Song: When The Sun Goes Down by Arctic Monkeys
I soak in the dulling sun's rays as I look out from the Astronomy tower. The trees sway slightly with the breeze that's coming off from the lake, it's waters growing darker as the sun sets.
I got here early for our tutoring lesson to get away from everyone for a bit; I was in need of some alone time since Hannah and Susie decided to have a sleepover in my room last night.
Don't get me wrong, we had a wonderful time...it's just, I'm so used to having the nights to myself that I felt the need to be alone for a little bit.
I take in a deep breath, letting myself fully relax and be at peace. The weather has been getting colder, so I'm wearing a heavier, dark green sweater along with some dark jeans and boots. I also have my yellow and black scarf with me, but took it off because it was too itchy.
"Are you trying to be a Slytherin now? Or just a big fan?"
I turn around, seeing Draco standing there in a black long sleeve turtleneck along with dark slacks. His hands are shoved casually in his pant pockets, and his face is bearing a teasing smirk.
"You wish. This is actually my favorite color," I retort back with the same expression he has.
"That's quite surprising. I thought it would be something obnoxious like bright yellow or pink," he says arching an eyebrow.
I roll my eyes at this. "That is so stereotypical."
"I mean it's no different than other houses saying that Slytherins are only arseholes," Draco replies back.
He's not wrong.
"Well, I mean with the way many of you act, it proves our point," I say sitting down next to my pile of schoolwork.
"Whatever Tonks... shall we get started?" He makes his way over towards me and sits down.
I take out a quill and the parchment I've already written on, realizing Draco didn't bring anything with him.
"Where's your stuff?" I ask him, glancing up at his face. His gaze is on his hands in front of him; everything about him is oddly tense.
"I already finished all of my schoolwork, why would I bring it?" he says almost too casually. His taut jaw is showing me that he is more nervous than calm.
"Oh, I thought you were going to bring it, like you have the past few times," I remark: my eyes still not leaving his face.
"No, I came here to help you with Potions," he says pointing down to my half written essay. He still hasn't directly looked me in the eyes. His tone has also been softer, in a sense. It isn't as harsh and abrasive as it usually is when speaking.
"Are you really, Draco? Please tell me this isn't a set up," I ask him, darting my eyes around as if Crabbe or Goyle are about to pop up somewhere. He rolls his eyes at this before finally looking at me.
"Shut up, Tonks. Now, give it to me," he snaps as he grabs the essay from my lap to read over what I've written. I watch as he takes his time scanning through each word. I can't help but to admire him as he has a calm expression and is completely focused. Once he finishes reading through it, he hands it back to me.
"Everything looks good so far. If I were you though, I'd make sure you mention more of the properties Moonstone has and other specific potions it's used in," he suggests. I nod looking down at my parchment, starting to write about the things he is mentioning.
After a few minutes of silence, besides the sound of my quill scratching on the parchment and our subtle breathing, I look up at Draco to see him observing me. I feel my cheeks burn at his gaze, so I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear.
He was looking at me like this in Herbology the other day.
"What?"
"Nothing, I was just looking at you," he says a bit too defensively. His eyes dart back down to his ring, turning it around his finger as if it's the most interesting thing in the world.
I stare up at him for a couple seconds before shrugging and returning back to my essay.
We share another few moments of silence before I blurt out, "are you obsessed with Harry?"
I don't know why I ask this so out of the blue, but, I guess it's been a lingering thought I've had for awhile. He's always finding a way to make Harry's life even more miserable, and he seems to make a point to be around him a lot.
"Obsessed with Potter? How ridiculous," he says with a look of disgust.
"Well, you seem to take any opportunity to taunt him, unlike the others you bully," I remark, not even caring that I straight up called him a bully to his face.
It's not like he can deny it anyway.
"Potter's different. That's why," he snaps back, his eyes are alive with an unreadable expression.
"How so?" I question, to which he scrunches up his face more, notably an expression of pure distaste and anger.
He then angles his body so he's facing me. Slinging an arm over his one leg that's propped up more he lets out a deep sigh, as if preparing to go into a long speech.
"First off, everyone likes him for the stupid scar on his forehead." He's holding up one finger as he says this. "Second," he holds up another, "he rejected my offer of friendship, when he could have had it better with me than stupid, poor Weasley and Mudblood Granger-" before he can finish his rant, I cut him off.
"Don't ever use that awful word around me," I flare out at him.
He looks taken aback at how I just spoke to him, not expecting a soft spoken Hufflepuff like me to snap back.
"Whatever... anyway, I just think it's utterly ridiculous how much attention he gets, and he's a measly Half-blood. Whereas I am a Pureblood, yet... no one seems to care to be my friend," his voice sounds sad as his gaze leaves mine looking down at his hands, which are fidgeting with his ring.
Although I'm a bit offended at his words as I am a Half-blood like Harry, I can't help but to feel pity for him. My expression softens as I notice the gloomy look sweeping across his features.
I could easily point out the apparent jealousy he has for Harry, but with the sad look on his features, it would be inconsiderate of his feelings. I'm also incredibly surprised at his openness with me; I know this isn't something he shares with anyone, let alone someone who isn't a part of his group.
"I wouldn't say no one," I say as I place my hand on his gently, causing him to look up at me. A soft smile forms on his lips briefly before he shakes his head, looking back down. Although, he doesn't move his cold hand away from mine.
He clears his throat before saying, "you should get back to work."
I keep my hand on his for a little while longer, which to my surprise, he still doesn't move it away. I notice his gaze is on our touching hands. He's bearing a look of comfort? Relief?
Whatever look it is, I quite enjoy seeing it on his face.
After a couple minutes, I finally shift my hand away to pick up my quill again, and I notice his mouth curl down a bit at the action.
I contemplate whether or not I should place my hand back on his, but I decide to just keep writing my essay. I can't catch feelings for Draco... or at least act upon my feelings for him.
We would never be anything more than... whatever we are now anyways.
About an hour passes, with Draco helping me here and there, I've finally finish my essay. Once I bundle up my things and wrap my scarf snugly around my neck, we walk towards the winding stairwell.
As we make our way down the stairs, I say, "thank you... I really do appreciate you taking the time to help me."
He stops walking and looks over at me, his lips curving up into a small smile. "It's really no problem, Libby."
I stare at him wide-eyed. He said my name. "Did you just call me Libby?"
"Shut up, Tonks." He spits out immediately, the soft smile replaces by a snarl before quickening his pace down the stairs. I have to pick up my pace to keep up with him.
"Yes, you did!" I say, answering my own question. I'm unable to contain the excitement from my voice.
He lets out a groan as he continues swiftly going down. "Shove off, Tonks. I did not."
I scoff at that, my legs feeling wobbly from how fast I'm rushing down the stairs.
"You so did!"
He halts, looking up at me. His eyes are fiery as he yells, "give it a rest!!"
Instinctively I close my mouth, feeling my heart drop at his words. I hate when people shut down my excitement.
I don't say anything as I move past him. I hear him sigh as he says, "Tonks."
I ignore him as I make it to the bottom of the stairwell. Once he's at the bottom as well, I hear him say a little louder, "Tonks!"
I continue to avoid him as I walk down the dimly lit corridor. I try to tug at my scarf, feeling as though the itchy fabric is suffocating me.
"I'm—ugh—I'm sorry for yelling... geez!" I turn around at this.
Did he actually... apologize?
He must notice my shocked expression as he says, "I didn't think you would be this easily hurt over that."
"It-it's alright. I'm sorry for annoying you." He scrunches up his face at my apology.
"You weren't annoying me. I just lost my temper." His face then softens a bit, and there's a bit of awkward silence before he clears his throat. "I guess I'll see you in class tomorrow."
I smile softly back. "See you, Draco." I turn back around and begin walking back to my common room, fighting mixed emotions of all that just happened.
...
"Are-are you sure this is going to work?"
"As sure as I am that Snape hates children!"
Susie and I let out a snort at that as we bring our attention back onto the pair in the middle of the room.
Nigel Wolpert walks to one end of the room, while Harry is walking towards the other. The rest of us are on either side watching intently.
"Come on there, Nigel. Give it your best shot," Harry tells him. We have been working on the charm Stupefy during our training today, making Luna's guess correct in Herbology last week.
There's a few moments of silence, before Nigel lunges forward yelling "Stupefy", aiming his wand towards Harry. It sends both Harry and Nigel flying backwards and landing with a sudden smack. I cringe at the sound, squinting my eyes a bit.
"Not bad, Nigel," I hear Harry breathe out, struggling to get to his feet. He then asks for volunteers, and I offer with a smile, as I've been wanting to try it on someone and have it actually be successful.
Harry gives me a smile back, "thanks, Libby. Would anyone else like to try?"
I look over to my right to see Justin offer as well, which makes me mad since he's been ignoring me the past couple of months. Now he wants to volunteer and partner up with me?
How ridiculous.
I trudge over to one end of the room as he heads to the other. I glance around at everyone, seeing Hannah and Susie look at me with bewilderment, while Fred and George are whispering to each other as well as many others.
I grip my wand tighter than I had before, wanting to launch Justin for being such an infuriating twat.
Before I'm able to make the first move, he yells out the charm, aiming his wand towards me. I jerk out of the way before it can hit me, causing Anthony Goldstein to fly backwards. I quickly yell out "Stupefy" directing my wand at him, to which he sails further back and lands with a hard smack.
I bring my wand back to my side, looking over at Hannah and Susie giving them a smirk. I look around the room, seeing Fred handing George something, meaning they probably made a bet. I then hear Harry say, "well done, Libby!"
I make my way to where Hannah and Susie are standing, beaming with pride.
"That was incredible, Libby!" Susie says excitedly.
"I bet you've been waiting to do that for ages," Hannah smirks at me.
I shrug before saying, "I mean I would've done it with anyone, but he's the one who set himself up."
We share a moment of laughter as everyone else is talking amongst themselves. Just then, I see Ron say something to Hermione, and make his way towards the opposite end of the room. The chattering dies down as everyone disperses on either side of the room, yet again.
I look over to Hannah and whisper, "I bet Hermione is going to get him, no question."
"Oh, most definitely," she whispers back with a smirk.
I bring my gaze back to where Hermione is standing, who's bearing a determined look. As Ron is about to say the charm, Hermione beats him to it, making him shoot backwards. I can't help but to laugh, seeing Ron look embarrassed; the color of his face matching his hair.
Called it.
All of us girls amble towards Hermione excitedly, whispering and giggling about what had just happened. I will admit I do feel a little hurt that she's getting more attention when I basically did the same thing. Nonetheless, she's an amazing witch and deserves all of the credit she gets.
Everyone starts to clear out after a very successful training. I decide to stick around a little longer, engaging in conversation with Hermione, until I realize how late it's getting and that I should head back to my dormitory.
With that I say goodnight to Hermione, Harry, and Ron, making my way out of the Room of Requirement and into the empty corridor.
Or so I thought.
"What are you doing out in the halls so late?" I hear a voice lowly say behind me.
I turn around to see none other than Draco Malfoy standing there, holding his wand out towards me so it's illuminating the space around us. The light from it seems to cast shadows across his features, making them appear to be more sharp and striking.
He looks terribly handsome.
"Um—well—I was roaming the halls, making sure there were no wandering Hufflepuffs. I am a Prefect, you know," I reply back as smoothly as I can. Unfortunately, it's not as convincing as I think due to the suspicious look that forms on his face.
"All the way up here?" Draco inquires, taking a predatory step closer to me, his eyes glinting with skepticism.
He's acting more himself, unlike at our last tutoring session.
I stand my ground, even though I just want to bolt down the corridor away from his cool stare. Which, to be honest, is more of a glare.
"Yes. Is that a problem, Draco?" And before he can say anything, I add, "it's not like you have authority over me since we're both Prefects."
He lets out a snort before tapping arrogantly on the Inquisitorial badge on his robe. "Actually I do have authority over you, Tonks. We can give detentions out to anyone, including Prefects...whenever we deem necessary."
I narrow my eyes, challenging him. "Well Draco, do you deem it is necessary to give me detention for doing my job?"
He's now hovering over me as he smirks. I can feel his cool breath hitting my face as he says, "perhaps... or perhaps not. Depends on my mood."
Just then, I see quite a ways down the hall Hermione, Ron and Harry step out of the Room of Requirement. They seem to see Draco, and so, they all try to hurriedly rush down the other way.
Unfortunately, Draco hears their rushed steps due to the sound echoing off the stone walls; his eyes glance off to the side before he slowly starts to turn his head.
I can't let him see them and have them be caught, I say to myself.
D.A. would be over for us all!
So, I do the first thing that comes to mind. I pull Draco down towards me by the front of his collar, which causes him to look back at me. Bringing his face closer to mine, I press my lips against his with swift force.
I'm surprised at how soft they are and find myself not hating it. His lips react back for a brief moment before he pushes me away harshly, making me stumble back a few steps.
I touch my lips gingerly; I can't believe I just did that. Strangely though, I almost want to kiss him again.
But based upon his disgusted expression makes me take back the thought instantly.
He roughly wipes his mouth with his sleeve, giving me a cold stare. "What the bloody hell was that for?!"
He looks a bit frazzled, and I find myself spewing out, "I was right." I turn around and begin walking away before he tugs at my arm. His grip is tight as he whirls me around to face him again.
"Right about what?" he sneers out.
Think, Libby, think!
"Pansy can do better," I lie through my teeth. I mentally pat myself on the back for coming up with something so quick on the spot.
He somehow believes me as his face drops, and he blinks a few times as if he misunderstood me. I'm not sure why this was the first thing that came to my mind, but looking at his face right now, I'm quite satisfied with myself.
"Did I hear you correctly? Did you say Pansy? As in Pansy Parkinson?" He still looks hilariously confused, and I have to bite my tongue in order to not laugh.
"Yes, you idiot. Do you know any other Pansy?" I boldly retort, not believing that I just called Draco Malfoy an idiot to his face. He scowls before leaning closer to me; his face is centimeters from mine.
"Call me an idiot again, and it'll be the last thing you say," he threatens, his voice dripping with harshness. His usual lighter gray eyes appear more like a dark charcoal while his grip on my arm seems to tighten. His hand is squeezing my arm so hard, I have to bite my lip in order to not cry.
I somehow wriggle my arm from his grasp, rubbing where he had grabbed me.
"Your threats mean nothing to me." It slips out of my mouth before I can comprehend what I'm even saying.
"Come again?" His tone is dark as he asks.
Before I can figure out what to say next, I see Filch with his lantern, hobbling over towards us with a grimy scowl. His old cat tailing right behind him.
"Hello Miss Tonks," he says in a nice way—I think—before giving Draco a flat look. "You need to come with me. I found something... interesting." He darts his eyes over to me, seemingly choosing his words wisely.
I hesitantly smile back at Filch. I'm relieved he's taking Draco away from me. I honestly don't know what else I would blurt out had he not showed up.
Draco drags his eyes unwillingly away from my face before giving Filch his notorious scowl.
"I'll be right there." His words are sharp like a knife. Filch lets out a grunt in either approval or annoyance... or both.
Honestly, I couldn't tell you.
I smile softly at Filch to which he gives a curt nod in return before he hobbles back down to where he came from. I shift my gaze to Draco whose eyes are narrowed into slits. I wouldn't be surprised if he hissed due to how snake-like his face is looking at the moment.
"I best be going," I sputter out awkwardly, not wanting to be under his dark stare anymore. He pulls on my arm harshly, letting his nails dig into my arm. I bite my lip at the pain.
"If I catch you out in the halls this late again, you will be getting a detention. Mark my words." He lets go, shoving me as he does so. I furrow my brows at the action before turning on my heels and rushing down the halls towards my common room.
The ghost of his touch on my arm is still there as I make it to the Hufflepuff common room. Most everyone is off to bed except for a seventh year whose fallen asleep with his head in his textbook.
I'm sure he was studying for his N.E.W.T.S. early due to his notes being spread all around the table he's perched at. I feel I should wake him to head to his dormitory, but decide against it as he looks too peaceful sleeping there.
Giving the sleeping boy one more pitying glance, I make my way up the small stairwell to the Prefect dorms. Once I step into my room and close the door, I immediately strip my shirt off. I analyze my arm to see that there are deep, red indents in my skin.
The bastard!! Why did he grab my arm so hard?!
I brush my fingers over the marks and wince slightly.
I mentally curse him as I grab my wand and try a healing spell. I must not say it correctly or not do the motion as fluidly as the marks are still there. Frustrated, I decide to just head to bed.
Once I put on my pajamas, I hop onto my bed. Laying on my back, I find myself replaying the feeling of Draco's lips on mine. I smile as I remember how soft and warm they felt. Then, I recall his face of disgust afterwards as well as his tight grip on my arm and feel my stomach sink once again.
It was uncalled for to pull him into a kiss like that; it really wasn't like me at all. Granted, I only did it to save the golden trio's arses, but I could've come up with something better: something more innocent, like a hug.
I sigh to myself. I'm going to have to apologize to him tomorrow, aren't I? I look over towards the moon peeking through my window as I mentally ask this. The moon, obviously, doesn't say anything back, but I let out a huff as if it had said, "yes."
It's the right thing to do...but I really don't want to.
I really just want to grab his arm as tightly as he did mine and sneer in his face like he had to me.
I shake the dark desires away. Something I've been finding harder to do ever since the "Prince of Slytherin" decided to take notice of me.