Green Apples and Parchment

Chapter Eighteen

It was the second Saturday of February, which meant that it was a Hogsmeade visit day. It still quite cold outside, so I pulled on a warm sweater. I tucked my hat and gloves, along with some money, into the pockets of my coat, which I held in my arms; I was much too warm in the castle for my winter coat.

 I was leaving the Hufflepuff common room when I suddenly bumped into someone, dropping by belongings on the ground. 

"I'm so sorry-" I said hastily while grabbing my stuff off the floor of the corridor before looking up to realize it was Draco that I had bumped into. 

"Like I've said before, you apologize too much," he said with a smirk.

"Malfoy, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"You can start calling me Draco now, actually."

"Oh, really? Because as far as I can tell, you haven't asked me anything." I said cooly.

"I'm here to escort you to our second date. Why else would I be down here?"

I tried to suppress my smile. "To harass first years."

Draco kept a serious expression on his face. "That's on alternate Tuesdays, obviously."

To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure if he was joking or not. We were talking about Draco Malfoy, after all. I wouldn't put it past him. He stared at me expectantly for a few moments before I responded. "I'm sorry, but I can't do today. I'm a little busy. I was actually just leaving-"

"For the Hogsmeade visit, I know." Draco interrupted. "Luckily for you, that's where we're heading." 

I trying to hide my surprise, I gestured towards the hallway. "Lead the way"

We left Hogwarts behind and walked towards the village in relative silence. I didn't know what I had been expecting, but this was not it. Of course, I didn't know what exactly Draco was planning, but a Hogsmeade date didn't really seem like his speed. After all that talk about his reputation, this seemed very public. An image of Draco sitting at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop flashed in my mind, and I had to suppress a laugh. 

Draco looked over at me curiously. "What?" 

Not wanting to explain myself, I secured my gaze firmly on my boots. "Nothing." Draco looked like he wanted to press the issue further, so I changed the subject. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see. We're nearly there." He smirked. 

The path in front of us split into two, and my feet started to take the familiar route to the village before Draco led us to the other path. I had never been this way before, and wondered yet again what he was planning. 

The narrow road soon led us to the forest that surrounds Hogsmeade. After a few minutes of walking, the trail opened up into a picturesque clearing. A picnic blanket lay in the middle of the clearing, with a picnic basket resting on top.

I couldn't believe that he brought me to a romantic picnic. "Draco?" I asked. "How did you set this up already?" 

He smirked again. "I have my ways."

I knew Draco well enough to know that I wouldn't be able to get any more information out of him, so I rolled my eyes as I approached the picnic. 

"Do you like it?" He asked hesitantly. Draco almost sounded nervous. I smiled and nodded reassuringly, and the confident look slid back onto his face. "I knew you would. You're a little too easy to predict, Cass."

I smiled at the use of my name, but didn't draw attention to it. If I had, he would have switched back to 'Connolly'. "Makes it easier for you, I guess." I shrugged.

Draco opened the picnic basket, pulling out fresh fruit, sandwiches, cheese, miniature cakes, and two vials of pumpkin juice ("I don't day drink. Special occasions only." He had explained.). We began to eat. I could tell Draco was making an effort to be polite. At first, our conversation was a little awkward, but after a while we were laughing and conversing easily. 

"I'm impressed Draco. I didn't peg you as the romantic type." I teased.

"Oh, just you wait. I've got more tricks up my sleeve." Draco said arrogantly.

My heart rose in my chest. "So there's going to be more of these?" I asked hesitantly. 

"Yeah, if that's okay. I'm assuming it is. You are wildly attracted to me, after all. I haven't forgotten."

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up." I said, leaning closer to Draco. 

Draco moved closer to me,  tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. "Make me." He murmured softly. 

I obliged, closing the gap between us at last. 

Draco broke the kiss between us after a while, pulling away just far enough to look me in the eyes. "We should probably start heading back." I glanced down at the watch on my wrist, and was surprised to realize how much time had passed. 

"Yeah, probably." I said without moving away from Draco.

He pressed a kiss to my lips, then stood up, extending a hand to me. I took it and pulled myself to my feet. 

The walk back to Hogwarts was similar to our walk this morning, but the silence was much more comfortable this time. When we had almost reached the school, Draco broke the silence. 

"I was thinking that maybe we should keep this," he gestured between the two of us, "quiet, at least for now."

My heart sunk a little bit, but I understood where he was coming from. "Yeah, of course. Whatever you want to do is fine with me." 

Draco walked me back to Hufflepuff and, after checking to make sure no one was around, kissed me again. We broke apart quickly, afraid of getting caught. 

"Bye," I said a little breathlessly.

Draco merely smirked before walking away.