Little Memories

Charlotte continued to stare at Draco in bewilderment. He had managed to trick her and she fancied herself to be a rather perceptive person. But, perhaps that’s how he wanted this to play out. To make her think that he wasn’t going to do anything with her on Valentine’s Day, lead her to believe that some secret admirer wanted to spend the day with her, and then surprise her when he pulled back the curtain, so to speak. She let out a soft sigh and looked over at Draco, a small, cheeky grin curling at her red lips.

“So, are you going to show me what’s to come or just stand there smiling like an idiot?” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Draco let out a chuckle and took a step toward her, taking her wrists in his hands and uncrossing her arms, placing his gloveless hands in hers and intertwining their fingers. He looked down at her.

“There’s just one thing we need to do before leaving,” he murmured, looking into her eyes before slowly leaning forward and brushing his lips across hers, as if asking her permission. Charlotte immediately gave his hands a reassuring squeeze as she tilted her head toward his, brushing her lips back against his. At that moment, the wind slowly blew snowflakes around them, chilling both of them to the core but neither of them cared. They were warm enough from the rush of emotions that came over them the moment their lips touched in the most innocent of ways.

They pulled away after a few moments, the both of them feeling a bit breathless and lightheaded. Goofy grins curled their lips as they looked at each other, their cheeks tinted slightly. Whether it was from the cold or the feelings they unearthed with that simple, chaste kiss, they didn’t know. Draco kept one hand tightly wound in Charlotte’s as he turned and began to lead her down the winding staircase. He reached a landing about halfway down the staircases and pushed open a door to a long forgotten classroom, glancing back at Charlotte curiously to watch her reaction. Her eyes widened a bit and her mouth fell open.

“Draco…this is…” She was speechless for the second time that night and she was sure that it wouldn’t be the last time she’d feel like this in Draco’s presence tonight. The room, despite the rickety wooden door, looked as though it had been given the royal treatment. A fireplace roared on the far side of the semi circular room and there was a nicely polished, antique table in the middle of the room. Two chairs sat at either end of the surface, which was filled with a copious amount of food for the two of them. Candles lit the room with a soft yellow glow, illuminating the room and exposing just how spotless it appeared to be.

“Let’s have a seat before we let all the warmth out,” he said as he pulled Charlotte into the room and closed the door behind him, pulling out his wand and locking it with a flick of his wrist. Charlotte stepped into the room, glancing over table as she pulled off her gloved and stuck them into her coat pockets. The next to go was her beret, which hadn’t mussed her hair, surprisingly, and that went into the opposite pocket. Draco watched her closely as she used those slender fingers of hers to unbutton her jacket quickly and slip it from her shoulders. The smile Draco wore widened when he saw just how lovely she looked in the dress he’d asked his mum to get for her.

“I knew you’d look lovely in navy,” he said softly as he gently took her coat from her and draped it over the seat of a high-backed chair. Charlotte turned and looked at him, placing her hands on her hips and shooting him a playfully disapproving look.

“You seem to know everything, don’t you?” She asked, teasing him slightly. Draco smirked and shook his head, stepping toward her once more and slipping his hands to her waist, pulling her thin body against his. She arched willingly against him, yet her arms hung by her sides. He looked into her eyes as she let out a sigh, raising a brow up at him.

“And you seem to be a bit mouthy this evening,” he murmured, grinning crookedly. Charlotte merely grinned impishly up at him, yet didn’t say a word. They remained there for a moment in near silence, the wood crackling and the wind whipping against the side of the building being the only noise for the longest time. “We should eat,” he said softly, his blue-grey eyes darting over her sprite-like features. “Though, there really is no reason to rush…I’ve made sure we’ve got the Astronomy tower to ourselves for the night. No interruptions, no Aurors patrolling the staircase, and certainly no Carrow’s.” The grin that Charlotte wore only grew at his words, her hands slowly slipping up his arms and resting on his shoulders.

“How did you manage that?” She asked softly.

“Well…let’s just say the fact that my parents and yourself are close to Headmaster Snape can cause a few curfews and rules to be bent,” he said, matching her grin. Charlotte laughed softly and shook her head a bit at Draco before leaning forward and catching his lips in a kiss once more before pulling away from him altogether, taking his hands in hers.

“Let’s eat then so we can enjoy the majority of the night without food in our mouths,” she said with a soft giggle. Draco merely let out a low chuckle and shook his head a bit before leading her over to one of the chairs. He pulled it out for her, causing her to smile and give him a nod in recognition of his chivalry, before taking a seat. Draco walked over to the other side of the table and sat as well. Charlotte looked over at him for a moment, merely letting it soak in that they were together, on Valentine’s Day, and that her one wish for the day had come true. She then looked down to the table, noticing that they were all things that she liked to eat. “Draco…how much trouble did you go through to set all of this up?” She asked, looking up at Draco, who merely grinned and shook his head a bit.

“There’s no trouble too much for me when it comes to you, Charlotte,” he said honestly, looking into her eyes. The woman that sat on the other end of the table merely grinned, her body and soul warming at his sweet words, words that she had been dying to hear for several months. Without another word, she scooped a manicotti onto her plate, deciding that was what she wanted to eat first. She didn’t know how much she’d be able to eat, since there was more than enough on the table, but she wasn’t going to hold back when she felt that Draco must have done a great amount of work to get all of this prepared and the room ready.

The two of them ate in near silence, though it was not an awkward silence at all. They would occasionally shoot the other one small glances from across the table or secretive smiles. Yet, few words were spoken. Charlotte commented that the food was superb and thanked Draco for however much trouble it all must have been. He merely grinned, feeling like he had done something right for the two of them in the longest time. All the while, he would glance across the table and see a flash of the brand on the inside of her arm or the rough, scarred skin around her neck from that locket. As much as he had wanted to forget everything that was going on outside that room of theirs, he just couldn’t keep his mind off of it when the reminder of it all was the beautiful woman before him.

He knew that Charlotte could tell something was going on in that mind of his and she stood from the table. Gently, she took both of his hands in hers and eased him out of the chair. Slowly, she walked backwards towards the fire and sat them down on a plush rug before the flames. His brow was still furrowed greatly and his mouth had curled down at the corners.

“Do I really upset you that much, Draco?” She asked softly and jokingly, of course, as she held onto his hands. Draco merely let out a heavy sigh and looked up at her. He gently brushed his fingers across that scared, rough skin around the base of her neck and everything became clear to Charlotte. She let out an equally heavy sigh, knowing where his mind was at that moment. “Let’s not think of that right now, Draco,” she whispered, taking the hand that was tracing around her neck warmly in her own and looking up at him with those wide, bright blue eyes. “Valentine’s Day is no time for such thoughts, love.” His gaze dropped to the sparkling bracelet around her wrist and he brought his hand to it, the tip of his index finger gently tracing over the sapphires and emeralds that were surrounded by diamonds. He thought of how lost he’d be without his mum and how much pain it must cause Charlotte to know she wasn’t there.

Charlotte fluidly moved the wrist he was looking at behind her back and cupped his strong chin in her other hand, forcing his eyes to his. She mouthed the single word ‘stop’, her eyes wide and watery. Draco stared up at her and drew in a deep breath of air, forcing his mind to remain only on the beautiful woman before him.

“I have something to give to you,” he murmured, watching as Charlotte’s eyes lit up a bit though her mouth tensed slightly.

“You really shouldn’t have, Draco,” she replied disdainfully as he handed her a thin box. “Honestly, dinner with you was enough.” Draco let out a light chuckle at Charlotte and shook his head a bit. Charlotte shot him a look before slowly opening the box and gasping lightly at the charm bracelet within. “So, you did get it back,” she said softly, looking up at Draco as she lifted the bracelet from the back.

“After she slapped me, yeah, but I got it back just like you asked me to,” he said softly. Charlotte pulled a face as she looked down at the bracelet. Draco suddenly felt scared, like ice had shot through his veins and he shook his head a bit. “What?” He asked, his expression sliding from his face like rain down a window. Charlotte pulled her red lips in and bit them, drawing in a deep breath of air through her nose.

“Have you…decontaminated this or washed it since she wore it?” She asked, letting out a little giggle afterwards, finding it funny that Draco had gotten so scared. Draco merely let out the breath he had been holding in and shot Charlotte a look.

“My God, you sure know how to get me scared,” he said, gently taking the charm bracelet from her. “And yes, I actually did wash this off…since I felt you’d ask that question.” Charlotte smirked as she held our the wrist opposite to the one her mother’s bracelet was on for Draco to clasp it around, putting the bracelet back in it’s rightful place.

“Remind me to stop being so predictable,” Charlotte murmured with a wry grin as she glanced up from the bracelet to Draco, an unreadable sort of impish twinkle lighting up in those wide, bright blue eyes of hers.

“Well…you could always start no-” Charlotte had silenced the last word with her lips, her arms threading around his neck as she slipped onto his lap. She kissed him for a few moments, merely letting her lips brush across his before pulling way with a wide grin. Draco looked up at her, a bit dazed, yet he’d had wits enough to place his hands at her hips to keep her from moving around too much on his lap. Her face was still so close to his and she looked proud of what she had just done.

“Did you predict that?” She murmured before biting her bottom lip. Draco merely shook his head a bit, a wily smirk curling his lips.

“You’re really something, Charlie,” he murmured in reply before leaning forward and catching her lips with his. She kissed him back, her mouth melding to his like they were puzzle pieces that were meant to fit together. Suddenly pulling away, Charlotte let out a heavy sigh as she looked at him. Draco noticed her suddenly vulnerable expression and he frowned a bit, wondering what could be troubling her now.

“Does this mean we’re a couple now, Draco?” She asked softly, cupping his face in her hands as she stared nearly unblinkingly into his eyes. He grinned broadly and nodded slightly, feeling the happiest he had in the longest time.

“Yes,” he replied, causing Charlotte’s expression to brighten substantially, “yes, we’re a couple now.” Without another word, she pressed her lips against his, laughing lightly as she kissed him with a newfound sort of emotion and passion. They were together as a couple again and Charlotte found herself feeling the happiest she had in the longest time.