i. FIRST KISS;
winter, 1994.
The halls were crammed with students, for a Friday afternoon it was quite a sight, everybody running around, whispering and giggling while preparing for another out of Hogwarts trip. The common rooms were no different, groups of friends preparing and making plans for Hogsmeade while the ones staying behind waited for the tranquility of an empty and quiet common rooms.
"Are you sure you don't want to come?" A delicate voice, laced with honey, spoke quietly. Draco almost changed his mind. "I still have time to forge your dad's signature." He half-smiled.
"I have lots of stuff to do. I'm far behind." Anastasia walked closer to the desk, the flames of the chimney illuminated part of Draco's face. "You lot will have more fun without me anyway."
The teenager rolled her eyes playfully. "If that's what you say." She grabbed her purse and crossed it across her body, she searched for his eyes. "Are you okay?"
No, he wanted to say. Stay with me, his heart begged him to say. "Yeah, just stressed with all this homework. Off you go, Zabini must be waiting for you." He said bitterly, Anastasia rolled her eyes, this time with annoyance.
"He can wait a bit." She sat down, her eyes fixated on the parchment laid in front of him. "It's not like we're both thrilled to go." This time, Draco searched for her eyes.
"But it's your first date." He mumbled, "You must be at least a bit excited."
"Well," She sighed, looking away. "A bit, it's just... it's just not the first date I expected." This time, their eyes finally met. Draco opened his mouth, trying to speak but was instantly interrupted.
"Snape is waiting for all of the students down in the courtyard." Pansy said, her short hair hidden under a black beanie. Anastasia looked back at Draco, hoping, longing for a reaction from him. He simply stayed silent. "Didn't you hear? It's time to go, Rosier!"
"I'll leave you to it." Anastasia mumbled, standing up from her spot. Draco nodded and fully turned to his parchment.
The girl walked away with a strange empty spot in her chest, she met Pansy's eyes and rolled her eyes as the short haired girl glared at her. In silence they both walked out of the dungeons and made their way to meet the rest of the Slytherin students at the courtyard.
"I see Miss Rosier finally decided to show up." Snape said, eyeing the girl with indifference. Anastasia gulped. "Your permission form." She handed it without meeting the man's eyes, she would be lying if she said she didn't find Professor Snape a bit intimidating. "Good. You're off, then."
The students cheered, Anastasia included, and made their way out the courtyard towards Hogsmeade just outside the school grounds. An arm linked with Anastasia's, making her immediately jump, soon she was met with Blaise Zabini's characteristic smirk.
"Ready for the best date of your life, Rosie?"
"Please don't call me that." She sighed, fixing her scarf that looked a bit too longe to be hers. "Now, listen to me. I'm here as a favor to my mum, don't ever think that I'm slightly attracted to you. Understood?"
Zabini had no other choice than to nod. "Understood."
"Good. Let's go, then." She smiled, unlinking her arm from his and walking a few steps ahead of the boy.
"She definitely likes me." Blaise said, smirking.
▲ △ ▲
Draco sighed. His neck and back and hand felt sore from spending many hours sitting down writing the essays for the upcoming week. He brought his hand to his neck and massaged it, he walked around the halls in silence as he followed the smell of delicious and fresh food ready to meet him and the remaining students at the Great Hall. Jet black and disheveled hair is the first thing he meets as soon as he walks into the room, his face unconsciously changing to a smirk.
"Well, well, well..."
"Not now Malfoy." Harry said sternly, Draco paused.
"Whatever." He rolled his eyes and walked to his table, his own problems in his head, too consumed in them to think about a random boy he liked to annoy sometimes.
Their backs faced each other as they both enjoyed the feast in silence. Draco played with his food, too full to eat anything more but also not in the mood to eat at all. A weight next to him caused him to snap out of his thoughts, a fake cough followed.
He turned his head, only to find emerald eyes, same shade he secretly adored, looking back at him. But those eyes were different, they didn't reflect kindness like the one's he was used to, those eyes were full of mystery and a flicker of darkness.
"How are you, Malfoy?" William said with fake enthusiasm, he sent him a half-smile.
"Hi, Rosier." He mumbled, not in the mood to talk with his housemates either. Specially with the brother of the girl he so secretly crushed on.
"I was wondering why you were here, so alone but then I remembered my sister is down at Hogsmeade." He chuckled, Draco clenched his fist, he was thankful that the sleeves of his sweater were too long. "Mum and dad only let her go when you don't, did you know that?"
Draco looked down at his food, his appetite now completely gone. "I'm aware."
"A very smart move, if you ask me." William grabbed a chicken wing, and stood up. "Who would like a Death-Eater anyway?" He winked, Draco almost cursed him right there. He turned to Harry, who failed to seem uninterested with them. "Oi, Potter, what are you doing here? Did Mummy forget to sign the permission form- Oh..." Then he laughed and simply walked out the Great Hall.
"Arsehole." Harry muttered, casually the same time Draco did the same. Their eyes met and Draco simply rolled his eyes and stood up to leave the room.
As he walked past the hallways towards the Slytherin common room, he started to hear the voices and laughter of the students coming back from the trip. He paid no attention as he continued his walk back to the dungeons, that is until a hand grabbed his own hand and pulled him to the opposite way. He looked down to find wavy brunette locks and a small girl guiding him back to the school grounds, stopping just on the shores of the Great Lake.
"Merlin's beard, Rosie! You almost pulled my arm out!" Draco said, but still noticing that their hands were still clasped. Anastasia sighed, a strange expression in her face. "Are you okay?"
When he finally met her troubled eyes, he felt the need to hug her tight. She opened her mouth to speak, but immediately closed it. Something was bothering her and it killed Draco that he couldn't do anything to help.
"What happened?" He asked again, this time calmly. They walked to the closest rock they could find. "Did something happen at Hogsmeade?"
Anastasia inhaled deeply and Draco's eyes fell on the scarf around her neck, he noticed earlier that it was too big for her, specially considering how small she was, and after observing better he noticed that it was his scarf. Something in him moved, something good; she had taken his scarf to her date.
"He kissed me." She mumbled, finally meeting his eyes. "Blaise, I mean."
Draco let go of her hand, only to stand up quickly. "He what...?" The girl met his eyes, now confused because of his reaction. Something in her moved, something good. "He kissed you? Without your permission?"
"I mean, no- Well, not exactly without my permission." She sighed, pulling his sweater to make him sit next to her. "We were just talking about, well, first kisses. Not exactly that, but he brought it up and asked me.... If I had ever kissed someone."
"And?" He asked almost instantly, but he couldn't help it. Jealousy was eating him inside, all of his organs, his brain and worst of all, his heart.
"No, and well. He kissed me." She looked away, Draco noticed the tears threatening to leave her eyes, he clenched his fist. "So yeah, that was my first kiss."
"I'm sorry..." He scooted closer to her, Anastasia unconsciously scooted closer to him as well.
"It's no big deal." She looked up, cleaning the tears with the sleeves of her sweater. "It's just a kiss, no reason to make a big deal–"
"It might not be important for that git, but it is for you. And it makes it important. It's okay." Draco smiled softly. "What if I," He spoke up, Anastasia met his eyes and he immediately closed his mouth. "Never mind."
She continued looking directly at him, Draco felt breathless. "I just expected my first kiss to be different. That's all, and I don't know why I feel so sad that it wasn't like I expected."
"Rosie," He said lowly, almost like a whisper. "I–I have an idea, you can just– smack me, if you don't like it." The girl smiled, her usual glow slowly returning to her beautiful eyes. "What if this wasn't your first kiss?"
"What?" She laughed, turning to the lake. But Draco simply scooted closer, she turned back to meet his eyes, surprised at the sudden closeness between them. Her heart started beating loudly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm sorry, I just– I thought that maybe it'd be better, or a better memory at least, to have your first kiss with someone you know. Or someone you know better than Zabini, anyway." He whispered, noticing the students walking past them.
"Draco," She said. Draco braced himself for rejection. "You are very sweet." He met her eyes, she was smiling. A big smile, one of those he secretly adored. She placed her hand on his shoulder, Draco's heart skipped a beat.
"Uh..." He gulped, struggling to look somewhere else. Her piercing eyes were luring him to get closer, if that was possible. "I mean–"
"That was a yes, you know?"
And for the first time in his life, Draco smiled brightly. A bubbling sensation in his stomach made its way to his throat, and he giggled. Anastasia did too, as she played with the lose strands of her–his scarf. The boy swallowed down his shyness and tenderly grabbed her chin, and with a slow, gentle pull, he brought her lips to his and soon, they were kissing.
Draco's heart was one beat away from flying away from his ribcage, he savored the taste of chocolate in her lips, sweet and soft like herself. The girl gave in almost immediately, although it was technically her second kiss, she kissed him like they had done it a million times. It was so familiar and so gentle that he wished, hoped and longed for that to not be a one time thing. He wished to be able to kiss her every chance he could.
He was the first to pull apart, his mind a complex web of thoughts all in need to be sorted and analyzed, his heart was beating so loud he wondered if she could hear it too. His eyes scanned her face before she could open her eyes, and when she did, she smiled... a smile so bright Draco wanted to name, not one, but every single star in the universe in her honor.
"Wow." He said, blinking a few times. Checking if life was not pulling a sick joke on him. "That was–that was so nice."
"Yeah..." She said, blushing furiously. The lights of the Great Hall turned on, and she stood up. "I have to go." Draco stood up as well, his mind urging him to come up with something to make her stay, but before he could open his mouth, her lips were already on his cheek. "Thank you, Draco. For being my first kiss. Or the one I will always remember."
"Yeah..." He mumbled, watching her run back to the castle. His hand on the cheek she had kissed. Thank you for being my first kiss, too. He thought.