DARK SOULS ☽ 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚏𝚘𝚢

𝔵𝔳𝔦𝔦𝔦 | fourth year

After meeting up with Cassius in the halls, I walk into the beautiful hall that has been completely transformed with magic, on his arm. We smile to each other as we gaze at the white, crystalline atmosphere. Enchanted snow falls from the open ceiling, lighting up the whole room.

I must admit, we make a beautiful pairing. He looks absolutely dashing in his dress robes, and when he saw me in my dress, his jaw practically dropped to the floor. I hug his arm tight, and our body language towards each other definitely screams 'romance.' I glance at Aurora, who looks straight-faced next to her boyfriend, who is grinning at another girl, a stringy headed blonde who sits at a table with her Hufflepuff friends. I roll my eyes in disgust, making eye contact with Aurora who shakes her head.

We stand by to watch the champions and their dates enjoy the first dance. Others quickly join in and Cassius leads me onto the dance floor. After weeks of subtle flirtations and getting to know each other, our bodies sway in rhythm with each other, and our chemistry is undeniable. Even then, I still look around trying to find Draco dancing with Pansy.

They are sitting at a table together, laughing. I try not to let it affect me, and look into Cassius' deep green eyes. His perfect teeth glint with a smile, pulling me closer to him by my hips. Woah. He brings me a little too close for comfort, but I get into it. His hands creep lower and I sense Draco's eyes on me, so I let it happen.

The night rolls on, and it begins to feel like a blur. I dance with Aurora, who has broken off from Micah, and Blaise and Daphne seem to be having a blast together. Pansy and Draco finally make their way to the dance floor, awkwardly dancing with each other during slow songs. I resist the urge to laugh. 

After a more upbeat song, the rhythm chills out again, and Cassius grabs me again, holding me in his arms.

His head hovers near my ear, whispering to me, "We should get out of here." His lips hover over mine for a second, before grabbing my hand to lead me away. I hesitate, and pull my hand away.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"What?" Cassius says, "I thought everything was going okay. You were acting like you wanted to go somewhere else." He raises his voice a little, to the point that people around us turn their heads, including Draco and Pansy.  

"I-" I shake my head, "I just-" He throws up his hands in anger. 

"Hey," Draco, for some reason, intervenes, "Don't bother yourself with her, Warrington." Warrington scoffs at him.

"Pansy?" Cassius gestures to her. She looks at Draco for a moment, shrugs and then takes Warrington's hand. They walk away together. I stare in awe as they ditch their dates to go hook up. Draco and I look at each other, and he breaks the barrier between us, grabbing my forearm. I look to him in confusion.

"Just dance with me and pretend that didn't happen." His voice evens out as he places his hand on my lower back, "I'm just trying to look like my date didn't just ditch me, this is nothing personal, mudblood."

I laugh as he spins me around, "Sure," we lock eyes and he breaks contact for a second, his gaze flickering down to my lips, "We can just pretend you weren't jealous I already had a date when you came into the common room to ask me."

"Jealous?" He scrunches up his face, "Why would I be jealous of Warrington."

"So you admit you wanted to take me to the ball?" He dips me low. I'm surprised that he's quite the brilliant dancer, though I'm sure he's learned all of this by being brought up in a high class pureblood home. My chest still pangs with the upset of Cassius just using me for a hook-up, but dancing with Draco seems to mend that wound.

"I'm not telling you anything." A smirk plays on his lips as we rock back and forth.

"Can I ask you something?" I inquire, leaning my head back as he closes in on me. This is a dangerous dance, our lips have almost grazed against each other on multiple occasions as we sway and dip across the dance floor. 

"I'll consider it," He raises an eyebrow, his hand tightening on my waist a little, "Just tread lightly, mudblood."

"Don't call me that," I snap. He looks taken aback for a second, then his lips tighten into a close-lipped grimace, "My question just happens to be; why did you follow me into the great hall that night I went to look at the goblet."

"There are many times when I follow you and you don't notice it." I look at him, concerned, for a second, but he bursts into laughter, the lines around his eyes crinkling. It looks like he's actually happy for the first time in forever, "However, the real reason is my business."

We cross the dance floor, weaving between each other, our bodies conjoining to create a beautiful dance, his black suit clashing with my light dress. We're a confusing match, but it's all I wanted tonight.

Everything feels like it falls together as Draco's hand holds mine in a waltz that I wish would go on forever. 

"Stop playing hard to get," I flirt with him, leaning in a bit closer so that our chests are pressed against one another's.

"I'm not playing at anything, m-" He cuts himself off, thinking for a second, "Larkspur... however, your blood does happen to be a bit muddy."

I laugh, "You're still dancing with me, though."

"That I am."