Just in case || Draco Malfoy

Thirty One - Stop

"He loved you. And the truth is, once you loved him back."

-Kill Your Darlings

...

I still couldn't fathom why Snape had arranged for me to have a detention with Professor McGonagal. I expected him to of given me a much harsher punishment - I wasn't angry at this decision and if anything I was thankful, but it still confused me.

I had been given my wand by Professor McGonagal that morning - she had approached me in the hall on my way to my first lesson and hastily handed it to me while telling me to go to her office tonight at six.

I had been instructed to write lines. McGonagal was sat at her desk writing what I can only assume to be grading students work and I was sat at a small wooden table continuously writing "I will respect my professors and prefects".

The detention had begun at six and it was now half past seven. Halfway through, a death eater had entered the classroom and made sure that me and Professor McGonagal were both keeping in check with what we had been instructed to do. I had only another few minutes of writing the tedious sentence before I could leave the room. McGonagal had hardly said anything to me for the whole time apart from telling me what I was to write and for how long. She constantly seemed on edge, not that I can blame her.

"Ok dear you can go. Same time tomorrow". With her words, I muttered a simple thank you to her and I left her office - her other rather large office had been given to one of Snape's workers and she had been demoted to a rather small office that was only about six by four feet.

I made my way down the small staircase out of her office on my way back to the common room. I was approached by one of Snapes workers who asked me what I was doing out of the common room after hours. I told him why I was in the halls and he threatened that if I was lying he would get me out into a detention with the Carrows. He made his way to McGonagals office and I hurried off quickly, though I knew he couldn't punish me as I was telling the truth.

I descended the stairs into the Slytherin common room. I turned down the spirals of the stairway and as I exited them, I saw the figure of a blonde boy facing away from me, looking down the halls in front of the common room door.

"What are you doing Malfoy?" I said to him. He turned around immediately to face me.

"You know what I said yesterday? I was going to come and get you but Snape caught me and told me I had to help Slughorn instead." He said and I remembered how he had told me he would get me out of detention.

"Well it doesn't matter now does it. You can leave" I said to him walking over to the common room door ready to say the password when he lightly placed his hand around my wrist.

"Come with me" he instructed.

"Why should I?" I said to him moving back from the door.

"You don't have to. But would you rather stay in there with the prefects or come with me?" He said. I glanced between him and the door, not wanting to go into the common room due to the patronising prefects I knew would be there.

I nodded slightly to him.

He lightly tugged on my wrist and quickly ascended the spiral staircase, me close behind him.

...

"Taking her to Professor McGonagal sir. She forgot her wand in there from detention". Draco was speaking to the same death eater who had stopped me before. He was leading me through the castle and I still wasn't sure where to.

The man eyed me up and down suspiciously as I clutched my wand that was hidden in my pocket.

"Hurry up." He said to me viscously. He must have been told by McGonagal that I had indeed been in detention. Draco had made up that excuse and I didn't say anything as we walked away from him, turning the corner so we were out of sight of him.

"Where are you taking me Malfoy?"

"You'll know in a minute" he replied, picking up his pace down the corridor.

We walked through the halls for another few minutes, Draco still not telling me where we were going. That was until he took a turn down a specific corridor. I stopped dead in my tracks.

"No Draco, I'm not going up there. It's not going to work" he turned to me.

"What's not going to work?" He said.

"You know perfectly well what. You think that taking me to the astronomy tower is going to make me change my mind about you. It isn't" I said to him. He took a few steps closer to me.

"Ok. Then why did you come with me?" I looked up at him. I didn't say anything. "There must be a reason you chose to come"

"I don't have to explain myself to you" I replied.

"But there is always a reason". Our conversation strikingly reminded me of that night in the common room. When I was trying to get him to tell me why he didn't like me. The irony of our opposite situation almost made me laugh

He looked at me for a few moments, he turned around and continued walking down the corridor.

"I'm not going" I shouted to him folding my arms.

"Then feel free to go back" he replied.

Damn him, he knew if I went back without him I would undoubtedly be caught. I contemplated hurriedly as he nearly reached the base of the stairs to the tower. He shot a devilish smirk at me from the end of the corridor as he saw me making my way to him.

...

"So why do you want me here?" I asked him, the cold air on top of the tower making me shiver slightly.

He was stood in front of the railing, staring out at the plains of hogwarts. I was stood far behind him, my wand clutched in my robes pocket in case he tried anything.

"I come here every night I can" he said to me still not facing me.

"And why is that" I said sternly after a few moments.

"Because it reminds me of things" he replied.

"Oh what, like when Dumbledore was falling off the edge of it?" I spat at him. He turned around to face me.

"No" he said. "It reminds me of those times that we would come up here."

"Draco stop." I said to him.

"Why should I?" He said stepping towards me. "Why should I stop telling you how much I miss you?"

"Because it isn't fair for you to make me feel like this after what you did." I replied to him. He was only a few steps away from me now but it felt as though my feet were rooted to the floor.

"Like what?" He said. I could feel my heart rate picking up speed. "Helena listen. I know you hate who I am" he moved even closer to me, our bodies mere inches away, my heart nearly beating out of my chest. "And I know why. But I also know this". He raised his hand to tuck a small strand of hair behind my ear as he did last night. "I still miss you. And I still want to be with you" I was desperately trying to hide how fast my breath was. "And I think you do too".

"And if I did?" I said to him shakily. He placed his hand on my cheek. I wanted with all my strength to push him away but I couldn't. He tilted my face up slightly. He leaned down and placed his lips gently on mine. We kissed each other. Before I sharply pulled away.

"Promise me this isn't another lie" I said to him, his hand still on my cheek.

"I swear"

I placed my hand on the back of his neck and pulled him down to kiss me again. He pulled me close as I finally did what I had secretly still wanted to. It was just like that night on Christmas. Only this time, it was so much better. I knew who he was. And I didn't care.

...