Draco leaned back slowly. Even if they only shared a light, soft peck on the lips, both were breathing heavily. When the realisation hit Draco, he quickly stood up and cleared his throat. Serena didn't do anything and seemed to be locked in place, she only moved when she heard her door close.
She swallowed a lump in her throat and felt her cheeks heat up. She was confused as to what just happened, a bit annoyed that he just left, but thankful he did so he couldn't see her flushed cheeks.
She just had her first kiss... With Draco Malfoy.
Meanwhile, in the guest bedroom, Draco was doing the exact opposite of Serena. If she was frozen in place, too in shock to move, Draco was pacing back and forth unable to sit still.
He didn't know what has gotten into him. All he knew he was looking at those big, bright, blue eyes and then he went for it. He kissed her because for him it was the only rational thing to do, did she feel the same way? She did kiss him back, didn't she? Did he do it because he got caught up in the moment? Maybe. He wasn't sure but he was going to have an explanation the next day when he sees her.
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The next morning, Serena slowly opened her eyes, she couldn't remember how she fell asleep last night with all the thoughts running through her mind. She didn't want to stand up and go out, too afraid how she or he would react upon seeing each other. So she laid down staring up the ceiling. She turned to her nite table beside her and saw the unopened letter from Daisy, so she sat up and opened it.
**What?! Are you serious?! This is all too much to take in! I can't believe you wrongly confessed to Malfoy and now he's helping you! How's that going by the way? Have they really changed? I'm sure Toby would have been jealous!.... Oh how I miss him. Write me back asap! Want to know all the details!
P.s. Sorry for the late reply. The shop here has been really busy lately and George and I have been running around like a couple of lost chickens, I think we need an assistant**
Serena felt a pang of sadness upon reading her friend's name. She wrote to Daisy the day Malfoy offered her the deal, so much has happened since then so she tried to write everything that happened in the past month. Starting from how the boys really have changed, to Tristan asking her to go to Hogsmeade, and to the return of stupid Death Eaters but decided to leave out what happened the past 2 days with Draco being in her home. 2 days that also made all the difference in her life.
After giving her letter to Pepper she decided it was finally time to go down. She couldn't ignore her growling stomach anymore. When she reached the kitchen no one was there. She went back up the guest bedroom to check if he was inside but he wasn't, so she went back to the kitchen and prepared herself some food and decided to look for Draco after eating. An excuse she made deep down to prolong her seeing him.
But her excuse didn't work when she heard his voice from behind. "Didn't know you could cook" she got a bit nervous and didn't turn around to face him, fully concentrating on what she was preparing. "Well, now you do" she replied trying to sound as nonchalant as he was.
"Have you eaten breakfast yet? I know it's a bit late but--"
"A bit late?" He interrupted her, "Collins it's 2:30 in the afternoon"
She turned around this time. He was leaning casually at the door frame and for some reason, that sight made her blush, so she quickly turned back again pretending to be busy with her cooking. For Salazar's sake, she was absolutely going mental! She nervously cleared her throat, "I had to write back to my friend Daisy, that's why I went down late. I didn't realise the time"
"Must be one hell of a letter then" he said while he sat down on one of the dining chairs.
"Well, I also woke up late. We did sleep rather late last night" she stopped herself, biting down her lip. 'Dammit! I just had to bring up last night!' She thought to herself
"Look, about--" Draco started to say but was cut short by Serena, "Have you eaten lunch yet?"
"Not yet"
Serena continued her cooking while Draco watched her silently. He knew she was nervous around him, he was too but he was better in hiding it. She's avoiding what happened last night, that much was obvious but he had to clear things up.
When she finished her cooking she set up the food and gave him a plate. When Draco took his first bite, he was instantly impressed. "You can surely cook Collins"
She smiled - finally. "Thank you, it's one of the few things I'm proud of. I like preparing food the muggle way. I don't know if you noticed but it makes a huge difference compared to preparing it magically"
"Yeah, I noticed that first with your mother's cooking. You must have acquired the skills from her"
"I did. Cooking and baking is our favourite hobby to do together"
They were silent as they continued eating so Draco took the opportunity, "Uh, Collins about last night... I..."
"It's okay Malfoy. I understand"
"Huh?" He was confused as to what she understood. He unconsciously leaned forward, curious what she was about to say."
"We got caught up in the moment. The room was dark, you were feeling vulnerable at the moment and I was there, and it happened, we got too caught up in what was happening to stop ourselves"
He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He was relieved she thought the same. "Exactly what I thought"
"Y-yes. It's best if we forget. I don't want things to get awkward with us"
"Took the words out of my mouth"
They both nodded in agreement and continued their late lunch, happy that they were able to solve it quickly but also, somewhat disappointed.
"Daisy, she's your friend right? Why isn't she at Hogwarts?" Draco asked Serena. They were sitting on the on a big rock near the edge of the cliff. It was overlooking a breathtaking scenery with a lake, a forest of trees below them, and mountains ahead of them. The sky pinkish, and orange signalling it was getting dark. It was a spot where Serena, Ben and her father would like to call "The Hilltop" even if it was more than just a hill. They would hike here for some bonding moments but Draco refusing to hike, both just apparated.
"Yes, she's been my friend since first year. She was a half-blood so it didn't take long for us to bond. She's now with George, helping him manage the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes joke shop. When Fred died during the battle, she thought it was best to stay by his side. She didn't want to go back anyway even before the war, no matter how hard I convinced her"
"So it's just been the two of you ever since?"
Serena was quiet and she lowered her head for a minute. She looked back up, gazing at the view. "No. We had a friend named Toby, Toby Hitchkins. I also met him during first year, in the compartment in Hogwarts Express, along with Matilda Rowle. Both of them were purebloods and were also sorted in Slytherin of course. The three of us were great friends the first couple of months but when word got out about me being a muggle-born, Matilda distanced herself from me, avoiding me ever since, even scrutinized me. But Toby, he stayed, he didn't care"
"Did he..." Draco couldn't continue although he knew what happened by the way she was using past tense when it came to her friend.
"Yes, he died during battle" there was something else on Serena's expression that hinted there was something more that happened in her friend's death but he wasn't sure how to ask. She looked at him trying to erase whatever thoughts she had earlier and tried to smile at him. "You know, Toby had the biggest crush on you! Also had a crush on Blaise, Theo, even Harry Potter, oh and Oliver Wood. He had a thing for quidditch players but you were definitely number one" she laughed remembering her friend but Draco could see the sadness in her eyes.
"Uh well.... I don't know how I should react. Flattered I guess?"
"You should"
"Speaking of crushes, what made you like that door matt?" Draco decided to change the mood of their conversation, he didn't want to see her trying to hide her sadness.
"It happened in fifth year. I was heading back to our common room when four girls appeared out of nowhere, one of them was Matilda. They said I didn't belong in Slytherin since I was a dirty little 'mudblood' I didn't care what they said and I stood up for myself but it so happened I didn't have my wand. One of them started burning my Slytherin scarf and they were about to do something else but luckily Tristan arrived and hexed them all. I've liked him ever since"
"Wait wait wait! That's it?! So what if another wizard saved you that time, will you like him instead?!" Draco asked, startled by Serena's reasoning.
"I really didn't think about it that way" Serena admitted to herself bringing her knees closer to her obviously in thought on what Draco said.
"That's a pretty shallow reason you know"
But Serena didn't answer. So, he was left in his own thoughts too and for one quick second, he thought what if it was him who saved her that day? Would he even save her, knowing the circumstances? He dismissed the thought, not knowing why he secretly wishes he saved her instead.