As It Was *Complete*

28. Help!

The following day, normalcy resumed for Astra. Well actually with a slight difference. Draco now stood with her when they walked anywhere. He actually waited with the boys for them the next morning and he engaged in an actual conversation when they headed to breakfast. 

"Today is the first day of our lifestyle lessons, after lunch. What do you think they will be like?" He asked as he and Astra strolled down the hall, behind the others. 

"Who knows," she shrugged. "Probably give us scenarios and we would have to talk through them as a team or exercises to complete or something."

"We should also fill our journals in," Draco suggested. 

"Oh shoot! I forgot about that," she groaned. "I will grab some toast to go and do it in the Potions' hall before class. Thanks for reminding me Draco," she said as she hurried into the Great Hall, stood at the end of the Gryffindor table and buttered two slices of toast, smeared on some jam and took an orange from the fruit bowl, and hurried back out of the hall. 

She practically ran to the dungeons and sat herself on the window seat outside the lab and took out her journal. The first page was easy enough to answer as it was just details about her and her partner. She then had a page with a list of qualities she likes in Draco's character. 

She thought for a split second before she began to write as fast as her hand would let her. She mentioned his smile, that he was smart and asked her intelligent questions, that he had piercing grey eyes which she loved as well as the fact that he was just as sarcastic and funny as she was. One thing she made sure to mention was that she admired him for trying to become a better person. For being brave and owning up to his mistakes and not giving up. 

Then she had to give a review of the date they had, how it went, what they did, talked about, and if there were any moments. She wasn't sure what classified as a 'moment' so she skipped that bit. 

"What are you using to write?" Draco said coming to sit down on the window seat beside her as she peeled her orange, her toast long devoured. 

"A pen," she explained. "Hermione introduced me to them. There is ink held inside so you don't have to dip and there are fewer smudges on the paper."

"A pen," Draco said nodding, clearly intrigued but not sure if he should be asking about something muggle made. 

"It is amazing, try it," she said holding it out to him. "No stupid, extravagant feather either."

He hesitated but looked at her smiling face and took the pen, opening his own journal and beginning to fill out the same details that Astra just finished. He held the pen up to his eyes to get a better look. "And the ink doesn't just...spill out?"

"Nope, it stays in that little tube. They are quite cheap and when you are finished with it and the ink is all gone you can just throw it away. They last month's too, Hermione told me."

"Fascinating," Draco whispered more to himself than anyone in particular. 

"You can keep it if you want?" Astra offered. "I bought quite a few in Diagon Alley that last day. I have a heap of them." She smiled. "A little gift from me to you."

"Are you sure?" She nodded. "Thanks, Astra." He blushed. 

"Anytime," she chuckled getting back to the journal and taking another pen out of her bag. There was silence as they worked, Astra offering Draco some of her orange and he in turn used his wand to slice an apple he shared with her.

They finished their work in about twenty minutes and Astra was quick to close the journal, so Draco could not see what she wrote about his good qualities. She would be mortified if he did.