A/N: There's some light swearing in this chapter...but don't let that bother you ;)
26 – Magic Words
"A dream, all a dream, that ends in nothing, and leaves the sleeper where he lay down, but I wish you to know that you inspired it."
― Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
…
"The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up."
― Paul Valéry
…
Unlike Professor Snape earlier, Haley did stumble into her living room through the chimney. But she chalked it down to her nerves. She really was afraid they had already started or worse finished! If she was too late to support Draco, she would really feel miserable.
In the living room there was only Simon, who was sitting on the couch and showing Draco two of his kittens. Was he trying to distract him? The sight was awfully endearing. Something she could get used to. But where were the others?
"Am I too late?" Haley asked anxiously, once she spotted them.
"Sis?" Simon asked.
"Haley?" Asked Draco equally surprised and got up from the couch. "What about the game? Is it over yet?"
Before he could ask any more questions, she sprinted over to the couch and hugged him like a storm spirit had possessed her. "No. It hasn't even started."
"Then why…?" He asked, his hands falling to her waist automatically. "It's the finale… Won't they kick you off the team?"
She shrugged. "Maybe. Probably."
"But…" His eyebrows vanished below his fringe. "Something that important… why would you… just risk losing it like that? I'd give… anything to be able to play again." He muttered, sounding a tad irritated.
"I know," she whispered, taking his hands into hers. "It's important… yes. But… you're important, too." She hesitated. "To me… you're even more important."
He just stared at her in wonder.
"And I… I want you to know I'm here for you. You're not alone in this." She squeezed his hands. "Even if Angelina kicks me off the team a thousand times."
"Still," he argued. "It's not worth it…"
"Hush." She placed two fingers on his lips to shush him. "It's too late now anyway. And didn't I say, I'm not leaving you? I keep my promises. Gryffindor's honour." She added with a wink.
That made him chuckle. "Insane."
He was about to lean in, when a strange sobbing sound caught their attention.
It was Simon, who was watching them and rubbing his eyes with his shirt sleeve.
"Are you crying?" Haley asked her brother, quirking a brow.
Simon shook his head, still sniffling. "It's just… Baz… he bit me."
"Baz?" Haley repeated, slightly baffled.
Simon pointed at one of the kittens. Its fur was pitch black.
"You named your cat 'Baz'?" Baz was that snobbish kid from the other junior quidditch team that always picked on her brother.
Simon nodded. "I mean… look at him. Same black hair… And he's just as vicious."
Haley blinked at him. Had her brother always been this… this… she couldn't even find a word to describe the overall oddity that was him.
"Okay, everything's ready now. You can come down." Called Lily's voice from the lab downstairs. Then her fiery red locks came into view, piled up messily on top of her head.
"Pumpkin," she welcomed her daughter warmly, when she noticed her. She didn't seem the slightest bit surprised to see her. Or ask any questions, for that matter.
Still, when Haley sheepishly took Draco's hand and shrugged her shoulders as an explanation, Lily sent her a knowing smile, as if she hadn't expected anything less from her.
The next ten minutes seemed to go by in the blink of an eye. In the lab downstairs, Neville and Professor Snape awaited them, the potion master urging them to hurry, lest the potion was rendered useless because of the fading full moon power.
After Neville and Draco had both sat down on the couch, Professor Snape instructed them to take out their wands.
"My wand?" Neville asked in confusion.
"Don't tell me you didn't bring your wand," Haley mumbled. She hadn't known he was going to need his wand. But it would really be too bad if all of this went to waste because of a stupid wand.
"I think it's in my… ah! Here it is." Neville had fished his wand out of some secret pocket inside his sleeve.
Draco was already restlessly twirling his own between his fingers.
"Very well," Snape declared. "Now, hold onto his wrist. With your wand hand."
With visible reluctance Draco reached for Neville's wrist and held onto it as if he wanted to take an Unbreakable Vow. Neville did the same. He looked slightly nervous and kept looking either at Haley or her mum, who were both standing around the couch next to Simon and Snape.
"Great, now, after you drink the potion, hold out your other hands like this," Lily continued, holding her left hand with the palm facing up. "And place your wands between them. Right. Just like this."
Although their left hands weren't touching, Draco and Neville's fingers were connected through both of their wands.
"I…" Lily started to say fidgeting with the hem of her shirt uncertainly. "I just wanted to say… you don't have to do this." Five pairs of eyes turned to her. "I mean… it's really nice of you to help, Neville, but… we haven't tested this. Not really. There is no guarantee that it will work or… that there won't be any side effects or… dangers. It could… damage your magic or you might… lose it altogether." She shared a hesitant look with Professor Snape. "No one will blame you if you say no. You still can, actually… it's your decision."
Neville glanced down at his and Draco's intertwined hands. Haley swallowed. She did want Draco to get his magic back. But she also didn't want either of them to get hurt. Any more. They didn't even know if the potion actually worked. Was it really worth the risk? What if Neville lost his magic as well?
Draco glanced away, not offering a word. Maybe he shared her concerns?
Then Neville shook his head. "No. It's okay. I want to help." He tried to smile but it looked more like a nervous grimace. "Besides, if this helps with those explosions of magic, it'd be more than great. And in the worst case… at least I won't be attacked by my own spells any more." He added, chuckling awkwardly.
Haley could have kissed him. Again. Or maybe hugged him. That was a lot less inappropriate. Or awkward.
"if you're sure," Lily replied. "I guess, then it's time for…" She nodded at Snape who had already spooned some of the Resurgence Draught into two cups and was now handing one to each of the boys.
Before taking the potion, Haley caught Draco's eyes. He looked just as anxious as she felt. The image of him fainting in exactly the same spot only a few hours earlier was still vivid in her memory. Was he going to collapse again?
And what about Neville? How confused and out of his depth he had to feel.
Haley had to be strong for both of them. So, she made an effort to smile and make it look encouraging.
It seemed to work.
Nodding once in determination, Draco turned to Neville and said, "On three?"
"On three," Neville agreed, sitting up a bit straighter.
"One… two…"
"Three!" They said together, raised their cups and drank. After setting down the cups they held out their left hands with their wands like earlier and waited for something to happen.
They didn't have to wait long.
As it had done before, Draco's hand emitted a blue glow but this time it spread to Neville's hand, encasing his whole arm in blue light that even travelled over to his chest. Simultaneously, both boy's wands lifted off their palms and started twirling around each other in a mad dance.
Draco's and Neville's eyes were both wider than sickles and they didn't look as if they were breathing.
Haley wanted to leap over and do something. Stop them. Break them apart. Make them breathe again.
The urge only became stronger when Draco opened his mouth and seemed to be screaming in silent agony. He was in pain.
She had to stop this.
Snape who caught her look of horror shook his head once. She still made a step forward, only to be held back by an arm. Her mum's.
"You can't," she whispered firmly. "If you intervene now, it'll be more dangerous for them."
Haley was about to scream because she felt so helpless just watching them and not being able to do anything.
"It'll be alright," Lily soothed, rubbing her arm gently. And right then, over her mum's shoulder, Haley saw it all stop.
Draco and Neville's bodies seemed to lose all power and sagged back into the couch.
Lily released her hold on Haley's arm, which she took as a sign that it was okay to rush over, falling to the ground in front of the couch.
Clumsily, she took Draco's hand, searching for any sign of life. Where was it? Had she checked the wrong side? Finally feeling the weak pulse beneath her fingers made her almost cry with relief. Now, she also noticed the subtle movement of his chest. He was breathing. He was alive.
Cautiously, she turned to the left. Her mum was already at her side, checking on Neville.
"He's alright," Lily answered her unasked question with a small smile. "Just sleeping. Like him." Like Draco.
"Shit," Haley cursed. "Merlin's bloody beard, we're never doing something like this again, alright?" She felt as exhausted as if she had just fought a dark wizard, his pet basilisk and a dragon. And maybe also travelled back in time and returned. What an utterly draining morning.
…
Haley couldn't be sure what happened then. But an undefined amount of time later, she was in her room upstairs, sitting by the bed, where Draco was soundly asleep.
Neville had already woken up. The way it looked, he was completely fine. If only, a bit tired. So, after examining him closely, Lily had ordered the boy to rest some more. Of course, he had been itching to test whether his magic had changed somehow but Lily had insisted his body needed more rest first.
And now he was sleeping again. In Simon's bedroom. Simon was watching over him. It was slightly strange to think that she had been sleeping there with Draco only hours before.
She really hadn't thought their visit was going to look like this. And what was worse was the extra person currently occupying her room.
"Rook to D4," Baz called across the room, so Simon could hear him in his own bedroom across the hall where he was watching over Neville. Or supposed to anyway.
At the moment he was caught up in an intense game of chess against Baz. Not Baz, the kitten. But Baz, the infuriating kid that had declared himself Simon's worst enemy. Haley still didn't understand what he was doing here. In her room especially.
"Ah, shoot!" Simon complained, messing his hair up in annoyance. "That was my knight."
With a satisfied smirk, Baz moved his white rook across the field, kicking Simon's black knight out of the way. "Rookie Mistake," he taunted smugly.
Haley really didn't like that obnoxious git. And the way he talked to her brother… it made her positively livid. If she wasn't holding Draco's hand, she would have thrown something at him. Or hit him. Or kicked him down the stairs.
"I don't like you," she offered instead. "Not one bit."
Baz quirked a black brow, and shrugged obviously unimpressed.
"Why are you here, again?" She asked forcing herself to stay calm. And quiet. She didn't want to disturb Draco.
"I was invited inside," he replied nonchalantly. "Your turn, Snow." This was another irritating thing. For some reason, the black-haired menace kept calling her brother by his middle name. Snow. Nobody else did that. How did he even know about it?
"All right, all right," Simon said from his room. "Bishop to F9." He was sitting in front of his own chess set. They were playing chess across two rooms with two sets of chess. It was absurd. But at least it kept her from worrying herself to madness. And like this she could keep an eye on Baz. Somebody (read: Simon) had to watch over Neville. And since Haley didn't want to leave Draco's side and didn't trust that little devil in a room with her baby brother, they had found themselves in this impossible chess arrangement.
"Well done, you've captured my pawn." Baz sneered.
"And why did you invite him?" Haley asked, absently stroking the back of Draco's hand. It felt so soft. It was calming.
"I heard you're supposed to keep your enemies close." Simon answered lightly.
Haley wanted to facepalm. "You're not supposed to say that with your enemy actually right here." She rolled her eyes. "Who even told you that?"
"Draco did," Simon said cheerfully. Oh really? When had that happened? Had they bonded over the kittens?
"Of course he did," Haley mumbled, shaking her head at the boy lying in her bed. At least he looked peaceful. At least he didn't seem like he was in pain any more. She brought up her free hand to catch a stray eyelash from the tip of his nose.
It was blond. Almost white. Should I make a wish?, she wondered. Did that even work if it wasn't her own eyelash?
Gently, she blew it off her fingertip, looking at the sleeping face and thinking, I wish that… from now on you won't have to suffer any more.
It was stupid. It was childish. Magic didn't work like that. But right then, she couldn't find it in herself to care.
"So… you're really dating him?" Baz asked somewhat out of the blue. Haley was surprised he was actually asking her a question.
"Yeah, so what?" She answered defensively.
"Don't your parents mind?" He asked hesitantly.
Haley shook her head. "Why would they?"
"Well… he's a Slytherin… he's a Malfoy. Evil pureblood and all that."
"It's not like we're in a war." Haley rolled her eyes. "Do people actually still care about this whole bloodline rubbish?" She clucked her tongue. "They don't mind as long as I'm happy, I guess."
Baz looked surprised. Then he nodded slowly, thoughtfully. "I see. That's interesting."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Why?"
"Rook to A4." He said, instead of answering her question. Simon cursed.
Before she could ponder this some more, they heard a crash from downstairs. Three seconds passed and then,
"Simon!" Lily's voice yelled. "You better come down right this instant!"
"Shit." Simon cursed. Then he hurried out of his room with the face of someone who was about to die. Baz got up to follow him, amusement written all over his face.
Just when Haley was contemplating whether to send a 'harmless' spell after him, a groan from the bed shifted her attention elsewhere. Had the noise woken him up?
Draco began to stir, his eyelids clenching, before blinking open slowly.
"Ugh," he groaned, burying his face in the pillow. "What happened – Where… ?" He stopped, seemingly taking in his surroundings. "What – Is this – is this your bed?" Oh. So, he had noticed her. His voice sounded sleepy and rough. (And scandalised somehow.) It was a tad endearing. And a tad worrisome.
When he moved to sit up, she helped him rest comfortably against the headrest. "Yeah. How'd you know?" So far, he hadn't seen her bedroom.
"Uh… Oh. It… it kind of…" he trailed off, a light blush covering his cheeks. "It kind of… smells like you?" He phrased that like a question and managed to look so sheepish that she wanted to cover his face with kisses. But in the end she held herself back. There were more important things at hand than kissing. In theory.
"How are you feeling?" She asked, squeezing his arm gently. "You're not in pain, are you?"
He frowned, as if to think about it. Then he shook his head. "No. I feel… weird, though."
"Weird?" She repeated, sounding awfully worried. "How so? Is it the potion? Should I get mum?"
He chuckled lightly. "No. It's fine. It just… feels as if a thunderstorm has wreaked havoc inside of me."
"Oh." Well what was she supposed to say to that? "But… you're not in pain." She looked him over briefly, as if she could find the traces of the 'thunderstorm' on him.
He shook his head again. "No. Just tired." His fingers found her chin and lifted it to make her look at his face again. "Nothing you need to worry about. Though it is kind of cute." He teased her with a smirk.
She slapped his hand away. Lightly. "You didn't see yourself. After you took the potion…" She closed her eyes, trying not to actually bring the memory back to the surface. "It was terrible." She continued in a whisper. "You weren't breathing… I… of course I was worried." She gave his shoulder a shove. For good measure.
Draco smiled at her. It was hard to understand why. Her words had been anything but amusing.
Haley got up with a sigh. "Okay, I'm getting mum. She'll want to examine you and everything."
"Wait." He stopped her, before she could take more than one step, catching her around the wrist.
"Hm?" She looked back in surprise. "Don't you want to know… " she bit her lips nervously. "if it worked?"
The look on his face was that of a young boy. Hopeful. Scared. Uncertain.
"I do," he replied quietly. "But I… would you mind if… just the two of us?" That wasn't even a complete sentence. Just the two of us, what?
But it wasn't hard to guess, what he was actually asking.
Slowly, carefully, Haley tapped back to the bed, sitting down on the edge. "Okay." She nodded, taking his hand properly. "Just the two of us, then. If that's what you want." It was probably much more pleasant like this than being stared at by a couple of people who were practically strangers to him.
He reached into his pocket, then turned to her with a frown. "Where's my wand?"
"Oh, it's right over here." Haley got up from the bed and walked over to her desk. She took the wand out of a drawer and nervously handed it to Draco who had followed her to the other side of the room.
"Er…" she looked at him not quite sure how to progress, while Draco carefully inspected his wand from all sides. Hesitating. "Do you want me to give you space or…?"
He shook his head. "No… it's fine. You can stay."
As he kept looking for something – courage maybe? – on his wand, Haley decided to give him some space after all. At least a little bit of it. She stepped backwards toward the huge circular window between her bed and her desk and hopped onto the windowsill. (It was her favourite spot in the room. Terribly comfortable with pillows and her favourite books and everything.) (Even a secret stash of chocolate.)
He had his back to her, when he finally stopped examining his wand and slowly raised it, aiming at the door. Then he aimed it at the bed. Then at the window behind Haley.
She raised a questioning brow.
He chuckled sheepishly, glancing to the side. "I don't know which spell I should try."
She snorted. "Just… start with something basic? And don't blow up my room." She added with a frown.
He rolled his eyes. "I'm not the one blowing up shit with magic." Was that a dig at Neville? He sighed. It was probably just nerves.
He nodded once. "Alright. Something simple." Then he pointed his wand at a miniature guitar, hanging above the desk. She hoped he wasn't going to Incendio it.
In her head, Haley counted to three. Then Draco opened his mouth and said, "Engorgio."
For a tortuously long second nothing happened. Then the guitar started growing and growing until it became too big for the nail pinning it to the wall and crashed onto her desk. Unfortunately, the impact broke its neck. But fortunately, Draco pointed his wand at the guitar again, whispered, "Reparo," and the enlarged guitar was whole again.
Draco seemed to be glowing from inside. His whole face was alight with something like joy or delight. Or wonder. And maybe disbelief.
He turned left and right. Back and forth. Pointing his wand at books, pictures, chairs, sheets, brushes, paintbrushes, clothes… everything he could find. He enlarged them, made them float, shrunk them, lit up a candle, summoned a cauldron from who knew where… until the whole room looked as if Simon had let his kittens loose inside of it. He seemed like he was in a frenzy.
At last he turned to her, breathing heavily, and smiling so widely as if he wanted to beat the Cheshire Cat. He looked so happy. Haley felt herself return the smile without thinking about it.
There was a mischievous glint in his eyes that she noticed a second too late. With his wand pointed at her he said, "Levicorpus." And then she was already hanging under the ceiling, up-side-down.
He hadn't. She couldn't believe he had actually done this.
She had half a mind to hold onto her shirt or he would have seen her bra. Pah! He only wished he could see her in her underwear. At least, she was wearing a pair of shorts and not a skirt.
"Put me down!" she fumed. "Put me down, or I'll–"
With a flick of his wand, he lifted the spell, and half-caught her, before she hit the floor.
Haley angrily shoved him off. "I can't believe you did this! After everything I did to help you and you – you–"
Draco was still grinning. "Sorry. I just…" He held up his hands in defence. "I couldn't help it. I wanted to try this for ages. Ever since I've seen it in your dad's prank book."
"Don't remind me of that!" She hissed, turning her back to him and crossing her arms.
He walked around her and hesitantly tugged at her hands. She didn't budge.
"I'm sorry. Really." He said earnestly. "I'm just so… happy, you know?" He looked more than happy. Radiant was a good description. Ecstatic. That and endlessly relieved. It was a tiny bit contagious.
Still, Haley narrowed her eyes. "I don't see how that justifies bullying me."
"This isn't bullying. It's just…" He seemed to look for a harmless word that better described his actions. Probably realizing that it was hopeless, he gave up. "Anyway. It doesn't matter." He dismissed. "It's just so… I still can't believe it… It's back. My magic. It's back." He pulled at her hands, trying to free them from their prison against her chest.
She let him, giving him the smallest idea of a smile. "Yeah. It's back."
Draco's eyes looked suspiciously wet. He didn't seem to notice. It was quite an emotional moment.
He gripped her hands as if they had personally handed him back his magic on a silver plate. "I honestly don't know… how to ever repay you for this," he said.
Haley shook her head. "You don't have to. I mean… you could start by stopping to bully me." She added then. He chuckled. It sounded a bit like a sob. "But seriously," she reached up to catch that lone teardrop hanging by the corner of his right eye on her thumb. "I didn't help you so you'd feel indebted to me or anything. And… I mean, I didn't even do much. If you want to thank someone it should be my mum. Or Neville."
"Right," he agreed. "I'll thank your mum, then."
She tried not to roll her eyes.
"And you, too," he continued, snatching her fingers back. "Without your encouragement… none of this would have happened."
That wasn't completely true. Professor Snape and her mum had been working on that potion even without her involvement. But there was nothing wrong with letting Draco believe she had played a major part in all of this.
"That's right," she pouted. "You should definitely appreciate me more."
"Should I?" He quirked an eyebrow in amusement.
"Yes."
"How?"
"Surprise me?"
He grinned, tugging at her hands playfully. He seemed bubbly like a kid with too much energy. Haley glanced around. Well, he had certainly released some of this excessive energy on her poor room.
"Do you happen to know any tidying spells?"
He followed her eyes. "Oh. That was me, wasn't it?" His voice sounded proud. And a little sheepish. "I don't know any. The house elves always clean at home."
Of course, the house elves did. She rubbed her nose. "That's alright. I'll ask mum to help later." She turned back to Draco. "Should we go down and tell the others, then?"
"Okay."
As much as Haley would have loved to draw out this moment just a bit longer, she should probably let her mum have a look at him. And besides that, she was still worried about Neville. Had he woken up by now?
"Are you coming?" After no more than two steps, she half-turned around to check why he wasn't following, when she was suddenly lifted off her feet once more.
"For fuck's sake, what is wrong with you?" She screeched, flailing her limbs in irritation. It hadn't been funny the first time. And now he'd bloody done it again. "Put me down, or I don't know what I'll do!"
This time, he didn't lift the spell right away. He seemed to sense, he had really angered her. "Promise, you won't hurt me." He said, biting his bottom lip to keep from grinning. "I'll let you down then."
"You dare?" She fired back. "You'd better promise not to pull this kind of shit again, or I'll really hurt you!"
That erased his grin right away. "Liberacorpus."
The spell was lifted and Haley dropped to her bed. She crawled to her feet and lunged at Draco, poking one finger into his chest. "You think this is funny? You absolute prick! I can't believe you've actually done this again."
"The look on your face," he giggled, "it was priceless."
"What?" She was imagining flames burning him and leaving nothing but ashes. If this was what he was usually like with magic, she didn't know if she actually preferred him without it.
He caught the finger hovering in front of his chest. "Merlin, I love this."
Huh? Was she maybe sending unclear signals? Was he misunderstanding the waves of fury rolling off her?
"Seriously," he continued. "This angry side of you is really something else."
Oh. She remembered something. Hadn't he told her, she was the most beautiful when she was angry? Was this turning him on? Had he purposely made her angry because it gave him some sick pleasure?
With a huff, she shook her head, wrenched her hand from his grasp and marched to the door. He was really unbelievable. Was it too optimistic to hope, this was just a silly phase that would pass sooner or later?
"Wait. Don't go." He said quietly. "I'm sorry. I won't do it again. Really."
She scoffed.
And then there were two arms wrapping around her from behind, effectively stopping her from taking even one more step.
She tried to remove his hands from her stomach but he was holding her so tightly that it was useless.
"What the hell?" She mumbled, while he rubbed his cheek against the side of her face. Kind of like one of Simon's kittens. When it wanted to be petted and cuddled. These mood swings really were too confusing.
Draco held her even tighter then, pressing himself against her back, as if he was trying to pull her inside of him. Was this his way of expressing how happy he was? First going mad and then becoming clingy and affectionate?
He left a trail of lingering kisses from her chin to her ear. It tickled. It filled her chest with a strange ache. Git. How did he just make her irritation dissolve into nothing with nothing but a few ridiculous touches? She felt less angry, already.
She was starting to relax into the embrace, when the sound of his voice shook her to the core.
"I love you," he said, his voice soft and close to her ear. "So much, I don't know what to do with it."
It felt like an arrow hitting her chest. It felt like a wall coming down around her heart, leaving it raw and vulnerable. It felt like a song being played on her heart strings.
A love song?
It felt like magic.
For a moment she was perfectly still. Draco was quiet as well. It was as if time had stopped.
Maybe she'd heard wrong. Maybe he was just… overwhelmed.
She chuckled tonelessly. "Could've fooled me."
He grunted. "Hm?" Although she didn't see his face, she could almost hear him frown. "I thought you knew. Don't you believe me?"
"I think you need to work on expressing your feelings." She murmured. "Besides, why would you think I know?"
"Well… you saw my dreams…" He replied slowly. "You said you'd found out about my feelings. Wasn't that why you kissed me?"
"Your dreams?" She asked breathlessly. "But you never… You dreamed of confessing your lo– your feelings to me?" She would have remembered that.
He snorted. She felt it on her cheek. "All the time. You really didn't know?"
She shook her head. "Well, I was kinda distracted hanging up-side-down under the ceiling."
"Are you still mad about that?"
"I mean… " She bit her tongue. "I don't get it. Why would someone – why would you feel this way… about me?"
"If you want me to compliment you, you can just say so."
She didn't answer. This was already embarrassing enough. Although, she was an outspoken fan of herself – it was inevitable with a father like James Potter – she genuinely wondered why other people liked her. If they liked her at all. Not to mention love. Love was a pretty strong word.
She was just an ordinary girl after all.
When the silence stretched longer and longer, Draco seemed to realize she wasn't going to reply.
He loosened his grip around her and gently turned her around.
"You really don't know how absurdly amazing you are." He mused, cupping her cheek with his left hand and caressing it with his thumb.
"Shut up." She rolled her eyes.
He chuckled, sliding his free arm loosely around her waist. "After I lost my magic… I was in a really dark place, you know?" He lightly shook his head, as if the memory still bothered him and he was trying to dispel it. "Nothing mattered. I wanted it all to stop. There was no meaning… I wanted to give up… I… It wouldn't have taken much for me to do it. To just… fade away completely."
Fade away completely… Did that mean…? What did it mean?
"I was losing myself, wallowing in my misery" he admitted. "I would have lost myself if it wasn't for you." His fingers drew invisible patterns onto the small of her back. It was oddly soothing. "You who kept bothering and irritating me." Her? Bothering him? "You who were always so close… I wanted you… but I couldn't have you. It nearly drove me mad. But it was a different kind of madness." He chuckled. "More manageable."
"So… basically you're saying I drove you mad but it was more… pleasant than going crazy over your magic?"
He grinned. "You could say it like this." His eyes were shining. They looked like tiny fragments of stars. "It was a nice… distraction, I guess. The kissing especially." He added with a wink. "But that's not all." He let go of her face and picked up her hand instead, lifting it to his mouth and kissing her knuckles tenderly. It killed her a little bit. "You being there… believing in me… fighting for me… not letting me give up… No one has ever done that before. I think you saved me in a way. Even if I hadn't gotten my magic back."
Haley couldn't help it. His terribly sweet and ridiculously touching words never failed to do her in. There were actual tears in her eyes. Why had she been mad at him again? She couldn't remember. She leapt forward and slung her arms around him, smearing tears and snot all over his shirt as punishment for him making her cry in the first place. "Shut up." She mumbled weakly. It was impossible that he really saw her his way.
"Do you believe it now?" He asked, tugging at her braid lightly.
"Say it again." She ordered, ignoring his question.
"Shut up or say it again?" He sounded amused.
"Just say it again."
She could hear him rolling his eyes. "'Do you believe it now?'"
"Not that." She hit his shoulder lightly. "What you said before."
"Er… 'You saved me?'"
"Not that either." She was pretty sure, he knew exactly what she wanted to hear.
"Let's see… 'You drove me mad?'"
Haley growled, pushing away somewhat so she could glare at him. "Ugh, you're such a pain in the… just forget it."
In response, he only pulled her closer, squishing her face against his chest.
"I love you," he said finally, his heartbeat beneath her ear, beating in harmony with the words, completed the song of his heart. He was holding her too tight. She wanted to look at him.
Pushing lightly against his chest, she pulled free of his hold enough to see his face.
He looked shy. But also hesitantly hopeful, biting his bottom lip. She wanted to kiss him.
"Again," she breathed.
"Aren't you greedy?" He asked, chuckling. "How are you so cute?"
She gave his shoulder a shove. "Again."
His smile was so wide. It reached his eyes. It was mocking her. She absolutely loved it.
He placed both his hands on her cheeks and trapped her in his eyes. "I love you."
It was even better seeing his face as he said it. It killed her some more. (Dying seemed to be a slow business.)
She hadn't even made the decision but somehow she was kissing him. Her arms wrapped around his neck and pressing closer, closer. There was no space between them. There was too much space between them. He was all around her and she was drowning in him. In his love for her. Or maybe… in their love for each other? Did it matter? As long as he made her feel like this, what else was there to worry about?
Magic? They had solved that mess as well. And from the way he kissed her back, she could tell it made up a huge part of his happiness. He had never kissed her like this. It was pure joy. Light and happy. Carefree. Giddy. As if there was nothing lost. Nothing to lose. No more traces of desperation and agony lurking in the shadows.
He kissed her like someone being freed from a prison. Like someone being captured underground and finally seeing the sunlight after years of darkness. It was glorious. It was perfect.
It was magic.
Until it suddenly stopped. Well, every dream was bound to end at some point.
"Get the hell away from my daughter, you bastard!" Somebody yelled.
Haley turned to the door in surprise, finding her dad standing in the door frame, his face a furious mask.
He had drawn his wand.
And then Draco was the one, hanging in the air, up-side-down.
…
A/N: Dear Merlin, I can't believe this is almost over! So, I hope the happy vibes are to your liking, everyone. After all the angst... these children deserve some happiness. Although Draco is a bit of a brat, isn't he? Let's hope James spares his life.
Leave me your thoughts, dears :)