It took no time for a day full of lessons to become incredibly exhausting. The moment I would wake, the first thing on my mind was about how excited I was to go to bed later on that night. And when I did, I'd wake the next morning and repeat the cycle.
So, when I slumped down into the black leather sofa later that night, a stomach full of warm dinner and a mountain of homework yet to be complete; I did nothing about it. I simply enjoyed the heat of the nearby flame and listened to those around me chatter relentlessly.
"Did you hear? Colin Creevey's little brother fell into the Black Lake and was pulled out by the giant squid." Pansy Parkinson said to Theodore Nott, who was resting on the back of her armchair.
"Wait— there's another Creevey in the school?" Blaise asked, looking up from his book. "Unfortunately," Malfoy said, eyes still glued to the pages of his own. Amidst their conversation, my eyes started to droop, as well as my head, and the next thing I knew I was leaning against his shoulder.
Malfoy glanced over but didn't protest. He returned to his book while he let me rest.
"Yeah, well at least this one doesn't run around with a camera." Millicent said, her legs kicked over Tracey's lap. "That's a plus," Blaise laughed. "Though it doesn't make up for the fact he's still a mudblood," Pansy added.
"He's just a kid, leave him be..." I murmured, my eyes still closed. Pansy and all of the others turned to look at me. I could even feel the muscles in Malfoy's shoulders flex as he turned his head.
"That was the most un-Y/N like thing I have ever heard," Pansy lifted a brow.
"She's just tired," Malfoy sighed, turning back to his book. Though he couldn't bring himself to read any further. He glanced at the pages, then at me, then back to his book— and at last, he closed it with a sigh and sat forward.
I picked my head up off his shoulder and opened my eyes. "Where you going?" I mumbled, rubbing a clenched fist over my eye.
"To bed," He said, getting up. "And you're coming."
No complaints there.
~
The next morning, I woke up feeling refreshed. Once we had gotten to our room, out of the nosey ears of everyone below, Malfoy had offered to complete all of my homework while I had an early night. Easy to say, wonders had been worked.
We were now in Transfiguration. I glanced up at the clock on the wall and read; "11:55."
There were five minutes left until the end of the lesson, which meant Defence Against the Dark Arts was next. In other words, an exciting trip to Hogsmeade for me. Malfoy leaned over, his breath in my ear as he whispered— "We're still on for next lesson, right?"
"Definitely," I whispered back, a little smirk on my face. Malfoy had the same expression on his face, and for a moment, I thought I caught his gaze falling down to my lips.
"Good," he said, leaning back into his chair as though he owned the place. McGonagall set the class off on one last task before the lesson ended, however Malfoy kept looking at me from the side of his eye. He scribbled random words onto his parchment rather than taking actual notes.
"Psst!"
Someone from behind tossed a ball of parchment off my back. I turned around and saw Harry staring expectantly at me. He gestured to the crumbled sheet of parchment on the floor. I leant over and picked it up. When I unfolded it, there was a little note for me to read.
"There's a secret passageway that leads you to the Honeydukes cellar if you plan on making a quick getaway. Simply approach the one-eyed witch statue, tap the hump with your wand, whisper the incantation "Dissendium" and the hump will open up wide enough for you to slip down. ~ H.P"
I looked up from the note and peered over my shoulder. I mouthed a grateful, "Thank you" to him before sliding the note into my Slytherin robes.
Just on queue, the clock struck twelve and everyone rose from their seats in a hurry. Malfoy and I quickly shoved our books into our bags and separated from the rest of the crowd before anyone could catch us.
"Come on, we have to go to the one-eyed witch statue," I said quickly.
"What?" Malfoy sounded confused. "I thought we were skiving?"
"We are, but it leads to a secret passage out of the castle." I explained. Malfoy narrowed his eyes. "How did you discover a secret passage? And without me?"
"Why would I have discovered it with you?" I asked, a teasing grin on my face. Malfoy rolled his eyes and grumbled a little, "Come on..."
When the statue of the witch finally came into view, we both paused and checked our surroundings. Most people had filed into their next class by now, so the corridors were deserted.
"Come on, we have to be quick." I whispered, sliding my wand out from my robe's inside pocket. As I approached the statue, I was perfectly aware Malfoy was watching my every move. His warm gaze was tracing every inch of my silhouette. "Dissendium," I whispered, tapping the witches hump.
As promised, an opening began to reveal itself. I glanced down and saw a little tunnel to slide into. "Wicked..." Malfoy breathed. I stepped aside, expecting him to go in, but he just stood there, staring at me. "Well? Go on, ladies first."
"What a gentleman," I teased, nudging him in the side with my elbow before I dropped down and slid into the tunnel. At the end of it, I stumbled to my feet where little light from above trickled down.
I was in middle of patting my skirt down when Malfoy slid down the tunnel behind me, only to crash into the ground. "Sorry," Malfoy grunted, picking himself up from the ground before extending a helping a hand towards me.
"Don't worry," I whispered, allowing him to help me up onto my feet. Once we were both steady, I looked around the dimly lit tunnel and noticed it went nowhere but straight on. "Well, this makes matters a lot easier."
"Yep," Malfoy breathed. He brushed past me and set off, taking long, steady strides which were hard to keep up with. "Can you—," I panted, jogging towards him. "Slow— down!"
"Not my fault you have tiny legs," Malfoy said, slowing his pace a little. "Excuse me? I do NOT have tiny legs!" I retorted, "My height is perfectly average."
"Uh-huh," Malfoy hummed sarcastically. "That's why you stopped growing at the age of eleven."
"Malfoy?"
"Yeah?"
"Shut up."
Malfoy looked over at me, a broad smirk on his face. "Never."
I dragged my feet behind him, grumbling. "What have I gotten myself into..."
"You, young lady," Malfoy flung his arm around my shoulder. "Have earned yourself a perfect day in Hogsmeade with only the finest man in Hogwarts."
My laughter filled the tunnel. "Hah! That was a good one!" I said, punching him in the stomach. "Keep the jokes going."
"Glad you find me avidly amusing," Malfoy hummed. "After all, that was the goal."
"I'm sure it was."
"It was."
There was a short silence.
"Can you slow down now?"
Malfoy paused in his steps and turned around to face me. I almost crashed into his chest. He lifted a fair brow and stared expectantly at me. "Please?" I wore a cheesy smile.
"I can't slow down," Malfoy shook his head, what made me frown. "But I can carry you."
"What?" I almost squealed. Malfoy grinned and started to approach me. "No! No, no, no—," I backed away from him, frantically shaking my head. "In no world will I ever— MALFOY!"
Malfoy grabbed onto my hips and flung me over his shoulder. "Draco Lucius Malfoy!" I shouted, spitting out mouthfuls of hair. "You put me down right now!"
"What was that?" Malfoy said, all the while I started to bat my fists against his back. "I can't hear you from over there."
"Malfoy!"
As he started to walk, I thought I was going to fall, so I quickly grabbed a handful of his robes and held onto him for dear life. "I hate you!"
"I know." Malfoy responded coolly, and I could practically hear the amusement in his voice. "Oh would you look at that! We're here."
I sighed in relief when Malfoy put me back down. Having my face smushed up in his back might have to be one my least favourite experiences of the day. "Thank you," I said, a long sigh escaping my lips. There was a stupid grin on Malfoy's face as he watched me pat my hair down.
"Your hair looks fine, princess." Malfoy said, amused.
"Shut up," I said, again. "Now, make yourself useful and find us a way up."
Malfoy glanced up at the trapdoor above our head. "Well, you won't be getting up there easily that's for sure."
"No shi—,"
"Let me help," He insisted, once again, inching closer. "No, no, no— I'm not doing this again," I said, backing up into the wall. I groaned when I had nowhere to go. Malfoy rolled his eyes and moulded his hands around my waist.
"I hate you," I assured him once more.
"I know," Malfoy said, moving one of his hands down to my thigh. I gasped softly and looked down at him with a furious blush on my face. However, before I could see his own expression, Malfoy pushed me up and I had no choice but to climb through the trapdoor.
I crawled out onto the floor, my cheeks still bright-red from the previous contact. For Merlin's sake, Y/N, calm down!
I sat there, breathing heavily when I heard Malfoy grunt from behind. I looked over my shoulder and saw both of his large, veiny hands grip the surface before his head bobbed above the trapdoor and he heaved himself up.
He took a moment to catch his breath and wiped the back of his hand across his forehead. When he looked up, his eyes met mine and he immediately paused. "Why are you so red?"
Again, he sounded amused if anything.
"It's warm down here," I lied. "So don't consider flattering yourself."
"Wouldn't dream of it." Malfoy drawled as he got to his feet. He extended his hand and helped me up to my feet. "Good," I muttered, brushing myself off. We both climbed the steps out of the cellar, careful to not be seen.
Malfoy pushed the door which led out into the shop and a sudden rush of sugar swept through the air. There were hardly any students in Honeydukes, for obvious reasons, though it still bustled with children too young to start school or elderly couples who'd settled down in the village,
I looked around at the rows upon rows of sweets, and when I turned back around, I noticed Malfoy had disappeared. Well, until he called my name from the counter, holding up a freshly purchased packet of jelly slugs.
"You didn't," I frowned on my way towards him.
"Oh, I did." Malfoy said, dropping them into my hand. "Just for you."
"You shouldn't have." I shook my head, reaching into my robe. "At least let me pay you back—,"
"Nu-uh," he said, grabbing my wrist. He pulled my hand out of my pocket before I could graze my fingers across a single coin. "You got us here, so it's my treat in return. Now... how about a hot butterbeer?"
A little grin crept up onto my face. "I guess I could do with one of them."
A little bell tinkled above our heads as we left Honeydukes and an immediate breeze blew into our faces. The Three Broomstricks was just across the street, though it was never hard to miss since there was always groups of witches and wizards stood outside, pints in hand.
Malfoy pushed the door open and held it for me. I flashed him a grateful smile before I stepped into the warmth. We sat down in an empty booth and peeled the gloves from our hands. Malfoy decided to sit beside rather than opposite me, so our thighs briefly touched every now and then.
We spoke for a little while until Madam Rosmerta made her way over to our table. "Any drinks, my dears?" She asked, pulling a quill from her scraggly bun.
"Two butterbeers, warm." Malfoy said, dropping a couple galleons into Rosmerta's palm. "Two butterbeers, it is." She said, a little grin on her face before she wandered off.
"We haven't really spoke about the Tournament, have we?" Malfoy said out of the sudden. I looked over at him and shook my head. "No, not really. Though I wonder who's going to enter."
"I heard Cassius Warrington might." Malfoy grinned.
"Warrington?" I turned to look at him, a disbelieved smile on my face. "That big bloke in our house that looks like a sloth?"
Malfoy nodded, chuckling.
"Aren't we screwed," I mumbled in horror. "So much for Slytherin pride."
Malfoy laughed. "I'd have made you proud if I were old enough to enter."
"No you wouldn't have," I met his gaze, my lip between my teeth. "You're the biggest sissy I know."
"How so?" Malfoy lifted a brow.
"Hello? Have you forgotten all about last year?" I tilted my head, "You milked your arm for about a good two months. All you had was a bloody scratch."
"A scratch?" Malfoy scoffed. "The beast nearly bloody killed me! Could've lost my arm!"
"Wish you had at this rate." I snickered behind my hand. "Might've taught you a lesson."
"And what might that be?"
"Don't be an arrogant arseho—,"
"Two, warm butterbeers." The sound of Madam Rosmerta's bright voice interrupted. We both turned our heads and watched as she slid the tankards along the table. "Enjoy." She smiled, and I swore I could've seen her wink before she turned around.
"Well," Malfoy dropped his shoulders and grabbed his tankard. "With that all said, please, enlighten me. Where am I on your scale of: how much I hate Draco Malfoy?"
"Hm," I hummed thoughtfully, "Well, hate is a pretty strong word. So, I'll have to go with... I tolerate you, Draco Malfoy."
"Oh?" Malfoy's lips quirked into a little smile. "Well, that's a pretty big improvement, eh?"
"Must be working on your charm," I teased.
"What'd you mean?" Malfoy grinned. "It comes natural."
"Uh-huuh..." I took my lip between my teeth, our thighs now completely pressed up against one another's. We both stared at each other, trying not to laugh as we brought the rims of our tankards to our lips. However, when we brought them away, we had matching moustaches made of cream; and that was the downfall to our giggles.
* edited chapter