Draco grabs my hand and guides me into The Three Broomsticks, leading me to a corner for us to sit in. "I'll be back, my love," he says. I sit with my back to the door and set my purse in the chair next to me while I wait for him to return. I'm not sure what he has planned today, but he seems a lot more calm once I agreed to sleep in the Slytherin dorms until the Triwizard Tournament is over. Rue and Marcus will absolutely love this idea, I'm sure.
When Draco returns, he has two butter beers and pastries with him. "I didn't know what you liked, so I got three," he says, setting the pastries down on the table in front of me. Once he's seated, we both drink in silence. I notice his eyes flickering between me and the door and I'm sure he's worried Lev will come to start trouble again.
"What was that question you were going to ask me earlier?"
My eyes find his and I tilt my head in confusion. After thinking, I shrug. "I can't remember," I reply. Right now, I'm too focused on how tonight will work and what the rest of the day will bring.
Draco lifts his eyebrow. "I thought you wanted to know every detail of your perfect boyfriend's life?" He teases, taking another sip of his butter beer.
"Maybe I'll remember later," I say, shrugging and turning to look at the students in the surrounding tables. Some first years hurriedly turn away when I catch them looking and I giggle. I'm sure they've read the paper by now. "I'm sure it's weird to them."
"What's weird to who?" Draco asks.
"Seeing us together. It's just a weird feeling knowing that so many people know your name and face but you don't know anything about them."
"I got used to it in my family. My father made sure everyone knew the Malfoy family," Draco replies, taking a bite from one of the pastries he bought. His eyes are focused on the table now. He always avoids eye contact when he speaks about his father, though he boasts about his family proudly to anyone who will listen. "But it's different now. Everyone sees me with the Hogwarts sweetheart. Even my father."
I take another sip of my butter beer and return a wave to the whispering first years. They giggle and quickly turn away once Draco looks at them. "Has your father said anything?" I ask. I tilt my head to regain his attention - he put on an intimidating scowl to make the students stop staring.
"He sent a howler this morning," Draco replies, finishing off the pastry and wiping his face. He reaches into his coat pocket and hands me a box. "This is another gift for dealing with me."
Although I know he's trying to change the subject, I accept the gift with a grateful smile. "It isn't putting up with you if I enjoy it," I tease. I wink and open the box to see a small glass bottle of cologne. I open it and smell it - it's his scent.
"I figured you miss me the second I leave, so I got that for you to spray on your pillow."
His eyes shift warily from my hands to my face to gauge my reaction. "I love it," I say. I grab his hand and kiss it lightly. "Oh, sorry," I apologize, wiping the lipgloss from his fingers. He chuckles and moves his hand away before I can properly clean it. "So this room you mentioned..." I begin. Draco raises an eyebrow and leans in to hear my lowered voice. "Does it have, like, sheets and everything? Or should I bring mine?"
Draco laughs. "Do you think I'd just throw you in a dust-ridden room with rotted frames?" He asks. We laugh together. Now that he says it out loud, it was a pretty odd question since I know how well-kept he is. "It's being cleaned as we speak. Don't worry, darling, I'll take care of you."
-
We spend the rest of the day walking from shop to shop, Draco demanding to buy everything that he thinks I would like. Even when I argue, he doesn't listen and buys it anyways. By the end of the day, he's carrying six overfilled bags and I'm carrying two warm coffees on the way back to the castle. The sun is setting now, and we're both laughing as we walk back to Hogwarts. There are groups of other students that pass us, some congratulating me on the previous task and others teasing us about the article in the paper.
Once we're closer to the castle, I spot Marcus's tall, lean frame and platinum curly hair shining in the sunset and Rue's short, fit silhouette and black coily hair walking back only a few meters in front of us. "Rue, Marcus!" I call. They both turn to us and come jogging to us when they recognize who called them.
"Valentine, we were just talking about you!" Rue says. She throws her arms around me and I return the gesture. I just realized how much I missed her. And that she has no clue about what happened with Lev in the library, or that I won't be sleeping in my bed tonight.
Marcus pushes past Rue and hugs me, squeezing so hard my back pops. I groan in pain as he laughs and takes a step back. "Watch it," Draco warns. He doesn't look too intimidating with shopping bags in both hands, though. Marcus just rolls his eyes and smirks as he sees Draco holding a lot of stuff he's bought for me throughout the day.
"Ah, I see you've spent your day well," Marcus says, laughing lightly as he looks between me and Draco. "Are you returning her to us now or are you going to be stingy?"
Draco and I exchange glances and I mouth that I'll tell them. I take a long sip of my coffee and tell them everything that happened in the library with Lev and his friend. Rue looks horrified and Marcus has his hands balled into fists. "I can make his death look like an accident," he warns. Draco begins to accept this offer, but I stop them.
"They're not here much longer! Let's just keep our distance from them until the end of the school year," I say. Rue scoffs.
"They found you in the library, what makes you think they won't find you in our dorm?" She asks. Draco and I exchange another glance. That's when I tell them about the spare Slytherin dorm. Rue begins to argue, but Marcus stops her.
"This might be the best option," Marcus says. I can tell he's thinking deeply about everything. Rue hits his shoulder in protest, but Marcus stops her before she can argue. "Think about it! Lev wouldn't know about this spare room, so even if he did come looking for Valentine and somehow got into Hufflepuff common, he wouldn't be able to find her!"
"But what if he comes in to our dorm while I'm sleeping?" Rue asks, her voice rising.
"Marcus can sleep in Valentine's bed," Draco suggests. We look at him, all of us just now realizing he's still standing there. I can't remember Draco ever using Marcus's name before - he only ever called him my friend. I turn back to Rue to see her reaction. She sighs.
"You agree?" Marcus asks. She nods and we all make our way back inside. Draco leaves for Slytherin while I walk to Hufflepuff with Rue and Marcus to grab my belongings.
YOU ARE READING
Wonder // Draco Malfoy
Fanfiction"Be my date to the Yule Ball," Lev states. It isn't a question - he's telling me to be his date. I stare at him in bewilderment; has this man learned nothing? When I don't answer, he continues. "I know your little boyfriend hasn't asked you. You sho...
