Ortum Infernum [d.m]

Chapter Four

The library was unusually crowded on one fine evening. Odette suspected that since the term break had only just ended, many students were scrambling to get their assignments done by the very last minute before classes were in full swing again.

Her brother Icarus was one of them.

She stared at him with her lips curved, carefully turning the page of her book that was probably as old as the painting of her great-grandfather. Icarus looked up from the scroll he was obsessively scribbling in, his expression was one of annoyance.

"Don't. Not a word," he huffed with furrowed brows before he went back to listing all the known uses of Valerian sprigs.

Odette stiffled her giggle and decided to leave her brother alone to his mopping. She packed up her things into her satchel and carried with her the books that she wished to checkout from the library.

As she slipped out of the aisle that they were occupying and rounded the corner, Malfoy announced his presence and abruptly stood up from where he sat.

Apparently he had been in the next aisle over, preoccupied in a study session with his friends, Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott; who would both occasionally join in on their library sessions. They both glanced up from their books at her, a knowing look glinted in their eyes but she had failed to take notice.

Odette felt her lips curl into a smile despite herself as she gazed up at him. Malfoy's house tie was loosened slightly around his neck and his hair rumpled as though he had ran his fingers through them multiple times.

"Coventry," he said in a drawl, one corner of his lips twitched into a half smile. His voice managed to make a tingling sensation run through her body and she tried hard not to shiver. "Do you have time?"

"Now?" she blinked up at him.

He nodded. Then his hands came up to grab onto the strap of his satchel until his knuckles turned white. "There's supposed to be a meteor shower tonight. Some of the students will be watching the phenomenon from the Astronomy Tower."

Odette's interest was piqued. But the thought of being among a group of strangers after curfew twisted something in her guts. "Are you asking me to join?"

He nodded again. A few strands of his blond hair fell over his eye at the action and he combed it back effortlessly with his long fingers. Malfoy looked down at her, his piercing gaze unrelenting.

"Yes. But not with the others," he said. "I was wondering if you'd like to watch the meteor shower—with me. In the courtyard."

Her eyes widened slightly and she started to fidget nervously with the books clutched against her chest.

This would be the first non-academic related activity that they would be engaging in together—apart from the Yule Ball. But even that had been a last minute arrangement because they had both been so caught up with their studies that they neglected to find a partner in time for the dance. It was reasonable then for them to go with each other.

Truth be told, Odette hadn't wanted to go with anyone else. But she couldn't muster up enough courage to ask Malfoy to the dance and before she knew it, the dance had only been a couple days away. Thankfully everything had worked itself out in the end.

She could feel her cheeks warm up at the thought of spending time with Malfoy under the night sky, hanging out with just the two of them and it wasn't academically for once.

"We won't be breaking any school rules. A lot of students requested for a permission slip to watch the meteor shower, so the faculty had made it an exception tonight," he added hastily as though Odette had needed any more reasons to agree to his invite wholeheartedly.