A/N: I've never felt so happy to post a new chapter, I apologise for the long delay. My computer was a goner and I had to wait for a long time before I could get a new one. Hope you guys are happy to see Draco and Astoria again! ;)
Sir,
The seeker on our team, Osten, asked Alice out today, about time because it's Valentine's Day this week. It was during Potions when Professor Slughorn was demonstrating how to brew an anti-paralysis potion. You could observe that Osten was standing right behind Alice and reaching his hand out to tap her on the shoulder, except that he couldn't bring himself to do it. Professor Slughorn must have seen it because he suddenly called out Osten and asked him to 'let it all out'. He asked Alice in the shakiest, sweetest way to have tea with her at Hogsmeade. I'm truly happy for Alice, I really am.
Astoria Greengrass
OvO
Sir,
I can say with absolute conviction that I'm going to hate Valentine's Day. I haven't been asked out by anyone at all. I guess I do regret causing myself to appear aloof to the others, they must think that I don't want to be associated with anyone. The truth is, Sir, I am ashamed of my family after we lost our inheritance. I don't want to show these raw feelings to them. I can't wait to pluck out those pesky pink confetti from my hair and to hear people reading out their Valentine's Day letters. Lovely. And I absolutely can't wait for Alice to go on her date. I shall stay in the Slytherin Dormitory, that shall be nice.
The only thing about me that shall be reminiscent of Valentine's Day will be the pink Camellias you gave on my bedside table. I'm not even sure they're pink because I'm colour blind. You haven't answered my previous question on what colour they are. As if you ever will.
Astoria Greengrass
OvO
Astoria tensed up when she heard the stone wall to the common room grinding as it opened. She deliberately looked away and faced the mantelpiece, not wanting the student to see her. She heard footsteps rounding the carved chairs, until she felt the person's presence close to her.
"Morning."
She startlingly shifted her eyes to Draco, who had his hands in the pockets and stood with a composure that to her, was rather imposing. Draco waited for her response but when nothing came, he simply nodded to himself. He took a seat on the leather sofa opposite her and kept silent as Astoria adjusted her robes. Sensing how uncomfortable she was, he cleared his throat. "Nothing much has changed." He studied with uncertainty the green tapestries with the sinister serpent on it.
"No, nothing at all." Astoria was still in disbelief that he had come visit her.
"Don't you just hate Valentine's Day?" Draco asked in a tone that made it seem like the most important question at that moment. Astoria looked at his unsmiling face and much to his amazement, she started laughing. She had no idea why she did it, it just suddenly came and she could not stop it. Draco watched her heavy bangs move to the side, revealing brown eyes that glowed as she tried to catch a breath. He found himself going weak and got lost in a warmth that he had never felt before.
OvO
"Do you know what colour are these?" Astoria lifted a delicate vase of flowers from her bedside table.
"They're pink," he replied, pretending not to take much notice of it. He felt unsettled at the thought of it, much less the sight of it.
Astoria placed the vase back with a sense of satisfaction and bit her lips, unsure what Draco would think. "What…what is the colour of pink like?"
"Why would that bother you?" Astoria was slighty talken aback by his bluntness.
"I don't know," she shrugged at the absurdity of her question. "I realised that the only colours I can see like everyone else are black, white and grey. Being colour blind seems to bother me."
"What do these flowers look like to you?"
"A light…grey."
Draco could see tears drip onto her robes and she was clearly embarrassed about it. He uneasily glanced away from her, "Who gave them to you?"
"Someone. Someone that I've never met." She paused to rearrange the flowers, her back facing him. "Why do you think he chose to give pink Camellias to me?"
Draco thought hard but his mind went blank. "I never thought about that."
OvO
Sir,
I visited George's shop again. I've been having too much on my mind. I was surprised that George could even remember me and it was very kind of him to give me a full tour of his shop. He said that he was planning on a further expansion next year, to which I replied that his business was already flourishing and he didn't quite have a need for that. But he was quite adamant about it, perhaps it's his strong head that convinced him that opening a joke shop would be a brilliant idea. He offered me some bath bombs free of charge, he said that they would work marvellously in the Prefects' Bathroom. I wanted to refuse because I didn't want to cause him to have a loss, but he insisted on it. Alice and I are quite looking forward to playing a prank on someone this week.
OvO
Sir,
The prank was a greatly historical feat, though it escalated a little too quickly. I helped to keep a lookout while Alice placed two of the bath bombs into the bathtub of the Prefects' Bathroom and cast an invisibility spell on them. The packaging said that the bath bombs will cause a violent explosion the moment a single drop of water comes into contact with them. We then went to the Great Hall and had our meals as usual when a huge wave of soap bubbles came crashing down the stairs. We had to stand on the dining table and the Professors made it levitate above the ground for our safety while Professor McGonagall went to have it sorted. She was furious and later made a statement that gigantic bubbles floating in Hogwarts is atrocious and unacceptable, although Professor Slughorn seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself. It turns out that the victim of our prank was one of the Slytherin prefects, Margaret. She had to run for her life with a towel to maintain her modesty. I don't feel that guilty, she's always making fun of me.
Astoria Greengrass
OvO
Sir,
We had Care of Magical Creatures and Hagrid brought in a Murtlap. Its tentacles looked nasty and Hagrid told us not to even think of touching it. Samira was foolish and stubborn enough to kick and step on it. The Murtlap got enraged and gave her a harsh sting on the foot. Samira got so hysterical that even Hagrid couldn't handle her, the whole class had to drag her to the hospital wing. Again. Honestly, I don't think I'll ever understand Samira.
Astoria Greengrass
OvO
Sir,
Remember that portrait I did of you at the beginning of the school term? I've finally finished it and I'm sending it to you. I'm sorry if it's slightly untidy, hopefully it'll please you.
Astoria Greengrass
OvO
Draco carefully unwrapped the brown parchment paper and took out the painting. For a moment, one would be appalled. No doubt, the strokes and details were impeccable, but it was a clashing bleed of colours. He leaned closer to have a better look at it. Majority of the painting was shrouded in a mixture of dark colours, it was the portrait of an old man whose character is seemingly dull. Yet his face was painted to be bold and vibrant. He had a smile that softly shone.
OvO
One of the wizards sorting his Poker cards stared hard at her. She seemed too young for such a place judging from her swiftness in dishing out beer cups. Samira further lowered the hood over her head to cover her face. She had never gotten into trouble for this and she could not afford to be charged for serving as an underaged witch. Her father would completely destroy her over that. Mr Foster placed one foot on a stool as he clinked glasses with a group of wizards. Sparks were flying from their wands as they laughed madly at his jokes. He was greatly revered in this place as the head of his own bar and he had pushed Samira to be one of his waitresses as the bar was severely understaffed.
Sitting at a counter far from her was an odd couple. The man wore a scruffy suit that was worn-out and covered with grime. His partner had brown hair that was loose in curls that were beyond control and wore a black dress that had sequins and a plunging neckline. They were a poorly rich pair. Wine gurgled down his throat and he added the bottle to an astonishing collection of empty bottles.
His wife trailed her fingers down his arm, "He'll be here soon. He's never late."
That one sentence was a whirlwind for him and he shrieked maniacally, "MCGREGOR. PAYS HE. WE GET BACK. WE HIM GET. GET MCGREGOR."
The other wizards glared at them and Draco shuddered at the man's lunacy. Lucius could not take it anymore and stormed off to the bathroom in disgust to relieve himself.
The couple had one last drink before they decided to head off. It appeared that they knew that they were being frowned upon by displeased customers because they did not utter a word and walked out in a much more civilised manner, a stark contrast to a few seconds ago.
"Keep the change." Draco passed Samira a generous stack of coins and gave a polite smile, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Samira felt her cheeks flush and was about to say something to him when there was the deafening sound of crushed metal, followed by a piercing scream.
The bar was in shocked silence.
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