The afternoon sun warmed my skin, and the air held the comforting smell of autumn leaves. It was perfect for riding my broom. I couldn't wait to meet up with Ron and a few other Gryffindor's at the Pitch to do just that.
A chorus of laughing voices echoed down the corridor from the courtyard ahead. Slowing to a stop, I peered around a large archway. My pulse skyrocketed when I spotted the guy who slithered into my dreams for the past week.
My angelic tormentor sat at a trickling water fountain. I spotted all the usual suspects along with Seth Diggory, the much sought after Hufflepuff beater.
Nott stood on the edge of the fountain. "The other seeker was within inches of winning the game." The rabbit-faced guy backflipped off of the fountain, landing with a smile. "But Malfoy was lightning fast and snagged the snitch out from under him."
"I haven't seen a steal that good in ages," Goyle said before they all began chattering like a flock of birds.
Draco blushed at whatever Diggory, whispered into his ear. He squeezed the Hufflepuff's leg, and I felt little cuts in my chest as jealousy clawed at me.
When I noticed Pansy shooting eye daggers at Seth, I couldn't help but chuckle. Although I didn't like the idea of Diggory touching him, it was way better than the ugly, spoilt, pug-nosed girl.
I watched for another minute, wishing I was sitting with Malfoy. With a heavy sigh, I shoved myself away from the archway and took a few steps towards the Pitch.
"Potter," he called out.
My heart jumped in my throat. Turning, I watched Draco glide to me, while Seth and Pansy pouted at his back.
"Hello, Malfoy." Blood pounded in my ears, and I hoped I sounded more confident than I felt.
His silver eyes twinkled at me. "Mind if I join you?"
"What's wrong? You want to get away from all your groupies so badly that you'd walk with the likes of me?"
Malfoy glanced over his shoulder. "You could say that."
"I'm on my way to the Pitch to meet up with Ron and some friends."
"I'll be sure and slither off before they see me," he offered.
"Sure, I don't care if they see you." We walked in that direction before I asked, "I hear you joined the English National Quidditch Team."
His laughter filled my head with a pleasant fuzziness. "I wish but, no. It's a local group who love the game. Although we were number one in our division."
"That's something."
"I was in rubbish shape and needed to keep busy this summer, so I signed up." He straightened out his shirt sleeves, and picked off anything that didn't belong.
"You're no longer on the team?"
He shook his head. "No, I figured keeping on top of classwork and making up for my past mistakes was more than enough to keep me busy until graduation."
My eyes traveled along his jaw—admiring every inch of it. The impulse to run my tongue there and see if the light stubble would feel good was beyond distracting.
"Enjoying the view?" Amusement colored his tone.
I felt my cheeks heat. "Actually, a few rumors were running around Hogwarts. Some are quite creative."
"Oh?" He quirked his eyebrow. "Let's hear them then." A devilish smile pulled across his pale lips.
"I hear you spent the summer shacking up with a few of the Holyhead Harpies."
He rubbed his chin before his face lit up as if having dug through his sexual escapade filled mind and recalled the incident. "I did nothing they didn't want me to, and it was only three, not all seven of them."
"No way. Why were they there?"
"My father had some business dealings with one of their family's. Long story short, three of them stayed at the Malfoy Manor for two weeks. But this was years ago, not last summer."
"You slept with all three of them at the same time?" I asked again, sure I misunderstood him.
His throaty purr ran along my spine. For unknown reasons—or perhaps because I imagined him making that noise while he was with the three lucky harpies—it reminded me that I was still a virgin. It was pitiful, the closest I'd come to having sex was with Ginny, and our clothes never came off or even moved out of the way for better access.
"I was the perfect gentleman unless I was told not to be." The hungry look in his eyes set butterflies to flight, scrambling around in my stomach. "And yes, all three at once."
"That's..." I cleared my throat, "... a lot of things happening at the same time."
He chuckled. "Yes, if you're doing it right."
I started thinking about how many rumors I've heard about Malfoy and wondered if each of them had a bit of truth. "I also heard that you slept with a Professor. Is that true?"
He twisted his face in disgust. "No way!" He tilted his head. "But I did sleep with a seventh-year teacher assistant when I was in fourth-year. He'd be the closest thing to a Professor that I've quizzed."
"What are the professors too old for you?" I teased.
"No, that's not an issue for me. It's that I'm not attracted to any of them or would want to abuse this." He swept his hand down his body with a flourish.
I chuckled at his theatrics.
"Why, who would you sleep with?" He cocked his blonde brow at me.
"No professors for me, thanks. Next rumor, are you a Veela?"
"Where did you hear that one? And, no, I don't believe there are any pure-bloods anymore." He laughed.
"Half-Veela?"
We stopped walking and turned to face each other.
His mercury-eyes darkened, and he spoke like he was casting an enchantment on me. "It's a little offensive to be considered an animal. But I'm flattered by the idea that I'm so captivating and enticing that no one would say no to my sexual advances."
Swallowing hard, I realized my error in asking that question. Draco's words aroused my inner-beast. I clenched my fists so I wouldn't grab him and do something stupid.
He prowled over, like a jungle cat stalking its prey, and hovered above me. Minty breath brushed against my skin as he spoke. "I'd also be capable of entrancing men." His eyes moved to my mouth.
I took several slow breaths in hopes of calming the storm raging within me, but concluded it was impossible. His enticing aroma flooded through me with each lungful, setting my blood on fire.
Panicking, sure I was going to pass out from his proximity, I stepped back. I blurted out the first thing that popped into my mind. "You seem to have entranced Seth Diggory." My eyes snapped to his, realizing that I'd sounded like a jealous lover.
"Hum." He straightened to his full height with an amused smile on his face and began walking again.
I hated that he'd avoided answering me, so I pushed again. "It seems he's one of the three people you're in a serious relationship with."
"Only three?" He asked with a disappointed pout on his face.
"You want more?"
He shrugged.
A strange lump started forming in the pit of my stomach as I realized what a playboy he was. "I was told that you and Sue Li are an item and were caught making out in the restricted section."
"Asian food." A playful smirk spread on his handsome face.
I felt my stomach sink. "And that you're engaged to Pansy Parkinson."
Draco turned green. "No! I've never proposed to someone or even been in love before..." He sucked in a shaky breath.
"Wow, Parkinson must've really upset you."
Glancing at the sky, he let out a nervous laugh. "Sorry, Pansy won't leave me alone. I've told her I'm not interested, but she doesn't get it." He shrugged.
"I can't imagine how tough it must be for you having to fight off horny, willing girls. You poor, poor Slytherin."
"Shut it!" He shoved me playfully, sending tingling sensations up and down my arm. "What about you and Ginny Weasley?"
"No. I ended things before hunting the Horcruxes. I'd thought we may get back together after Voldemort's death, but." I shrugged.
"Why didn't you?"
"I care for her and always will, but the feeling between us changed. I'm not attracted to her like I was. And Ginny didn't want to get attached to someone again, after losing Fred." My heart squeezed.
"I was sorry to hear about the twin." I watched the Slytherin groom himself again.
"Really?" I asked, unable to believe him—regardless of the strange attraction going on.
"The Weasley twins were a continuous supply of entertainment. They were inventive and have an eye for business. The Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes is a testament to that. What's not to respect?"
"You forgot to mention that they're pure-blood."
His eyes snapped to me. "True, but that doesn't matter as much as it used to—at least not to me."
Malfoy crying at Fred's graveside, flashed before my eyes. "I want to believe you."
"But?" He quirked a blonde brow at me.
"I look at you and," get turned on, "I can't help but see the evil things we did to one another over the years."
"I understand that gaining your trust will take a while, but know I'm willing to work hard for it." His mercury eyes as they wandered over me.
"I'm sure it will come. But, you'll have to forgive my skepticism for the time being because it's going to be there for a while."
"Sure, Harry."
I shivered at my name coming out of his mouth.
He spoke again, "How are classes going?"
"I'd like to say it's going well, but I'm unfocused, so I'm falling behind already. What about you?"
He shrugged. "Nothing I didn't already know in most classes. My father insisted that I always had a nanny and a tutor, both taught me many things. So school at Hogwarts is more of a social event for me than an educational one."
I was feeling every bit as poor as a street rat. "That's..."
"Ridiculous?"
"Yeah, a little."
He smiled. "My expensive education didn't improve my decision-making skills, where my behavior is concerned."
"Well, since you're so smart, maybe you wouldn't mind tutoring me in potions?"
"The Chosen Ones having problems with potions and wants me to help him?" he purred.
"If you're too busy with your harem..." I trailed off as a breeze played with a few strands of blonde locks. He slid his long pale fingers through to tame it. As he did, I imagined his skilled fingers running possessively over my naked body.
"I can play with my Pets later," he said with a smile. "I'd be happy to help you with anything you'd like."
I blinked a few times to remove his imaginary hands from me. "That would be brilliant."
"I'll talk to Slughorn about using the lab to study."
"That sounds good." I don't know what possessed me, but I grabbed his hand. "Why do you wear this ring all the time?" My body tingled while touching him. I lifted his appendage closer to my face so I could better inspect the intricate silver ring.
"Pure-bloods have crests, and they always display them with pride on their family ring. This particular one marks me as the Malfoy Family Heir. It's enchanted, so if someone took it in an attempt to impersonate me, it would make it known that person wasn't me."
"How?"
He squeezed my fingers before sliding the ring off his digit and slipping it on me. Draco twisted the silver piece back and forth on my finger, sending shocks of pleasure along them. "You see, the silver tarnishes, and the dragon's eyes glow red instead of green—my favorite color." He pointed to the dragon's stoplight red-eyes.
"Cool." I moved my head in closer to see if I was hallucinating. "Is he breathing?"
"Yes, I thought it added a little extra something to it." He ran his fingertip across the ring and my hand before letting go.
The lifelike dragon gave me an unsettling evil look. I asked, "Draco, it's not going to bite me, is it?"
Chuckling, he shook his head. "No, the idea of someone else's blood tainting my ring was more than enough to keep me from doing it."
"The dragon is very realistic, whoever made it did a great job." I pulled the ring off and handed it back to him.
"Everything I have is perfect." My fingers tingled at his touch when taking his item back.
I laughed, picturing the horrified look on his face as he stood in a large green jumper with a big D on the front. "You'd never wear one of Mrs. Weasley's knitted jumpers then."
"If it's knitted, your right, I would never." He shuddered before stating, "I might be able to deal with black gloves or a scarf."
"She's made those."
Malfoy stopped walking as the Pitch came into view. "Well, I guess I better runoff before they see you with a snake."
"Right." I felt like I was being sucked into the liquid pools as we drew closer together. His minty breath caressed my face.
"Come on, Harry! We've been waiting for you," Ron's familiar voice called from the Pitch.
Malfoy and I sprang apart. I swallowed several times to keep my heart from jumping out of me and running away.
"I'm coming," I bellowed, never taking my eyes off Draco.
The blonde opened his mouth, then closed it before blurting out, "See you later." He rushed off without a backward glance.
I stood there feeling incredibly disappointed by the interruption. Taking a deep breath, before turning towards the Pitch. As I headed towards Ron, I started my mental countdown until I'd next lay eyes on the Slytherin Prince.