Merely Misunderstood

Chapter Fifty-Two

Having made the mistake of forgetting to thank Draco for a Christmas gift once, I made sure to track him down as soon as I got back to Hogwarts.

I hurried to the common room, still dragging my stuff behind me, and spotted him coming down from his dorm, evidently having just put his things away. I ran up to him, dropping my things and throwing my arms around him.

"Woah!" he exclaimed, stumbled back a few steps, but when I murmured, "Thank you so much," into his shoulder, he embraced me tightly back, chuckling softly.

"You're welcome," he said, kissing my cheek. "I should thank you, too," he added as I pulled away, and he absently tucked my hair behind my ear as he said, "The painting is... beautiful. There's really no other word for it. I had to bring it along so I could hang it up in the dormitory to show it off. Blaise is annoyed by it for some reason, but I think it's because he's jealous — he can't seem to keep a girlfriend," he winked at me, and I laughed.

"How strange," I mused sarcastically, and now it was Draco's turn to laugh.

"He has a right to be jealous, though," Draco said softly, running his fingers down my cheek and then cupping them under my chin, tilting my face up to his.

I had to stand on my toes to press my lips to his, but he made it easier by lowering his head down toward me. His kiss was sweet, and I melted into him gladly, not really caring that we were standing in full view of the common room.

But perhaps I should've considered it a bit more, because hardly five seconds had passed when suddenly, a shriek filled the room.

"Are you kidding me?!"

Draco and I broke apart, turning to face Pansy Parkinson with matching expressions of annoyance.

"You two are back together?!"

"What's it to you?" Draco asked, his tone derisive.

"B-but —" Pansy stuttered, her cheeks growing red with anger. "But we kissed!"

Draco's face fell into one of amusement, and he stared at Pansy with his eyebrows raised humorously. "Why would I kiss you?" he asked, and his eyes darkened as he spoke.

Pansy was taken aback by this, and she stuttered, becoming angrier and angrier by the minute. "Don't you care that your boyfriend cheated on you?" she spat at me, her tone mocking the word "boyfriend" as if our relationship was something to ridicule.

I turned away from Draco, facing Pansy fully, and as soon as I moved, the common room quieted.

Pansy took a step back as I turned to face her, and then jumped when I moved my arms to cross them defiantly.

I remained silent as I stared at her with a bored expression, and she glared back at me, gathering the courage to speak.

"He kissed me! Doesn't that bother you?" she demanded, taking a brave step toward me, so we were now an arm's length apart. It couldn't be more clear that she was making things up in an attempt to tear Draco and me apart; the envious look in her eye gave it all away.

Which is why I shrugged and responded with, "Not really."

Pansy stared at me, her lips slowly turning up into a smirk. "So you really don't care that he's unfaithful to you?"

"I suppose I would care if he was unfaithful," I said, cocking my head to the side, "but he isn't."

Pansy's smirk grew. "Oh, really?" she laughed nasally. "And what makes you so sure?"

I looked her over slowly to exaggerate the fact that I thought her unattractive, meeting her eyes again with haughty amusement. "Just a hunch."

There were a few responding snickers from around the common room, and Pansy's face contorted with rage and humiliation.