Hogwarts, A Love Story (A Draco Malfoy Love Story)

Settle Down

A/N - Thanks heaps to HelloItsBri14 for making a fantastic cover! I truly love it!

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Wednesday passed without event. Harry still wasn't talking to Winter and Ron was forcing them to spend time together, trying to figure out what was going on. Winter refused to go and see Draco after their argument and was miserable to see Pansy missing at every meal and positively glowing on her way to classes. They had their second Care of Magical Creatures class and Hagrid had given them boring and disgusting Flobberworms to look after, but at least they weren't dangerous. Towards the end of class Hagrid spoke to Harry, Ron, Hermione and Winter as they helped to pack away. He voiced concerns that Lucious Malfoy, Draco's father would call for Buckbeak's head at the next board meeting. Harry shot Winter a look that very clearly said 'i told you so' and said something very nasty about Draco. By the end of the day, Winter was longing for the sweet escape that sleep provided.

The next morning Winter woke up hoping that the day would be better than the last. She groaned as she remembered Draco was going to be in potions. With Pansy. Suddenly she doubted today would be any better. Miserably she rolled out of bed and got ready to go down to breakfast. She caught herself spending longer on her hair than normal and scolded herself soundly.

Winter sat at breakfast, barely able to choke down a mouthful of toast as she noticed Pansy was missing from the Slytherin table. Again. Fred and George observed her glowering and congratulated her on getting into the spirit of Quidditch so early. Winter snapped out of it and looked at them, clearly confused. 

"Our first Quidditch match is against Slytherin! Although if you glare at them like that on the day, maybe they'll wet themselves and forfeit!" Fred joked, earning himself a small grin from Winter. Winter suddenly frowned and told them that Quidditch wasn't for ages.

"There's nothing wrong with early preparation!" Fred and George cried together, looking absolutely scandalised. Winter burst out laughing.

"Winter it's time for class." Ron said moodily. Winter looked up, the laughter still on her face. Ron looked angry but upon seeing her laughing, smiled in return. He shoved Fred out of the way to pick up her bag for her and took her hand to lead her to class, ignoring the grumbling of his big brothers.

Harry, Hermione and Neville walked with Winter and Ron to Potions class. Winter stayed close to Neville, hoping to get a seat on the same table as him. Unfortunately, when they walked into the classroom Neville sat at a table with Dean and Seamus and begged Hermione to sit with him, he regularly fell to pieces in Potions and wanted Hermione on standby to help him. This left Winter to sit on a table with Harry, who still wasn't speaking to her, but had cooled down a little, and Ron who was still trying to figure out what was going on between the two of them. 

Snape strode in and told the class what they would be doing. They were to be making a Shrinking Solution. Potions was one of Winter's best subjects. She was a well rounded student who worked hard in all of her classes, but Potions came more naturally to her than most of her other subjects, and she was constantly tied with Hermione for top of the class. Winter didn't find the Shrinking Solution particularly difficult, but knew that it required extreme precision, so concentrated hard.

Winter and the boys worked in near silence as they prepared their ingredients for the potion. Winter was well ahead of the boys, she had already shredded her daisy roots into perfectly equal pieces, meticulously skinned her Shrivelfig and delicately sliced her caterpillars. She was almost ready to begin adding her ingredients when Draco sauntered in, arm in a sling. Winter choked back a laugh at his heroic swagger, finding it very amusing until Pansy spoke up.

"How is it Draco? Does it hurt terribly?" She simpered. Draco put on a fake smile and confirmed that it did, causing Winter's amusement to dry up completely. Professor Snape barely glanced up, telling the class to 'settle down'. Winter raised an eyebrow at Harry and Ron and they rolled their eyes back at her. All three of them knew that had they walked in even a minute late they would have been given detention instantly. Draco's eyes searched the room, managing to slide over Winter with only the slightest hesitation. They slipped back again and he made eye contact, smirking at her cheekily. Winter felt her mouth lift up in response. Winter glanced around the room at the same time as Draco, and they simultaneously realised that there was one seat left, the one next to Winter. Winter let a giggle slip through her lips as she realised Draco was going to have to come sit next to her, at the same table as Harry and Ron. She clamped a hand over her mouth to try and stifle the sound. Harry and Ron looked at her confused, but Draco smirked again, knowing exactly what she found so funny.