Malfoy to Marvolo

Chapter 39

Wednesday

"Sky,"

Tanner had rushed over to the Hufflepuff studying in the library. She had left a note for him the previous day with an apology explaining she wouldn't be coming to the forest and had done the same today, claiming she had too much work to catch up on. It wasn't entirely false, but of course her motivation for staying away wasn't solely based on that.

Sky automatically disillusioned them and put a muffliato over the two-man desk they were sat at, turning to the Slytherin sadly.

"Before you say anything Tanner I want you to know that I'm not mad at you. I understand why you had to say that, I just don't feel like talking about it any longer is all,"

"Sky," He repeated, slightly breathless from his paced walk back from the forest. "I've been thinking about you every day, I can't sleep I-" He ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry."

"I forgive you."

"No!" He said, smacking the table and causing her to jump slightly. "Sorry. I just- I hate this! It isn't right!"

She met his eye curiously.

"When Fred stepped in to defend you the other day it didn't take me long to realise that what I felt was jealousy and-" He huffed, slightly frustrated. "I should never have said that to you Sky, no matter the circumstance. It's not an excuse but it was my way of protecting you in the moment. Really. And it's like instinct for me... to protect you, I mean."

She smiled at him and patted his arm.

"It's instinct for me too," She replied.

"No Sky, I don't think you understand what I'm saying," He shook his head, rising from the seat and began to pace a little. "It's instinct for you to look after people, you have it in your nature. But it isn't in mine."

She nodded slowly, eyes squinted like she was reading morse code. Sky was an exceptionally bright girl, but when it came to the world of romance, she was slightly ignorant of what classed as an advance and what didn't.

"So you don't want to protect me anymore?"

"What? No Sky that's not what I'm trying to-" He sighed, and sat back down next to her, starting to fiddle with one of her quills.

He was extremely awkward, she noticed. But she dismissed her thoughts of why automatically. It surely couldn't be about her.

Yet with new found courage Tanner took a deep breath and faced her.

"I would like to always protect you,"

"I'm not sure I under-"

"Merlin's beard Sky." He held his forehead in his hand. "I have feelings for you, alright?"

She was moved to silence and simply blinked twice, then thrice.

She knew she had had a crush on him, for a long while in fact. But the matter was so out of the question that she hadn't allowed herself to so much as entertain the thought and hadn't even thought to consider on whether or not he could like her back.

"You have-"

"Yes."

"Since when?"

"I don't know."

"But- but, what about-"

"The fact we're basically the Montagues and the Capulets as of right now?" He asked with a sigh. "We'll... work it out, alright? But let's just... try. If you want to, of course. That's the only thing stopping us so why should it? I don't want to mess this up before it's even began. As for the rest of them we just... work around them, for now."