✓ WE NEVER SLEEP, draco malfoy

F O U R T E E N

"I condemn you. Yet my heart yearns towards you."
— Virginia Woolf, The Waves 

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"Dinner, you and I, tonight, at the Three Broomsticks," Draco whispered to Rowan during Potions. He sat closer than normally on their little bench, his leg pressed against hers and even through their robes, she could feel how warm he was.

Rowan shifted in her seat, looking up slowly from her textbook to see if anyone was listening in but it seemed like everyone was lost in their work. "How do you suppose we get off the grounds without being noticed, hmm?"

He smirked, running a hand through his hair and ruffling it up slightly. She liked when his hair was messy, made him seem so much more carefree. "Come on, Ro, you and I both know how we get off the grounds. You've been doing it for years."

She fought back her own smile, remembering a time when she and Harry had used one of the secret passages to get into Hogsmeade. "What time?"

"Around seven, meet me out in the courtyard."

She nodded, crossing one leg over her knee and bouncing her foot. They hadn't discussed the last time they had been alone, or rather the moments after when he nearly admitted to being ashamed of being seen in public with her. Of course she understood where he was coming from, as much as it made her frustrated, she knew. She didn't necessarily want her friends to know the true nature of their relationship, she didn't want their judgement.

Plus, this dinner with him could be a perfect distraction for her. She had been constantly worrying about her sister and what could be going on without her knowledge, she needed to forget about it and just focus on the present. 

~

She dressed warmly, knowing the weather would be entering a cold chill tonight. She had Harry's invisibility cloak with her incase she got back late to the dorms and incase they saw Snape lurking about. But she was proud of what she wore underneath the cloak that kept her warm. She wore a skirt with tights and a brilliant black sweater she had found hidden in her trunk. She had considered even wearing just a pair of jeans but she knew she needed to dress up even slightly, Draco would've liked her to at least.

She reached her destination easily, hoping the sound of her shoes hitting the floor didn't make too much noise. The one-eyed witch statue was ominous in the shaded lightning at the bottom of the stairs leading to the DADA classroom. 

She heard the sound of fast approaching feet and she almost felt the need to cower until she saw his shadow creep up the stone walls and her worry settled peacefully in the pit of her stomach. "Ready?" she smiled, reaching for the statue. 

"Always," he grinned.

Their passage was beneath the statue but she grinned back and tapped her wand the the witches hump, whispering the word, "Dissendium." The hump on the statue opened slowly and it was just wide enough for the two of them to scurry below. 

It was a tight squeeze getting in, but it was manageable. 

It was dark inside but it wouldn't take them long to get to the cellar of Honeydukes, and they would just have to use the cloak to sneak their way out and into Hogsmeade. 

The pair crowded under the cloak as they crept out and into the cellar once they had reached Honeydukes. The smell of sweets was so overwhelming, Rowan's mouth began to water. Draco took the lead underneath the cloak, gripping her hand, he pulled her along up the stairs and towards the even more powerful stench of sweets and licorice and chocolate. They maneuvered their way through a small crowd trying to buy something that was under big 'New! New! New!' signs near the front of the store.