Just in case || Draco Malfoy

Fifteen - Strange Isn't it

"Promise me a place in your house of memories"

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Helenas POV.

Strange isn't it. What love can do to someone. It can tear away any other feeling and fill you solely. Suddenly nothing matters anymore. Nothing but the person that filled you with that strange thing, love.

...

"So is this how we are going to find out?"

The sound of Zacks voice startled me. I pulled away from the kiss I was sharing with Draco - we had just descended the astronomy tower. The tradition I had once shared with Cass was replaced with the memory of the kiss we had shared that Christmas night.

It was the 31st of December. Draco and I had been with each other for only six days, but it felt like I had been his first years. The type of new found love that irritated spectators, but the lovers didn't care about that. Nothing seemed to matter when they kissed that partner who filled them with so much happiness. Only we never had any spectators. For no one knew.

Draco had finally stopped avoiding us. We hadn't told any of the others yet. We each knew how sudden it was that we had gone from friends who weren't speaking to lovers in such a short space of time.

But neither of us gave a care in the world. I couldn't speak for him, but whenever we shared a kiss or an embrace, even just grinning at each other from the room, i felt so unexplainably happy and fulfilled.

But still, we knew it was sudden. We hadn't told the others - whenever we were together around the others, we didn't show our affection apart from stealing admiring glances at each other from across the room. Any time we were alone, he would steal quick kiss from me, and we were always involving ourselves in elaborate conversation about the seemingly most unimportant things, but I could listen to him chatter on about absolutely nothing for hours.

We knew they were going to find out eventually, but we kept pushing it to 'we can tell them tomorrow'.

But they had found out by themselves. Me and Draco had just descended the astronomy tower - we had gone up there every night after the others had gone up to their dorms, usually at around ten. They liked a little time to themselves in the evenings spent in their dorm, but Draco always knocked on my door and we snuck through the castle avoiding Filch and spending an hour or so with each other atop the tower.

Apart from one night; last night. He wouldn't tell me where he was going but he insisted that it was urgent and wouldn't allow me to go with him. His secrecy unnerved me slightly. I hadn't asked him about anything that I desperately wanted to - what was happening with Snape, were he was disappearing to. He still seemed excessively drained, despite the way that a certain sharpness and light had been put back behind his eyes.

But no, I wouldn't ask him. He wouldn't answer me and I would hate to put a stopper in what we were sharing, but it didn't stop me from longing to know.

We were descending the stairs to the tower - the time was around five to twelve, we always had to be cautious of avoiding Filch as we snuck through the castle after hours. As I exited the staircase, he grabbed my wrist lightly and pulled me back towards him so that I was facing him.

He held me under the small slit of moonlight that shone through the metal stairway. He raised his hand to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear.

"What?" I said looking up at him with a smile. He returned with one.

"Nothing" he said before cupping my cheek and pulling me in for a final kiss before we were to make our way back to the common room.

But we were stopped by no other than Zack, Cass Blaize and Eddie - they had been hidden behind a stone pillar for what I could assume was the past minute or so.

I stumbled back from Draco in a feeble attempt to hide what had just happened, but it was useless as they had clearly seen it all.

"Guys.. I- we-" I stumbled over my words.

"That's a sickle off you Cass" Eddie said with a cheesy grin.

"Not the time Ed!" she responded, slapping him slightly on his arm.

"What do you- why are you-" I still stumbled. Draco couldn't think of anything to say much like me.

"Oh cut it" Blaize said. "You are aware that we can hear you sneaking out every night? You aren't exactly stealthy." I stood with my mouth slightly agape, glancing up at Draco before looking back towards them.

"We decided to follow you this time, we wanted to know where the bloody hell you go every night" Cass added.

"Well, I knew" Eddie added.

"Correction, you guessed" Cass responded to him.

"Yeah but I was right wasn't I? You just saw them"

"Wait,wait, wait. How long have you been stood there? What do you mean Eddie?" I butted in.

"For the past bloody ten minutes" Zack said. "We couldn't see you, I wanted to go it's god damn freezing."

"But I wanted my money off Cass" Eddie said.

"Money?" Draco said confused.

"He bet me a sickle that you two were together. I honestly didn't believe it, but here we are" Cass said.

Me and Draco shared a look, the both of us having no clue how to respond. Cass let out a laugh.

"Hey, we don't care. Just shocked that's all." She said.

"Shocked?" I asked her.

"I mean, you wouldn't guess it would you? Based off of, you know, the entirety of last year" Blaize said . I stole a look at Draco who was staring at the floor, a look of torment on his face. "How long?"

"Since Christmas Day" I said.

"Guessing that's why Draco's hanging out with us again" Eddie said with a laugh.

"Come on, we'd better get going. Filch will catch us" Zack said. He began to walk down the corridor, Cass and Eddie closely following him. Blaize turned to us.

"Well are you coming?"

"Yeah. Just, give us one second." Draco said. Blaize jogged up to the others who were silently making their way down the hall. I turned to face him.

"Well I guess that saves us a job" I said with a small laugh. He smiled down at me.

"Happy new year." I stole a glance at the watch Draco had on his wrist, I could see it as he cupped my cheek. 12:01.

"Happy new year". He pulled me in for a final kiss.

I ran through the halls as quickly as I could, not caring if I was caught. I pulled him behind me by his hand and as we entered the deserted common room, we collapsed against the door on the inside, laughing to ourselves and catching our breath from running.

He was laughing again. I hoped that whatever it was he was going through, he was as happy as I was. And I hoped than even if it was just momentarily, I could make him feel better.

...

Draco's POV

I didn't want them to find out. It would only make it harder when she would no doubt leave me. Three days. That's all I had left. Three blissful days with her. There was no other way I wanted to spend it than with her. But it tore me apart that it wouldn't last.

I had checked on the cabinet for the final time last night. It worked as always. I had received an owl from my mother confirming that the plan was perfectly in order. It was only waiting.

She looked so beautiful in the moonlight that always shone on the tower. It illuminated her perfectly and made her seem even more elegant that she already was. Our nights were not particularly eventful, but all I needed was to see her, to speak to her. That was all I needed to be more than fulfilled.

But it wouldn't last. Nothing good ever lasted. That's the way this cruel life works.

At least I had the ring she had given me. I hadn't taken it off, and I never planned to. Helena Wright. You may soon despise me, but I could never do any less than adore you.

...