Malfoy

Chapter 14

I rushed back into my dorm room, the girls were all in bed by now, not asleep but happily doing their own thing in bed. Poppy peered over her book at me, watching me rush in and straight to my chest.

"I wondered where you were," Poppy smiled softly, a look of curiosity in her eyes as she closed her book slightly, holding the page with a finger.

"Oh I was seeing a... Friend?" I responded cautiously with a sound of uncertainty in my voice at the last word, I distractedly opened the chest at the end of my bed, rifling through the various bits I had forgotten were hidden away there.

"Oh my god, you were on a date!" Poppy gasped, all of the girls froze, heads flying around to look at me.

"I noticed a different smell when you came in! Cologne?" asked Olivia suddenly, swinging her feet around on her bed to face me. She was a petite girl, long messy brown hair that she almost never managed to contain, she was often quite quiet but over the years she had become more confident with the girls in our dorm.

"What?!" I choked, my hands froze inside my chest.

"Look at her! You're absolutely right, Poppy!" Nell all but yelled, she was a tall, boisterous girl with a real thing for Poppy, who seemed oblivious to the fact Nell was wildly into her.

"Don't be ridiculous!" I panicked, turning to face the three who now all faced me. We weren't best friends but I did consider the girls in my dorm to at least be my friends, even if I didn't spend much time with them outside of our dorm.

"Who was it?" Poppy asked with a big smile and wide, interested eyes.

"I didn't!" I tried to deny again but the three of them looked so unconvinced, I had to cave. "Maybe I did?" I squeaked, looking at the ground. All three girls squealed, jumping down from their beds and surrounding me, desperate to know more.

"Was it Harry?" Nell asked excitedly, Poppy shot her a look that said don't be ridiculous.

"No! God no! Can I keep it a secret for now? Just until I know if it's going anywhere?" I asked awkwardly, knowing full well that I would never be able to tell them the truth but hoping this would quiet them for now. They all looked disappointed.

"Was he nice, at least?" Olivia asked quietly, looking up through her mess of hair. I began to nod but Nell interrupted.

"Who said they were a he? Could have been a she!" Nell butted in, eyeing Poppy to see her reaction.

"I'm sure whoever it was, they were nice and y/n will tell us in her own time," Poppy smiled, touching a hand to my arm and squeezing, I nodded appreciatively and she headed back to her bed. Olivia nodded too and headed back to her bed, Nell gave me a frustrated stare before shrugging and heading back to her bed, she didn't stop watching me though. I turned back to my chest, rifling through once again until my hands touched a square envelope at the bottom, I gently pulled it out and smiled triumphantly. Nell seemed to lose interest when she realised what I was holding, knowing the familiar old envelope all too well from when I would often pull it out in first year.

"You haven't done that in a while," Olivia smiled over at me and I nodded in agreement as she turned back to what she was doing.

I opened the envelope and pulled out a crisp piece of origami paper, it was an emerald green with gold embossing on it. I smiled, putting the envelope back and closing the chest before beginning to fold the paper into the familiar shape of a crane.

~~~

The next day I made my way into my potions class with the crane folded flat and safely tucked inside my cloak pocket. I was caught up in my own mind as I entered my class, unable to stop going over the events of last night.

"You look happy," Harry noted as he eyed my face with a hint of jealousy that I didn't understand.

"I'm not!" I replied quickly before correcting myself, "I mean I am, but for no reason," I gave him an awkward smile. Before he could say anything else, I felt a book hit the back of my head and I shot around, eyes wide.

"Class has begun," sneered Professor Snape, tucking the book back under his arm and pinning me with a look. "You can hand out the potions books, y/l/n," he curled his lip at me before spinning on his heel and marching to the front of the class. I smiled sheepishly at Harry before standing and heading over to the large pile of potions books, they were thick and heavy and I struggled to carry more than a few at a time. Professor Snape could have done it with magic if he had wanted to but he was ever the punisher of students. I slowly began placing books in front of different smug students, smug because it wasn't them who were in the firing line today. Approaching Malfoy's table, I slipped the paper crane inside the cover of his book, leaving the tip of the tail sticking out for him to see, and I placed the book heavily in front of him, not pausing or making eye contact as I did so. I quickly carried on, brushing my hand against his arm in an 'accidental' sort of way as I passed him and handed out the last two books. I then took my seat once again and glanced over at Draco who had noticed the green and gold tip sticking out of his book and opened the cover slightly. I watched him close it again quickly as his shoulders stiffened before opening it again and snatching the crane out, sliding it into his cloak pocket. A small smile made its way onto my face and my heart jumped into my throat as his head snapped around, meeting my eyes for only a second before turning back to face Professor Snape.

~~~

I noticed Harry, Hermione and Ron rush out of class at the end, not waiting for me. They did that sometimes, the three of them were always getting into some sort of trouble and running off and doing things that I'd rather not get involved with. I was the last one to leave, having to put all of the books back at Snape's request before I made my way out of class. I felt a hand wrap around my wrist as I passed the threshold of the door into the hallway, familiar cold fingers were around my wrist, pulling me to the side in the now empty corridor.

"I see no sign of my ring?" Draco raised an eyebrow at me, standing close, my back against the wall, as it often was with Draco. I swallowed the lump in my throat and pulled the long silver chain out of my shirt, Draco's ring hanging on it, warm from pressing against my chest. 

"This ring?" I grinned at him, swinging it between us.

"Good girl," he smirked, sending a warm pulse down to my core, "I like this one better," he changed the subject, taking the emerald and gold crane out of his pocket. I raised an eyebrow at him and he continued, "very Slytherin," he pulled out another crane from his pocket, it was tattier and made scruffily with plain white paper, I recognised it instantly.

"Is that the one I made on the train?" I gasped, eyes wide and unable to believe he had kept it all this time.

"I don't normally carry it around, I just wanted to show you," he shrugged, placing both cranes inside his pocket.

"Draco..." I trailed off, looking at him in awe.

"Don't get sentimental on me now, y/l/n," he averted his gaze awkwardly and I couldn't help but grin.

"You're the one who kept the crane for four years," I teased, placing a hand on his chest.

"Shut up," his eyes shot back to me and narrowed, my teasing smile faded a little. Draco looked up again, looking left and right, clearly checking if the hallway was empty before he leaned back down, face close to mine. Our lips almost touched and I couldn't help but close my eyes in anticipation, he let out a smugly amused breath before connecting our lips. The kiss was quick but passionate before he stepped away with that irritating smirk, taking a few steps back and winking at me. We went our separate ways as if nothing had happened.