The Sunrise of My Heart

Early Tuesday morning, Madam Pomfrey finally decided I was stable enough to leave the Hospital Wing and go to my classes. I had to get up a little earlier than I normally would have, simply because I had to walk all the way down to the dungeons to get ready. That was fine with me, though. I liked Hogwarts when everyone else was asleep. It was so peaceful. So I set off, walking at a leisurely pace because it was only 5:00 a.m. I may have gone a little overkill on the whole waking up early thing.
When I got to the Slytherin common room, I stopped, peering into the darkness. I was pretty damn sure someone else was in there with me, which was kind of odd for Slytherins. Most Slytherins tend to sleep in as late as possible. I realized which Slytherin was the only one that would be sitting in the dark common room alone so early.
"Draco?" I called out softly.
"Carson," he answered. Last name? Ooh, he was mad at me.
"What are you doing up so early?" I asked as I walked over to the couch he was lounging on. He had his back propped up against the arm rest, with his legs extended over the rest of the couch.
"I couldn't sleep, so I came down here to be alone with my thoughts," he answered, giving me a pointed look.
"What thoughts?" I cheerfully ignored his pointed look.
"It doesn't concern you. Now go up to your dorm." He gave me a very cold look.
I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms. "Is that a command?"
"Yes, it is."
I stared at him for a few moments before stepping over and laying down on him.
"This again?" he asked, exasperated. "Will you stop doing this?"
"No. I will continue to lay on you until you stop complaining about it."
"I'm always going to complain about it," he said.
"Then I'm always going to lay down on you," I answered in a cheerful voice.
"Why are you so...?" He frowned, thinking of the right word to describe me.
"Funny? Determined? Touchy-feely?"
"Irritating!" he snapped, putting his hand on my mouth to shut me up.
I tried so hard to resist the urge to lick his hand. I really did. But when someone covers your mouth with their hand, especially someone who will get so worked up over it like Draco would, you just have to lick the hand. So I did.
"Eugh! What the hell was that?" He jerked his hand away from me, looking really horrified.
"You had it coming," I said unapologetically. "Oh, quit being such a baby and just wipe it off on the couch."
He chose, however, to wipe it off on my arm. "They're your germs, so you get to be the thing I wipe them off on."
I rolled my eyes but let him continue wiping his hand off on my arm, all the while muttering about how disgusting I was.
"Oh, please," I said. "You were perfectly fine with having my mouth germs in your mouth. But your hand is suddenly a weird place for me to lick?"
"Would you want me to lick your hand?"
"Well, I might not like it, but I won't be a baby about it."
He glared at me. "I'm not being a baby about it."
"Really? Because you look like a baby from where I'm standing."
"You're not even standing. You're bloody laying on me."
"Whatever, figure of speech. You know what I meant."
"I still disagree about me acting like a baby."
"Then let me lick your hand again."
"What? No. How on earth does that prove anything?"
"It proves that you're not being childish and over-reacting about something small."
"I'm not letting you lick me again."
"Baby," I challenged.
"Nutter," he answered.
"Jerk."
"Freak."
"Poof."
"Watch it," he warned, narrowing his eyes at me.
I, in turn, rolled my eyes. "So touchy about that subject. There's nothing wrong with liking boys. I like boys, and it's totally fine!" I beamed at him.
He rubbed at his temples like he suddenly had a headache. "I'm not even going to begin getting into that discussion with you," he muttered.
"You, my dear ferret, need to loosen up. We should get shitfaced this weekend."
"What the hell is shitfaced?" he asked, looking at me nervously. Like I was actually gonna rub his face in shit or something. Come on, I'm not that weird.
"Slobbering, stinking, stumbling all around drunk."
"I'll pass."
"You don't really have an option here. I'm getting you drunk with or without your compliance. You might as well agree."
He sighed deeply. "And how do you plan on getting alcohol?"
"Madam Rosmerta has a cute nephew who works at the Three Broomsticks on Friday nights. I have it on good authority that he's attracted to me."
Draco scoffed. "And who's authority do you have it on?"
"His, actually. He's a shameless flirt. Come on, we'll go to the Three Broomsticks, get him to give us loads of firewhiskey, and drink ourselves stupid! It's good for you, trust me!"
"Hmm... As appealing as breaking numerous school rules and risking expulsion to get drunk while you shamelessly flirt with some bloke all sound, I'm still gonna have to say no to you."
"Why?"
"I don't see the point in it."
"Aww, does the thought of me flirting with a cute guy make you jealous?" I smiled sweetly at him, knowing it would annoy him.
"I really couldn't care less who you flirt with. I'd just rather not waste my time drinking with a foolish girl and her newest prey."
"You're being extra mean to me this morning. Are you still pissed off about what happened in the Hospital Wing?"
"Why would I care about that?" he asked, his voice getting harsher. Yup, struck a sour not with him.
"Because I didn't tell them to shut their mouths, and I didn't ask you to stay." I was no longer speaking in a bright, cheerful voice because the topic was no longer bright or cheerful.
He sneered at me. "As if something so stupid would bother me."
I sighed and shook my head. His hands were resting on the couch by his sides, so I reached down and grabbed them. He started to pull them away, but I tightened my grip. "I'm sorry I didn't tell Ron he was wrong when he said no one wanted you there. I'm always happy to have your company. You really should have figured that out by now."
"And who says I want your company?" he asked, still giving me that cold sneer of his. But his voice was less harsh.
"No one ever has. But I can tell that you do. Sometimes you don't like that you want my company, but that doesn't change the fact that you still want me around. But I think you're afraid of me."
He gave a cold laugh. "Why would I be afraid of you? There's nothing frightening about you at all, except your ability to talk to people no matter how much they wish you'd shut up."
"You're afraid of me because I pry into your personal business. I try to tear down the icy fortress you've built around your heart, and you don't like it. Are you even aware that whenever I start to peel apart your layers, you get defensive and mean? And you sneer. A lot."
"Maybe it's because I simply want you to shut up and back the hell off," he said, looking like he really would very much like me to shut the hell up.
"Probably," I agreed, refusing to shut up, "but that, too, is probably because you don't want me to get too close. You shut everyone out because if someone matters to you and has access to your heart, then they can hurt you. Or other people can use them to hurt you. Either way, it's best not to get too close to others. Because you got close to me when we dated, but that caused a lot of complications and problems. And then it didn't even work out. All of that opening up and letting someone in, just to have them walk right out again. And then, just when it seems like things between us are good again -maybe not in the same way, but still, we were close again- I turned around and pretended like it didn't matter. It must have made you so angry when I did that. And maybe a little hurt too. Am I right?"
"So what if you are?" he snapped, refusing even now to let his guard down. "All it means is that you know there's no point in all this useless trying you do to get me to open up. I have sealed everything away, and nothing you can do will change that." The smirk he gave me was so icy and biting, I was sure it could have frozen a fire. But it did not deter me. Taking a deep breath, I let go of his hands and moved mine further up the couch, propping myself up so my chest hung just an inch or two above his. Then, I leaned forward and kissed him.