The manner in which the Great Hall was exited became a trend. With all the Slytherins heading for their common room in a crowd at the front, with [F/n] Potter tagging along slightly behind, all alone, with Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini completely behind, watching her in her lonesome manner. Blaise indeed could not repress his smile as he continuously patted Draco's back, gesturing towards the girl in front of them, whilst Draco simply walked along with, either his stern face, or the occasional ridiculous smile at Blaise's energetic self.
"I'm so happy for you two," Blaise exhaled, "it's been so long. You know - it hasn't been easy being pulled back and forth by you and Potter."
"Pulled back and forth?"
"One minute I hear you sopping over her: Oh, my [F/n]! I wonder how she is! If she still loves me! And then the next, being pulled by her and cried to over your bitch ass."
"She's cried over me?" Draco asked, turning to Blaise in surprise.
"Cried over you!" Blaise scoffed. "Boy, you are dumb."
"Why did she cry?"
"Well, off the top of my head ... one of the reasons was at the start of the sixth year. She said she caught you breaking Harry's nose and then spitting their mother's death in his face. She was not at all pleased, and when I left with her, she cried to me about it."
"I didn't know that ... I hurt her that much," Draco whispered, pursing his lips as he looked ahead of himself at the lonely Slytherin pacing the hallways, looking around in her own fantasy.
"She was not at all pleased about how you acted around Addington."
"Yeah, I know about that." Draco sighed. "I told her that we kissed."
"How did she react?"
"She just ... smiled and drank to it."
Blaise could not help but laugh. "That does sound like something she'd do."
"Now the whole school knows," Draco added.
"Yeah - how do you feel about that?"
"Good. I hope all the boys stay away from her."
"How does it feel to be dating the ... [F/n] Potter! The girl who lived. The girl who survived the darkest wizard of all time, and is now prepared to single-handedly destroy him herself, despite being that fucking tiny."
Draco smiled lightly. "It's ... yeah, it's quite alright, I say. When we were together at the Malfoy Manor, it was really fun. We wouldn't even have to be talking or anything; we just sat and did our own things, but it was nice just to know that [F/n] Potter is right next to me. Often, I would be sitting and studying and she'd be on my bed reading. And ... there's nothing more pleasing than going to bed knowing that it won't be empty."
"It seems like you had a fun Christmas holiday!"
"Yeah - especially the part where you went to see Ginny."
"Look - I told you! We were just discussing meeting up and she told me in a letter that Potter had probably died in a fire, and if she had not, then she most likely died at the hands of a Death Eater. I was interested, so we arranged to meet up. Simple as that."
By the time everyone reached the Slytherin common room, many Slytherins hung around, including the very group of girls who despised you possibly more than you cared about them. And, as you crossed the common room to get to the dorms, so that you could ensure all your belongings were where you'd left them, you were unpleasantly stopped by not one, not two, not three! But four (a new addition!) girls. Olivia Marleigh was the new addition; she stood beside the three girls you typically recognised, with her hands folded over her chest, looking at you as bitterly as the other three always had. And Pansy Parkinson, Ana Addington, and Millicent Bulstrode continued to sneer at you.
"What was that performance about?" Pansy scoffed.
Looking at them, you could not help but feel a light smile playing upon your lips. Their bitterness was only your victory, and thus you could not help but be forced to repress your ridiculous snickering.
"Don't you realise he's one of us?" Ana laughed lightly.
"That's very nice," you nodded at them, acknowledging their words but caring very little, as you attempted to swerve and walk around them, only for them to move again to block your pathway.
From behind, Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini had entered finally, and stood at the door of the common room watching the matter between you and the girls which hated you so deeply. This was bound to happen - Draco also knew that he was next, to get slaughtered by the girls, and then his friends, such as Crabbe, Goyle, Flint ... and any other Slytherin which despised [F/n] Potter. He, of course, cared very little, and there was a reason why the two of you worked so well: because you gave zero fucks too.
"Very nice? I don't think ... I don't think you understand what's actually happening here," Ana laughed, fury overtaking her at your carelessness.
"I guess I don't. Can I go past?"
"You know - Draco and I kissed!" Ana cried out.
"Wait, you did?" Pansy immediately turned to her with furrowed brows.
"I'll leave you to it," you flashed Millicent and Olivia a wink as Ana and Pansy engaged in a verbal brawl over Ana's sudden words, giving you the easiness of grinning to yourself and sneaking around them.
It was not long until all Slytherins had settled in, giving Crabbe, Goyle, Flint, and another friend of Draco's, Christopher Forse, the easiness of seeking Draco out and confronting him. By the time of this occurrence, most Slytherins had either left the common room or gone to their dorms, meaning scarcely anyone actually sat in the common room now. Draco was sitting with Blaise at the table, discussing what they had done over the holidays, when the four boys approached the two at the table. Goyle, by far, proved the angriest as his face boiled with disappointment and fury.
"What the hell, Malfoy?" Goyle spat out. "Kissing Potter? Really?"
"And?" Draco asked with a roll of his eyes, looking up at Goyle from his slouched position on his chair.
"I thought it was a mutual agreement that we hate her."
"I mean, maybe you do."
"And you?"
"She's my girlfriend, Goyle."
Goyle's eyes widened further. "Your girlfriend?"
"You're all so slow," Blaise sighed.
"Slow?" Flint scoffed. "It's just Malfoy getting ahead of himself. Is this just you trying to find your own worth? By proving that you can get the well-known Potter brat?"
"First of all," Draco sighed, "only I'm allowed to insult her, so watch what you call her."
Flint pursed his lips, slightly backing down at Draco's harsh and dominant tone over his friends.
"Second of all, no - it's not. Not that you deserve an explanation anyway, but quite frankly I did fall in love her. I know - shocker. Can we just move on? It's not that deep anyway."
"We're just a bit surprised," Goyle sighed, "when did you even have the time to fall in love with her?"
"He did not stop insulting her openly quite a while ago," Crabbe added, taking a seat at the table.
"A lot happens behind closed doors ... or at least, when it gets dark at Hogwarts," Blaise added with a knowing grin at Draco.
All the boys sighed, realising that Draco really was dating [F/n] Potter and they could not do anything about it. The best thing for them to do now was suck it up and pray that Draco would allow them to bully you anyway. Truth be told, Draco was unlikely to stop them from bullying you, for he knew you were weird and enjoyed the thrill of drama; you loved arguing and even fighting, thus he promised himself to only intervene if absolutely necessary, or if you asked him to. Finally, a conversation between all boys ensued.
"You should've stayed with Pansy," Goyle added.
Immediately, Draco and Blaise burst into a fit of laughter, holding onto their stomachs from the ridiculous suggestion.
"But, the question we should be asking," Christopher Forse began, "is whether it's actually serious between the two?"
"Hah!" Blaise cried out. "I'd be damned if it wasn't serious. I didn't listen to this absolute sop whine about her for months for nothing. Man's practically followed her to places he shouldn't have; followed her to places where ... he could've died. He's even developed a liking towards muggles for her."
"Shut up."
"Don't be shy, daddy Draco," Blaise grinned, "does she call you daddy?"
"Blaise, I swear to - "
"Tell them about your recent theatre doing, Mr Malfoy!" Blaise beamed, knowing that Draco's cheeks were rising to a bright red of embarrassment.
"I'm confused," Goyle sighed, looking back and forth between Blaise and Draco. "Can you at least explain how it all started between the two of you? And when?"
Draco sighed, knowing that he was bound to explain it to them sooner or later. "The start of the fifth year. That time that we hung up all those posters that I rejected her ... yeah, it started then."
"How?" Flint asked.
"I slept with her."
All eyes immediately widened at this. Jaws became loose as all the boys fell pale in disbelief at Draco's words. Partly, Draco could not help but feel his teenage spirit grow its confidence. He knew damn well how many boys could only dream about touching you, yet here he was, capable of kissing you, touching, sucking, licking, embracing any part of you. Hell - you would even ask of him to do it! There was perhaps nothing more satisfying about this knowledge, that whilst these boys could only dream, Draco lived out every moment of it. He lived the moment of hearing his own name moaned by your voice, into his ear, your own skin shuddering at the feel of his touch. It was him who had this kind of power over you; it was him who was important to you.
"You've actually ... slept?"
"Yes, Forse, I fucked her."
All the boys gulped at Draco's easiness of stating this, as opposed to Blaise who sat in his seat with a proud grin, knowing that he'd been present there from day one and thus watched the love story uncover itself gradually.
"Since then, it started to happen more and more often. Somehow ... we started spending more time together, spending nights together, sneaking around together. I realised how much I care about that little bitch ... and then we spent a weekend in London ... and I began to realise that it's her that I want to stay with forever. I could not picture her with anyone but myself, just like I couldn't picture myself with anyone but her."
"It's true," Blaise added, "they went everywhere together. It was real cute. I shipped it from day one."
"On the last day of the fifth year, we both told each other we're in love with each other," Draco sighed, "but at the start of the sixth year ... things didn't go quite to plan, and we hit a bit of a rough patch. Yet, somehow ... we still made it and realised that, after all, we just ... we want to be together. So yes, I asked her to be my girlfriend on new year's."
"So you're telling me ... the two of you have been mingling with each other for a year, and we had no clue?"
"Precisely."
"Well ... at least you were good at hiding it," Goyle sat back in his chair, surprised at the news.
"We also fucked everywhere in this room," Draco grinned.
"Not these chairs though, right?"
"Very much these chairs."
Immediately, Flint, Goyle, Crabbe and Forse shot up from their seats, staring at Draco in disgust. Meanwhile, Draco could not help but smile victoriously at Blaise, who also bathed in their reactions as he proceeded to laugh.