Thank you to all of you who are reading this! Really, I love you! This would not be possible without my betas, and my alpha. You know who you are.

Unfortunately, these characters still don't belong to me.

Fall was my absolute favorite season. The leaves turning various shades of reds, oranges and yellows, and the wind blowing them everywhere. It was like walking into a painting. I settled down against a tree close to the lake. Draco was going to meet me here in a few minutes for a lunch date with "Ivory." I had already done my transformation and was currently putting a glamour on my textbooks to make them appear to be 6th year books. Once I was finished, I took out my compact and the lipstick Ginny gave me. Opening the compact, I applied the soft pink lipstick to my lips. While I was inspecting the rest of my glamour, I could see Draco approaching from behind with a picnic basket. I quickly waved my wand over my wrist to remove the disillusion I had on the bracelet he had given me. I put away my things and closed my bag.

"Hello, Gorgeous," Draco said as he sat down the basket. "Are you ready to have the best lunch date ever?"

I smirked at him. "A lunch date?" I questioned him with special emphasis on the word date. "Is that what this is?" I cocked my head to the side and gave him a soft smile.

"Of course, it is. What exactly do you think is going on here? Haven't you ever been courted before?" He said

"No, because that is positively archaic. No one is courting anyone anymore, Draco." I giggled. "Honestly, courting. That's still a thing?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" he asked, pulling out a black blanket with a Slytherin crest on it and laying it down on the ground. "Get up off the grass, darling, and come sit on this. I don't want you to get your skirt all dirty." He reached a hand over to help me up. Once I was standing, he picked up my bag and moved it to the blanket, too. "What happened to your gold glittery bag?"

My eyes went wide. "It broke." Damn it. I'd forgotten to glamour the bag.

"Must have been poorly made. I will get you another one just like it." He smiled at me and pulled out chilled bottles of pumpkin juice. "Except I will find one with a charm to keep that blasted glitter on the bag and not everywhere else."

I leaned over and bumped my shoulder against his. "What are you trying to say, Draco? You don't like to be bedazzled?"

"What kind of word is bedazzled? I just know that my mates are complaining because there is glitter all over our room. That stuff is like the plague!"

I laughed at the idea of Blaise and Theo waking up covered in glitter. "I'm sorry. I've been telling you I can carry my own bag."

"What kind of gentleman would I be if I let my woman carry her own bag?" he scoffed.

"Your woman?" I raised an eyebrow. "Wow, I thought you wanted to take this slow. I mean first the gifts, then the courting, now claiming me?"

He went red in the face. "What is it about you that makes me feel like a fool?" he muttered. He looked up at me and ran his hand through his hair. "What I mean to say-"

"That you are perfectly embarrassed, and it has only been a week since we have been at school. We have only hung out a handful of times. We will get to the next step when the time is right," I interrupted him.

"Absolutely." He nodded. "Turkey and swiss on rye." He handed me a sandwich neatly wrapped and cut in half with the edges cut off. Before I could comment on how he knew exactly what kind of sandwich I liked, he continued. "I pay attention. I could see the question in your eyes." He shrugged and pulled out a sandwich for himself. "How are you getting used to the castle?"

"It's amazing. I love it. I don't have that hard of a time getting around since I have Hermione."

"I bet she drew you a map," he said sarcastically.

I nudged his shoulder. "Leave her alone."

"No, I was just teasing. We are good. We've even been studying together this week. She gave me a book for notetaking."

I giggled. "It's called a notebook."

He waved it off. "Whatever. We have a truce going on. So far, it is working."

"What do you think about the notebook?" I asked curious to see if he liked it. I noticed that he hadn't been using it whenever he did homework, but he had been writing with the pens I gave him. He refused to use pencils because he didn't like the way they wrote.

"I like it. It's much more practical then carrying scrolls of parchment around. I use it all the time in my room." He finished his sandwich.

I tilted my head sideways to look at him. What was he writing in the notebook that he only wrote in while in his room?

"While I am enjoying the fact that you have finally seemed to notice my physical attractiveness," he smirked, "Hurry up, belle. I want to go for a fly."

"And just what kind of gentleman abandons his 'woman,'" I used air quotes, "to go flying in the middle of a date?"

"Who said anything about abandoning you?" He smiled at me and reached into the basket to pull out his broom.

I almost choked on my sandwich. Flying?! "I don't think that is a good idea."

He looked up at me puzzled. "When is flying not a good idea?" he said jokingly. He reached out and brushed some of my fringe out of my face. "You've flown before, right? Are all muggleborn witches afraid of brooms?"

"I'm not afraid of anything!" I responded indignantly. "I just think there are much better ways to spend one's time, that is all." I turned my head slightly to hide my blush. I would not be getting on that broom with him. I didn't care how much I sound like Hermione and not Ivory.

"Maybe you just haven't been properly taught. I'll just give you lessons." He stood up and held his hand out. "Do you trust me?"

I looked up at him incredulously. He couldn't really expect me to jus-? Hesitantly, I said, "Yes," I put my hand in his and he pulled me up.

He used his wand to pack up our lunch and shrank the basket to put it in his pocket. "Milady." He held out his arm for me to hold. Holding back a giggle, I took his arm and rolled my eyes. Purebloods. We started towards the Quidditch pitch. "So," he said, clearing his throat. "Exactly how dreadful of a flyer are you? Do I need to order you a training broom or will the school brooms suffice?"

I hit him on his chest. "Dreadful? You are so rude, Draco Malfoy." I hit him again.

"Abuse!" He yelled. "Abuse!" He pulled away from me, both hands on his chest, pretending to be seriously injured. It only made me swat at him some more. He laughed and pushed me against a nearby tree. "You know, in those archaic times you were mentioning earlier, it was not uncommon for a witch to get a spanking from her wizard if she misbehaved." He said in a low voice, only inches away from my face.

I tried to control my breathing. He was so close! It had been awhile since we had kissed. The last time had been out of desperation to distract him outside of the library on the first night in the castle. This kiss, if he kissed me, would be completely organic. "That's completely barbaric." I spoke in the same level of voice as him. It was if we were in a bubble, and if we were to speak any louder it would burst. All I could focus on was his lips. "You wouldn't dare," I whispered.

"No, of course not. There are much better ways to treat a witch." With those words, he closed the distance between us. It was gentle, and his hand came up my side and got lost in the hair at the back of my neck. I slumped back against the tree, and he brought his other hand to my hip to hold me in place. Why don't people kiss more often? All of my senses were in overdrive. He tasted like pumpkin juice and mint, and my ears were filled with a roaring sound, like waves crashing on the shore. A soft moan escaped my lips, which caused him to growl slightly and pull me closer. My eyes were shut, and for once in a lifetime, my brain was blank. I wasn't thinking about what homework was due that day or how to keep Harry alive for another year. All I was, at that moment, was a teenage girl who was being snogged against a tree on schoolgrounds. It felt incredible. I pulled back for a second to take a quick breath before pulling him back to me. He smelled like sandalwood and apples, and he felt- He felt like heaven.

Alright y'all, I have decided to do NaNoWriMo this year for the first time! Because obviously I don't already have enough to do. LOL. Anyway, let me know what you think. We have a special appearance coming in the next chapter. Can you guess who it is?

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