star shopping ✰ d.m.

CHAPTER NINE

Arabella went home for the Christmas holidays for the first time since starting at Hogwarts. The rest of her family went home with her, except for Ron, who stayed at school with Harry and Hermione. It was nice to get away from the craziness at school and just spend time with her family for a few weeks, however chaotic it was.

A week after returning to school, Draco and Arabella met in the library and worked on homework in the back. It was the first time they had done this without Draco asking how to do something, and Arabella was rather pleased that he was beginning to understand his classes better. In fact, they hardly talked at all that entire hour, but they weren't just sitting there writing essays and pretending that the other wasn't there. More than once, Arabella had looked up because she felt eyes on her, and saw Draco shifting his gaze back to the parchment in front of him. Each time this happened, she smiled to herself and felt her face heat up. She also had this foreign feeling in her stomach that she had only felt once before when she had said hello to Cedric Diggory in the hallway and he said hello back. However, she pushed it out of her head and didn't allow herself to think more about it.

That was, until she went back to the common room with a goofy grin on her face.

"Ari, what is wrong with you?" Dean asked.

"What do you mean?" Arabella asked, feeling slightly offended that someone thought something was wrong with her.

"You're smiling. You just got back from studying with Malfoy and you're smiling."

"You are studying, aren't you?" Seamus asked. "You're not, like..."

"Not what, Seamus?" Arabella asked. "Come on, spit it out. Don't be shy."

"You're not... snogging or anything?"

Dean made a gagging noise and Arabella had to struggle not to throw up right then and there.

"And why would we be snogging?"

"Oh, come on, Ari, don't be thick. You fancy him. Admit it."

"I do not fancy Draco Malfoy!"

"Really? Because it sure looks that way," Dean said.

"You guys!" But then she remembered something that made her eyes widen. "Excuse me, I need to speak with Hermione."

And so she walked away and approached Hermione, who was surrounded by books, charts, and parchment.

"I'm a bit busy here," she said in a disregarding voice.

"Mione, please."

Hermione looked up from her essay and her face softened when she saw her best friend's concerned expression.

"What do you need?"

"To talk to you. Alone. In the dormitory, I don't want anyone hearing."

So the two girls quietly escaped from the noisy common room to their dormitory. Despite sharing it with two other girls, it was empty.

"What is it?"

"Mione, do you... do you remember our first Divination lesson? What was in my cup?"

"Yes. It was a heart."

"Right. Well, I... I need to tell you something."

"If it concerns Malfoy, I already know."

Arabella's stomach dropped. "What?"

"I've known for a while now. I've just been waiting for you to come to me yourself."

"How?"

"Oh, please, Bella. Did you really think you could hide from me in the library?"

Arabella looked down in shame. "So I suppose you hate me now."

"Don't be silly. You're my best friend, I could never hate you. Granted, I don't like that you're spending so much time with Malfoy. I don't like him at all, and I know he doesn't like me, either. But of course, you already know that, which is why you were so secretive about it. But I figure as long as he's decent to you I'm not about to stop you. But I know you'll believe me when I tell you that your family is likely to feel a lot more strongly about it than me."

"Are you going to tell them?"

"No, not as long as you don't want me to. But I strongly suggest telling them yourself before they find out like I did because I don't think they're going to be very understanding if they see you two sneaking around."

"Yeah, you're right."

"So you fancy him, right? That's why you brought up the tea leaves?"

"No! No, no, no. But... what if I do later on? I don't want to, but the tea leaves... they're supposed to tell the future, and the future is still the future. Of course, if we're looking at it that way, it could mean I'll find love ten years from now which I would have expected. I suppose I should ask Professor Trelawney how far out in the future those tea leaves predict..."

Hermione scoffed. "Don't bother. She'll probably give you a rubbish answer. But, Bella... only you can truly know if you like someone. Of course, someone else might have a guess, but that's all it is: a guess. Only you know your feelings. If you like Malfoy... well, it's not what I or anyone that cares about you would have wanted, but it's not our life, it's yours. Your family, they won't like it, but they love you, so if it's what you want, and if Malfoy makes you happy, they'll come around. I'm not saying they'll grow to like him, because you know that's unlikely, but you won't lose them. And you won't lose me."

Arabella's eyes had begun to well with tears and Hermione pulled her into a hug. "Thank you, Mione."

"So I suppose I should fill you in on the latest with Harry, yeah?" Hermione asked as they pulled away, and she continued on to tell Arabella everything that Harry had heard about his connection with Sirius Black when he had snuck into Hogsmeade.

[word count: 975]
[written: 4/26/20]
[published: 5/28/20]