A/N: I got more reviews than usual for the last chapter, so good job! Let's keep the reviews coming, shall we? Many thanks to:
shirleybobo: Merci beaucoup! Je ne savais pas que vous parlez le français! Magnifique!
Koyuki 14 : Thanks! I know, it is really baby, which is probably why he hates it so much! That's so funny, you just crack yourself up with that name!
CptnJack's BountyHunterGal Well, I have to warn you, many bad things lie ahead. That's all I'm going to say! Thanks for reviewing!
Anna: Glad you like it so much, keep reviewing!
Chapter 8: Date
Kate groaned in her sleep and swatted at her face. Someone was whispering and blowing on her, which tickled her face.
"Katie, come on, wake up."
Kate moaned again and opened her eyes slightly in annoyance. It was Saturday. Who was waking her up this fucking early? She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and her vision cleared. Crouched in front of her was none other than a smirking Draco Malfoy.
"Draco!" Kate cried. She pulled the blankets over herself as the only things she wore to bed were a small tank top and short shorts, both skin tight.
"No point doing that," said Draco matter-of-factly. "Your blanket wasn't covering any of you when I came in. I saw every delicious inch."
"You're a pig," Kate said. Before she could finish, Draco jumped on top of her. Kate began to shriek but Draco quickly covered her mouth with his own.
"Shhhh," he whispered against her lips. "You wouldn't want to wake your roommates, now would you?" Kate shook her head slightly and kissed him. They snogged for a couple of minutes before Kate broke away.
"As lovely as that was," she smirked. "What are you doing here? And how did you get in? Hermione told me the stairs to the girls' dorms turns in to a slide when a boy tries to go up them."
"Ah, but little Granger doesn't know my secret trick," Draco said. "The only part that could have presented any difficulty was the password to get in to the common room, which you gave me ages ago. Anyway, you're coming out with me to Hogsmeade today."
"Hogsmeade?" repeated Kate, confused. "But the next trip isn't for another couple of weeks."
"So?" Draco raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't mean anything to me. I use Snape's fireplace to floo there. Snape always just turns his head and pretends he's not seeing me. And my father knows the owner of a pub in Hogsmeade, so I can use his fireplace whenever I want."
"Is there anything you want that you don't get?" Kate rolled her eyes.
"No," Draco said simply. He rolled them over so that Kate was on top of him now and smacked her bum. "Now get going. I want to leave soon. We're spending the day there."
"It's so early though," Kate complained, snuggling closer and nuzzling Draco's neck. Draco stiffened as she continued to wiggle.
"You keep doing that and we're never leaving this bed," he informed her. Kate laughed.
"Well, that doesn't sound so bad."
"Go shower," Draco said, pushing Kate to her feet. "You smell." Kate gave him the finger and walked to the bathroom door.
"Not going to join me?" She asked innocently.
"An invitation?" Draco asked, his eyes darkening with lust.
"Nope," laughed Kate. "I was just kidding."
Kate walked in to the bathroom and Draco followed her.
"Out, Malfoy," she said sternly.
"No way," said Draco. "I got an invitation, I definitely get to stay."
"Drake, go away so I can shower," Kate whined.
"Fine, fine," Draco sighed in mock disappointment. "I'll be waiting on your bed."
"Ooh, that sounds dirty," giggled Kate and Draco grinned.
"Hurry up, okay?" Draco pecked her on the lips and left the room.
Kate jumped in to the shower and let the warm water wash everything away. She eventually hopped back out and wrapped a towel around herself. She walked in to her bedroom to see Draco dozing on her bed.
"That was not my idea of hurrying up," he said irritably. He studied her for a moment. "But if you take that towel off, I'll forgive you."
Kate laughed and let out a small scream when she was suddenly being pulled down on to her bed.
"Wow, those roommates of yours sleep like logs," observed Draco from on top of her. "Do you think they'll wake up if we shag?"
"Uh, yeah!" Kate exclaimed. She then laughed at Draco's crushed expression. Suddenly, his face brightened.
"Hey!" He said. "Maybe they'll want to join in."
"Draco!" Kate scowled.
"I'm kidding, love," he said, kissing her. "I only want you anyway." He began to slowly undo the knot of her towel.
"I should hope so," Kate said, not noticing what Draco was doing. She leaned her head back on the bed and closed her eyes. She was startled by the feeling of Draco's cold hands and warm lips exploring her no longer hidden flesh.
"Draco!" She cried hoarsely. She wanted to tell him to stop but if felt too good. She sighed softly and Draco grinned against her navel. He continued to move lower and was just about to reach his prize when one of Kate's roommates moaned in her sleep. Both Draco and Kate froze. Kate shoved Draco off of her and covered herself up as the roommate's eyes began to flicker. Kate gestured to underneath her bed and Draco crawled under. As he completely hid himself from sight, the roommate's eyes opened.
"Hey Kate," the girl named Lisa said. "Is everything alright? Noises woke me up."
"Noises?" Kate pretended to think. "No, I don't remember hearing anything."
"Really?" Lisa asked and Kate nodded. "I must be imagining things. So, what are you doing?
"I just got out of the shower and am trying to figure out what I'm going to do today," Kate said, the lies flowing smoothly.
"Alright," Lisa said, standing. "I'm just going to go shower."
As soon as Lisa left, the two other girls woke up and said their good mornings before dressing and trooping off to breakfast. Lisa followed them shortly after. When all the girls had left, Draco slid out from under the bed.
"Ow," he whined, rubbing his shoulder. "That's really uncomfortable."
"Poor baby," Kate said, placing a kiss to his shoulder.
"Much better," Draco smiled. He then got himself comfortable on the bed as Kate got up to pick out some clothes. Taking the autumn weather in to consideration, she picked out a brown knee-length skirt, a red turtleneck and a brown scarf. She dressed quickly, making sure that Draco didn't get to see any of the goods, much to Draco's distaste. He was already fully clothed, so as soon as Kate had finished getting ready, they left the room and snuck off to Snape's office, being very careful not to be seen by anyone who would recognize them. Their relationship was still very much under wraps and they wanted to keep it that way.
They finally reached their destination and Draco went first, knocking gently on the door. At the professor's permission to enter, the pair walked inside, hand in hand. Snape was seated at his desk, grading papers.
"Ah, Mr. Malfoy," he looked up, happiness (or the closest thing to it for Snape) on his face. "How may I help you?"
"We're here to use your fireplace, if that's alright, sir," Draco said respectfully.
"We?" Snape repeated. He then laid eyes on Kate for the first time since they had entered. "Ah, Ms. McLain." He said Kate's name with much less enthusiasm, but not with dislike. Kate was excellent in Potions and never disrespectful or obnoxious, like the other Gryffindors, so Snape could tolerate her. Kate didn't care if he didn't love her, she was just happy he didn't hate her.
"'Morning, professor," she said quietly.
"Go ahead then," Snape said, returning to his work. "Just make sure you're back before someone notices you're gone. That would cause trouble for me, which you know I won't tolerate Mr. Malfoy, especially since it's I that's doing a favor for you."
"Absolutely, professor," said Draco, nodding curtly. He led Kate to the fireplace and placed her in front of him with his arms around her waist. He threw some floo powder in to the fire and shouted a name that Kate didn't catch before walking them both in to the emerald flames. Kate stiffened as everything began to spin and felt Draco's arms tighten around her waist, which offered some reassurance.
The next thing Kate knew, she and Draco were standing in a very posh pub, where everything was expensive and elegant music was playing in the background. Sophisticated and important, not to mention filthy rich, people were everywhere and in that instant, Kate realized that this was the kind of lifestyle Draco was used to.
"We're not staying here, love," he whispered in her ear and Kate smiled gratefully at him. Draco began to lead her to the door when several men rushed up to him.
"Mr. Malfoy, how wonderful it is to see you again!" One cried, shaking Draco's hand. Draco smiled tightly, his eyes guarded. Kate could tell that he hated this kind of thing and that he just wanted to get out of here.
"What will you be needing today?" Another asked.
"And who is this lovely young lady?" The third one asked, taking Kate's hand and kissing it. Kate smiled at the man and suddenly felt Draco's arms slide around her possessively. By the way the man backed away in fear, Kate guessed that Draco was glaring at him.
"I won't be needing anything today," said Draco. "And this is my girlfriend, Katrina. We were just leaving. Good day." With that, Draco proceeded to leave the pub, hand clutching Kate's. They walked in silence outside in the bright sunshine for a few moments.
"Are you okay?" Kate asked eventually.
"I don't like that guy," Draco said bluntly.
"The one that kissed my hand?
"Yeah," Draco answered, giving her a sideways glance. "All of them, actually. I'm all for good service but I hate people bothering me like that."
Kate stopped and kissed him gently. "I understand, Draco. But can we start our nice date now?"
"Of course," Draco smiled.
They walked a bit more before Kate said, "And for the record, you handled it quite well."
Draco just laughed and all tension was broken.
The date was, in a word, wonderful. Draco took Kate to a nice little café when she complained that she was hungry and then took her shopping for the rest of the day, buying her whatever she wanted, despite Kate's protests.
After a few hours, Draco led Kate in to a small jewelry store.
"I just have to pick something up," he told her.
"Sure," she said, looking around as Draco went to talk to one of the salespeople.
A few minutes later, Draco returned with a little silk bag. He handed it to Kate.
"It's for me?" She gasped and Draco nodded before gesturing for her to open it. Kate opened it slowly and saw a gorgeous pendant on a silver chain. The pendant was an M with a serpent curled around it. Both were silver and the serpent had the brightest emeralds Kate had ever seen for eyes. It was intricate and elegant and took her breath away.
"It's the Malfoy family crest," Draco murmured from behind her. "As long as the serpent's eyes stay bright, you will always have someone who cares for you, even in your hours of darkness and doubt."
Kate couldn't say anything. She just turned to face him and kissed him.
"Thank you," she whispered against his lips.
"You're very welcome," he whispered back and kissed her. He eventually broke away and turned her around. "Pass it to me, I want to see how it looks on you." Kate passed the necklace back and Draco put it on her. He then turned her around and studied her.
"Perfect," he smirked in satisfaction. "Slytherin colors suit you."
A half an hour later, the couple was sitting in a fancy restaurant. They had a table beside a window, so they could see the sun slowly setting. Draco and Kate were hardly wearing appropriate clothing for this kind of place but when the staff had recognized Draco, they had given them one of the best tables.
Kate was eating slowly, savoring the food, and occasionally looking down to see the serpent's eyes glowing brightly. Draco just watched her every move, taking a sip of his drink every once in a while. He had a very contented look on his face, like nothing in the world could possibly go wrong.
"Quit looking at me," Kate said to him eventually. "You're making me feel self-conscious."
"Don't," Draco said, his voice smooth. "You have no reason to be."
"Why aren't you eating?" Kate asked, taking a bite of her food.
"I'm not hungry," he replied. "I'll get something later. For now, I'm happy just watching you."
"Well, that makes one of us," Kate muttered and Draco laughed.
When Kate finished eating, Draco paid the bill and they left. They returned to the pub from earlier that day and used the fireplace to get back to Snape's office. Snape wasn't in the room, so they just slipped out. They walked hand in hand to the Gryffindor common room and didn't meet a single person on the way as everyone was at dinner.
They stopped outside the portrait of the fat lady, where Draco kissed Kate.
"So how was it?" He asked.
"Perfect," Kate sighed happily. They had gone out several times before but this date took the cake.
"See? Aren't you glad I made you agree to go out with me that day in Potions?" Draco asked smugly. "I told you that you'd have a good time."
"You were right," Kate admitted. "I always have an amazing time, especially today." She kissed him before thanking him again and bidding him goodnight. Draco watched her disappear inside and then turned to return to his own common room to retire for the night.
A/N: My goodness, so long! That's gotta earn lots of reviews!