Nessa Black
'I still can't believe that you actually invited me', Theo says as we walk fast-paced towards Slughorn's office.
'What's so unbelievable?', I ask not looking at him for a slight second.
'Well, you know, you've rejected me so many times. It's..'
'I did, but romantically', I cut him off. 'You're still my friend and I love you so much.'
A deep sigh leaves Theo's chest and I don't know if it's because he's already tired of walking or he's just not satisfied with what he just heard.
'Yeah, right, friends', he mutters.
I suddenly grab his wrist and drag him into Slughorn's office as we are already in front of it.
It's extremely spacious and it smells good as always. Like a perfume of an old aristocratic lady. Not too strong, but powerful enough to invade your senses and stay there so that you remember it for a long time.
The fireplace throws lights all over the marble walls, especially the big circular table where the Slug Club members and their partners are already sitting.
'Ms. Black, you've arrived!', Slughorn's voice echoes out throughout the spacious room.
'Come, sit! Mr. Zabini and his beautiful partner have reserved you a seat next to them.'
I bow slightly and try not to look at the other students across the table as I find my way next to Bella. She is barely holding her laugh while looking at me.
'Calm down now!', I whisper aggressively as I sit down.
'Mr. Nott, I am glad to see you here as well. As you know, your father is an old friend of mine', Slughorn says right after taking a sip from his red wine.
'Yeah, I know. And still, it was not enough for you to accept me in the Slug Club, professor', Theo responds boldly and I spontaneously step on his foot under the table.
I've not brought him to embarrass me. I really need a break, not another nerve-racking event.
Slughorn clears his throat and observes the table with great pride.
'Mr. Potter, the Chosen One! Could you introduce your partner?'
On the opposite side of the table, Potter moves nervously and after throwing a quick glance at Ginny Weasley he starts talking.
'Yes, sir. That's Luna Lovegood...'
'A fifth-year Ravenclaw', the blond girl next to him interrupts him. Her gaze seems distracted, her smile emits satisfaction.
'And a daughter of Xenophilius Lovegood, editor of the Quibbler magazine', she pauses for a second and then continues. 'Have you ever heard about the crumple-horned snorkacks?'
The smile on Luna's face is too sincere to be true. I really like Luna Lovegood. In a parallel universe, we could possibly be friends.
I can't help but laugh silently as I see the confused face of Slughorn and the embarrassment on Potter's expression.
'I am afraid I haven't', Slughorn finally responds.
'Oh, that's a pity', Luna pouts and grabs a blueberry muffin from the plate in front of her.
As I am about to do the same, Slughorn mentions my name and I flinch.
'Ms. Black, your father was a remarkable seeker. Have you ever tried playing quidditch? You must have Regulus's talent!'
I suddenly feel so anxious and pressured. The mentioning of my father feels like a punch in the chest. A man I know so little about. Sometimes I wonder if I have the right to call him my father as I don't know him at all. I've blamed my mom a lot for that, but I've come to understand that it's not that simple, and her pain about Regulus is forever going to be bigger and deeper than mine, and I will probably never understand it enough.
'I haven't actually', I answer. 'Flying is not my favorite activity. I am scared of heights.'
Slughorn nods faintly as he chews two biscuits at once.
'It's okay, it's okay. You compensate with your brilliant mind, right?'
He smiles widely revealing his colored teeth underneath. He must have eaten too many blueberry muffins.
'Same goes for Ms. Granger. I don't remember two so clever witches in the same course at Hogwarts. It is...'
Slughorn is unable to proceed as the door of his office suddenly opens, revealing the slim figure of Mr. Filch, dragging Draco by the sleeve of his white shirt.
'Sir', Filch shouts. 'Sir, I caught this boy out of his dorm, and he claimed that he was invited to your dinner party, but happened to be late.'
Draco is trying to keep his distance away from Filch, and his gaze is locked on the ground. His hair is kind of messy, the top three buttons of his shirt are undone. I suddenly feel more excited than I was during the whole day.
I didn't have the chance to interact with him much during the last week, and I could feel a need for his presence deep inside me. It was nothing definite, in a particular form, but it was there, and it was strong enough for me to be unable to ignore it.
Slughorn coughs under his nose as he observes Filch and Draco standing on the opposite side of the room.
He then suddenly stands up and gets close to them.
'Thank you, Mr. Filch. You may go now.'
'But the boy...?'
'Leave Mr. Malfoy here.'
Filch lets go of Draco's sleeve and leaves Slughorn's office with an unpleasant look on his face. All the students are throwing glances at Draco and Slughorn as the two of them discuss something, but in such a quiet manner that it's impossible to catch a whole phrase.
My whole body feels tense. The skin on my face is warming up.
'What is he thinking?', I hear Theo's voice beside me. 'Why is he always getting himself into trouble?'
'Mate, it might be a misunderstanding, I don't know', Blaise says.
'A misunderstanding, my arse. Malfoy is...'
'Could you please shut up?', I cut him off. My fists are clenched, I don't even know how I managed to generate so much rage in such a small amount of time.
Bella suddenly grabs my hand under the table.
'Hey, Ness, relax', she whispers in my ear.
'What...', Theo begins, but I stand up and leave without letting him finish what he had to say.
As I approach Draco and Slughorn, I spot his blue eyes fixed on mine. He seems to be completely deaf to whatever the professor is telling him right now.
'Excuse me, professor.'
Slughorn turns in my direction and he smiles wide as he sees me.
'Ms. Black, I'm coming back in a minute.'
I nod and smile slightly.
'Would you mind if I leave now?', I ask and he suddenly furrows his brows.
'I'm feeling unwell', I explain.
Slughorn's face adopts an unhappy grimace as he nods several times.
'It's gonna be a pity to bear your absence, Ms. Black. But, sure, you can go. Mr. Malfoy will accompany you as he is also going back to the Slytherin dorms.'
'Right, Mr. Malfoy?', Slughorn turns towards Draco.
'Sure, professor', Draco bows slightly receiving an approving applause from Slughorn.
'You may go now', as he says that Slughorn turns on his heels and heads back to the dinner party.
'Are you okay?', Draco asks taking a step closer to me, but I cut him off.
'Let's get out of here', I suggest, and without waiting for an answer I open the door of Slughorn's office.
There's no need to turn around to check if Draco has followed me because I can hear his steps echoing through the hallway close behind me. We walk in silence for some time. I already want to stop and talk to him, but I don't want us to be too close to Slughorn's office.
As soon as I decide that we are far enough I suddenly stop and turn around to face him. And honestly, I didn't expect him to be so close as our bodies almost collide. I lose balance for a second, but his cold hands grab me right on time.
'Thank you', I mutter and take a step back. He doesn't resist.
His eyes are watching me closely, but there's something distant in his gaze. As if he's not quite present. As if there's too much happening in his mind.
'Are you okay?', his husky voice suddenly brings me back to reality.
'I am', I say.
'At least physically', I add and laugh at myself, but Draco's face remains serious. He's beginning to frighten me a bit, not gonna lie.
'Oh, come on', I spontaneously punch him in the chest. Still no change.
'I wanted to talk to you. That's why I lied to Slughorn. Wasn't it obvious?'
Draco shakes his head.
'I didn't think of it.'
I cross my hands in front of my chest. He is acting suspiciously weird.
'What's up? Didn't you have work to do on Saturday night?', I ask cautiously observing every facial expression he makes.
'I did have', he says through gritted teeth. His fists are clenched now.
'On the sixth floor?'
I continue with my questions although I am well aware of the fact that they make him angrier and angrier. Still, I want my answers.
'No, Nessa. I had no business on the sixth floor.'
His gaze changed completely in a matter of seconds. He no longer seems spaced out. Draco is right here in front of me, his piercing blue eyes fixed on mine.
'So..?', my voice is fainter than a while ago. My heart is racing faster as well. I can feel the amount of adrenaline in my blood multiplying with every single second. It's almost as if my eyes are glued on Draco's. I can't seem to look away. And I don't want to.
Draco suddenly smirks and a devilish laugh escapes his chest.
'You are walking on thin ice, Nessa', he says, taking a step closer.
Come closer, says a tiny voice in my head. What in Merlin's beard was that?
'Are you sure you want to proceed with this conversation?', he asks running his fingers through his perfect blonde hair.
'I do', I nod.
The smirk on his face makes my breathing even harder. My body has never been in such a state.
'I came to spy', Draco suddenly announces.
'Spy?', I gulp as he takes one more step towards me. There's practically no space between us anymore. His body is towering over mine, his eyes never looking away from mine.
'Yeah, spy', he repeats.
'Because I was bloody jealous', he adds.
I can't help but open my mouth in shock. I soon cover it with my palm, but Draco suddenly takes it away and grabs my wrist tightly. His cold skin on mine makes goosebumps travel all over my body.
'Do you know why?', Draco asks and I nod even before he has finished the sentence.
A sigh escapes his chest before he continues talking.
'I was bloody jealous of that tosser Nott', his jaw clenches as he says that. 'I didn't want him to be your partner for that bloody party.'
'But...', I am cut off right away. He releases my hand and puts his index finger on my mouth. And to my surprise, I decide to obey him. In other circumstances, I would possibly rebel, but his aura tonight just tells me to be extremely careful. Something has shifted between us. I can feel it. It's in the air.
'I can't pretend anymore. Do you understand?', his questions sound more like a command or something of that kind.
'Pretend?'
'You know exactly what I am talking about, Nessa', Draco's voice is super serious and unconditional.
We're still maintaining eye contact. The feeling is so intense. Flames burning into my heart and mind, driving me crazy, but making me want even more. Right now, I feel capable of making things I would regret later. Not that I care that much.
'I know', I spit out all of a sudden.
'Mhm?', his hands cup my face. My heart is persistently trying to go out of my chest, but I somehow manage to ignore its whims as I want to experience every single bit of the moment.
There's not much time to think or analyse anything as Draco brushes his lips against mine. I am wishfully participating in the kiss, and there's no power on this Earth capable of robbing this moment from me.
I know it. I will have the memory of this kiss forever imprinted in my mind. It doesn't matter if I get the chance to kiss Draco Malfoy again or if I kiss other people for the rest of my life.
It would be strange to experience this with many people, right?
As we kiss it feels as if our bodies are merging together, exchanging flesh and energy, slowly and naturally becoming one whole. It feels as if that's a moment we've expected not for weeks or months, but for centuries. Finally putting an end to that infinite agony of being separated. Our souls were desperate for this physical connection. I can sense it with every single cell in my body, and I have no doubts that it is the same for him.
It's not a typical lustful, hungry kiss. There's definitely much passion in it, but there's also some tenderness.
We are already out of breath, and I know that I have to pull away from the kiss, but I am afraid. I am afraid that I would never have the chance to feel this again.
I am in love.
I am in love with Draco Malfoy.
Hey, babies <33 It's been some time since the last time I updated, but I had so much on my plate. Tomorrow I have a Spanish exam and I am so anxious, because I had no time to prepare myself diligently as I had so much work to do during the last month. But, anyways, crossing my fingers and hoping for the best haha.
Some songs I listened to today:
One Direction - Half a Heart
Molec - 7 Dni
The Boyz - Levitating
Rihanna - Love on the Brain
Kaarija - Cha Cha Cha