Secrets
word count: 7710
"Wow, took you two long enough," Lena chuckled, her voice raspy from only just waking up ten minutes ago. It was Sunday morning, right after the night she, Arden, and a handful of Slytherins spent drinking Firewhiskey while playing silly games at the boathouse. Lena had asked what happened between Arden and Draco when they stormed off, wondering if the two bickered as usual, but was pleasantly surprised to learn about what actually happened.
Arden immediately shot upright from her bed. Her curls were a mess, locks hanging over her face, sprawled all around her like she were an animated character who'd just been electrocuted. She gawked over at Lena who laid on her back, staring back at Arden with the widest shit eating grin spread across her face.
"What do you mean took us long enough? Did you know somethi-"
"Oh goodness no, you two are just so bloody obvious," Lena croaked, her voice still adjusting. "Honestly, the tension between you two is disgustingly thick, and neither of you were subtle with the way you looked at each other when the other wasn't paying attention." Arden stared at Lena dumbfounded, was she really that obvious? Would the rest of the school pick up on what was going on? Worst of all, did Harry know?
"Blimey..." Arden muttered, hiding her face in her hands. She whined incoherently, her hands slurring and muffling her vowels. Lena however, with her impeccable hearing and the power of friendship, managed to understand what she was saying.
"You're being over dramatic. The whole school is as dense as you two. If they were as excellent as I am at reading people you would have heard the rumours circulating by now," Lena sighed. She stayed laying on her back, looking over at Arden who had just unshielded her face. Lena couldn't help but have her eyes divert down to Arden's lips, fingertips gently grazing her own as she remembered the kiss between the two last night. She felt her cheeks slightly heat up, causing her to quickly turn her head away from Arden so she wouldn't notice. There was a deep conflict within her.
Yes, Arden was a pretty girl.
A very pretty girl.
However, Arden would never see Lena in the way that Lena maybe, perhaps, sort of, hopefully does not see her. Lena's inner monologue was going completely ballistic. There was no way she was starting to feel something for the girl she considered to be one of her good friends, right? Not over one silly kiss that the girl didn't actually mean, right?
Right?
"Arden," Lena began, her mouth moving before her practical thoughts could stop her. Arden's grey eyes fell upon Lena, an eyebrow quirked up, waiting for her to speak. She noticed the light pink tint across her cheeks, brushing it off from the warmth of the millions of blankets Lena insisted on sleeping with. Arden noticed Lena's hesitancy, avoiding eye contact with her as she pondered how to ask the question she so desperately needed the answer to.
"Are you alright?" Arden asked.
"Yeah it's just," Lena began. "Draco wasn't the only person you kissed last night..." Arden then felt her cheeks begin to warm up also. She didn't forget, how could she? Arden had never kissed a girl before, and she never thought that she would; the memory of her pulling Lena towards her ran through her mind, feeling her cheeks grow even redder at the thought.
"Y-yeah..." Arden breathed out. "Listen, I-I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable-"
"N-No!" Lena interrupted, a little too eagerly for her own liking. "It's alright I mean, you got dared to kiss the most attractive person right?" Lena asked, a sly smirk forming on her face. Her timid nature of the situation washing away, gaining back her confidence and playfulness.
"You're right," Arden chuckled." I did." Arden's reaction reaction was completely unexpected of Lena, causing her to sit up right much too quickly, making her bed shift a little from the harsh movement.
"You what?" Lena asked, her entire face now redder than the Hogwarts express. Lena felt as if her entire body had been lit on fire, swearing that steam was even radiating off of her due to how hot she felt
"You're a beautiful girl, Lena, why are you surprised?" Arden brushed off, getting out of bed and beginning to brush her hair in the mirror. Lena watched her comb her hair, dipping her fingers in a product so her curls stayed intact. Lena began stuttering, unable to form a coherent response to what Arden had said. Did she really think she was the prettiest one in the group? When the boy she was gushing over for goodness knows how long that she ended up kissing not long after was in the group also?
"But Draco-"
"Is about on par with you I'd say," Arden said. "You're both equally stunning people. I'm quite jealous really. You've got such big pretty doe eyes, you're so tall, and not to mention you pull off the shorter hair really well."
Lena felt as if she could explode. She ran her hands through her hair, petting the ends that hovered above her shoulders.
"W-wow, thanks..." Lena mumbled, completely in disbelief. Though she wasn't fond of boys, she knew that Draco was a pretty person; being compared to him in looks was a definite high regard: one that Lena didn't quite believe. Arden noticed her friend's uncertainty. She turned away from the mirror and watched Lena's fallen expression as she continued playing with the ends of her hair.
"Lena look at me," Arden muttered. Lena obeyed, locking eyes with her friend. "I genuinely mean it when I say that you're beautiful," Arden affirmed.
The subtle widening in Lena's eyes told Arden that she was still quite shocked at the sheer thought.
"And listen," Arden sighed, sitting down next to Lena on her bed, sinking her hands into her lap. "It was rude of me, selfish, inconsiderate for me to kiss you. Yes I do think you are good looking, so while technically I was going along with the dare, I think you and everyone in that group knows that I was trying to spite Draco because of how annoying he was acting," Arden admitted, to which Lena let out a deep sigh.
She definitely knew all along what Arden was doing, but that didn't mean the confession wasn't even a little upsetting. It was her first kiss with a girl, something she'd been aching to feel for so long. While Lena did feel a little upset that her first kiss with a girl was used to spite someone, that feeling was outweighed by the feeling of relief that she'd finally done it, and with someone she trusted no less. With Arden having no feelings behind the kiss, it made it easier to tell herself not to accidentally fall for her friend.
Especially since she was already developing feelings for someone else.
"I know," Lena nodded. "It's just shocking is all... I always wanted to know-" Lena quickly cut herself off before she could finish her sentence. Arden furrowed her brow in confusion, trying to look into Lena's eyes that had quickly diverted to her lap.
"Know what?" Arden asked. Lena took in a deep breath. She'd just about made it painfully obvious she liked girls at this point, how was Arden not catching on? Lena stared deeply into Arden's silver eyes, bright in anticipation.
'She's so bloody innocent it's infuriating' Lena thought. As she looked at Arden longer she'd realised: if this was something she could tell Draco, why not Arden? Lena gulped, shutting her eyes as she let the words fall from her tongue quicker than the speed of a brand new firebolt.
"IalwayswantedtoknowwhatitwasliketokissanothergirlbecauseIdon'tfancyboysIfancygirlsyouknowinadatingsortofwayifthatmakesanysense."
Arden's eyebrows were raised, jaw hung open ever so slightly, shocked from how fast Lena had spoken those words without needing to take a single breath. After the shock at her friend's incredible speaking speed, Arden furrowed her brow in confusion.
"Why are you acting like you've just confessed to a murder? They're your feelings, it's not a crime," Arden questioned. Lena's eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of her head.
"It's just... I don't really see anyone else-"
"To hell with everyone else!" Arden exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "What's someone got to say about something like that? So, you fancy girls, who wouldn't?" Arden chuckled, continuing to tame her messy hair.
Lena's jaw fell. "Are you saying you..." she trailed off.
"I don't have a preference," Arden interrupted, not wanting to linger on her feelings but rather focus on Lena's. Lena stared at her friend dumbfounded; what she would give to feel so nonchalant as Arden did in that moment, confessing to fancying girls and boys in once sentence. Though her posture fell when she realised Arden could mostly get away with being so nonchalant about it; she didn't have to fake attraction to boys quite like Lena did as to not appear different.
As if Arden could read her mind, Arden's brow furrowed and she turned to face Lena.
"So all this time, you've just been pretending to like boys? You're afraid of people thinking you're weird..."
Lena nodded slowly. Arden sat down on Lena's bed, her hand gently squeezing onto her shoulder reassuringly. "Lena we live in a world where people use little wooden sticks to make things float, a world where paintings and toadstools can talk to each other. If anyone takes a look around our world and decides that you simply loving someone is strange, then I'll send them to hell myself," Arden said, her soft tone growing darker with each word uttered.
Lena stared at the wooden floor of their dorm room, vision blurred as her eyes became glassy with welled tears. She quickly rubbed her eyes before any droplets could fall into her lap, prompting Arden to pull Lena closer, having her head lean on her shoulder. Arden's fingertips gently ran through Lena's hair, feeling her stomach churn as Lena's body jerked from her being unable to control her sobs. Lena knew Arden was right, and her friend immediately siding with her had Lena feeling overwhelmed with hope. She muttered a few words between her choked sobs, which Arden managed to catch as 'thank you.'
And again, as if Arden had read Lena's mind, she muttered the words Lena needed to hear the most after sharing what made her feel most vulnerable.
"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me," she muttered into Lena's hair. The two them sat together in silence for the rest of the early morning, basking in the comfortable silence before heading off to the great hall to eat.
-
Draco didn't sleep well that night, deciding to camp out in the common room while his mind was busy racing with the memory of Arden's lips against his. The thoughts were almost haunting in how they never left his brain: her shining silver eyes being the brightest light in the darkness that enveloped them, the soft cool glow from the moonlight causing the snow captured in her curls to glisten. It happened hours ago, yet Draco had thought of it so much that he felt as if several sunlit days had passed, and their kiss was merely a memory from long ago. How was it that this girl had invaded his mind? Made her presence so known it was impossible to think of anything but her?
Draco was brought back to harsh reality when a first year let out a shrill scream that pierced his ear drums. He scowled, looking in the direction of the scream and saw Pansy Parkinson pointing her wand menacingly, urging the first year to move from the seat they were sitting in so Pansy could sit there instead. The first year ran like the wind out of the Slytherin common room. Pansy sighed and dropped into the seat that was adjacent to the couch Draco was lazily sprawled out on.
"What's got you up at this ungodly hour on a Sunday morning?" She teased, noticing how shattered Draco looked from his lack of sleep.
"Hangover," he lied.
Pansy immediately didn't buy it. "Now we both know that's bullshit since you only had a few sips and you are not a lightweight," she scoffed. "What did she do to you?" Pansy asked, her voice deadpan. Draco scoffed and rolled his eyes, avoiding eye contact with Pansy at all costs.
"Nothing happened, just leave me-"
"Well well well!" Blaise sang, each loud syllable making Draco's head sting. "So what, our body clocks all just synced up, huh?" He joked, "look at us, a trio of soulmates!"
"Do you have to be so loud this early?" Draco spat, glaring up at Blaise who was walking down the stairs from his dorm, his step rather springy for someone who always complained about waking up early.
Blaise rolled his eyes at Draco's bitterness, "blimey, did Diggory rip you a new one or something?"
"Like I told Pansy I'm just hungover-"
"Rubbish, spill the beans ferret boy," Blaise interrupted, taking a seat right next to Draco, smirking at his growing irritation.
Pansy let out a loud, exasperated sigh. "Come on! Just tell us if if was super bad or not so we can at least save you a little self respect and move on without you having to tell us exactly what she did!"
Draco folded his arms and sunk lower into the couch. He focused his scowl on the swimming fish out the dungeon window, the glistening silver scales reminding him of the way Arden's eyes shined when looking up at him a few hours ago. Does he tell Pansy and Blaise that he kissed her? They were his friends, but even then, he never sat down with the two and talked about things like this.
He didn't talk about these things with anyone.
Lena was someone he became much closer to, closer than he was with Pansy and Blaise, but even then he didn't sit down and gush over how he felt towards Arden. Why should he tell them what happened? He didn't even know what was going to happen next between the two. What happens the next time he sees her in the hallway? Does he go up to her, fuel his urges and just kiss her again for everyone to see? To show everyone that the Draco Malfoy was with the perfect Arden Diggory? Maybe it should be something kept between the two; after all, only Draco has seen the nasty sides of her that would cause the rest of the school to rip away her title of Little Miss Perfect.
But he didn't even know if that was something he could even confirm. A kiss doesn't simply define a relationship, does it? Draco was so confused. So many thoughts and possibilities of what to do were running through his head. He wondered if he should speak to her alone about how to go about things between them, but doubted his own ability to even bring up the question. Why couldn't things just be simple?
"Lordy, did she knock the braincells out of you?" Pansy groaned, growing impatient with Draco's silence. Draco blinked his eyes a few times, not realising that he had completely zoned out for goodness knows how long. He groaned, ruffling his hair in frustration.
"I don't know why both of you keep assuming that she beat me up," Draco said coolly, diverting his thoughts.
Blaise cackled, "because dude, you were being such an ass to her before she snogged Lena-"
"She didn't snog Lena she just pecked her," Pansy interrupted, her tone laced with defensiveness and a slither of jealousy.
"Right... whatever," Blaise said, rolling his eyes at Pansy's complete lack of subtlety. "I'm just saying man, you kept laying it into her, she... pecked... Lena-" Blaise sent a nasty glare at Pansy at his emphasis, which she returned. "-Then you go after her as if she did something wrong. I'd be pissed too if I were her."
Draco narrowed his eyes at Blaise, then looked over at Pansy who told with her expression that she was siding with Blaise. At that point, Draco was running on fumes from staying up so late and having his thoughts clouded by his kiss with Arden, his brain didn't have the energy to be clever or cunning as to avoid telling them what happened. He wondered: if he did tell them, would anything wrong really happen?
He sighed, his elbows propped up on his knees and face hidden in the palms of his hands. After a few deep breaths and severely analysing the many different outcomes of him telling them what happened, he finally did it.
"I kissed her," he mumbled, his words barely legible from being muffled by his hands. Pansy and Blaise both looked at each other, utterly confused. They both wondered if they heard him correctly, or if it were his mumbling that made them hear him wrong.
"You... hit her?" Blaise questioned, not quite sure if he believed the other sentence that he thought he heard. Draco snapped up, glaring at Blaise like he had just smacked his own mother over the head with a troll's club.
"The hell is wrong with you!? Why on earth would I hit her?" He growled, fuming at the boy who was only just struggling to grasp what was going on.
Blaise held up his hands in defence. "Hey man I just wasn't sure if I heard you correctly! It's either that or..."
"You kissed her," Pansy muttered, her eyes soft as she watched the tension in Draco's body ease. He sighed, nodding as he hid his face in his hands once again. "Oh my gosh you kissed her-"
"Really? I had no clue," Draco spat, his tone heavily sarcastic. It was silent between the trio for almost a whole minute. Pansy honestly wasn't sure what she was feeling, a part of her felt like she saw this coming, but another part of her felt completely shocked. She knew Draco wasn't one to be affectionate, so to hear he had acted on his own feelings was a surpise to her. Although, Pansy's conflicting emotion of feeling this was predictable was due to how obsessed he was with Arden, even if he was teasing her, Pansy felt like there had to be more to it.
Blaise meanwhile was shocked that Draco would even own up to it, let alone tell him and Pansy. Granted, he knew the pair of them were nagging Draco, but it was much more in his nature to just lie; he was convincing enough that he and Pansy would believe him (that was until they inevitably found out the truth - they always did).
"Well?" Blaise spoke up, finally breaking the silence. His eyebrows were raised, looking at Draco expectantly. Draco looked over at Blaise, utter confusion spread on his face.
"Well what?"
"How erm... how was it?" Blaise asked, taking his eyes away from Draco when he asked in a hopes to not make him feel cornered. While Pansy would normally berate Blaise for being perverted and asking questions like this, she too wanted to know how it was. Not to mention, by seeing how cautious Blaise was with his question, she knew he wasn't being his usual sleazy self.
Draco leaned back against the couch as he let out a deep sigh. He looked back outside of the dungeon window, the fish's silver scales reflecting the rising sun bringing his memories back to Arden's eyes. The way they swam so calmly through the water, never in perfect straight lines, but swiveling up and down, side to side as they did, almost like they were floating. His pale cheeks were quickly painted with crimson as the fish reminded him of how Arden's still inexplicable magic had them hovering above ground; he'd completely forgotten as he was so enamoured with the memory of her shining eyes, her warm lips, her tight embrace.
"It was nice..." Draco gushed, his tone dreamy as he reminisced. Pansy and Blaise couldn't quite identify the boy in front of them; what the hell had Arden Diggory done to Draco Malfoy? They watched as he took a deep breath and let out another sigh, eyes fluttering closed as the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
"Alright don't start having a wet dream in front of us please," Pansy scolded, kicking Draco in the shin. Draco whined out in pain, glaring at Pansy as he leaned down to rub where she'd kicked him.
"I wasn't having a wet dream, gosh!" Draco spat. He blinked his eyes a few times; those few short seconds of closing his eyes proved to him just how tired he was. "I didn't get a second of sleep last night alright?"
Blaise chuckled, "Merlin, you'd think she'd given you a love potion or something."
"Oh please," Pansy scoffed. "We've listened to this brat obsess over every little thing she's done for years, it was only a matter of time." Draco groaned, scowling at Pansy who just stared back at him with a wide shit eating grin.
"So what, are you two like an item now then?" Blaise asked, to which Pansy interjected with a loud cackle.
"Please, after what's gone on between her and Potter? Everyone in the school will hate the both of you," Pansy said. Draco felt his stomach drop. He didn't even think about that blasted Potter, who some how always made his life more annoying to deal with even without actually doing anything.
Blaise rolled his eyes. "So? They broke up, what's done is done! The hell does that have to do with Draco-"
"You idiot, their breakup was literally in those scummy gossip magazines," Pansy spat. "In case you forgot, Potter literally ended a war in diapers, while Diggory is the little sister of the TriWizard Champion."
"You have still failed to explain how this makes Draco look bad," Blaise droned, not appreciating Pansy'a deadpan explanations of things he already knew.
Pansy groaned in annoyance. "Well it's not like Draco is part of a family of nobodies either now is he? People are still talking about Diggory and Potter. Add Draco to the mix -who by the way, is considered Potter's enemy- and you've got yourself a bloody mess!"
"People are going to call him a home wrecker. People are going to call her a slag. Not to mention, Potter and all his stupid friends won't be happy," Pansy explained further. Draco could feel his heart racing as Pansy and Blaise went back and forth about the situation, their words burning into his brain. She was right: everyone would talk, and not just the school, everyone.
Her friends.
Her family.
His family.
"Oh Merlin... my family," Draco muttered. Pansy and Blaise halted their bickering to look at Draco who had his face buried in his hands again, though unlike before, his grip on his hair showed more distress than before.
Pansy's posture softened. "Oh shit yeah... your dad wouldn't be too thrilled, hey?" She said.
"She's pureblood though isn't she? Why would he hate her?" Blaise asked.
"She is, but the Diggorys are blood traitors," Pansy answered, to which Blaise hummed in understanding. Meanwhile, Draco's hands began to tremble. While Pansy was correct, that's not what had Draco in this state of panic in thinking of what his father would have to say about a relationship between him and the girl he wanted.
He was currently in an arrangement to marry Lena.
Nobody knew besides himself, Lena, and their parents. They'd been trying all school break to hint to their families they didn't want it, but their foils never succeeded. While they weren't set for marriage until the end of their 7th year, it was still set in stone and showed no signs of being changed.
Pansy noticed the quickened pace of Draco's breathing, as well as the way he was pulling at his blond strands at the roots, knuckles white and and trembling as he did. She got up from her own seat and squashed herself between Blaise and Draco to be close to him.
"Draco, hey, it'll be fine," she reassured. Draco wanted to swat her away, tell her that it won't be fine, but he didn't want to confess to his family arrangement; that was something no matter how tired he was, he would muster the strength to keep lying about. Instead, he loosened his grip on his hair, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to ease the growing headache from all of these thoughts bouncing around his head.
"I mean, who said everyone had to know you were together?" Blaise suggested. Pansy and Draco both turned to look at him, confusion plaster across their faces, making Blaise feel like the smart one for once. "If you really like her, and you want to be with her, just keep it a secret yeah? No one has to know! Well, except us of course..."
Pansy hummed, not disagreeing with Blaise. She turned to Draco, waiting for his decision.
Of course Draco wanted to be with Arden; he'd been having intense feelings for her for too long now. His ego felt a little crushed at the thought of keeping things between him and her a secret. He'd want nothing more than to tell the world that she was his, but logically speaking, it was all that could be done.
That was if she would even agree to anything between them; Draco may be cocky, but he still had his doubts.
Was it worth it to ask Arden to be his, but tell her they had to keep things a secret? Only for him to have to eventually tell her that that he is forcefully betrothed to her dear friend? Would the arrangement be called off by then? Would he and Arden even last long enough for it to be an issue?
A harsh smack on his shoulder from Pansy pulled Draco out of his thoughts. He scowled at Pansy, rubbing his shoulder to ease the sharp pain from her string hit.
"Merlin's sake Malfoy, since when did you become so meek?" Pansy said, rolling her eyes at Draco and his sudden influx of self doubt. He sighed, almost wondering the same thing. He looked up from staring at the snake patterned carpet and stared out the dungeon windows again. Once again, being reminded of Arden's eyes as the fish's silver scales reflected the sunlight. All of a sudden, his doubts disappeared. All he could think about was him and Arden under the moonlight, and how in that moment, he felt truly safe.
Pansy and Blaise both noticed the softness appear in both Draco's expression and his posture and couldn't help but do the same. While they both would agree that Draco being lovesick was a tad bit cheesy, they both focused on the fact that Draco was actually being vulnerable for once. The three were closer as friends than ever before all thanks to a Hufflepuff girl.
Draco stood from his seat, his knees wobbling slightly from being so tired.
"I'm going to talk to her," Draco said, his words barely coming out as a whisper. Pansy and Blaise stood also, Pansy reaching over and placing a hand on Draco's shoulder, gently massaging the place she had struck him earlier.
"Your secret is safe with us," she said, with Blaise nodding in agreement. Draco let out a shakey sigh, stretching his arms upwards as he let his spine straighten after being on the uncomfortable common room leather couch all night. He made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast, with Pansy and Blaise both following suit.
Draco kept his hands deep in his pockets, hiding just how hard they were trembling at the thought of him properly confessing his feelings to Arden, and asking her to be his girlfriend.
-
Pumpkin juice had truly never tasted so heavenly until an extremely hungover Cassius Warrington took a fat swig of it, releasing a dragged out groan of ecstasy as the liquid hit his tastebuds.
"Fire whiskey stirred you up, Cassie?" Daphne teased as she slathered raspberry jam on her scone, looking completely well rested. Out of the whole group that were in the boathouse the night before, Daphne was the only one who didn't feel any after effects whether that be from the fire whiskey, or receiving a kiss.
Cassius's eyes trailed slowly up to meet Daphne's, squinting equally as slow. It was as if he were a stuttering video player with how slow and staggered his movements were.
"Shuddup y'slag," he slurred, pumpkin juice dribbling out from the corner of his mouth. His foul mouth earned him a smack on the head with a rolled up Daily Prophet from Pansy, who'd just joined the two with Blaise and Draco.
"Call her that again and I'm shoving this up your arse, Warrington," Pansy spat. "You do this every time. Learn your limits and you won't have to suffer the next morning."
Cassius didn't listen. Not because he was being rude, but because his face had planted into the table as he had passed out. Daphne covered her mouth as she giggled, meanwhile an irritable Pansy used a silencing charm so she wouldn't have to hear his snores while she ate her breakfast, her too, slightly suffering from her own hangover.
Meanwhile across the hall, Lena was teaching Arden how to play chess, both picking at chocolate chip muffins as they played. A handful of losses and a plethora of tips later, it came down to an extremely close match between the two, garnering the attention of none other than the Hogwarts chess master himself: Ron Weasley.
"Come on Arden, you've got this," Ron encouraged, chin planted on the table as he watched the chess game at eye level with great intensity.
"What's with the team picking?" Lena whined, frowning at Ron.
"What can I say? I go for the underdog," Ron muttered, refusing to take his eyes off the chess pieces.
Draco watched Arden from across the hall as he took a sip from his goblet, trying ever so hard to appear as if he wasn't staring at her. He fought every muscle in his face from smiling as he watched her brows furrow when Lena took Arden's knight piece. She turned to Ron for a desperate attempt at help for a next move, but Ron, despite rooting for her, refused to give help as he wanted Arden to figure it out herself. Draco had to cover his mouth to stifle a laugh as the sight of Arden uttering what could only be a string of profanities at Ron filled Draco with joy. There was a pang of jealousy that struck his gut however; Draco knew how to play chess, and yet she was asking that Weasel for help when he himself was probably beyond better than he could ever hope to be.
Arden tucked the curls that had fell in front of her eyes behind her ears. She stared with great concentration at the chess board in front of her, her index fingers tapping against her lips puckered in deep thought. This very image in front of Draco had his heart pounding in his chest, a part of him was worried he'd experience a heart attack. A call of his name had him reluctantly turning his attention away from the girl he desperately wanted and needed time alone with to talk over their feelings.
"What happened last night by the way?" Daphne asked Draco, as she wasn't in the loop of what was going on quite like Blaise and Pansy were.
Pansy let out laugh so hard that she snorted. "Oh Daph, I don't think you want to make poor Malfoy relive the trauma," she joked, sending a wink to Draco. While he appreciated that Pansy was ready to keep Draco's feelings and what had happened a secret, he balled his fists in anger because of course Pansy chose the 'humiliation of Draco Malfoy' route.
"Go on, tell Daph and Cass what happened to you," Blaise teased, ganging up on Draco with Pansy.
Draco rolled his eyes and sighed in defeat. "She gave me an earful then slapped me, alright?" He said defensively. His response warranted a fit of raging laughter from Blaise and Pansy, followed by the pair repeating 'he's lying' over and over. Daphne and Cassius both howled with laughter as Pansy and Blaise both began telling an elaborately false story of Arden utterly humiliating Draco with a string of vulgar insults and unspeakable jinxes. Draco's defensiveness and denial only sold the story to Daphne and Cassius. While Draco was slightly annoyed that those two will never let him live down an event that never happened, he was grateful for Pansy and Blaise's theatrics to keep the kiss private.
It only showed him yet again that those two, despite them only sharing a single brain cell, could actually be trusted as close friends.
The roaring laughter coming from the Slytherin table of course captured Arden's attention. Looking away from her thinning chess pieces, she let her eyes fall onto the boy she hadn't stopped thinking about all morning. She couldn't quite decipher what the group was saying as their laughter drowned out any comprehensible syllables, though that didn't quite matter to her, as the slight upward curve of Draco's lips suddenly became the most important thing that she should keep her attention focused on.
For a brief moment, Draco took his eyes away from Blaise and went to quickly steal another glance at Arden, but was both shocked and thrilled to see that she was already staring back at him. His mouth hung open slightly in shock, his posture suddenly straight. He had been thinking of her eyes and her lips for the past few hours, yet seeing her face again still caused his skin to heat up. Staring into her eyes again, he felt stupid for sitting in the dungeon and comparing them to the scales of fish, for they were far more bewitching. Just the sight of her lips had his brain going fuzzy, and it wasn't because of his lack of sleep. Again, he began wondering just how was it possible that this girl occupied his mind like this; they'd only been separated for a few hours, but it felt like they'd been apart for years.
"Arden, you still playing?" Ron asked, noticing that Arden had appeared to have zoned out when pondering her next move. She blinked, and reluctantly looked away from Draco -which unbeknownst to her, caused his lit up face to fall immediately- and focused her eyes back on her chess board. Without thinking, she moved her bishop piece, prompting a quick response from Lena. A quick glance up, Arden spotted Draco still staring, this time, his expression was one more serious. His eyes diverted down at the chessboard, then back to Arden's eyes. He mouthed "E6" to her, giving her an affirmative nod as she moved her hovering hand from her rook to her bishop. Arden looked away from Draco, moving her piece to the square he had mouthed to her.
"Oh my god," Lena muttered, staring at the piece Arden had moved.
"What?" Arden asked.
Ron stood up, his hands that were tensely placed upon his head now raised in the air in victory.
"THAT'S CHECK!" He exclaimed, grinning as he began shaking Arden's shoulders with loving vigour. Arden stared down at the board and noticed her bishop was in direct line to taking Lena's king, which had no room to move to a space that was safe from one of Arden's pieces.
Lena let out a groan of defeat, throwing her head back and covering her face in her hands. Meanwhile Arden got up from her seat and jumped up and down, spinning in circles as her and Ron celebrated her very first chess win. Sitting back down after her moment of celebration, she looked over at Draco, who had an expression of utter adoration on his face. The sight of her jumping around, giggling, smiling, celebrating a victory -that he helped with no less- had his heart swelling. He couldn't help but feel validated with his previous pang of jealousy that he would be a much better person to teach Arden chess, but he didn't let that thought fester, as he wanted to focus on watching Arden be happy.
Pansy caught glimpse of Draco being not at all subtle with his feelings. With a kick to his ankle, she brought his attention to her instead of Arden. For a moment, Pansy felt her stomach drop at the terrifying scowl Draco was giving her for having taken his attention away from the one thing that seemed to make Draco happy, however that feeling passed as she was only trying to protect him.
"Just trying to prevent the entire school from seeing you drool, Draco," Pansy whispered cooly. Draco opened his mouth to argue, but instead groaned in annoyance, knowing Pansy was right. "When are you going to say something to her?"
"I can't just walk on over to her right now can I?" Draco spat, to which Pansy rolled her eyes.
"You leave and wait outside the hall. I'll go over there and collect Oxton so that Diggory will end up leaving and you two can have your moment," Pansy explained. Draco sighed, then nodded in agreement, leaving to wait outside of the Great Hall. Pansy then got up from the Slytherin table and walked over to where Arden and Lena were sitting, ignoring the bitter look on Ron's face as she approached them.
She leaned down to Lena's ear, mattering the plan to get Arden out of the hall where Draco was waiting for her. Lena stifled a giggle upon hearing Pansy's plan.
"Pansy just told me about Blaise and his unfortunate state," Lena lied, emphasising her words so Arden understood Lena was referring to the fire whiskey, while Ron remained completely clueless.
"So what, you two are going to make him feel worse?" Arden chuckled.
Lena sighed, standing up from the table. "Nah, what kind of step-sister would I be if I let him fester in sickness and have a letter sent home?" Lena hummed. Arden rolled her eyes. Something about Lena's tone told her that she wasn't telling the truth, and judging by the stifled giggles coming from Pansy, it only confirmed Arden's suspicions.
However, Arden perceived the lie as Lena excusing herself to spend more time with Pansy.
"Alright I get it," Arden sighed. "Off you two go," she sang, smirking at Lena. Pansy's eyes widened and her cheeks grew hot; while thankful Arden bought the lie, she was extremely flustered by her belief of what the lie was covering.
"Meet you at the library later?" Lena asked Arden, to which she nodded in response. Lena and Pansy then took off to the Slytherin table, taking their seats beside Blaise where they watched Arden intently from across the hall.
Ron stared at Arden quizzically. "The hell was going on there?"
"Pretty sure Lena likes Pansy," Arden answered, chuckling at Ron's look of disgust.
"How in the hell are they a match? They're like, complete opposites!" Ron exclaimed. Arden simply shrugged, eating the last piece of her chocolate chip muffin before she stood up.
"I'm heading to the library to study for the O.W.L's, you wanna study with me until Lena comes later?" Arden asked.
Ron groaned, "bloody hell has Hermione rubbed off on you or something? She's there right now too, Merlin knows why, this early on a Sunday."
"I'll take that as a no?" Arden chuckled. Ron nodded, getting from his seat before going back to the Gryffindor table, waving Arden goodbye as he did so. Arden sighed, turning on her heels before heading out of the hall. She planned to retrieve her books from her dorm before finding Hermione at the library after Ron had told her she was there.
However a low voice calling her name completely changed her pathing.
She turned to the source, finding Draco leaning against the bricked wall adjacent to the hall door, out of sight from everyone at their tables. There was a glint in his eye that told her he was hesitant to speak, his hands buried deep in his pockets confirming so.
"Draco..." Arden breathed out, her shoulders that she didn't know were tended relaxing instantly. She took a hesitant step forward, moving herself out of sight from those in the Great Hall. Draco stared down at her, his fingers toying with the fabric in his pockets as he desperately tried to find the words to speak to her.
"Are you feeling well?" Draco managed to say, his chest swelling with anxiety.
Arden nodded. "Yeah I'm alright, I didn't really have much to drink last night," she chuckled. "Yourself?"
Draco sighed, "I've been worse."
There was a silence between them that was painfully awkward to endure. Draco felt like fighting a starving Hungarian Horntail would be less torturous than facing Arden in this moment. Why was it suddenly so difficult to speak to her? He couldn't stand feeling so small.
"Thanks for the chess tip," Arden finally spoke, her expression lighting up at the recent memory. "I'm not a chess player, that was the first game I ever won."
Draco let out a breathy laugh, "I'm glad. You know I'm a pretty good chess player myself," he added.
Arden raised a brow. "Are you now?" She mused.
"Certainly, I'm well regarded as an expert player," Draco said, shrugging his shoulders, though the smugness of his tone contradicted his modest posture.
"I'm sure you are, which is why I've never heard of such a thing until now," she quipped. The two of them laughed together, Draco feeling as though her laugh was more melodic than any song he'd ever heard. He looked down at her with a soft gleam in his eyes; how comforting it was to just be near her. There was another silence, this time however, it wasn't unbearable.
He removed one of his hands from his pockets, having his fingertips gently graze along hers. Arden felt a her cheeks and the tips of her ears flush a bright pink, the tips of her fingers feeling as though she'd dipped them into boiling water.
"I could teach you how to play sometime," Draco said, his voice just barely audible. "If you want..."
Arden looked up into Draco's cold eyes. Her heart was racing, so much so she wouldn't be surprised if he could hear it. She admired his sharp features, and how they managed to appear softened due to how he was looking back down at her. Flashes of their kiss appeared in her mind; oh how she wished to grab onto his cheeks and pull him in for another one, though the nature of their surroundings prevented her from doing so.
"I'd like tha-" Arden began, though the sounds of familiar voices caused her to jump back from Draco. Her expression of content was replaced by a scowl, one that Draco knew was fabricated, though that didn't make it hurt any less to see her look at him that way.
"I thought you were at the library?" Ron asked as he noticed Arden. Harry was by his side, making a quick glance at Arden before averting his eyes to a much too content looking Draco Malfoy. Despite the nasty way Arden's brows were furrowed in disgust, her eyes were telling a different story.
Having had a romantic history with her, Harry knew what that glint meant.
"I am!" Arden exclaimed. "I just-"
"Had this foul git harass you yet again?" Ron hissed, glaring daggers at Draco. Draco regained his posture, no longer leaning against the wall. He scoffed as he placed his hands back in his pockets, turning back towards the Great Hall.
"Enough playing white knight Weasley," Draco spat, "you look ridiculous sticking up for her." Draco felt his stomach churn; he couldn't attempt to say anything nastier about her, even if it meant being clear of any suspicion.
Ron did nothing but curse at Draco, grabbing Arden by her shoulder and turning her away, leading her and Harry to the library to meet up with Hermione. Draco however, turned to go back to the Slytherin table, where Pansy and Lena had straightened their postures noticing him in the entryway.
Draco wanted to kick himself, feeling as though his plan to discuss his feelings had completely failed. He turned back to get one more glance at Arden, to which his breath hitched as he noticed her turning back to glance at him also. They locked eyes once more for only a moment, feeling the world around them freeze at that very moment. How he wished to tear Weasley's hand off of Arden's shoulder and whisk her away himself. Where? he had no clue, just somewhere; somewhere where he could teach her chess, somewhere where they could talk to their heart's content, somewhere where they both could just be in each others' presence.
They both turned away, cheeks flushed and hearts racing. There was something unspoken between them in that moment, that told Draco everything he needed to know. It was going to be difficult, given the blockages in his path, one being his situation with Lena, another being his and Arden's public perception. However, he didn't care; whatever there was between him and Arden was worth the risk, even if his ego hated the idea of keeping it a secret.
Being so wrapped up in their thoughts about one another however, Draco and Arden failed to notice that Harry, with his easily distrusting self, noticed their shared glance, seeing the gleam of longing that Arden had once given him, instead being given to Draco. He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.
Harry was not going to let this happen.
~
Bruh...
anyway lol I changed Lena's faceclaim sry but like... it's been 2 years atp i don't think anyone noticed. uhm so??? sorry???? omfg. but like also heyyyy that's crazy that people are still reading my stuff. i'm very thankful for y'all. y'all's comments are so funny too (some are a tad foul tho like bruh they're babies don't say nasty shit).
i hope y'all have been okay, considering the last time i updated was PRE PANDEMIC era holy shit lmao. i do plan to finish this, arden and lena are my babies and i will do them justice but giving them the ending they deserve (which i've already started writing oops)
but yea! if you're still here, you're a real one fr. you deserve a veteran's discount. thanks for your support and kind words.
love y'all. see u soon w the next one xx