The next morning, the two made their way to McGonagall's class for Transfiguration.
Once everyone had arrived and it was time for the lesson to start, she announced that the class was going to be doing partner work and that she was going to pick who worked with who.
Hayden and Draco hoped that McGonagall would have mercy on them and put them together, but it wasn't a very likely wish.
They watched the professor as she started to call out partners, only really listening for their names.
"Draco Malfoy and Neville Longbottom" she called.
Draco sighed as he grumbled under his breath. Hayden gave him a sympathetic smile as the blonde gathered his things and moved tables.
"Hayden Snape and Hermione Granger"
Hayden suppressed a groan as Draco gave him the same sympathetic smile he had given the blonde earlier.
Rolling his eyes at Draco, Hayden begrudgingly picked up his stuff and made his way to the Gryffindor side of the room where Hermione sat. Thankfully he wasn't too far away from where his mate sat.
Once everyone was seated with their partners for the day, McGonagall started giving out instructions on what they were to be doing.
"I heard that you got hurt during the last task. How are you doing?" Hermione questioned right off the bat. Hayden just looked at her, not knowing what to make of the suddenness of the inquiry.
"Fine I guess, why?" Hayden asked back with an air of caution, ever so slightly curious as to why she would care.
"Well, we were all just so worried about you. You missed the last couple weeks of school before winter break and nobody had known where you were or what exactly had happened" Hermione explained matter of factly.
"Oh" was all he said, signaling he was done talking before turning back to the teacher who was handing out different objects to each pair of partners.
"I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I am really curious, what type of creature are you?" Hermione questioned as they got started on their assignment.
Hayden almost dropped his wand in shock, horrified at the thought she knew of something so personal to him. How in the world did she figure out he was a creature?
The raven was glad that his parents were who they were because the emotionless glare he shot her down with was something that could only be passed down.
The girls seemed to wither and close into herself under the intensity of the glare pinned in her. Finding it in herself, she started to elaborate on her previous statement.
"Wh-When Draco pulled you out of the water d-during the last task. You had wings, and p-people usually don't have wings un-unless t-they have some sort of cre-creature blood in them. You d-don't h-have to answer if you aren't comfortable with t-telling me, I understand. I'm just curious. Your w-wings were as black as coal when you were dragged onto the platform" the girl uncharacteristically stuttered as she mumbled quickly.
Hayden continued to stare her down for a minute longer before slowly opening his mouth to reply.
"Who else knows?" he demanded quietly.
"I d-don-"
"Who did you tell?" The raven insisted.
"Just Ron, I promise. I think Viktor might've seen as well and Loony Lovegood" the girl explained as fast as she could.
Hmm , he probably didn't have to worry about Luna at all, although it might be a good idea to at least talk with her. Viktor might be more of a problem though, one that would have to be felt with. Ron on the other hand, was definitely a problem. The man couldn't learn to keep his trap shut if his life depended on it, which -coincidentally- it did.
"Who did he tell?" Hayden demanded once more.
"W-who?" Hermione stuttered quietly in confusion, fear starting to dance in her chocolate brown eyes.
"The Weasel. Who Did He Tell?" The raven enunciated, his annoyance starting to shine through in the form of anger.
"I-I" before the Gryffindor could give him a proper answer, they were interrupted by some else interjecting.
"Miss Granger, Mister Snape. Is there a problem?" McGonagall spoke above them from where she stood in front of their desk. She had been doing her rounds around the classroom to make sure everything was going smoothly when she saw what looked like two of her best students arguing. Upon walking closer, she could just make out the tears starting to form in the corners of the brunettes eyes.
Before Hermione could open her mouth, though, Hayden had turned to face the professor with the biggest smile he could.
"Thank you for your concern professor McGonagall, but everything is just fine," The Phoenix beamed, easing some of the worry that had taken over the older woman's features.
"Granger here was just filling me in on everything I've missed. Apparently I can be second in the last task for the tournament. She was just telling me how much she and the other missed having me around" Hayden finished with a happy tone.
For some reason, McGonagall seemed to buy the phony explanation, but he could still see the sliver of suspicion and doubt in her eye.
Oh, well. He didn't much care at the moment as he was currently plotting the deaths of those he called his peers.
—-
Once classes were all done for the day, Hayden and Draco walked back to their room in Slytherin.
Once they were finally in the privacy of their own dorm, Hayden pushed Draco down onto the bed just so he cuddled up close next to the blond.
Draco gasped in surprise as he unceremoniously hit the mattress, but his surprise quickly turned to amusement once Hayden curled into him.
"You know, you could've asked me to get on the bed instead of pushing me down" Draco smirked as he positioned himself so he was leaning up on his forearm.
"Where's the fun in that?" Hayden whispered with a devilish grin as leaned up into Draco only to bring the blond down on top of him and into a kiss.
Hayden could help the smile that spread across his face as he sighed into the others lips, finally able to relax from the day's events.
All too soon, Draco was pulling away. With a smile on his face, he gently brushed away the dark hair out of Hayden's eyes before his eyebrows furrowed and a small smile graced the Veela's features as he gazed down at his love.
"Something's bothering you. What's wrong?" Draco whispered,
Hayden shrugged as he nuzzled into Draco's chest, breathing deeply before telling the blond about the conversation he had with Granger earlier that morning.
Draco's face had hardened into a scowl by the time Hayden was done telling him the story.
"Hey, stop that" Hayden admonished, "It's not your fault that the Gryffindor's are overly nosey and push themselves into everyone's business. You are not to blame, so stop blaming yourself!"
"I love you" Draco murmured, gently kissing Hayden's forehead before resting his head on his mate's chest, listening to his heartbeat. The two breathed in silence, thinking over their newly shown problem.
"I bet that Granger was trying to get into your good graces. By bringing up something personal like that. I bet she thought you would confide in her then she would promise to keep your secret" Draco speculated.
"I guess? It might just be a part of her plan to befriend me. I never told her that I was though, and I don't think she'll be able to figure it out either. But, I guess now that you mention it, the Gryffindor's have been a bit nicer since this semester started" Hayden responded with a tired sigh.
"If I didn't know better, I would think that Dumbledore is planning something and the Gryffindor's are just following what he tells them to like sheep" Hayden deducted.
"Very annoying sheep at that," Draco agreed.
"We have a class with the Gryffindor's again tomorrow, right? I guess we'll see if Granger and the rest keeps up this act, then" Hayden said, finishing the conversation as he wrapped his arms more firmly around the body on his chest.
"We're going to have to get back up soon for dinner," Draco mentioned after a couple more minutes of cuddling.
"Yeah, I know, doesn't mean I have to acknowledge it though" Hayden teased as he nuzzled his face into the blond hair in front of him.
---
"Hey there"
A voice called out to Hayden before he was able to grab the book he was looking for on the shelf in the library. As he turned to address the person talking to him, he felt immediately annoyed and regretted his decision of not ignoring the newcomer.
"Cedric" He acknowledged before finishing his task of finding and grabbing the book he needed off the shelf.
"I see that you're doing better, that's good!" The Hufflepuff started cheerfully.
"We were all beginning to wonder if you were ever going to come back" the man joked, continuing to walk further down the aisle of books to be closer to Hayden.
"What do you have there?" Cedric asked when he noticed Hayden was not paying attention to him. So, of course, the upperclassman decided it would be a good idea to step right into the Slytherins personal space.
"A book" Hayden almost snapped impatiently. All he wanted to do was check the stupid book out so he could go back and read it in the common room while snuggled next to Draco in front of the fire.
Was that somehow too much to ask?
"I know it's a book, silly" Cedric laughed, moving to put his hand on the other boy's shoulder.
"What book is it?"
Hayden quickly shrugged off his hand before giving him a response.
"It's for one of my classes. I don't see why you should be so interested"
"I'm just trying to be friendly. I might be able to help you out with the class too!" Cedric insisted with a smile that showed no ounce of happiness in it.
"I don't need any of your help. I am completely capable of doing my coursework on my own" Hayden sneered, growing more and more frustrated by the second.
"No need to get upset, I was just trying to be thoughtful. What class is it for?" the older boy insisted with determination.
"It's Defense Against the Dark Arts. Now if you'll excuse, I need to be getting back to my dorm" Hayden growled out, glaring at the other boy.
"Now is that any way to talk in front of your senior?" Cedric said, his eyes narrowing as he cornered Hayden against the bookshelves, trapping him there between his arms.
"What are you-" Hayden exclaimed before he was cut off by the feeling of Cedric's index finger coming to rest on his lips, stopping him from protesting.
"Now, now. It's so hard to be attentive when you're so determined to be a brat" Cedric chastised, keeping his fingers against Hayden's lips as he leaned a bit closer.
Hayden couldn't believe the audacity of the man. He was actually trying to take advantage of him. Talk about giving Hufflepuff's a bad name. Thankfully he knew most of them before and knew they were some of the sweetest kids in the school.
"What do you think we should do about your little discipline problem, hmm?" Cedric whispered into his ear before starting to lean down even farther, all while Hayden reached further into his sleeve where his wand was hidden. Just before Cedric could get to his neck, though, they were thankfully interrupted.
"What's going on over here" a heavily accented voice called out, forcing Cedric to look up from his place beside Hayden's throat.
"Nothing of your concern Krum," Cedric replied defensively, glaring at the other.
"I was showing Hayden something, now if y-"
"I think the look in Hayden's eyes says something very different. I think it would do you good to let go of him" Viktor responded, watching as Cedric slowly leaned back and stepped away from Hayden.
Hayden couldn't have been more thankfully for this intervention, but now he had one more person to deal with. At this rate, Draco was going to panic and come looking for him.
What was supposed to be a short run to the library was turning out to be an unending and stressful encounter.
Hayden looked for a possible way to escape while the two argued but found that the aisle was too narrow and that he wouldn't be able to get past either men without bumping into one of them. Hayden sighed, he didn't want to be dealing with all this so soon to bed time.
"Hayden, why don't we go find somewhere private we can talk and not be disturbed" the Hufflepuff said, glaring at the other boy.
"Why would I go with you?" Hayden demanded incredulously, finally coming out of his thoughts at the question directed towards him.
"Because we were discu-"
"If you would like, I would be honored to escort you back to your common room. At least there you might be free from idiots such as this" Viktor responded, sneering at the Hufflepuff and effectively cutting off the angered sixth year while extending out a hand to Hayden at the same time.
Of course Hayden would love to leave this situation and get back to Draco, but he didn't necessarily want to accept Viktor's hand.
Hayden studied Viktor for a moment before hesitantly agreeing with the thought that the only peaceful way out of this situation would be to take his hand.
"Fine, lead the way" Hayden muttered as he placed his smaller palm within Viktor's bigger one. Gently, he pulled the Slytherin out of the library. The glare Viktor sent Cedric was just daring him to try and stop him.
Of course, Cedric wouldn't dare.
---
By the time Hayden was finally walking out of the library, he was taking his hand back and saying a quick thank you to Viktor before turning to walk to Slytherin.
"Wait" the Bulgarian called out after him, "it would be rude of me to leave you here by yourself. Please, the least I can do is escort you back to your common room"
"Fine" the boy muttered, not wanting another argument and continuing on his way to the stairs.
Viktor followed Hayden down to the dungeons and to the portrait leading to his common room. The ravenette briefly entertained the idea of confronting the other about him seeing his wings, but eventually decided against. He was exhausted and just didn't want to deal with it at the moment. He would have to talk with him later.
"Thank you again, for the whole library thing. I appreciate your help with Cedric" Hayden thanked, feeling it appropriate to do so as they neared the entrance to Slytherin.
"It was my pleasure" Victor said before reaching out to gently take one of Hayden's hands in his own.
"If you ever need help again, please do not hesitate to find me. Good night" he finished as he gently kissed the top of Hayden's hand before leaving.
Hayden watched him go, muttering a quiet good night that he wasn't sure was heard or not. The only thing he could seem to do was stand there in shock.
---
Upon walking into his dorm room, he was immediately wrapped in a pair of arms that only could've belonged to his mate.
"What happened? Where were you? I was so worried!" Draco rushed out.
"I was at the library, you knew that. Unfortunately, I ran into a bit of trouble. Nothing that wasn't easily taken care of though" Hayden answered as he hugged Draco back just as tightly.
"What do you mean trouble? Did someone touch you? Who was it?" Draco demanded, ready to kill whoever hurt his love.
"I wasn't hurt if that's what you're asking. Calm down Draco, you sound like you plan on murdering someone!" Hayden said with a chuckle before realizing Draco was completely serious.
"Draco you can't kill anybody"
"Why not? I would be fully within my rights to protect you!" Draco responded with a humph, burying his head into the crook of Hayden's neck.
"I know but that doesn't mean you should! If you go and do something rash then someone is bound to find you have creature blood and by relation, that I have it as well! I cannot have the entire school knowing that we are creatures! It's bad enough that Granger and Krum know, it would be disastrous if anyone else knew" Hayden explained, muttering at the end as he sat on their bed.
"I'm tired," Hayden whined. Draco laughed as he finally got off of Hayden.
"Is it time for bed already?" the blond teased, pecking the ravenette on the cheek. Hayden nodded in reply as he rested his head against Draco.
In the end, Draco had to help Hayden into his pajamas before burying him underneath the blankets on the bed.
Draco chuckled quietly to himself as he watched his mate nuzzle himself into his chest. Draco couldn't help the warm feeling in his chest as he wrapped an arm around Hayden's waist to pull him even closer.
"Hey" Draco whispered. The only response he got was a sleepy hum, but it was enough for the blond to know Hayden was listening.
"I want you to know that if anything like this happens again tomorrow or ever, come get me right away, alright" Draco spoke before kissing Hayden's forehead, who nodded in agreement.
"Good night, love"
---
The next morning during breakfast, Dumbledore announced that the school would be hosting the Yule ball in a few weeks around mid-January. At the same time, the Headmaster also announced that each of the Heads of Houses will be meeting at separate times with their houses to go over rules for the dance: such as dress code, etiquette, and the teaching of the beginning waltz for the ball.
For the rest of the day, the student body seemed abuzz with excitement for the upcoming event. Most talked about who they were going to invite and what they wear and who would be going with who. The typical gosip that usually accompanied these types of events.
Hayden was sure he could find a suitable outfit in his wardrobe, so that wasn't too big of a problem for him and he was safely able to assume that, since he and Draco were dating, that they would be going together.
The only thing that was bothering him was the fact that he couldn't dance. He never learned how to and was a bit embarrassed because of it.
He was positive that if he asked, either Draco or his mother- perhaps even both- would be perfectly happy to help him learn, but that didn't mean it was any easier to ask.
Pretty much all of the students in Slytherin knew how to dance, mainly because of their high standing families, but Hayden had been raised by Muggles practically his whole life, and coupled with the fact that he was previously in Gryffindor, he never had the opportunity to try and figure it out.
Soon enough classes were done for the day and the students were all back in the dorm after dinner. Not too long after, Severus came to talk with all the Slytherins about the dance.
He didn't really say much, just that the dance was nothing new and that the dress should be formal and elegant. The last thing he said before leaving was that a week from today, after classes, the Slytherin House is to meet in the practice room closest to the dorm so that they can learn the specific dance they will be doing to start out the ball.
Eventually, Hayden and Draco were able to get back to their dorm. The entire time, Draco had been talking rather animatedly about the dance. That it would be the first one he'll go to without his parents and how excited he is about all that!
"Um, Draco?" Hayden hesitantly spoke up, cutting off the blondes excited chatter.
"I was wondering if, um- maybe if you had the time, could you possibly teach me how to dance?" Hayden mumbled, face flushing red with embarrassment that he had to ask.
"How do you not know how? You were rai-" Oh. Hayden was raised by muggles, of course he wouldn't know how to dance in these types of social events, Draco thought to himself.
"Of course" Draco finally responded with, gaining a small smile from Hayden.
"Thank you, when can we start?"
"As soon as you want, love" Draco said, giving his now happy mate a kiss on his forehead.