dinner with his family. Soon he starts sneaking her food and making her laugh.
If this isn't magic, he doesn't know what is.
~0OO0~
"Do you miss your friends?" He asks one day as he sits by her side and taps a finger against her chains absentmindedly.
"Of course." The answer is immediate. "Why do you ask?"
He shrugs one shoulder. "You've been sad lately. More sad than usual, I mean. I figure it's because you miss your friends."
"I do. A lot. I hope they're safe." She doesn't comment on his knowledge of her moods, doesn't seem to notice that he knows her well enough to understand her emotions. She takes his hand instead. "You've changed."
"So have you."
She smiles and traces his fingers.
~0OO0~
He places a small raspberry tart in her hands and her eyes light up. Her smile is brilliant and he knows that it is because of his kindness, not the desert itself. It makes his stomach flutter and his breath catch in his throat.
"Thank you." She eats it slowly. He cannot tear his gaze away.
A sense of impending doom overtakes him. He is in love with her and there is nothing he can do about it. It is the most helpless and out of control he has ever felt. Sweeter than honey and more frightening than drowning.
She licks her fingers when she finishes and flashes another smile in his direction. "Draco." He doesn't know why she says his name and he cannot care less. It has become a secret pleasure of his, hearing her say his name without loathing, without contempt. Not Malfoy or Ferret or Bastard or Twat. Just his name.
She tastes of raspberry tart and time. The unchanging past and the unshaped future. He tangles his fingers in her hair and her hand grips his collar. It seems unbelievable that even chained to a wall, she gives him freedom.
It is right.