"Oh, my goodness!" Daphne squealed as she burst through her sister's front door, uninvited. "Who would have thought?!"
"Whoa!" Astoria spun around. "What's up with you, sis?"
"Draco Malfoy! You're going out with Draco Malfoy!"
She froze. "Who on earth told you that?"
"Well, you see, a little bird told me that-"
"PANSY!"
It was Daphne's turn to freeze from Astoria's sudden answer. She should not have been surprised as rumours flew around like paper planes; Pansy was still obsessed with her ex-boyfriend, despite her occasional flings with a certain someone. Astoria could not bother guessing who that "certain someone" was, for once she felt that it was none of her business. Despite this apathy, she could not help but believe that those flings had occurred for the sake of getting back at the ex. A brief scoff entered her mind; Pansy's actions were far from sane.
"I'm guessing that you know it's Pansy." Daphne said.
"Who doesn't know it's Pansy?" the younger emphasised. "Besides, she still thinks she's going to marry and have babies with him!"
Daphne finally noticed the unfamiliar threads her sister wore and frowned. "I don't think I've seen you wear that before. When did you get it?"
"Last night."
"Last night?!" Daphne's frown turned into a large grin. "Oh, my goodness! You're going on a date, aren't you?"
"You just continue to make my day better, don't you?" The sarcasm intentionally wavered the conversation before an awkward silence followed.
"You look nice, Tori. You really do."
Astoria turned from the standing mirror to look at Daphne who was sitting on a nearby stool. "Thanks, Daph."
Even a truthful compliment would not be able to sway Astoria from her self-consciousness. She stared into the mirror again and blankly observed her appearance, noticing a few pimples on her left cheek. She had bought the black dress the night before for a reasonable price. The dress flowed down to her knees and a white lace tightly strapped around her waist made her look erudite. She wore her chain as usual even though she thought it did not look too good on her. Luckily the hair-waving charm was still as effective as ever and to top off her look, her stiletto heels were enough to bring wonder to even her own eyes. She blinked once, then twice and eyed the make-up kit next to her on her dressing table. Daphne noticed the look of concern in her eyes.
"What's wrong, Tori?"
"I don't want to wear make-up." Astoria said.
"Nobody's forcing you to, you look pretty good anyway."
"No, I don't."
"Yeah, you do!"
Astoria looked up at her nearby clock, her heart suddenly panicking by the second. She then jerked her head out to the window and noticed the sun starting to set.
"I'm leaving now."
Daphne rose from the stool and headed out the door. "Yeah, you know what? Me too." She stepped out of the flat and turned back one more time before slamming the door shut. "Bye, have a good date!"
Astoria rolled her eyes and then focused. She pictured the large tree in the middle of a vast, green field where he would be waiting for her. Taking a deep breath, she vanished from her flat into the clear image.
She was never the best at Apparating, but Astoria always tried whatever she could to not land on her face. Suddenly appearing at her destination, she hovered for a split second before landing softly on her back. As she was making sure she had arrived at the right place, she noticed the tall pine in the distance, and sighed in relief and satisfaction.
She had been to these fields before, but after feeling the green grass beneath her, a thought occurred to her that the grass was never as soft as what she was feeling at the present time. The last time she had been to Flowing Fields was when the long drought turned the grass into dry, scratchy straws and prickles. Noticing the vibrant greenness, she assumed that it must have rained recently, to the obliviousness of everybody who had been to the plains. She quietly giggled and relaxed on the comfortably soft surface, letting herself slowly shut her eyes. She could stay like this for such a long time that she thought she may as well use the grass as a bed, where she could just lie back and sleep for as long as she needed to, while the flowers blossomed to life during the warm spring and the beautiful breezes blew over the land like a...
"Tori?"
Of course, the sudden sound in the silence startled her from her beautiful imaginations, moving her to jump to her feet with a heart still beating wildly with fright. A half-disappointment lay within her as she would have liked to lie there a little longer.
"I'm really sorry!" Draco began. "I didn't mean to scare you!"
"No, it's fine. I mean, I was just lying there...I didn't know what the heck I was doing!" she gave a nervous chuckle to his grinning response.
"It looked like you were getting carried away."
Astoria blushed with even more embarrassment. "I know, what a terrible impression!"
Amazingly, a chuckle was released from Draco's lips; the fact that the expression was genuine caught Astoria off-guard. Has anybody heard him laugh, let alone; smile for one whole second? She thought like as if she was conversing with herself.
"I must say, Astoria," Draco began. "You look rather exquisite this evening."
"Oh, you think so?" Modesty crept in her voice. Before she could say, "You too!", she noticed how informally Draco was dressed compared to her. He appeared to be wearing a casual attire much to her astonishment.
"I should have told you more about this but..." he paused. "Come over to the pine, I have something to show you."
Curiosity seemed like a figure that led her to follow the mysterious blonde toward the gigantic pine. As she passed the bright flowers, she could not help but glance at the beauty of the breeze pushing the delicate plants in the one direction. They were another reason why she had enjoyed coming to these fields. Nearing the pine, she could slowly make out the shapes of whatever it was that leaned against the tree, her excitement boiling upon realising what they were.
"No way!" Astoria exclaimed. "Is that...?"
"...the Nimbus Two Thousand and One." Draco finished in affirmation.
"Are they both yours?"
"The left one is. I loaned the other one, just for you."
She realised that this was no ordinary date. They were going to fly. She mentally hit herself in the head for not wearing pants and flat shoes instead.
"I thought you'd arrive in a dress," Draco said. "So that's why I brought a clean pair of Quidditch shorts as well."
"You...are...a...genius!" Astoria thought, as well as feeling cautious about whether or not he was reading her mind.
"Here," Draco held out the shorts. "You can put them on behind the pine."
She momentarily froze before taking them. Walking over to the other side of the tree, she felt extremely wary that he might watch her dress into the shorts. No, she thought, he's such a gentleman. He would never do that. Would he? She jerked her shoulders in a shrug and immediately slipped them on, making sure that he was not looking. Luckily, he had his back turned to her. When she emerged from the tree, he turned with one hand in his pocket.
"Guess what I have in my hand!" Draco said.
Astoria nervously shrugged. "I've no idea!"
His hand shifted and pulled out a small, shiny object before laying it on his flat palm. It did not take long for Astoria to recognise an inactive Golden Snitch.
"A snitch!" she exclaimed in excitement.
"I put a spell on it so it won't fly beyond these fields," he said. "Get on your broom."
She obediently grabbed the broom that stood against the pine and straddled it, waiting for further instruction.
"I'll give you a head start; I'll throw it up in the air and you'll have to try and catch it."
Without further ado, the shining Snitch was expelled into the sun-setting atmosphere. As Astoria charged towards it, the object's glistening wings suddenly sprouted to life and raced away from her. Within moments the Snitch had already flown several feet in front of her, insisting her to direct the broom to fly faster. The Nimbus Two Thousand was incredibly faster than any broom she had ever ridden on, worrying her a little. She held her arm outstretched, attempting to grasp the gold while it was within her reach. Before her index finger was able to touch the Snitch, she heard a gust of wind that sounded like a whoosh. Turning her head over her shoulder, she noticed that Draco was already flying just yards behind her. She turned back to her front and noticed that the Snitch was no longer there.
Throwing her head left to right, she could not spot the Snitch anywhere. Before she came to a sudden halt, Draco zoomed past to her left. Knowing that he had found the Snitch, she followed suit. Her broom flew fast enough to join Draco's side and she finally spotted the eye-blinding object. The sun was on the verge of sinking into the distance, darkening everything around them. Despite the glooming sight, their excited emotions were getting the better of their actions. Although Astoria did not see Draco's wide smile, she could tell that the tone in his voice was overjoyed.
"I'm gonna catch it, Tori!"
"No, you're not!"
As they both attempted to rush ahead of each other, Draco was laughing. Actually laughing and cheering, brightening the atmosphere. It even came to a point when he absent-mindedly circled the air with ease. Astoria also laughed in absolute joy and could not contain herself, allowing herself to give out loud, echoing cheers.
"Whoohoo!"
"Yeah!"
Their cheerful emotions had distracted them from their initial aim to grab the Snitch before the other. The sake of flying was already enough to make their night a dream come true. The clean air that rushed through their hair and the last of the sunlight hitting their faces was absolute bliss. The tremendous height that lingered beneath their hanging feet no longer mattered to either of them. The relaxation that dawned on them unknowingly slowed the broom to a reasonable speed to the point where it felt like floating on calm clouds. The Snitch also seemed to be slowing down, almost having a mind on its own and not bothering to travel any faster.
Astoria drew a deep breath and raced after the Snitch once more. The action had also compelled Draco to fly after her. The Snitch seemed to fly higher and higher despite the fact that Astoria was closing in on it. She drew closer to touching it, and a high suspense was raised as she raised and stood on her broom with her right arm outstretched. By this stage, Draco broke into sweats of horrified concern.
"Tori, are you crazy!?" he shouted.
"I think I am!" she replied.
"But we're so far off the ground-!"
Without even a jolt of hesitation, she stepped onto the edge of the broom and took an amazing leap and caught the Snitch within her two palms. The unexpected presence of the knowledge of what she had just done hit her like a bludger, and she screamed as she fell. Before either of the couple could react, the Nimbus flew out of nowhere and caught her mid-fall. Her shock and loss of concentration steered her broom down on a dangerously steep gradient and her reaction came too late as she crashed onto the dirt ground below.
Draco panicked and froze for a split second before stifling out an "Oh, my gosh!". He gained control of himself and flew down fast enough for the wind to blind him. When he finally landed, he dropped his Nimbus and ran towards where Astoria lay.
"Astoria!"
He rushed and then came down to a kneel whilst trying to catch his breath. The helpless body lay on her side so that the back faced him. But what worried Draco the most was that not a single movement seemed to be occurring. Still frightened, he reached a shaking hand out but gently pulled her shoulder so that she lay on her back. He gasped.
Her eyes were closed, but her lips were curved into a smile. Her body then finally moved; she started to twitch before parting her lips for a slight giggle. That slight giggle was eventually followed by a burst of amused laughter. Draco froze in confusion yet he was able to join her by letting out a chuckle.
"Astoria?" Draco was still smiling. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," she chortled. "That was so much fun!" (She almost sounded hysterical.)
"Yeah, it was."
As the last bit of sun disappeared, the couple peacefully sat on the highest branch of the pine. The stunning view consisted of the wide field sweeping over to the distance and a handful of stars becoming more and more visible in the vast sky. The sound of the nocturnal birds quietly sang as the light breeze passed over the plain. The breath-taking sight was what kept the two young adults from staring at each other. After the longest of pauses, Astoria spoke.
"It's so beautiful up here," she said.
"Yes, just like you." Draco's statement nearly threw her off the branch.
"What?"
"It's true."
She had heard many comments about her prettiness, but there were always a few other people whom would beat her in a beauty contest. She never wanted to be the most beautiful girl, yet Draco's compliments made her feel like a queen. A saddened thought fell over her, wondering if he liked any of her other attributes, apart from her physical appearance.
"Tell me something, Draco." she said.
"Like what?" he replied, confused.
"Anything."
"You mean, like a story...o-or a secret...?"
"Secrets?" she asked, becoming more curious by the second. "You have secrets?"
"No," he tried to deny.
"Tell me one! I'm sure it won't hurt!"
Draco opened his mouth to speak, then realising that the words he wanted to say did not come.
"I'm sorry," Astoria apologised. "That was rude of me. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to-!"
"Oh, no need to apologise!" Draco interrupted. "I...I want to tell you."
She leaned in closer and looked at him, trying to predict what he was about to say.
"You were always in my mind, Tori," he explained. "I can't say that I liked you when we first met at the station. I mean, I found you interesting, but that was just about it. And then we met again on the train just two years later. You thanked me for saving you, and I guess that was when I started to think of you more than just a family friend. In fact, I thought it was just a tiny crush, until you went out with Malcolm Sanford. I had never felt so jealous in my life."
"But weren't you going out with...?" Astoria began but could not bring herself to say the name.
"Yes, I was dating Parkinson at the time," he avoided using her first name. "But that was only because she was one of the only Pureblood girls I had known, and one that my family would approve of. Apart from that, I thought she was dreadful and could only tolerate her when her mouth was shut. But anyway, I found out about one of your planned secret dates in the Room of Requirement and I still have no idea what came over me. Outraged, I decided to sabotage it and pretend that I was innocently at the right place at the right time. And then...you yelled at me."
"Oh, yeah, I'm still sorry about that-"
"No, don't be! You were right to yell at me. In fact, I deserved it!"
Astoria was stunned. "I'm still surprised you still wanted to talk to me after that. I thought that I had soared on your hate list or something..."
"Hate?" Draco quietly said. "You thought that I hated you?" He shifted slightly on the branch. "I could never hate you, Astoria."
A beat after he had finished his sentence, a strong gust of wind ran through them, almost trying to throw them out of the pine. They both raised their arms over their tightly shut eyes and held on until the wind passed. They both let out sighs of relief and stunned silences. The atmosphere was now calm at this point and Draco involuntary broke the peace.
"I fell in love with you even more on that night."
Astoria blushed. "Even though I called you a monster?"
"Yes! I didn't know but it was just what I needed all along! You see, you don't know how annoying it is when just about every girl I know of falls at my feet. All of the Pureblood girls I had known were absolutely hopeless and I cringed from day to day knowing that I had to marry one of them. And then there was you; the first Pureblood girl to even criticise me! I mean, sure, it made me feel a bit bad, but I liked it. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"
"Uh...sort of..." Astoria was slightly confused by this. "So is that why...you like me?"
"No, not just that," he stumbled upon his words, trying to think of what to say next. "You're...you're beautiful."
"Is that all?" she wanted to say, but instead came up with a more thoughtful question. "Would you still like me if I had my face burnt off?"
"Hey, when I said 'beautiful', I didn't just refer to your looks. You're smart, caring, brave, strong, gentle..."
"Brave and strong?"
"Well, you're not that typical girl who would burst into tears on a weekly basis. And also, I'll have to mention this again; you stood up to me."
She gave a light, modest shrug, making Draco chuckle.
"But back to that other question, I'll still feel light-headed in your presence even if you had your face burnt off."
So he didn't just like her for her looks, Astoria thought. Upon realising that the two were actually sitting rather close to each other, Draco slowly moved his head towards hers. Astoria's instinct was also leading her to guide her face towards his, but there was a whining thought that jumped up and down in her mind.
Kiss him, don't kiss him! Kiss him, don't kiss him!
As his lips were about to close the gap between them, Astoria shifted her head and kissed him on the cheek. Draco froze, startled by her sudden move and touched his face like as if he had been struck by a slap. His cheek was starting to itch, provoking a smile across his lips. Astoria looked out into the sky and pulled out her pocket watch that was slowly deteriorating in her pocket.
"I have to go now, Draco," she whispered.
A sad feeling gradually swept over Draco as she carefully pulled off her Quidditch gear. He didn't want her to go so soon and wished that she could stay a little longer.
"Okay," he managed to stifle.
"Thanks for the date, Draco. I had a lot of fun."
"You're welcome."
She stood and balanced carefully on the branch. Her eyes then met with his for one peaceful moment before she whispered, "Bye." And with that, she disappeared into the thin air.
Draco sat, still looking at where Astoria's face would have been and wishing that she hadn't gone home yet. He let out a calm sigh that told himself that he was missing her already.
"Goodbye..."
Wow! This is one hell of a long chapter I've written! Oh yeah, and sorry about the long delay, my exams are finally over! Now these updates shouldn't take as long as they did before (and my apologies again if that doesn't happen) and I never get sick of reading over the reviews so thanks to all of the past, present and future reviewers!