HIS EXCEPTION || Draco Malfoy

E L E V E N

"How are things with the cabinet?" She asked him as they ascended the stairs.

The last thing Draco wanted to do was talk about the bloody cabinet, but he knew it was a fair question for her to ask. "Still working on it."

It was part of the reason he wanted to see her; if he didn't have much time left, he wanted to spend as much of it as possible doing what he wanted to do. They got to the very top and he watched Ariana walk straight over to an owl and begin patting it, her voice high as she spoke to it.

"Is it your's?" He asked her.

"Nope." She replied, walking over to another owl and then another. "They're just so beautiful."

Draco leaned against the wall of the tower, his arms crossed, watching her coo at all the owls, laughing quietly to himself as he heard her say things like "hello little babies" and "oh wow, such a handsome boy". He knew that anyone else doing this would have disgusted him, but not with her. She was his exception.

Ariana finished greeting and complimenting all the owls and then made her way over to Draco, standing in front of him, her cheeks pink. "Sorry. Can't help myself."

Draco let his arms fall to his sides. "You're just too good for this world, Winters." He said, still smiling.

She snorted. "Yeah, right."

They gazed at each other in silence for a moment, the warm breeze moving their hair slightly. The owls hooted softly nearby, and Draco inhaled the cinnamon scent of Ariana's hair. His heart pounded and he felt something stir inside him. With his back still against the wall, he leaned towards her and kissed her, praying she would kiss him back.

She did almost instantly, so he brought his hand up and held the back of her head gently. He felt her fingers graze his jaw and a shiver ran down his spine. It prompted him to deepen the kiss, his hand moving from her head to the side of her neck, his other hand on her waist.

Ariana gripped the front of Draco's shirt with her free hand, overwhelmed with how close he was at that moment. She felt as if his breath was the only air she could survive on.

Draco pushed off the wall and spun around until Ariana was up against the stone, emitting a small gasp at the sudden movement. Her head spun violently as she felt his knee push her legs apart slightly, his thigh providing much needed friction to her core.

The accidental moan that slipped out of her lips shot straight through him, his hand tightening on her waist. He was surrounded by the smell of the fresh night air and cinnamon, his mouth desperate to taste more of her. Unexpectedly, Ariana nipped at his bottom lip and Draco groaned, suddenly very close to being pushed over the metaphorical edge.

He pulled back, leaning his forehead against hers. "You're killing me, Winters."

Those eyes of hers that he had always described as 'sleepy' were suddenly so sultry, leaving him almost breathless.

As Draco dipped his head to kiss her again, Ariana couldn't hold in a question that had been on her mind her for years. "Why me, Draco?"

He paused, lips barely brushing hers. Ariana wondered if he was confused by her question, his stillness making her heart pound. The breeze made her shiver slightly.

But Draco wasn't confused. He often wondered if she would ever ask him that question. He had always been nervous of her asking, as he had no idea how to answer it.

"It was always you."

It wasn't an answer to her question, as there wasn't really a definite answer. He thought back to all the times over the years he had been a complete prat, laughing at other's expense, pretending he was better than everyone around him, acting as if being a Malfoy made him special. And whilst people either turned on him, cowered from him, or followed him, she did none of those things. She saw him for who he was, even when he had no idea who that was. Until this year.