"You'll be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way."
~
I stepped into my shared dorm with Draco, finding everything just as it was left. Aside from our trunks that had been laid out on the edge of our bed, ready to be unpacked.
Draco didn't waste anytime. He slipped off his robe and tossed it over the back of a chair before he slumped down face-first into the bed. "Oh bed, how I've missed you." He mumbled into the mattress."
"Oh yes," I drawled, sitting down beside him. He turned his face to the side and glanced up at me as I ran a hand along his spine, "I can't wait to have your feet digging into my back every night."
"If you just slept on top of me that wouldn't be a problem."
"I love you, Draco, truly. But you are nowhere near as comfortable as this lovely little mattress."
He rolled his eyes and dug his face back into the duvets. "Go to bed, Y/N."
I got up from the bed and laughed. "Only if I get to wear your jumper."
"Knock yourself out, it's in my bag."
~
The follow morning, I woke to the strong scent of cedar wood and apple. It made my nose wrinkle and eyes instinctively crack open a mere inch. The shower door was ajar, and I could see the silhouette of Draco standing just beyond it.
He came out a couple seconds later, clicking the buckle of his belt in place. Water was dripping down his porcelain back as he leant over to grab a shirt. I didn't think to announce my awakening, so I just lay there, watching as he walked towards the mirror and pulled his arms through the sleeves.
That, however, was the moment his eyes diverted. He looked at me through the reflection. "Morning, darling." He said, not turning around. "Didn't realise you were awake."
"Morning..." I mumbled sleepily.
"Hey uh," Draco said, finally turning around. "We're getting our prefect timetables at breakfast. Has all of our times on it."
"And?" I asked, sitting up and scratching the back of my head.
"Which means you should probably get your arse up?" Draco lifted a brow. "Kind of implied that the first time."
"Yeah, yeah. Give me a minute."
Draco rolled his eyes and turned back around. "I put your toothbrush in the cup holder. Your little cleanser thing is in there too."
"Thanks," I murmured, rubbing my eye with a clenched fist. It took me a moment, but I managed to summon the willpower to slip down from the side of the bed. The floor felt like ice beneath my feet, so I had to tiptoe to the bathroom.
I grabbed my toothbrush and lobbed way too much toothpaste onto it. Which was evident in the way it foamed around my mouth. After a minute or two, I spat it into the sink and rinse out my mouth.
God, I hate mornings.
I pulled my curls up into a messy bun and sluggishly washed my face. After that, I walked out of the bathroom and grabbed my makeup bag, which came in handy every time I fancied pulling a catfish moment.
Draco had moved from the mirror, so I stood in front of it and draped concealer under my eyes. Then, I dabbed a bit of blush onto my cheeks so my complexion didn't appear completely malnourished. Lastly, I curled my lashes and coated mascara over them.
Good enough.
"What a pretty girl." Draco came up behind me with a grin. I rolled my eyes and tried to push him away but he only came closer by wrapping his arms around my waist. He started to gently sway me from side to side, so I gave in.
"I know..." I muttered, a tiny smirk on my face. Draco shook his head and laughed softly into my hair. The embrace lasted for a couple moments, but eventually, I had to pull him off of me so I could change into my uniform.
When I finished getting ready, we made our way down to the Hall. The air was warm as we neared it, and the distinguishable scent of freshly roasted coffee beans and toast filled the air.
The four tables were already packed by the time we got inside, though our usual seats were still available. I picked up my time table and scanned my lessons.
"History of Magic first lesson?" Draco looked over at mine, then his, only to see his was the same. "God, that's torture!"
"Could be worse." I laughed.
"And it is worse." Draco frowned. "Double Defence Against the Dark arts before dinner. With Gryffindor as well."
"Hey, don't stress." I placed my hand on top of his face. "Maybe toad-face isn't as bad as she seems."
"We'll see," Draco said, unfolding another sheet. This one was information about of prefect duties. "Hear this? Prefects can give detentions as a form of punishment."
"Well, I've already got a few in mind." I sighed, gesturing to an obnoxious lot of first years down the table. Draco dipped his head, "Definitely." He agreed. "We also have access to the prefects bathroom. Should check it out sometime."
"You think so?" I glanced at him, noticing the smirk on his face.
"Mhm.." he hummed, folding the sheet of parchment into a square before slipping it into his robe.
~
A paper crane soared above the tables. It was Defence Against the Dark Arts, period five. There was no sign of Umbridge, so the class buzzed with excitement and watched the crane journey across the room.
"Go on Seamus! Go on, go on, hit it!" Egged few of the Gryffindors.
Seamus stood up from his seat and swatted the crane. It fluttered further towards the back of the room, and the Gryffindor lads burst into fits of laughter. I blew a gentle gust of air at the crane as it passed over my head, and watched it glide away with amusement in my eyes.
It started to cross back towards the front of the room. Crabbe got up from his seat and snapped a rubber band at the crane. "Oooh!" Roared the class.
All of the sudden, the crane was set alight. The whole class fell silent as it turned into nothing more than a pile of ash on Parvati Patil's table.
That's when I heard it. Umbridge's obnoxious giggle bouncing off every wall.
"Good morning, children." She greeted. Everyone turned in their seats to look at the woman who again, was covered head to toe in pink. "Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations."
The abbreviation, "OWLs" appeared on the board in white chalk.
"O-W-Ls!" Umbridge emphasised, "More commonly known as OWLs."
"Congratulations, Professor. You know your alphabet." I said aloud, what made the class erupt in a bout of laughter. Umbridge's eyes flashed briefly, but she disregarded my comment.
"Study hard and you will be rewarded." She said, turning on her heels. "Fail to do so, and the consequences may be..." she shrugged, "severe."
A stack of books started to magically drift across the classroom and land on the end of our tables. "Your previous instruction in this subject has been disturbingly uneven."
I glanced down at the title, which read; "Dark Arts Defence For Beginners."
"You're kidding." Draco mumbled.
"But you'll be pleased to know, from now on you will be following a carefully structured, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic."
Draco dropped his hand underneath the table and brushed his pointer finger across my knee. I took the hint and dropped my own hand down, my pinky finger extended. He slowly hooked his finger around my pinky; that way we could subtly hold one another.
I glanced at him from the side of my eye. His head was resting in the palm of his other hand, looking as though he didn't have a care in the world. Whereas I sat more tucked into my seat, my leg crossed over the top of my knee, and my other hand placed stood of our new books.
Hermione's hand shot into the air.
"Yes?" Umbridge appeared surprised to be getting questions already.
"There's nothing in here about using defensive spells?" Hermione tilted her head.
"Using spells?" Umbridge forced a giggle. "Well I can't imagine why you would need to use spells in my classroom."
"We're not gonna use magic?" Even Ron spoke up.
"You'll be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way."
"What use is that? If we're attacked, it won't be risk-free." Harry pointed out.
"Students will raise their hands when they speak in my class!" Umbridge snapped all of the sudden. The whole class looked uneasy. "It is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be sufficient to get you through your examinations which after all is what school is all about."
"And how's theory supposed to prepare us for what's out there?" Harry retorted.
"There is nothing out there, dear." Umbridge said in a bittersweet tone. "Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourself?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe Lord Voldemort." Harry glared at her. Quiet mutters rippled around the classroom like wildfire. Umbridge froze. "Now, let me make this quite plain," she said, slowly walking down the aisle. "You have been told that a certain dark wizard is at large once again. This is a lie."
"It's not a lie! I saw him! I fought him!" Harry shouted.
"Detention, Mr. Potter!" Umbridge snapped.
"So according to you Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord?" Harry's eyes flashed maliciously.
"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident!" Umbridge bit back.
"If Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident, then so was your birth you imbecile." I spat all of the sudden. "He was a friend to people in this school, and we've lost him. Doesn't that matter to you?"
The silence in the room was astronomical.
"Would you like to repeat that, Miss L/N?" Umbridge twitched a little.
"Which part?" I tilted my head. "The fact that your an imbecile? Or a cretin?"
"Okay..." Umbridge said softly. "You can join Mr Potter in detention tonight."
I rolled my eyes. "Don't expect to see me there, because I won't be going."
"Oooooh," a few lads in the class cooed.
"'Y/N is right!" Harry intervened. "It was murder! Voldemort killed him!"
"Enough!" Screamed Umbridge. "Enough. See me later, Mr. Potter, Misses. L/N. My office."
"Wanker." I scoffed, what caused the class to stifle a couple more laughs.
The class was dismissed at last. I stood up so abruptly that my chair sped back and hit the wall. I didn't even glance back as I stormed out of the classroom.
Rapid footsteps followed me down the corridor and an arm snaked around my waist. "Hey, hey, hey... slow down." Draco said, guiding me to the side of the hallway. "Come on, come with me for a second."
People fled past us. It was dinner.
Draco steered me out of the way from everyone, whilst my chest beat rapidly. "Come on, calm down." He whispered, using his back to block me from anyone passing by. As I started to come to my senses, my body relaxed into his arms.
"Yeah?" Draco asked, gently rubbing his hand along my stomach. "Calmer?"
"Yeah..." I breathed.
"That's better..." he cooed, "Just ignore her, okay? She doesn't know what she's on about."
"Yeah, I know." I dipped my head.
"That's my girl." Draco smiled a little. He turned me around to face him and gently cupped my cheeks. He brought his lips down to mine and pressed a warm kiss against them.
"I'll wait for you outside, okay? Just go to her office for ten-fifteen minutes, do whatever she asks of you, and then you'll be free for the night."
"Draco, go to dinner." I said, pulling his hands from my face. "I'll be fine."
Draco's eyes clouded with worry. "Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure." I smiled up at him. "Don't think I didn't hear your stomach growl earlier."
Draco placed a hand on his stomach and frowned in fake offence. "Me? Noo, that wasn't me."
"Mhm, go, shoo." I laughed, trying to push him down the corridor. "Save something for me."
"I'll be back!" Draco promised.
"You better," I called after him, watching as he disappeared down the corridor. Now alone, I turned around and sighed. I returned to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and approached the office towards the back, where Harry came out, cradling his hand.
"You don't look too good," I said with furrowed brows.
"Y/N, you have to go. Now." Harry said without providing any further explanation.
"Uhh— why?" I asked, trying to glance down at his hand, but his sleeve was covering it. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Umbridge's door swung forward. She stood there, a bittersweet smile on her face.
"Evening, dear. Come on in."
* edited chapter