January passed agonizingly slow with an inordinate amount of snow. The cold temperatures made staying in the Common Room with my friends an agreeable time. We stopped going to the library a week back from Christmas Break because it was very drafty and Hannah got cold easily. Our study sessions with Susan, Leanne, Wayne, and Justin migrated to the Common Room's overly comfortable chairs.
Herbology and Astronomy were absolutely awful in this subzero weather. Professors Sinistra and Sprout didn't see the snow as a hindrance and we were outside in the conditions a lot. Astronomy wasn't awful as Draco was there and spent most of the class with his arms wrapped around me when Professor Sinistra wasn't paying attention. I didn't have his warmth for Double Herbology and had to suffer the snow with Ernie instead.
"Watch it," I mumbled when he bumped into me as I was carrying freshly seeded and potted grass to the back corner of the greenhouse.
"You were in my way," he commented with a raised eyebrow.
"Don't be a dirty sprout about it, you were in mine," I replied as I set down the pot of dirt and smiled at my pun.
"Why do I even talk to you," Ernie snorted as he lightly punched my shoulder.
"You thrive in the attention Hannah and I give you unlike this stupid pot of grass that won't grow," I answered shortly.
"You literally just planted it not fifteen minutes ago."
"What's your point?" I asked.
"You were looking for another opportunity to make a plant related joke and it failed," Ernie explained.
"The grass is always greener on the other side!" I said smugly.
"This conversation is over," he said turning away from me.
"My puns grow on you faster than—"
"Than the stupid grass, yes, now shut up," Ernie called over his shoulder as he walked off.
I spent the remainder of Double Herbology staring at my potted grass and contemplating other ways to annoy Ernie before Professor Sprout had us lined up and led us back to the castle for dinner.
Hannah wasn't there right away and I instantly noticed that Neville Longbottom was also conveniently missing from the Gryffindor table.
"Say, Ern," I said softly while tugging at his sleeve. "Where's Hannah and Neville?"
"Neville? Why would I know where Longbottom is? Hannah's right over there!" He said gesturing to the side entrance.
"You know they like each other, right?" I prompted as Hannah wove through the students to get to us.
"The whole school does, wake up, Davis," he said with a wink.
When Hannah reached us, she was partially out of breath but looked quite excited. As we waited for her to regain her composure, I noted her hand was buried deep in the pocket of her robes and she was fidgeting the other uncharacteristically.
"Are you all right?" I asked once she was breathing regularly.
"I just met with Neville and Ginny in the Room of Requirement. We're continuing the D. A. meetings," she chimed with a bright smile.
"Awesome," Ernie said through a mouthful of pie.
"Will you both come tonight?" She asked pulling her hand out of her pocket and leaving it closed around whatever was in her hand.
"Sign me up," Ernie said after he finally swallowed his pie and wiped his mouth crumb-free.
"Davis? I'm not buying another one of your studying excuses and Quidditch is history after your little charade with Zach, please tell me your coming," Hannah begged me earnestly.
"Perhaps, it's just that I don't know what I'd do and I don't know how to teach younger students defensive spells," I confessed lamely.
"You don't have to necessarily teach the entire group, just when we break away into smaller groups to instruct, you can walk around and offer assistance to anyone struggling," she suggested.
"Right, but get this: I'm dating a known Death Eater and people around here, no matter what year, think that he's a bad person. If I were to join you guys, there would be a lot of suspicion surrounding me relaying what you guys are doing to Draco who then in turn would tell Amycus who would tell Snape who would land everyone involved in major trouble for the rest of the school year," I retorted.
I had given that a fair bit of thought. Despite the rule that clearly stated there was to be no displays of physical affection publicly here, it didn't stop Draco and I from holding hands or sharing a quick kiss between the two of us leaving Astronomy and departing for our sixth hour class. While others ignored the rules, too, there were still the rumors of Draco's connection with Voldemort so him kissing me in the hallway wasn't good. There had been a rumor for about two days that I was in league with all of this, but quickly was dismissed the more down low we tried to keep our relationship. If someone caught wind that Draco Malfoy's girlfriend was part of the D. A., then it would put every member of the Army at risk for prosecution by Amycus and Alecto Carrow. Granted, they knew about Dumbledore's Army, but there was no stopping this rebellion. I had seen spray painted messages on the walls near the Room of Requirement that spelled out phrases like "Dumbledore's Army: Still Recruiting" often enough that the Carrow's and Snape easily knew what was happening. No amount of punishment could quell this growing flame.
Hannah sat back on the bench with her brow furrowed and Ernie tapped his chin thoughtfully.
"It appears she has you there, Hannah," Ernie stated after a sticky silence passed.
"He wouldn't betray us to Snape, would he? He should know better—" she began but I cut her off.
"He should, but I don't want to risk it with the number of people involved. I'm sure to some degree the Dark Lord knows about the D. A. as Amycus and Alecto already know and have undoubtedly spilled something to him. The younger students don't know that so if they found out the Dark Lord knew and I'm part of you all, then everyone would blame me for betraying this to Draco, to Amycus, to Snape, to the Dark Lord," I explained carefully.
Hannah sighed as she knew that she was defeated.
"Fine, but can I have your D. A. Galleon back then?" Her question surprised me, but I produced it from my pocket and slid it across the table to her.
She took it and that's when I realized the thing in her hand was her galleon which was probably going to be her last attempt at swaying me to join. It was ridiculous of me to carry it on my person for someone who never paid mind to when the meetings were held, but it was just something I had grown used to having in my pocket.
"Look, it's nothing against the Army, you both know I'm in full support of it and everything it stands for. It's just difficult with me being involved with Draco is all," I tried explaining again, but Hannah didn't seem to be paying attention to me anymore.
I finished my dinner quickly and excused myself to the bathroom. I luckily slipped out to the hallway that led towards the bathroom when a hand landed on my shoulder. I jumped and turned slowly expecting to have to explain myself to an angry Professor Carrow, but was surprised to see Draco instead.
"You scared me," I mumbled as he pulled me into a familiar embrace.
"I saw you leave early from dinner and wanted to make sure you were all right," came his warm response.
"Just a little misunderstanding with Hannah was all, I needed some air," I said with a wry smile. "How are you doing?"
He shrugged and let go of me, cupping my cheek gently and staring into my eyes in that piercing yet calm way of his.
"Fine, though I do have something I need to tell you," Draco said as he ran his thumb across my cheek slowly.
"What is it?" I asked curiously.
"I know it's kind of early and there's still two and a half months until Easter Break, but I needed to ask you something of you," Draco said choosing his words carefully.
"I'm not coming back to Hogwarts after Easter Break. Father has made it clear that my place is by his side as the Dark Lord starts to regain his power. I tried everything to get him to let me stay, but he wouldn't have it. As I'll be gone, there are going to be even more rumors that come up and I don't want any of them coming back to you. Can I ask that you keep a low profile around here after I'm gone so as not to give people any reason to speculate?" Draco asked nervously.
"Yeah, no problem. I'll miss you terribly," I admitted.
"I'll miss you, too, a lot." Draco pulled me back into a tight hug and I leaned against him as if this were the last time I'd ever get to hold him.
For the rest of January and into February, we took every chance we had to be together and savored it. Knowing our days were numbered made every kiss sweeter, every hug longer, and every time we could hold hands better.
Valentine's Day this year fell on a Saturday and Draco took me to Madam Padifoot's again like before where we each got ourselves some tea and cuddled on the back couch. It wasn't dreadfully cold this month, but we were still grateful for the warmth of the tea and each other's arms. That had been the best Valentine's Day ever for me.
Hannah hadn't been talking to me much; she was probably still secretly fuming that I wouldn't join the D. A., but I had given up trying to convince her it was for the greater good a while ago. She and the entire study group had stopped meeting me in the Common Room to study so I spent my evenings serving Amycus' detentions. On the nights I didn't have to, I watched my brother and his friends laugh as I attempted my homework. According to Ernie, even Zach had joined which only made me feel worse, but I just didn't want to be the reason that everyone in the Army ended up being tortured by the Carrows.
February blew into blustery March days in which Draco and I snuck out at night and flew around the grounds. We both still served detentions every night, but Amycus had grown bored of us cleaning classrooms and writing lines so he eventually let them slide. Now, one would think that having had all these detentions from flying late at night would deter me from partaking in these late night excursions, but I was pretty sure I was in love and wanted to spend time with Draco as he was leaving next month for good.
When April arrived with rain showers and lots of review work for the upcoming exams, I only had ten days left until Easter Break. It had been harder to sneak out to meet Draco with the excessive amount of homework and the rain that put a damper on flying dates. Though there was still Defense Against The Dark Arts for sharing small smiles, Potions for the occasional hand hold and or "footsie" session or Astronomy for hugs if it was particularly cold during Professor Sinistra's lectures. (And of course the gentle kiss at the bottom of the Astronomy Tower's stairs before splitting up for sixth period.)
Eventually to my dismay, Friday, April 10th arrived and the people who were leaving for the Easter holidays were packed and boarding the train as every year and with the hubbub of students, my boyfriend. Mum had written that it was fine for Johnny and I to remain at school as it was only for the weekend so I hugged Ernie goodbye and nodded to Hannah who still hadn't come around to me not joining the D. A.
I hoped that once people took note that Draco hadn't returned, that she wouldn't start the dreaded rumors.
I walked Ernie to the carriages and smiled fondly up at him from the ground as Hannah climbed in and was unceremoniously squished as Justin and Wayne crowded their way in as well.
"Take care of yourself, Ern, don't eat everything at your feast," I said and he just ruffled my hair in response as his carriage was dragged away towards the Hogsmeade station.
I stepped back and watched as they faded into the darkness. I turned and noticed Draco was sitting alone in the last carriage while Crabbe and Goyle squabbled over something and Zabini tried to settle it. Cautiously, I walked over and cleared my throat softly.
"Davis! You startled me," he muttered.
"Just came to see you off," I said running a hand through my hair and gazing up at him.
His expression softened and he sent me a rare smile before glancing back to his cronies with a bemused look. He then turned back to look down at me.
"I'll find you after all this mess has cleared up. I'll find you and we'll make this work. I swear it," Draco told me with a sincerity in his voice I hadn't heard before.
"I know we will be able to," I said quietly.
He leaned down and kissed me deeply, but not for too long. We broke apart reluctantly and I looked up at him, memorizing his face, knowing full well this would be the last time we saw each other for a long while. Draco seemed to sense it too as he stared at me intently as if doing the same.
"I love you, Davis Anne," Draco whispered almost inaudibly and I replied without any hesitation or waver in my voice.
"I love you, too, Draco Malfoy."
Suddenly, Crabbe and Goyle were scrambling for seats next to Draco and I slipped back into the shadows unnoticed by them. Not once did I break eye contact with Draco until his carriage faded from view like Ernie's had.
I headed back up to the castle and dropped into bed tiredly. Not many people stayed back for Easter Break so I had my dormitory all to myself. That meant no one could hear my cry myself to sleep for a few nights.
Easter Break passed quickly. Soon, the students were back with classes were in full swing again. Though it hadn't gone unnoticed that fewer had returned than had left which gave a few classes a slightly more empty feeling. Despite this, I was still able to keep a low profile and no rumors circulated.
D. A. meetings continued and the Army remained as active as ever and Hannah eventually forgave me which put us back on speaking and studying terms. Ernie delighted in this as now mealtimes were much happier and we could enjoy some puns and each other's company. The studying was much needed as final exams were scheduled for Friday, May 1st.
Exam day arrived and the first three core classes we had exams for passed easily. The next four were to be held on Monday, May 4th. This gave us the weekend to study.
Except Friday night had other plans for the entire school.