Wildfire • D.M

Thirty

The morning after the Yule ball was a haze for Alora. She'd woken up in her gown from the night before and every girl in the dorm was either gushing over how splendid the party was or sobbing in their covers—at least that was the case for hermione. Alora had tried to convince her to join her for a walk to the kitchens (she'd always convince winky to sneak snacks before dinner) but hermione didn't budge. Instead, she found her solace in a bit of 'light reading', if you could even call it that. She had a pile of books as tall as her trunk, all on the genre of the triwizard cup, she was studying for Harry's second task again.
Knowing hermione was too stubborn to be swayed anytime soon, she slipped on her shoes and pattered down the stairs to see what nonsense Harry and Ron were up to.

She had barely stepped off the moving stairs when she felt the cold blast of icy water down her back. She exclaimed as her uniform became drenched and shot her head up to see none other than the most pesky of poltergeists, giggling with a bucket in hand.
"Peeves!" She huffed, her skirt beginning to drip water onto the carpeted floors.
Before she could even make a threat about the bloody Barron going after him, peeves had disappeared into the wall, startling a few paintings as his wiggling legs passed through.

"Hey! Get back here !" She shrieked as she chased the laughing fool. She got the same reoccurring odd look from students when she left a trail of soggy footprints as her shoes squelched down the hallways.
"Peeves!" She yelled once again, she followed the poltergeist until she'd seen him escape into the dungeons. She was about to mindlessly run in after him but Draco and his lackeys had coincidentally appeared at the archway as she approached.

"Alora?" His eyes widened. "What are you doing?" He questioned instantly.
He took one look at Zabini and Goyle who was staring at her and he pulled her away from them.

He took her to their hideout and closed the door.
As soon as they had their privacy he turned back to look at her.
"Peeves. He pulled one of his stupid pranks again." She explained in a sulky tone.

"And what where you going to do when you caught him? You'll go right through him." Draco laughed under his breath.

"Hey! It's not funny." She huffed, pulling the hair sticking to her forehead off while letting out a small sneeze.

"You're going to catch a cold! Here." He pulled out his wand and with a few complex swishes a stream of warm air emitted from the end of it.
It took over five minutes for her to dry her clothes and have her hair rung of all the excess water.

"Thanks." She smiled.
Her eyes wandered to the bed where the thin wool blanket was bundled up messily, where they had been the night before. Her heart was sent into a frenzy just at the thought of those special three words escaping his perfect lips.

He placed his palm on her forehead and cupped her cheek gently with the other to check for a temperature.
Alora laughed under her breath at the worried expression on his face.
"Draco. Don't worry, I'm fine." She took his hand off her head and held it softly in her hand.