Little Memories

“You’re looking better,” Draco commented as he watched Charlotte finish up the last few bites of her plate. She slowly brought her eyes up from the plate and she gave a small sigh.

“It’s amazing how much better this place has made me feel,” she murmured as she took a sip of her drink. Draco noticed a small line of freckles across the bridge of her nose and how her cheeks looked a little red and sun kissed.

“What did you do all day?” He asked curiously, reaching over and taking her hand in his. She looked up at him with a wide, genuine grin, one that Draco couldn’t help but to return. Charlotte looked genuinely happy for the first time since she had been out of Azkaban.

“I gardened and listened to classical music,” she said happily, watching him closely as she gently squeezed his hand. Draco let out a small laugh and shook his head at the girl. “What?” She asked, the grin never falling from her features.

“I will never get why you love gardening so much,” he said, looking over at her. “I think you’re the only one I know who doesn’t act like a witch.” Charlotte let out a heavy sigh, biting her bottom lip.

“I’m not going to try to make you understand my love for gardening, Draco,” she said softly, looking over at him with a small smile as she lifted her glass to her lips and took a sip. “There’s an inexplicable pride that comes with knowing that I worked for my delicious vegetables and herbs.” Draco merely hummed and nodded a bit, noticing the light behind her eyes as she spoke of gardening and knew that it was something she thoroughly enjoyed.

“I wish you got the chance to do it more often if you love it so much,” he said, causing Charlotte’s smile to falter slightly as she watched him.

“It won’t be too long until I’m out of Hogwarts,” she said, an underlying sadness tainting her words. Draco watched her for a moment before glancing around the small house. His eyes connected with the record player and a wide grin curled his lips. He then looked back to Charlotte, who was watching him closely and biting her bottom lip.

“Come and dance with me,” he said happily. Her smile quickly returned as she let out a small laugh.

“What?” She asked, never thinking that Draco was inclined to dance.

“I wasn’t speaking Parseltongue, I want to dance with you,” he said jokingly, causing her to let out another laugh, as he stood from the table, Charlotte following after him. He continued to hold her hand as he walked over to the gramophone. Charlotte watched him with a humored smile as he dropped her hand and began to pick through the records.

“Why do you want to dance with me? I’m not much of a dancer and I don’t think you can dance at all,” she said softly, crossing her arms over her chest and looking over Draco slowly, her eyes lingering on his bum for a while.

“Because I don’t think we’ve danced together since your seventh birth-” He slowly glanced over his shoulder, noticing Charlotte’s eyes were not focused on his face but his backside. “Hey! Are you looking at my arse?” He exclaimed through laughter as he stood and turned around. Charlotte merely grinned mischievously and let out a small, fairy-like giggle.

“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before, Draco,” she staged whispered to him, scrunching up her nose slightly. Draco merely rolled his eyes and ‘tsk’-ed with faux-disapproval before turning around and beginning to pick through the records again. Charlotte let out another giggle as she leaned back against the couch, watching Draco with a small smile.

Finally, he picked out a record and placed it on the player, starting the rotation of the vinyl and placed the needle gently down onto the groove. The soft sound of muted trumpets from a record 1940’s slowly filled the room and Draco turned, grinning widely. He motioned for Charlotte to walk to him with one finger and she gladly obliged, pushing away from the couch and walking over to him. He slowly wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her as close to him as possible as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She pressed her cheek against his as they began to slowly sway from side to side, gently turning in a small circle as the relished the feeling of being so close to one another.

“This is one of my favorites,” Charlotte whispered in Draco’s ear with a small smile as she closed her eyes, soaking in the moment.

“I figured as much,” Draco replied just as softly, warming Charlotte’s neck with his breath. “It had the most worn case.” Charlotte merely let out a soft sigh as she slowly brushed her fingertips over the back of Draco’s neck, keeping her eyes closed as the moved slowly to the music. Draco found his senses filled with the still too-skinny girl as she moved with him; he could smell the sweet, yet spiced smell that she emanated, he could feel her warm body pressed flush against his, and he could hear her breathing gently in his ear, almost being drowned out by the music that was playing. Being this close to Charlotte, having her so near, was slowly intoxicating him.

The continued to dance with each other as the music played on, as the wind occasionally pressed against the sides of the small house. The fireplace, candles, and oil lamps continued to burn, causing a dim glow to light the room as the two danced. The music slowly came to a stop and the crackling noise came from the horn of the gramophone. Reluctantly, they took a step back from each other, yet Charlotte kept her hands at Draco’s neck and Draco kept his hands on Charlotte’s hips. They stared at each other for a few moments in silence, looking into each other’s eyes as if they held the secrets to the world within them.

Slowly, Draco’s eyes came to rest on the angry, red scar that ran down the middle of Charlotte’s chest as it peeked from the top of the lovely blue dress she was wearing. He glanced back up to her eyes to find that she was watching him closely, her pale pink lips parted slightly as she drew in air. He lifted his hand and tentatively traced his fingertips down the burning hot scar, feeling her pulse racing against his fingertips as an almost inaudible gasp escaped her. His eyes followed his fingertips before he glanced back up to Charlotte’s eyes.

He was the cause of her heart pounding so fast. He was the reason her heart was beating in the first place. If the Dark Lord had still been the one in control over the beating of her heart, Draco felt like Charlotte would have been gone a long time ago. He kept his fingertips pressed against the scar as he looked into her eyes. In a flash, the two of them leaned in and pressed their lips against the other’s softly, yet with great need. Charlotte pulled Draco closer to her and Draco pulled Charlotte closer, their lips moving slowly against each other.

Soon enough, neither of them knowing how they had moved across the floor, Charlotte found her back pressed against the wall and their tongues moving languidly against each other’s. She let out a soft moan and wrapped her legs around his waist, kicking off her slippers as she did. Draco pressed her harder against the wall as he held her up by her bare thighs, her dress had slid up when she had thrown her long, thin legs around his waist. Charlotte couldn’t have care less about her modesty at the moment. He gripped her bare skin tightly, yet gently, knowing that he would never want to let her or this moment go.

Draco pulled away from her swollen, red lips and slowly trailed kisses down her neck as he pressed her against the wall even more so that he could use his hands to peel off her sweater. Once he removed the knit article of clothing his hands returned to the underside of her thighs as her fingers made quick, yet shaky work of undoing the buttons of his black oxford shirt. Soon, his pale chest was exposed and he pulled away, looking slowly over the bare, sunburned skin on her shoulders. On her left forearm, he could see the brand that was given to her so long ago, yet on the inside of her right bicep, there was another brand. In black ink, there was a crude set of ruin-like tattoos, little characters all in a row. He knew what those were from; her stay in Azkaban.She had been numbered, just like his father and his aunt had been numbered. Draco found himself leaning forward, keeping his eyes glued to Charlotte’s, and pressing his lips delicately against the tattoo, as if he were kissing a child’s wound.

“I love you,” Charlotte breathed, her chest heaving air in and out with their exertions. Draco pulled away from her arm and rested his forehead against hers, staring deep into her eyes.

“I love you more,” he replied through a big exhale of air. A small, reassuring smile curled Charlotte’s lips as she pressed her lips against his, regaining the delicate touches that had been forgotten in the passion and heat of everything. Charlotte found her back leaving the wall as Draco’s strong arms held her up. Draco felt around blindly for the doorknob to her room, since he was still putting most of his focus on kissing Charlotte back. His fingers soon found the cool metal doorknob and he pushed open the door to the room.

Draco soon laid Charlotte down on the bed, detaching their lips for a moment to shrug off his shirt. He then hovered over her body, her legs still wrapped around his waist as if she were afraid of letting him go, using his arms to brace himself on either side of her. In the dim light of the room, he could see her staring up at him and the slight blush of color across her cheeks. Slowly, he grabbed the hem of Charlotte’s dress and slowly began to pull it up and over her head. The sight of seeing her newly exposed skin caused Draco’s heart to race even faster.

“You’re so gorgeous,” he breathed as he slowly looked over her thin frame, knowing it looked almost like it used to. He then leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers as he kicked off his shoes as her fingertips trailed down his chest to the button and zipper of his trousers. It was then they knew that nothing would interrupt them. They were alone, in a cottage, on the coast of Ireland, far away from civilization. They had each other to themselves, finally, and they were going to take as much time as they needed to show the other just how much they loved each other.