Playlist:
Hypnotic - Zella Day
Water Fountain - Alec Benjamin
Feel So Close - Calvin Harris
Are You With Me - nilu
Echo - Jason Walker
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Y U L E B A L L
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Mal's POV
Everything had been a frenzy. We all were getting ready for the big night. Ginny, Mione, Luna, and I were excited and nervous all at once, I could tell by how fast we were all talking.
No one is expecting Mione's date. Ron's jaw is going to drop. I felt honored to be the only one who knew.
"You both look great!" Ginny hugged Mione and me, having finished getting herself ready.
"Thank you and you don't look anything less than beautiful." Hermione responded, blushing a bit at the compliemnt.
Ginny turned to me. "Mal, I'm glad you're going with someone like Cedric, who actually deserves you. Malfoy can only bring bad things into your life." Right. "I swear I should Avada Kedavra him for what he did to you." Ginny expressed her frustration as she recalled the "agreement" I told her about.
"GINNY!" Mione smacked her arm.
Ginny winced. "Ow... it's true. He really screwed up. So it's good you're going with Cedric, show Malfoy what he's missing." But what if I wish he wasn't missing it?
"Let's go!" I heard Luna call and I waved her and Ginny forward.
"Give me a minute." I leaned on the vanity and felt Mione come up behind me to hug me.
"Are you alright?" She whispered. "I'm sorry about Malfoy. I heard he's taking Pansy."
"Pantsy." I corrected her.
"Right," she laughed, "he's taking Pantsy. What an odd insult. Anyway, he doesn't know what he's missing out on. You are way too good for him." I smiled faintly at her attempt at cheering me up. I don't want to be too good for him. I want us to be good for each other.
"Yeah." I nodded in agreement.
"Cedric is so lucky to have someone like you with him. Beauty and brains Mal." She tapped my forehead.
"Beauty, Brains, and Badass." She laughed and nodded, agreeing with me.
"The 3 B's." I smiled and linked her arm with mine.
"Shall we?"
"We shall." We walked nervously, arm in arm to head to the grand hall entrance into the Yule Ball.
As I descended the stairs I saw him. Standing there. He looks so handsome. He had on an all black suit, with a pretty high collar. His hair was swept to the side so some strands were covering a small part of his beautiful and defined face. I stared at him in awe.
Draco's POV
Wow. I don't think I've ever seen anything that compares to this woman. She looks gorgeous. I watched as she descended the stairs with the other Granger, who didn't look bad either. But Kat... I mean... she looks exquisite.
I stood, watching how her sleek emerald green dress fit on her body, hugging it in all the right places. It exposed her shoulders and it's deep neckline brought an emphasis to her features that immediately made me want to go over and cover her with my jacket. But how could I? When despite how beautiful her emerald dress looked on her, or how the slit on her left leg was making me go crazy, or the neckline made some of her best features accentuate, or how part of her dark red hair was braided on the top, making it look like she was wearing a crown, and the rest was curled, flowing beautifully down her shoulders, yet the most beautiful thing about her was her face.
Her smile radiated happiness into whatever room she walked into, yet it still had the devilish charm that I'd seen since the day I met her. Her beautiful amber eyes were kind, demonstrating how pure her heart really was. The deep, tiny dimples that formed on her cheeks when she smiled made me want to kiss each one of them. I looked her up and down. I observed her. Everything about her. She is beautiful.
I saw her falter a little on her step, and realized she was looking at me. I laughed quietly. This woman looks gorgeous, and yet she is in awe of how I look. That's when I knew. She is the woman I am going to spend my life with, even if hell freezes over, she will still be mine. No one and nothing will ever separate us. Not even death.
I began heading over to her as she got closer to the end of the stairs, shoving everyone in my way, despite their complaints. She was a step away from me when someone stepped directly in front of me. I glared at this intruder with a death wish. Bloody Diggory. It had to be you.
"You are stunning, Mal." I watched as her face fell slightly when he stood in my way and almost pushed him out. She quickly regained her composure and gave him a blushing smile. But she didn't smile as big as she did when we were looking at each other.
"Thank you. You look great too." I watched as she nervously stepped away from Granger and linked her arm with Diggory's and fought against every fiber in my being to not pry him away from her. I watched as they filed in line with the other Triwizard Competitors until I was pushed along to go into the ball room before the competitors for their "grand entrance." She deserves it. I know she does, she deserves to have a grand entrance and have everyone stare at her beauty. She deserves to be with someone like Diggory, someone who won't ever hurt her. I know she deserves all of this. But I'm selfish. I want her for me. I want to be worthy of her.
My thoughts were interrupted when Parkinson came and took hold of my arm. She's supposed to be my date, better than having none after all. I cleared my throat and dragged her to the side with me, so I could get a clear view of Kat when she came in.
The doors flew open and I watched as each of the competitors and their dates filed in. Wait... Krum and Granger? Not bad. Gotta admit I'm a little impressed. I saw Kat come in with Diggory and forced myself to not move, not even to clap, because I knew that if I moved it would only be to take her away from him. Haha! Potter looks miserable with that Parvati girl. I grinned a little at the sight of Potter's look of nervousness and panic when the music started.
I forced myself to look at Kat and curled my hands into fists as I watched Diggory place a hand on her hip, pull her close to him, and start dancing. I can dance much better. I inhaled sharply as I saw Diggory pick her up and lift her into the air, watching as she laughed quietly. Finally it was the students turn to join in and I dragged Pansy with me to dance next to Kat and Diggory. Kat didn't even seem to notice as I danced with Pansy right next to them, she was too focused on something that Diggory was saying as they danced. He pulled her even closer in to him, so their bodies were touching as they danced, and whispered something in her ear. I lost it.
"Switch." I immediately told Diggory and ignored Pansy's complaints as I pushed her to him and pulled Kat in to dance with me. Kat looked confused for a second before she glared at me.
"Draco..." I put a finger on her lips.
"Kat, just shut up and dance. Alright?" She rolled her eyes at me but let me put my hand on her hip to lead her. She doesn't know what's coming.
While everyone else danced typically, slowly, I pulled her close to me and grinned when she gasped. I moved quicker, and enjoyed the feeling of her hips swaying to the sound of the music. As the song ended, I spun her around and dipped her, she surprised me by smiling and swaying herself up to be back to the position we started in, bringing her face so close to me as where I could feel her breathing.
The song ended and everyone clapped, I saw her familiar, bright smile and felt privileged to be the one that produced that smile. I decided to take advantage of my moment and pull her even closer to kiss her softly. Her smile immediately faded and she pushed me away.
"Seriously? What the hell Draco?" She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
"Kat I--" I suddenly stumbled back when I felt someone push me.
"Get off of her, Malfoy. It's over. I won." Ooo. Poor word choice there asshole. She's about to eat you alive.
"You 'won'?!" Diggory visibly got smaller at the anger dripping in Kat's voice. "I am not a prize to be 'won' over, Cedric."
"Of course not. I'm sorry Mal, you know I didn't mean it like that..."
"Why does everyone just assume they can justify speaking to me like that. 'You know what I mean'? Screw that. If you mean something else then you say something else. Simple."
"You should've known by now Diggory. She hates that shit. She's a devout feminist." I slung my arm over her shoulders but she pushed me off.
"I declined one jerk's invite to the ball" she gestured at me, "just to go with another one. Unbelievable." She turned back to look at Diggory. "I'm gonna go get a drink."
"I'll come with you." Diggory and I both said and glared at each other at the same time.
"No. I'm going to go alone because neither one of you is going to ruin my night. It's freaking Christmas. I'm enjoying it." She turned around and left Diggory and me standing there, both of us speechless at her choice.
Mal's POV
I took my drink and went to sit next to Harry and Ron on the table's seats.
"Fun night isn't it?" I said as I took a swing of my drink.
"Yeah, bloody brilliant." Harry took the drink from my hands and took a swing.
"Did you know?" Ron suddenly spoke up, anger evident in his tone.
"Know what?"
"That Hermione's date was... Victor Krum?" He spit out the name.
Jealous much?
I pursed my lips into a smile. "Oh yeah, awesome isn't it?"
"Yeah, real bloody awesome." Ron took the drink from Harry's hand and took an even bigger swing.
I shrugged. "You should've asked her when you had the chance. I mean, asking her as a last resort? That's really screwed up, even for you."
"Who ever said I wanted to go with her?" Harry and I both turned to look at him skeptically.
"You did." We both replied at the same time.
"No! I simply think her and Krum aren't a good match. That's all." He tried to defend himself in vain.
"As opposed to... let's say... you and Mione?" I asked and snatched my drink away before he took another swing.
He hesitated. "No... shut up Mal."
"Alright... not fair. This drink was a real drink. I needed that. Now one of you is going to go get me a new drink cuz there's none left." I turned my cup over and shook it, demonstrating it's empty. "Who's it going to be?"
"I'll take care of that for you." I looked up and groaned when I saw Cedric take the empty cup from my hand.
"Ugh. It's you." Harry and Ron laughed at my rudeness.
"Alright... I'm going to pretend that didn't hurt my feelings." Cedric chuckled and pulled me up. "Let's go get you a drink."
"Did you not hear me? I said I didn't want either of you to come with me." Even I'm surprised with how rude I'm being. I guess I'm just tired of this.
"Just come Mal." He took my wrist and started pulling me.
What is it with people's manhandling? It's so bloody annoying.
"No!" I jerked away from him and he started to come grab me again but Harry and Ron stood up.
"She said no, mate. I think you better go." When Cedric made no attempt to move Harry stepped directly in the middle of both of us. "Now." He sighed and shoved the empty cup towards Ron, storming off.
"Bloody nice boys you pick Mal." Ron teased and went to grab me a drink, including one for Harry and himself. "Here you go."
"Thank you. I'm amazed at my choices too." We all sat down and started sipping on our drinks when someone else came up to me. Anyone wanna take a guess on who it was? Did I hear Draco? Ding ding ding we have a winner.
"Kat, can we talk?" He asked. I groaned and turned to Harry.
"Harry, let's go dance."
"I am not sure if—"
"Great! Let's go." I took his hand and pulled him off the seat.
"Okay... Sure why not? It's not like I specifically said I didn't want to." He rolled his eyes at me but smiled and got up, still holding onto my hand. Draco came up and held my other wrist.
"You wouldn't, Katerina." He glared at me and I held his stare.
"Watch me." I shook loose of Draco's hold and practically dragged Harry to the dance floor with me.
Harry's not bad. We danced swiftly and I laughed as we spun each other around quickly, testing each other to see who got dizzy first. Harry and I both looked over at Draco at the same time and laughed. If looks could kill Harry would definitely be dead by now.
"Wish to see something?" Harry grinned mischievously.
"You're about to do something bad aren't you?"
"Not bad... we're just going to stir up some trouble. Just play along, ok?" I smiled and nodded.
Harry pulled me closer to him and made me dance closer, constantly whispering in my ear his next move. He lifted me up and placed me back onto the ground gently, bringing me closer to him again and quickening the pace. He ended by dipping me and squeezing the side of my stomach, tickling me enough to make me laugh.
"Harry! I'm definitely getting you back for that later."
I suddenly felt a cold hand on the small of my back and rolled my eyes. I know exactly who this is. "Come, Katerina."
I rolled my eyes and stayed put. "What's the magic word?" Harry stifled a laugh and Draco glared at him.
"Please." He reluctantly whispered the word and I laughed.
"No."
He jerked back, confused and offended. "No?"
"No."
"But you made me say please." He insisted.
I smiled. "Yes, because it is what a decent human being says."
"Enough games Katerina, let's go." My teasing smile turned ice cold at his words.
I scoffed. "Games? I am the one playing games? Interesting."
"Can we please talk about this somewhere else?" I sighed and nodded, knowing he wouldn't give up anytime soon.
Harry took my hand softly. "Wait... Mal? Are you sure?" I nodded and with one final glare at Draco he let me go.
With Draco still guiding me by the small of my back, we went upstairs. He closed the door behind him and motioned for me to sit on his bed.
I shook my head and he rolled his eyes. "Fine. Don't be comfortable."
"Thanks, I won't." He tugged on his hair at my stubbornness but finally sighed and turned to talk to me.
"I'm sorry." He stated plainly.
"So you've said." I shrugged nonchalantly.
"But Kat-- I meant everything I said that night. And did. I mean, it definitely wasn't good for me to let them be there for it, but everything was real."
"Really? That's the best you've got? Why would I believe you?"
"Because Katerina" I could tell by his tone he was getting more frustrated with me by the second, "because I don't lie." I raised an eyebrow at him and he quickly began again, "I mean I did, but I don't want to anymore. Not to you. Everything was real. We -- us -- we're real."
I felt frustration rise up my body at listening to him. "How can I be sure of that?"
"You've just got to trust me!" He raised his voice at me and I got even more mad.
"Trust you? Where the hell has trusting you ever gotten me?!" I yelled back. He rubbed face with his hands and sighed loudly.
"I'm trying Kat. I really am." Defeat clouded his voice. "A relationship can't go anywhere without mutual trust. I trust you. And I'm promising you you can trust me from now on."
"I know. It's just--" I fumbled with my charm bracelet nervously, refusing to look at him, "I'm scared."
His eyes softened at hearing me reveal the truth. "Of me? I would never hurt you Kat, not physically."
I shook my head. "No, I know that. But the truth is, you did hurt me, emotionally. A lot. You fucked me up, Draco. And I'm scared you will do so again." He came up to me and took my hands softly.
"I can't promise you I won't." My face fell but he tugged on my hands gently to make me look at him, "Just like you can't promise you would never hurt me. What I can promise you is that I will try my best. The thing is Kat, when two people who by every written definition are supposed to hate each other, don't, that's something special. I feel this almost magnetic pull to you and I'm tired of fighting it. When I saw you coming down those stairs tonight, everything became clear to me. You are the only one for me. No one else could ever understand me or be there for me as you have. I love you Kat. I'm in love with you." I sighed and placed my head on his chest, not trying hard enough to fight the feeling of forgiveness creeping into my body.
"You're saying all the right things. That's exactly what I'm scared of." I confessed. "What if we make all these declarations and promises to each other and that just leads us to more disappointment?"
"Then we'll deal with them," he insisted, "and we'll address our problems, and we'll work it out. We'll communicate. But I can't stay away from you. And I also can't not be with you. I won't have it. I know there's other people out there, other guys that deserve you, but I'm selfish. I know I don't deserve you, but I want to eventually deserve you. I'll work my way there. All I ask is that you be by my side on the way there." I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. We stood there in silence for a couple moments, basking in the warmth of each other's touch after having gone without it for a while. "Will you forgive me, please? Would you be by my side as I work my way there?" I nodded against his chest. "I need a verbal response baby."
"I will. Always."
Draco POV
I felt a wave of relief flow through me at hearing her words. Always. She said always. I smiled and placed my chin on the top of her head, inhaling her wonderful scent. The amortentia a couple months ago had been a dead giveaway to her that she is the one that I fell for, she has to believe me. She does believe me.
I could still hear the music from the ballroom and smiled as a love song played. This'll be our song. I pried her arms away from my waist softly and put them around my neck, placing my own on each of her hips. I started swaying her to the rhythm of the slow song. This is so lame. She looked up at me and smiled, blushing a little at how intensely I was looking at her. She's beautiful, can you blame me? I saw her close her eyes and smile, feeling the music throughout her. Nevermind, this isn't lame. Nothing that makes her this happy could be. We continued like this, bodies pressed closed to each other and dancing swiftly to the sound of the music. The song -- our song -- finally ended and she hugged me tightly, placing her chin on my chest and looking up at me expectantly. I knew what she wanted but I decided to do nothing and see what she does.
"What are you waiting for?" She asked me.
"What?" Her brows furrowed together in annoyance and she sighed loudly.
"Kiss."
"Someone missed me." I teased.
"Shut up and kiss me fool." She got on her tiptoes and I gave her a small peck. I bit my lip to keep from laughing at her annoyance. "That's it? Boo, lame." She stuck her bottom lip out and pouted. This is why I love this woman.
I laughed lightly and bent down to tug on her bottom lip with my teeth. She gasped but laughed and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me closer to her. I smiled against the taste of her lips against mine and kissed her deeply. Finally. A month is way too long. She tugged on my hair and I couldn't help the small groan that escaped me, I felt her giggle a little and took the opportunity to slip my tongue in her mouth. We continued like this for a while and finally parted to get control over our breathing.
"I missed you." I rubbed the small of her back softly.
"And I missed you." She took my hand and led me over to my bed so we could both have a seat. "Can we promise some things to each other?" Oh god...
Despite the nerves I felt at her question, I felt myself nodding. "Sure." As soon as I said that she jumped off my bed and grabbed a small pen and notebook from my desk. I looked at her skeptically.
"We have to write it down to make it official." She explained. I rolled my eyes and leaned over to give her a small peck before letting her continue. "Okay... we have to communicate. No running from our issues. No matter how mad we are at each other we sit down and talk about it. No leaving."
"Alright." She looked at me curiously and I tapped her thigh, "write it down baby." She smiled at hearing my confirmation and wrote down 'No leaving.'
"You've got one?" She asked me and I took the pen and notebook from her hand.
"We tell each other the truth, no matter how bad it may be. We don't hide things from each other or lie." I saw a small look of fear cross her face before she regained her composure and nodded. I wrote down 'No hiding. No lying.' "Your turn." I gave her the pen and paper, she tapped the pen on her chin thoughtfully for a couple seconds.
"We surprise each other. Once in a while we do little things the other likes and appreciates."
"I like that." She smiled at my response and wrote down 'Stay spontaneous.'
"Any other requests?" She asked me and I pushed the notebook to the side and pinned her down on my bed quicker than even I thought I could.
"You tell me. What would you like me to do to you?" She covered her face with her hands to hide the redness I knew had creeped up her cheeks.
"I--I don't know." She was nervous. Holy shit. Never thought I'd see the day. "What do you want to do?"
"Baby don't ask me that because there are so many things I could do."
"I just..." She hesitated for a little, "I don't want us to rush. I don't want to take it really slowly either but... can we meet in the middle or something like that?"
She was being honest. I saw the nervousness in her face and couldn't bring myself to protest. I can wait, after all, I am planning on spending my life with her so what's the rush? I nodded and placed a gentle kiss on her lips before sitting up next to her and pulling her legs so that they rested on top of mine.
"So... now that we're talking about honesty... can you tell me about your nightmares? I don't want to push but I do want to know since you're going to be sleeping next to me every night and all." She raised her eyebrow at my comment.
"And what makes you think I'll be staying here every night?"
"Not yet, but trust me baby the day will come when you'll never want to leave, and I won't complain." She rolled her eyes at me and sighed.
"Ok... I guess it's time I tell you..."
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Mal's Look:
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