dear draco,

two

I yelped and tried to run away, but he pulled me back to face him – and he was down on one knee. I chuckled warily. "What're you going to do, propose or something?"

"Isobel Abigail Young", he started. His voice was loud, but his ears were bright red – a tell-tale sign of his nervousness. He grinned sheepishly. "Would you like to attend the Yule Ball with me?"

"Oh, Ron," I said, feeling very awkward. His grin faltered. "I'd love to, I really would, but I'm going with Dean."

"What?" Ron hastened up, blushing furiously. "Since when?"

"Since last week," I replied guiltily. "But I promise to save you a dance." Noticing how embarrassed he still was, I added, "you know, I don't think the Patil twins have found dates yet."

Ron's face lit up slightly. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. And I could ask them for you... Maybe..." I picked up some snow and formed it into a ball in my hands. "It all depends..."

"On?"

"On how much snow I can get down your back!" I leapt forward, snowball in hand, but he was too fast – he spun and grabbed my hood. I shrieked loudly, wrenching out of his grasp. As he scrabbled at more snow, I darted back through the trees to hide, almost crashing into Harry and Hermione on my way. I raced around them and to the corner of the bridge, trying to find someplace safe – until I bumped into someone.

"Sorry!" I started. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

My breath caught as I realised who it was.

Not only did I not wish to apologize to Draco Malfoy, but he looked...

Weird.

His nose and cheeks were pink from the cold, and snowflakes had caught in his fair eyelashes. He was clad from head to toe in charcoal-grey wool, complete with a black coat and gloves; so soft and expensive-looking that it made me want to snuggle up to his chest.

Except that he was Draco Malfoy.

I tried to push the disturbing thoughts from my mind and say something clever, something nasty, but I stuttered and simply stood there staring at him. Had he been the one watching us?

He blinked. "Cat got your tongue, Young?"

I desperately searched for a witty comeback. "I – What –Where are your two goons anyway?"

Towering over me, Draco gave me a condescending look, his grey eyes intimidatingly striking. The hard line of his jaw was clenched. "Why does that matter? Can't I go for a walk alone?"

"Please", I scoffed, trying to gather my thoughts. "You're never alone. I swear I've never seen you without a bodyguard at your side."

He smirked. "I didn't know you paid so much attention to me."

"I don't," I retorted quickly. "I just wonder if you pay your friends to play guard -"

"Shut up," Draco snapped. "At least I don't make friends with mudbloods."

The pit in my stomach disappeared as quickly as it had popped up. "That's a horrible word, Malfoy," I said sharply.

He snickered, shooting me a nasty smile. "I knew that would get you. Don't forget the other blood traitors, and Scarhead Potter-"

"If you mean Ginny and Ron, they have names-"

"I think blood traitor is name enough."

"You take that back!" I said, my voice rising. "I don't know who you think you are, assuming you can go around calling people names and thinking you're so much better than them!" He laughed, which maddened me even more. "I'll have you know-"

"What's going on here?"

I felt someone gently pull me backwards and I suddenly realised I had gotten very close to Draco's face.

Harry stepped up beside me, fuming; Ron at his tail. "Something wrong, Malfoy?"

Draco's smirk only grew, his eyes still on mine.

I scowled at him. "It's fine, Harry, forget it. We have better people to waste our time on." I turned and dragged the two with me. When I glanced back, Draco was still watching me, his grey eyes cutting into my very soul.