After Saving Draco [ONGOING / REWRITING]

chapter eleven

Tala. 176 days before May 4, 1999.

      Tiny,

      Meet me outside in the dungeons, just outside of the common room entrance in ten minutes.

      Don't dare be late.

                                     D.M.

     
      Awe, he's so cute when threatening me.

     I picked up the black rose that the note was attached to, spinning it in between my fingers as I admired it.

      The dark petals always had tiny white specks that ran across it like stars. And the stem along with the leaves were as black as the hair that grew on my head. It was if the crowded night sky that sparkled outside at this moment were captured in a beautiful flower. It was something nice to look forward to a few times a year, I loved how thoughtful Draco could be at times. I rest it gently on my pillow before I left, not wanting to risk ruining it if I took it with me.

      I snuck out of the girl's dormitories, not wanting to wake up Pansy, Millicent, and Tracey. And as I walked through the lifeless common room, the only movements were my own and the fire that danced gently inside the fireplace. It was dark and silent, only the sound of water from the Black Lake lapping against the window as the flames continued to crackle.

      A gasp escaped my lips and I felt my heart drop, feeling startled as a familiar face popped out of nowhere. Their face was lit by the soft green glow of the lights that hung on chains, attached to the Slytherin common room's ceiling.

      "God!" I whispered hoarsely. "You freaking scared me Harry!"

       "I know," he chuckled as he kept one arm behind his back, hiding something. "That was the point."

      I rolled my eyes at him. "What're you doing here?"

      "Happy birthday," Harry said sweetly, taking out a white rose from behind him before handing it to me.

"Though, Harry wanted me to plant these roses in exchange as well. Bet it's for some girl he fancies."

"What color?"

"White ones."

      "Thanks," I said quietly, remembering what Neville had said a few weeks ago as I took the flower from Harry. "A white rose?"

"Yeah," he said proudly. "You made a joke about liking black roses because you believe you're quite dark yourself."

"Yeah," I said as I spun the rose between my fingers before reassuring him. "A joke."

"I know that when you joke sometimes, you really mean it." Harry told me knowingly.

I began admiring the flower, it was pure white. Even the stem and the leaves were as milky as the petals. No pecks that ran across it like stars, unlike the roses that Draco would give me. It reminded me of the Black Lake when I died, when I saw Sirius with my parents. I felt warm just even looking down at the flower, the thought of them running through my mind happily, knowing they were at peace and together in the afterlife.

"I wanted to give you a white rose because you have more light in you than dark, Tala."

I looked up from the flower and turned my gaze to Harry. The green lights shone through his circular glasses, casting a soft hue onto his bright blue eyes, making them even brighter. They looked like how fire does when it burns so hot that it turned blue.