The snow is cold, but Adrian wraps his arms around me to keep me from freezing. My heart still races from what we had just done, but when I look at him he smiles innocently and looks away. We reach the Three Broomsticks, but instead of leading me inside, he keeps walking.
"Babe, where are we going?" I ask, glancing back to look at the pub.
"You'll see," He grins, pulling me further into the village. We reach Honeydukes, and he opens the door and nudges me inside. The store is bustling with people, but he is sure with his steps and walks directly where he wants to go; the younger kids move out of his way quickly, afraid of him.
He leads me to the counter, and speaks quietly to the clerk. The clerk nods, leaving the counter and forcing Adrian and I to follow. She brings us to a back room, opening the door and allowing us to enter. She shuts the door softly behind us without a word.
Before me is a large and colorful room, rows of sweets lining the walls. A small table sits in the middle, a large and fragrant flower arrangement at its center. Adrian leads me to the table, handing me the flowers.
"What's this for?" I ask, a smile forming on my lips subconsciously.
"Just sit." He smiles back, his excitement shining in his eyes. I oblige, and he pushes my chair in for me. He hurriedly walks around the table, sitting across from me.
Plates appear on the table, each having a different candy on it. I giggle, and Adrian and I try to taste each one.
"Godric, I'm about to keel over from all this sugar!" I joke. Adrian hardly chuckles; he looks vaguely ill. "Are you alright, dear? Are you feeling sick?" I ask fearfully.
He shakes his head and places his hands on his lap. I scoot closer to him to rub his back, unsure why he looked so uncomfortable.
"I need to ask you something." He asks, his cheeks reddening. I grow nervous, but tell him to go on. "You already know this, but I've had these feelings for you for forever. You make me happier than anyone I've ever known. I know my feelings will only grow deeper; they already have begun to do so. So... I guess what I'm trying to ask you is... Will you be my girlfriend?"
I smile. "Hmmm, I dunno," I mumble. His eyes widen with doubt at my words, but I quickly tell him I am only joking. "Of course I will."
"And you'll join me for Christmas?" He asks, a new boldness in his voice. I nod. He leans in and kisses me, placing a large hand on my jaw. I pull away with a smile and he stands, pulling me to join him. He has regained his confidence, not nearly as meek as before.
We walk together out of the room, through the busy shop, and back outside. He holds my hand as we walk, leading me to a shop I had never been to before. Inside, there are racks of gorgeous clothes, silky and dark.
"Go on," he prods. "Pick whatever you'd like."
"Don't be ridiculous," I tell him, turning away from the store.
He turns me back to face the clothes, pushing me forward a bit. He begins pulling me to a section with suits and ties. He shows me a black suit as he mutters "This is the sort of mess I'll be wearing for the next few weeks. I have three of them waiting for me in my closet."
Suits? In his own home? He pulls me to the women's section, leading me to a rack with delicate shirts. "I'm guessing the Pucey residence is even more formal than the party?" I ask.
My mind flashes to the picture I had seen of him and his family; they were dressed in suits and gowns, but I figured it was only for the photo. Was this who they were, always? I was no stranger to looking formal, but home was always my place to relax.
"Not to turn you off from the idea of coming, but dreadfully so. My parents are the... Slytherin ideal. Very traditional, very formal. But they're good people." He reassures me.
I nod, looking to him seriously. "If I can go home before I go to yours, I can get my own clothes. I already have things like this, just not with me at the castle."
"What are you on about? There's no need to make you go back and forth. Just pick the things you like, or I'll pick things for you anyway." He pushes me forward, pulling out a shirt from the rack. "How's this?"
"Ghastly." I say, giggling at his awful selection. I begin to go through the racks, picking a few things. Adrian grabs a handful of more items, some dresses and sweaters for me.
We go to checkout and Adrian only gives his name; the shop clerk just nods and bags the items. He carries all of the bags for me as we walk back to the castle, whistling lightly.
"You have no idea how excited I am, my love. Mum's keen to meet you, you'll be with me for the best time of year..."
"You are such a softie!" I tease. "If only everyone could hear you right now. How does anyone think you're so scary?"
I loop my arm into the crook of his elbow as we continue to walk. Unfortunately, we are quickly interrupted. "Mira!" I hear a voice yell behind me. My head turns to see who has called out to me.
It's Lee and the twins; my heart races. I can feel Adrian grow tense beneath my grasp, but he tries to maintain his composure as he turns to face the boys. "Hello," he mutters, his voice gaining some forced formality to it.
George keeps his fists at his sides, looking away from us with a twisted mouth.
"Hello there." Fred says, his voice strained.
"Done a bit of shopping, have you?" Lee asks, motioning to the bags. His tone is hard to read, but it seems vaguely positive.
"Yeah, a bit." I say, embarrassment creeping into me. Adrian wraps an arm around me affectionately before he speaks.
"Why don't you all... walk with us?" He says to my surprise.
The boys look to each other before, to my utter horror, nodding. They walk up to us and stand at my other side, and I can feel an awkward silence settling on us. Although I am proud of them for taking into account what I had said in our last row, I didn't expect them to act on it so quickly.
"Any plans for Christmas, A-Adrian?" Lee asks, formally. I can tell he is making an effort, looking back and forth from me to Fred and George.
"Well, Mira will be coming to the manor-"
"What?" Fred cries, shock forcing him to stop walking. "You told me you didn't know if-"
"I've only just-" I try to explain at the same time.
"Mum's been knitting you your sweater, she thought you were coming." George finally pipes up, quieting us both.
Guilt begins to creep into me. I want to speak, but tears threaten to escape from my eyes.
"She's only just got word from her mum. I had suggested her coming to mine, but she hadn't actually accepted yet." Adrian lies, trying to protect me.
The twins glance to each other but do not speak. Lee quietly says, "Didn't know that would be a loaded question."
There is another awkward silence. We walk towards the castle, the hike excruciatingly long and uncomfortable. The boys attempt to speak about quidditch, but they are too stiff; it is obvious everyone is only trying to do this for me.
While I appreciate that the boys are trying, the rigidity of their demeanor makes me sick. Would they ever be able to truly mesh with one another? How could I live with them both if they continued to be separate parts of my life?
I can't help but notice that George is extremely quiet, hardly participating in the conversation. I don't know if this is a good thing, but I do not prompt him to join the boy's tense chat.
We finally reach the castle and I run up the steps, not saying goodbye or stopping until I am inside my common room. I quickly make my way up the stairs and to my room, passing Ginny and Hermione on my way there. They call after me as they follow me to my room, trying to figure out why I am so upset.