"Hey, Gin, wait up! I need to talk to you!"
The red haired girl immediately stopped and wheeled around at Harry's words, her face flushing prettily as her lips pulled into an instant smile.
"Hey, Harry," she sang, "you heard about me and Dean, then?"
Harry hesitated, confused. He was actually about to ask her if she could step in for him as Seeker during the final against Ravenclaw.
"You and Dean?" He wondered if this meant they'd already reorganised the team. He had been hoping that Dean would take Ginny's place as Chaser.
Beaming, Ginny skipped across the common room towards where he was sat on the sofa, working on his contingency plans for the team. Uninvited, she sat down next to him, so close that her thigh pressed against his. Harry caught a whiff of her perfume and thought that although she smelt nice, Draya smelt a thousand times better.
Just the thought of the Slytherin made him ache with longing. It'd been three days since they'd managed to make time for each other in the Room. Harry had been busy sorting out the Quidditch team amongst trying to get that fucking memory from Slughorn. Dumbledore had been unimpressed by his excuses and demanded that he put it above everything else, including girls.
If Draya minded, she didn't show it. She seemed to have distractions of her own. Although whenever Harry looked out for her on the map, he'd find her nowhere. It disconcerted him, but he never asked about her absences because he'd promised he would stop prying.
Next to him, Ginny flicked her hair back over her shoulder and coyly looked up at him, fluttering her eyelashes.
"Things just weren't working out," she said, which just confused Harry even more, "he's devastated, of course, but I couldn't continue living a lie, not when my heart lies else where."
Wait? Was she leaving the team? But Harry needed her! No one else in Gryffindor other than him played Seeker quite like her.
"Why am I hearing about this only now?" Harry asked, feeling slightly annoyed he wasn't consulted earlier. He may not be able to play because of the detentions, but he was still the captain! "Ginny, I need you."
"Oh, I'm so glad to hear you say that," she breathed, her face literally lighting up with joy, "because you know I feel the same way."
She placed a hand on his knee which Harry hurriedly brushed away. What the hell was going on?
Hurt flitted across Ginny's face, but she quickly composed herself. "Oh, I see. It's Ron, isn't it? Don't worry, he'll come around in time."
"Uh- Gin," Harry said, feeling a little panicked by what was happening. "I think you might have the wrong-"
"Oh, hey guys," Ron boomed as he strode over to the sofa, "did I hear my name?"
Harry looked up, guilty. He felt as though he had been caught doing something wrong, but all he wanted to do was get this team thing sorted out so he could go and find Draya and enjoy her company.
"Relax brother," Ginny muttered, "we were just talking about Quidditch, weren't we, Harry?"
Harry let out a breath of relief. So she had been talking about the team! For a frightening minute then, he thought he'd accidentally agreed to be her boyfriend.
Quickly, he explained to them his plan, apologising profusely once again for landing himself a detention.
"Don't worry about it," Ron shrugged. "It was worth it to see someone putting that bitch in her place."
"Yeah," Ginny agreed. "You only gave her what she deserved. The stuck up cow."
Harry experienced a wave of red hot anger. He swallowed, trying not to react. "She almost died. No one deserves that."
"Um, yeah she does," Ginny retorted with a nasty smirk, "and I for one would be the first to dance on her grave. The world would be a much better place without-"
Harry didn't trust himself not to do something violent. So he stood up and walked away, shaking in anger as Ginny called after him.
He didn't think, just went straight through the castle, not stopping until he reached Slughorn's office. He was going to get that fucking memory, thrust it in Dumbledore's face and then go and find Draya and tell her exactly how he felt.
He would then try and convince her to get help, to get herself free of the Dark Mark, and he would look after her and protect her from all the hate.
"DON'T LET MY MOTHER'S DEATH BE IN VAIN!" He bellowed in Slughorn's startled face as soon as he opened the door to Harry's furious knocking. "NOW GIVE ME THAT FUCKING MEMORY BEFORE WE ALL DIE!"
Ten minutes later, Harry was striding up to Dumbledore's office with the missing memory in his pocket.
*****
I had barely stepped out of the Slytherin common room when a hand grabbed my arm, pulling me roughly aside.
"Harry- what-?" I gasped as he dragged me down the corridor, not saying a word until he pulled me through a door to an empty classroom.
"I've missed you," he said once the door was closed, immediately closing the gap between us to hungrily kiss me.
I responded without hesitation, my lips moving against his in perfect sync, longing groans vibrating in his throat as he slid his tongue into my mouth to greet mine. His hands were everywhere - tangled in my hair and running all over my body; fingers groping me with fierce desire. It was hot, he was hot and fuck I'd missed this.
"Wow," I said breathlessly, once we'd broken apart. "But did you wait for me outside my common room just to steal a kiss?"
"I'd wait forever to steal a kiss from you," he said smoothly, his green eyes flashing from behind his steamed up glasses.
Laughing, I reached up and took them off his face, gently cleaning them on the sleeve of my robes before replacing them back on his nose. He wrapped his arms around me and held me into a fierce hug, kissing the top of my head.
"I've been busy, I'm sorry," he murmured, holding me so tight that I could feel the race of his heart beneath his chest. "But I wanted you to know that I haven't stopped thinking about you. I never stop thinking about you. I think you're amazing."
Circling my arms around his neck, I titled my face up, smiling as my heart swelled with sheer joy. "I think you're pretty alright too, as it goes."
Harry's eyes flickered around my face, his expression flooded with such adoration. Every part of me was glowing with warmth, and I realised that I'd never felt this content or happy in my life.
"It's not just me, is it?" Harry asked, his voice low and soft, "You feel it too? This thing between us?"
I nodded, my smile widening. Joy flickered in his eyes and then he lowered his lips against mine, kissing me so sweetly that it made me sigh.
"Meet me tonight? In the Room?"
"You're not busy with Dumbledore or Quidditch stuff?" I asked, surprised. It was the night before the final and I had assumed Harry would be keen to do captain things.
But he shook his head, his lips twitching up at the corners. "It's all sorted. They're on their own now. I want to spend tonight with you, I've missed you. Please say you'll come, if you're not busy, that is?"
I was going to work on the cabinet, but there was no way I was going to pass up the chance to have some naked fun with Harry.
"I'll be there," I promised, reaching up on my tiptoes to brush my lips against his, making him sigh this time. "I'll meet you after dinner."
"I was actually hoping we could have dinner together," Harry said, his eyebrow arching. "If you would like?"
"As in a date?"
"Yeah, maybe, why not? I mean, it'll still have to be in the Room, but it is the Room of Requirement, and if I require to take the most beautiful girl in Hogwarts out to dinner, then it's got to help, surely?"
"You think I'm the most beautiful girl in Hogwarts?"
"I think you're the most beautiful girl I have ever seen anywhere. And I watch porn."
"Um- thanks, I think?"
"So, is that a yes, then? Meet me there straight after last class?"
I smiled, my insides already filling up with bubbles of anticipation. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
******
I didn't go there straight after last class. Instead, I went back to my dormitory to get changed out of my school uniform. If I was going on a date then I wanted to dress the part.
"Wow," Theo said, giving a low whistle of approval as I slunk out into the common room wearing a figure hugging green dress with a slit all the way up to the top of my thigh. "Who's the lucky git?"
Both Blaise and Daphne frowned at him, a look of hurt flickering over Daphne's face.
"I just feel like wearing something nice." I said airily.
"Pah," Pansy scoffed, shaking her head in amusement, "no one dresses up like that unless they are trying to impress someone."
"As I said," I said stoutly, annoyed that she wasn't wrong, "it's Friday night and I want to feel good about myself."
"But it's not like we can go clubbing," Daphne said, "it's just a casual dinner in the Great Hall. You'll send Dumbledore into an early grave turning up like that."
I flinched at her words. If only it could be that easy.
"I'm not going to the Great Hall," I said, hoping they would stop prying.
"I knew it!" Pansy smirked. "You have a date. Come on, spill. Who is it?"
Daphne sat up, looking utterly disconcerted. "Wait- what? I would know if you're seeing anyone. I know everything that happens in this school!"
She began to hyperventilate and Blaise quickly chucked her a paper bag he happened to have in his pocket which she gratefully began to breathe in to.
"Now are you going to share before we lose Daphne completely?" Blaise asked, his eyes not quite meeting mine.
I could just imagine the outcry if I told them the truth. They wouldn't let me leave, I decided - they'd tie me up and send me to St Mungo's claiming I'd lost my mind.
"He's from Durmstrang," I lied, deciding this would be the best course of action to get them off my back. "His name is Andrei and he wants to keep things quiet because his parents expect him to one day marry a Bulgarian princess. So if you could respect that please, and ask no further questions."
I hurried away, taking advantage of their stunned reactions.
When I reached the Room, Harry was already waiting outside, his eyes widening as I approached.
"Fuck, Draya, you look stunning."
I grinned resisting the temptation to say 'I know'.
Quickly looking up and down the corridor, making sure we were alone, he grabbed my upper arms pulled me to him, brushing his lips against mine. "As good as you look," he growled, his eyes dark with hunger, "you don't know how much I want to take that dress off you right now."
"Hang on," I teased, reaching up to press a finger against his lips, "you promised me dinner first, remember?"
"And I won't disappoint," he said, stepping away from me to take my hand, "just forgive me if I seem a little over eager to get to the dessert."
He led me through the door to the Room. My jaw fell open at what greeted us.
The bed had vanished, instead replaced by a table which held a candlelit dinner for two. There was a bucket containing ice and champagne, a single red rose in a vase and soft music playing in the background.
I turned to Harry who was looking at me expectantly. "Harry, this is- this is-"
"Too much?" He finished for me, his face falling. "Shit. It is, isn't it? I should have just gotten a pizza in or something. But I wanted to do something special-"
"Harry, it's perfect." I interrupted, smiling widely. "You're perfect."
"Really?" Relief flooded his face. "It's just you seemed a bit taken aback."
"I was. I didn't expect this."
His lips twitched into a smile, and he took my hand, gently tugging me towards him so that I fell against his chest. My breath hitched as he gazed into my eyes and lifted a hand to tuck a loose strand of golden hair behind my ear.
"I wish I could take you out to a real restaurant," he murmured. "I would be the envy of everyone."
My heart gave a dull thud when I realised what going public with Harry Potter could mean for me. The punishment my family would receive would be nothing on what followed my father's mistake. At the end of the day Lord Voldemort wanted Harry dead, and I was supposed to serve him - not date his enemy.
"We can never... you know?" I whispered, the slight tremble of my voice exposing my regret, "we can never be more than this."
Harry let out a loud sigh, holding me a fraction tighter. "Let's just enjoy tonight, then? We'll worry about the future another time."
When he looked at me, his smile didn't quite reach his eyes, and I knew that mine didn't either. The truth was, Harry didn't know the half of it. I'm sure he was thinking that I could just change my mind about being a Death Eater, that Voldemort had some sort of cooling off period for people who decided that the killing lifestyle wasn't for them.
But I didn't want to ruin the night and argue with him, so I happily obliged when he led me to the beautifully laid out table.
As we tucked into poached salmon and sipped champagne, we talked about everything but the tattoo on my left arm. I laughed as Harry shared stories of his 'awful' cousin (who I actually thought sounded alright), and we spoke at length about Quidditch, about our favourite players and the ones we'd rather keep off our dream team.
Once every crumb was eaten, we left the Room and waited for it to change into our Room where finally Harry got his wish and slowly peeled my dress off, and I thanked him for dinner by devouring an extra sausage course.
Afterwards, we lay beneath the sheets in each other's arms, simply staring into each other's eyes.
"Will you watch the match tomorrow?" Harry asked, my skin tingling pleasantly as he idly traced patterns on my arm with his finger.
I shrugged. "Maybe. It's no fun if you're not playing though. I've always liked watching you Seek."
His eyes twinkled. "And I've always liked watching you. You know, you've been the closest competition to me."
"You flatter me, Potter," I smirked. "But we both know you're the better player. Even my father thinks so."
Harry's eyes widened. "He does? Well, that's surprising. I didn't think he'd seen me play before."
"He would come to the games back when he was a school governor. He told me I needed to learn from you, to make sure I become better." I glanced down, my chest hurting. "But I never did. At least, he never told me otherwise."
"Draya," Harry said softly, tilting up my chin so I was forced to look into his eyes. "You don't need your father's approval to know your own worth."
"Yeah, maybe." I said dully, knowing I would never be able to shake the constant need to make my father proud.
Later that night, once we were completely spent, we dressed and reluctantly left the confines of the Room. Beneath his Invisibility Cloak, we walked down to the dungeons where Harry kissed me sweetly goodbye.
I wished him luck with his detention, and he wished me luck with the Slytherins.
To my surprise, Theo, Blaise, Pansy and Daphne were all waiting up by the fireplace, despite it being midnight.
"How did it go with Andrei?" Pansy asked eagerly. "What did you do?"
"He bought me dinner and I gave him a blowjob."
"Lucky git," Theo muttered under his breath.
Daphne's eyes widened. "What was it like?"
I glanced between her and Theo curiously. Did they never do anything like that when they were together?
"Please spare me the details," Blaise said, getting immediately to his feet, his expression hard. "I just wanted to know you got back okay. And now you're here, and so I'm going to bed. Night."
He met no one's eyes as he strode away, the slam of a door echoing in the distance as he entered his dormitory.
"What's up with him?" I asked, looking around the remaining group in bewilderment. "I never asked him to wait up."
"And yet he still did," Pansy pointed out as she filed her nails. "Now come on, give us all the grizzlies. Did you spit or swallow?"
Both Daphne and Theo looked up at me, eagerly awaiting my answer.
Shrugging, I threw myself down in Blaise's recently vacated spot upon the sofa, and rewarded my friends with a wonderfully juicy bedtime story.
******