Dark Lords, Hogwarts and Snake Talk, Oh My

I woke up feeling better than I had in a long time. I felt an unfamiliar bliss. I was.....happy. It took me a little while but I finally found the word to describe how I was feeling. I was genuinely happy for the first time since Fred. That is, until I realized that Harry had run off last night to 'take care of Malfoy'. I quickly threw on some clothes and ran out the door. There was no one in the common room, meaning breakfast had started, and making my escape much easier.

I ran down the hallway, ignoring the paintings that yelled at me to slow down, and quickly made my way to the great hall. When I entered the hall my eyes hurriedly scanned over the Slytherin table until they landed on Draco. I let out a sigh of relief and walked over for a closer inspection and so I could apologize for Fred and Harry's behavior last night.

"Hey Draco," I said, timidly, trying to ignore the stares I was getting from the other Slytherins.

Draco looked up at me, a black eye gracing one side of his face. He had dried blood from what looked to a be a split lip, and a bruise on his cheek. He just sat there for a second before looking back down at his food.

"I want to apologize," I tried again.

This time Draco stood up, "fine," he said, coldly and led me out of the great hall.

"So...apologize."

I smiled, slightly, "First, thanks for saving me...again. I just want you to know that I don't agree with Fred or my brother. You aren't a slimy obnoxious git...at least, not all the time," Draco chuckled at this, "and I'm ashamed of their behavior."

Draco nodded and smiled at me.

"I also want to say that that kiss...it was......great."

I bit my lip as I waited for Draco's reaction.

"We can do it again if you want," Draco smirked at me, and I blushed, "But, um, I kinda have a reputation and I need to ease my friends into the idea of all this."

I nodded, "I understand, Draco. We can keep this a secret for a while, if you want."

Draco grinned at me, yes, grinned, "I'd like that."

I took a step forward, stood up on my tippy toes, and just as I was about to press my lips to Draco's, I turned my head to the side and kissed his cheek.

"You have to earn it," I whispered in Draco's ear, before sauntering off, back into the great hall and over to my table.

I smiled to myself, knowing I'd left a very confused, and probably irritated, Draco in the entrance hall.

"Hey Ella. You seem happy about something," Rea greeted, earning nods from Cho and Tara.

"I just came to a little....understanding," I replied, smiling.

I looked over at Draco who winked in return.

A few seconds later something landed on my lap. I smiled and looked over at Draco who seemed to be in a very interesting conversation with the people at his table. I then returned to the note.

Meet me on the top of the astronomy tower at 8 tonight.

-Draco

I smiled and tucked the note into my pocket. I finished my breakfast as quickly as I could. I made sure to finish everything in class so i had my night free and as soon as classes were done for the day, I was up in my dorm getting ready.

"You look nice," Tara said as she entered the dorm.

I was standing in front of the mirror doing my hair.

"Thanks," I replied, keeping my focus on the complicated up do I was attempting.

"Any special occasion," Tara inquired.

"Nah. Just gonna go for a walk," I shrugged, hiding my excitement.

"Okay," Tara sounded as if she wanted to press further, but seemed to decide against it, as she walked over to her bed and began doing her homework.

I finished my hair and smiled down at my medium washed jeans and black cami that showed just the right amount of skin and had a Ravenclaw logo on the top right side.

I skipped down to dinner at 7:15 and talked to my friends, avoiding too much food. I kept sneaking glances at the Slytherin table until finally, at 7:30 I saw Draco stand up from his seat, casting a glance my way before exiting the great hall.

I smiled to myself and continued chatting with my friends until 7:50 when I decided I should get going. Most people had finished dinner and were leaving the great hall. I stood from my seat, mumbled some goodbyes and headed out the door.

I walked swiftly down the halls, all my will going towards keeping a steady walk. I wanted to run all the way up to the astronomy tower, but I knew that would look weird to the people around me and desperate to Draco, so I kept myself calm. I climbed up to the top floor of Hogwarts, stopping to check my reflection before climbing the stairs to the astronomy tower.

The cool, crisp air hit my face. I felt refreshed and instantly calmed by the relaxing atmosphere the night brought with it. I smiled as I took in my surroundings. A blanket was draped across the stone floor. Pillows lay nearly everywhere, and at least ten candles gave the whole place a soft glow. I looked over the edge of the tower, taking in the magnificent roof top view of the grounds. I turned to look at the small area of blanket where Draco -who seemingly appeared out of nowhere- was now laying out plates of food and glasses of champagne.

"Welcome, to my castle top dinner," Draco said, rising to his feet and spreading his arms to his sides, to show off the amazing atmosphere he had provided.

"Why thank you," I replied, walking up to him and placing a soft kiss on his perfect lips.

We sat down and Draco handed me a glass of champagne, which I gratefully accepted.

We sat there in silence, drinking our champagne, until I decided I'd had enough of this 'perfect silence' shit.

"So, you're actually wimpy enough for my brother to beat you up?" I laughed.

"Hey! So's Voldemort!" Draco defended.

"No he's not. I helped. Plus, it was mostly my mom's magic anyway."

Draco crossed his arms over his chest and huffed, mumbling something about being caught off guard.

I laughed and tweeked his nose, "Is Dwaco a little upset that the big mean potty boy beat him up?" I asked in a baby voice.

"Shut up," Draco said, kissing me to make me stop mocking him.

I pushed him away, laughing as he pouted.

"This isn't gonna go anywhere if that's all we do."

Draco pouted some more but eventually gave in and said, "Fine, so how much does it suck being Pothead's sister?"

"Um, it doesn't," I replied, making it sound more like a question than a statement."

Draco looked shocked.

I laughed, "We've always been really close. Our aunt and uncle are kind of terrible, so we learned to stick together."

"But, I mean...it's Pothead." I laughed again, at Draco's attempt at an argument.

"Okay, it's Harry. Say it with me now Haarrryy."

"But I don' wanna," Draco whined.

I smiled and gave him a peck on the lips.

"H," kiss, "A," kiss, "R," kiss, "R," kiss, "Y," kiss, "What's that spell?"

"Harry," Draco grumbled.

"Very good," I said, like I was talking to a kindergartener who just said drew a picture of a snow man, and kissed him one more time.