Magic | D. Malfoy

13. A Dose of Reality

With the start of the New Year, the weather turned colder. It was so cold, in fact, Sophia and Draco realised halfway through their usual walk around the park they couldn't possibly keep on walking if they didn't want to become icicles by the end of their walk and sought shelter in one of the shops nearby that was thankfully open. The rapidly approaching dusk didn't help their case either, as the sun disappeared and with its absense the cold grew.

They still didn't seem to mind this turn of events. Sophia was smiling even as they sat down, the adrenaline rush from earlier when they were still in the cold not fading just yet, her cheeks flushed pink as she unbuttoned her coat as the inside of the shop was quite warm. She took off her white mittens just as Draco sat down in the seat next to her own, the two of them facing the window.

It had snowed last night and it seemed it would be snowing more in the next couple of hours, if one were to guess by the weather. Still, that wasn't about to stop Draco or Sophia it seemed as they met up anyway.

Their conversation up until this point had been kept short, not much details involved. Sophia had told him the time spent with her mother and her step-father had been alright, that the food had been nice, and Draco in return had let her know that as he had predicted, the gathering had been unbearably boring. To the other, it seemed like the other party wanted to say something but held themselves back. And it was true. Both Sophia and Draco wanted to speak up but weren't sure when was the right time. As the waiter came to offer them the menus and some water, it seemed like this wasn't the time either.

"I know it's way too late but I really need some coffee," Sophia admitted as she looked through the menu. "It's not like I haven't slept, but Ashley is coming later tonight and we'll be expecting Nicole in the early hours of the morning and if I know Ashley at all she will want to stay up and wait for her."

"So you'll keep her company," he filled in the blanks. "I have work tomorrow morning so I can't drink coffee this late."

"Makes sense," she muttered, her nose still buried in the menu. "I was thinking of finding a job. A waitress, maybe, in the evenings because I have classes in the morning. It wouldn't be bad, I would get some money of my own and stop relying on my parents so much."

"It'll be tiring."

"What work isn't?" she countered. He hummed, and they sunk in silence once more. The waiter arrived not too long later and so they ordered, once more remaining silent afterwards. Sophia was the first to speak what was on her mind.

"Mum asked about us."

Draco turned to face her at once, his brows furrowed. "She knew about-"

"No, she asked who I was seeing though and I was so surprised I couldn't possibly lie. She caught me off guard. No matter how good of an actress you are-"

"Don't apologise, if that's what you are trying to do," he cut her off, placed a hand on top of her own resting on the table and met her gaze. "What did you tell her?"

"That I'm seeing you and that we've been dating for a few weeks now. The truth." At Draco's nod, she continued. "I didn't mean for her to know, I still think it's rather early for that, I'm not sure even if we know what is going on and how this is going to go. I felt like I needed to tell you, though."

"I appreciate that," he told her slowly, cleared his throat. She nodded and he looked away for a moment, at the park outside. Thin snowflakes had started to fall and for a while, he busied himself with watching them as he tried to piece his next question into being. He couldn't find a way for it to not sound abrupt, though. He gave up on watching the snow, turned back to face her. Finally, he asked what was on his mind. "How do you see this going?"