Without thinking, Aine's body turned away from the Inquisitorial Squad members. She caught a glimpse of Pansy Parkinson's smug grin and her fists clenched even harder, feeling her sharp nails digging into her palms, creating deep crescents. She couldn't believe her eyes and for a brief moment, she wondered if her sight had deceived her when she saw the glistening badge on Draco's uniform, proudly declaring that he was a member of the group of students that Umbridge had hand-picked to ensure order amongst the cohort. Just a single peek of the violet and silver pin on his robes felt like a slap to Aine's face.
Her breaths grew laboured and short gasps escaped from her lips, she could feel the cold air bite into her lungs, attempting to cool off the adrenaline but it did nothing but wore her out even more. Aine's legs took flight even faster, not knowing why she was even running away in the first place. It wasn't as if she was caught sneaking around nearing curfew hours, nor was she doing anything illegal yet why does it feel like she had done something wrong? It wasn't as if she was the one who was caught.
Why... Why am I running away?
The girl screamed into her mind, millions of thoughts rushed into her brain as she tries to fathom what she had seen earlier. There must be a mistake! She tries to smear deception over the truth, There has to be a reason for it... But no matter how much Aine tried to think of one, she couldn't. Her mind was all over the place and her thoughts were equally scrambled up as well. But if there was one thing she knew she was feeling, it was that she was utterly shocked, confused and betrayed.
She chewed her lips, feeling tears pricking into the sides of her eyes as her heart thumped quicker and louder. She shook her head and blinks away the tears. No... Just when she thought that everything was going well between the two of them, things had taken a turn rather unexpectedly.
The surroundings around Aine grew silent and the only sound she could hear was her ragged gasps as she ran away. Her breath hitches when her wrist suddenly gets caught by someone she knew all too well. The ring on his finger brushed on her hand, sending a momentary coolness to her skin. Without casting a look at him, Aine snatches her arm away, freeing herself as she tries to scamper away.
"Aine, wait—!" the voice calls out desperately from behind but Aine ignores it. She couldn't face him. Not now.
There was another tug on the sleeves of her robes before Draco finally caught up, overtaking her in front. He stretches his arms to the side, blocking her from fleeing away again. The two exchanged a long gaze, their faces reflecting in each other's eyes. Finally, they were given the time to stop for a second just to breathe and catch their breaths.
Huffing and puffing in unison, their shoulders and chests rise and fall as they inhale oxygen into their systems. Their faces were pale as the moonlight, beads of sweat gathering on their foreheads, trickling down the napes of their neck. There was no telling how much they had both run, considering the flight of stairs they had gone. It was safe to say that they were definitely on the other side of the castle from where they last saw the other person.
Draco groans, coughing a couple of times from the lack of energy as he ran his fingers through his dampened fringe, combing it back before he straightens himself. He met a pained glare from Aine before his lips were pursed together. There was a lot of explaining he was going to have to do and for the first time, he didn't want this to go wrong. Not like the last time. He couldn't afford to be on bad terms with Aine again, like before. Exhaling one last time, he calls to her in a soft gentle tone, "Aine..."
The girl narrows her golden pupils at him, just a single word uttered by him made her heart skip a beat and flutter like she was on cloud nine even at a time like this. Hatred or besotted. She didn't know what to feel, especially after seeing what she had seen. Aine adverted her eyes away, anger surging in her veins. "What the hell are you doing?" she asks him, her cold tone catching Draco off guard and he grew baffled.
Regardless, it didn't stop him from trying to make things right. Draco gulped, "Just... Listen to me," he beseeched firmly. His hand reached for Aine's as if preventing her from escaping. "Please," he pleaded. She needed to hear this from him, why he did what he had done and the purpose for joining hands with the person Aine had absolutely loathed. The person who had tormented her entire fourth year.
The grip on Aine's hand tightened and she looks at Draco, her expression softening when she realizes how conflicted the boy looked, the guilt on his face was genuine, almost as if didn't mean to hurt her. Which was true. Draco never wanted to hurt Aine but instead, protect her. She recomposes herself, calming her beating heart. "Why... Did you join the Inquisitorial Squad?" she asks him, this time, her words were more benign. "How could you join her? After what she's done..." her voice quavers, catching sight of the hideous scar on the back of her hand; reminding the girl of Umbridge's evilness.
Draco's eyes softens as he spoke carefully, choosing his words extremely wisely. "I had to. It was the only way I could think of that could be used for you. I wanted to protect you and keep you safe, Aine!" he said.
"I don't need you to protect me! Do you think I'm not capable of protecting myself?" Aine retorts, not caring how childish she was acting.
"That's not what I meant, love... I know that you're more competent to be able to protect yourself. It's just that, I just... I just—" Draco stammers, fumbling over his words. He sighs loudly and tries again. "I... I just want you to be safe, without being hurt. I thought if I joined the Inquisitorial Squad, I could be even useful to you since I would know Umbridge's plans and gain information that could help you and your friends. That's the whole reason I infiltrated the group, it was to make sure that you won't be harmed," he explains.
Aine stifled a scoff, her brows knitted together in bewilderment. "Why does it matter to you that if I get hurt or not?" she questions.
Draco takes a step closer to her, watching Aine's eyes slowly widen at the closing distance. "When you're hurt, it hurts me too. When you're suffering, it pains me to see you so. I hate seeing you being wounded. I loathed seeing you suffering when I could do nothing but watch. It made me feel so worthless, all the time I see that woman causing you misery. You have no idea how many times I wished she was gone..." he murmured to her, reaching to tuck the strand of hair covering her face behind her ear. If only he had a little more power, he could have protected Aine. Where else could he find it besides feigning allegiance to the very person who had absolute authority over this school?
Silence draws tighter between them, the stillness making Draco even more nervous when there was no reply from Aine. The girl merely froze, her lips parted slightly before she looks down at her shoes, hiding the scarlet tint on her face. She grew smaller in the presence of Draco who watches her body tremble. "Why are you doing this to me..." she whispered lowly.
Flustered, he reaches for her petite frame cautiously, afraid to agitate her. "Aine..?"
All this time, she was wrong about him. All this time, her thoughts were running wildly and foolishly. Aine had thought that Draco's absence had something to do with how she treated him. Had she been too overboard during training? Had she hurt his feelings in ways she didn't know? Had he come to hate her because of it? Not knowing how much his presence had affected her mind, every time he was missing during the meetings in the Room of Requirement, Aine wondered if he was going to stop being her friend. As ridiculous as it sounds, she was afraid that they would go back to being strangers. Above all, she didn't want that.
It felt like her heart was longing for him whenever he was out of her sight. It made her anxious because deep down, she had cared for him very much. "I thought I had done something to upset you. I thought you hated me. That's why you stopped coming to the meetings... I thought that you were done playing along with my foolish fantasies," she told him, dismissing the rushing heat in her cheeks. That was the thing about Aine: When the girl had cared for something deeply, even the slightest and smallest insignificant thing could rattle her mind, making her worry and nervous, thinking that she could lose what she care for forever.
"Of course not, silly," Draco exclaims, his brows slanting sadly. "I would never hate you. Never!" he promises.
Aine felt her heart pounding dangerously and even now, at this very moment, she was getting butterflies just by being centimetres away from Draco. The sheer warmness she gets just by being next to him was enough to make her worries go away. It was absurd. "Why does my heart beat so quickly whenever I'm around you? why does it bother me so much when you're not around? Why am I so conflicted whenever I see you on opposite sides? Why do I hate it whenever we fight and clash? Why do you keep making me want you selfishly? To keep you for myself—" she blethers on before stopping midway, realizing she had been speaking her thoughts out loud. She looks up at Draco, blushing. Her eyes fluttered and a bitter smile spread across her face. "Why... Why are you making me feel this way? I don't— I don't understand, Draco," she tells him, her golden eyes glossed.
Draco's heart throbbed at the sight of Aine. At times she always looks so headstrong and bold but every once in a while like today, she also seemed so fragile and innocent. When she reveals this side of herself to him, showing her true feelings that she had concealed deep inside her, all he wanted to do was to engulf her wholeheartedly. As ludicrous as it may seem, he was willing to do anything for her.
"W-Why... Why does it feel like I'm falling for y—"
He couldn't hide it anymore longer, unable to restrain himself for another second. Draco pulls her close and embraced her tightly. He could feel Aine's body tensed up from the sudden action but not before she slowly eased up and gives in to him. Her arms slowly circle around his waist, clutching onto his uniform tightly as she snuggles into him, solace filling her. They stood in each other's arms for a couple of moments before he moves away, staring down at Aine with a tender gaze. He strokes her flushed rosy cheeks. "You like me too," he said to her with an embarrassed smile.
Aine's eyes peered open and she blinks back her surprise, taken aback by his straightforward assumption of her liking him that she started stuttering, "Wh-What? I—I don't..." she trails off in a timid voice, trying to lie about her feelings but had failed miserably when her facial expression showed otherwise. She darted her gaze away from Draco's, mentally cursing at her blushing state.
"That's alright," he reassures her, "Because I like you too, Aine."
The raven-haired girl turns to him, flabbergasted. Draco gave her a shy smile and continued, "Not... As a friend but, as in... Romantically," he confesses sheepishly. He was completely embarrassed that his face had gone red, he wanted to scream his lungs out and run away. He wanted to dig a hole in the Black Lake's bed and bury himself, it was the first time he had professed his love and interest to a person and it wasn't anything how he had imagined. It wasn't exactly how he had rehearsed, nor had planned but it just happened anyways. Even so, he was ecstatic, finally having the courage to proclaim his feelings for Aine, the person he had adored for the past few years.
He knew of Aine's mixed uncertain feelings and there was no denying that he too, had them. They had both come from very contrasting backgrounds with friends who were each other's rivals and enemies after all. But after spending time with her over the course of the last few years, one would expect that his feelings would subside and fade away, thinking that it was probably a puppy's love. It was definitely not the case as Draco's feelings only grew even more despite their fights. He longed for her, he desired her and he loved her. So much so that he was contented with being around her because Aine completed him, she was the piece that he was looking for. She was his light, his warmth. His beautiful Sun embraced him with everything he ever wanted.
Draco gazes into Aine's pupils, matching his dilated grey ones. She stares at him in a daze, mouthing the words he had said to her and he nodded again, reaffirming his feelings for her. "I really... Really... Like you, Aine," he stated, reaching for her hand to intertwine it.
Aine looks down at their locked hands, her hand fitted nicely in his hold and her fingers tightening around Draco's slender ones as if never wanting to ever let go. A smile appeared on her face and a fluffy warm feeling spread over her chest as she met his eyes again. It was like a dream, one moment everything seemed like it was going to crumble between them and the next felt like she was floating on clouds.
Were things going too quickly for them? She didn't know what to do though she had known her heart desired him, she was still afraid.
She recalled Ginny's advice to her on the train. That she had her walls built up around her heart too high and too strong, that it was alright to let down her stronghold at times. That it was alright to take a leap of faith and go with the flow. That it was alright to like and love someone when her heart wanted it. There was no need to think about all those overthinking thoughts.
That was what Aine needed, it was to take a chance and take a leap of faith.
"I... Really, really... Like you too, Draco..." she mutters sheepishly to him.
There was another second of silence before their lips both twitched and Draco chuckles, his cheeks mimicking Aine's already reddened ones. She giggles with him shyly, her cheeks continue to heat up. They hugged again. Draco picked Aine up and gave her a light spin around, making her shriek out of surprise before laughing along with him. He places her down and she buries her head in him while he rests his chin on the side of her neck.
Aine moves her head back to take a look at Draco's face, studying his features up close before he shot her a playful smirk and she rolls her eyes, the smile still evident on her face. He leans in, their nose slightly touching slightly and Aine crinkled her face, feeling tickled. Then, out of nowhere, Draco planted a small peck on her forehead, caressing the back of her head while locking eyes with her.
"Thank you," he whispers softly to her.
"For what?" Aine asks back sweetly.
"Choosing me and giving us a chance," said Draco.
"I did what my heart would have wanted me to..." Aine tells him, stroking his cheeks. It was what she wanted, after all, she was unable to hide it anymore.
"Oh, this is so surreal!" Draco said with excitement, incapable to stop himself from smiling like a fool.
"I know!" chuckles Aine as her eyes light up.
"This is amazing!"
"Mmhm. And you know what?"
"What is it, M'lady?"
"I actually still need to go to the Owlery to send a letter to my family even though curfew is coming," Aine remembers, forgetting what she was going to do earlier.
Draco hums in amusement, he extends a hand for Aine to take, "Then, may I escort you there, my love? I am still on duty after all," he winks.
"I would like that very much, love," she replies, taking his hand and he slides his fingers into hers.
"It'll be my honour."
─── ⋆⋅☀⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☀⋅⋆ ───
I'M SQUEALING SO MUCH WRITING THIS. OKAY. ALRIGHT. LET ME TAKE A MINUTE TO JUST... *BREATHES* I WANT TO SCREAM AGAIN.
Before any of you come at me for the drama and sudden twist midway through this chapter, I actually had this planned way before I started writing this book. It was necessary because, through this, Aine could finally come clean with her true feelings. And come on, we all expected them to come together at some point, right?
Right..?
What do you guys think of the mix between angst and fluffy soft moments? To be honest, I really enjoyed writing some light comedy and heart-fluttery moments between the two main casts and I hope you enjoyed reading them too! I really wanted to incorporate some fluff because we all know what's about to happen in this book and I'm telling you... I'm dreading having to write 'that' scene. *Sighs* it's coming for sure and it just pains me thinking about it because he's one of my favourite characters. You know what is it~
Anyhoo! Do leave some comments if you like and upvote too!
See you in the next chapters~ ^^
- Zeneria