Torn :||: Loved Series #3

10) You Know What This Means?

Lily's POV
We all headed back to Hagrid's hut, when I informed the group of going to see an old friend. They smiled, watching me disappear into the forest. It took me a couple of minutes to find her, lazing around in a familiar clearing, surrounded by a low brick-wall, patches of sunlight breaking through the treetops making her scales glimmer in the rippling light. Slowly, she brought her head up and her pearly eyes met mine.

Standing to shake her body, she thudded over to me, allowing me to pet her nose. Cautiously, I moved around the side of her body, never removing my hand from her side, stopping just before the wing. She bent down expectantly and I climbed on to her back and with a great flap of her wings, we lifted off the forest floor and into the afternoon sky. The fog from this morning had cleared and the sun hung just above the mountains, as we swooped over them and through the wispy clouds.

The wind rushed through my almost-auburn hair and clothes, allowing me to feel free for the next half-an-hour of flight. I knew that if I was caught, which I probably would be, Umbridge would try and get Opal kicked out of the forest, but she was going up against a dragon, so good luck with that. Besides, up here there wasn't anything to worry about. The stress, anxiety and drama flew off my skin with the rushing wind and my laughter filled the air, then the forest as Opal landed with a thud.

Whooping, I slid down her side, onto the ground and moved in front of her to rub her neck. "Lily."

Gasping, I whipped around at the familiar voice and suddenly my mind wasn't care-free anymore. "Draco." He smiled, approaching Opal, holding out his hand and I watched his figure in the sunlight. "Let me guess, control issues?"

He chuckled, now rubbing the dragons nose. "Yeah, something like that."

There was something in the atmosphere when we were together, like it was relaxed, we could both act normally and all our differences slip away. But that also allowed for it to be easy for us to lie about it to each other. "Didn't we do this last time?"

He cast his eyes downwards and turned away from Opal towards me, the bored dragon trodding away. "I–"

"I just want to say, I'm sorry." I rushed out. "For the way I treated you the other night. I don't know what came over me."

He let out a breath and it sounded like he was saying, "Probably the same thing that's come over me." under his breath, not meant for my ears so I didn't say anything.

"Not that I should be apologising." I continued. "It's not like I owe you anything."

He whistled, giving me a hard stare. "Low blow. What about going out with Dean Thomas?"

"I say it makes up for everything you've done."

"Oh so, you don't even actually like him." He scoffed, throwing his arms in the air.

"I didn't say that." I snapped, narrowing my eyes. "Why, you jealous, Draco?"

"So what if I am? I have every right to be."

"That's just it! You don't! So back off."

After an intense stare off, his eyes softened and he sighed, walking towards me. I wanted so much to step back, away from this boy that I hated, but I couldn't. Secretly, I craved him and his touch. Gently, he reached for my left arm and rubbed circles into the back of it with his rough thumb, mere millimetres away from each other. Moving up my arm he reached my elbow and dragged me the rest of the way into his embrace.

"Mmmm, I've missed this." He moaned.

"You have no idea." I responded, my hands resting on his back, clutching him to me and silent tears ran down my cheeks.