ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴅʀᴀᴛᴛᴇᴅ ʟɪʟᴀ ʜᴏʟᴍᴇꜱ || ᴅʀᴀᴄᴏ ᴍᴀʟꜰᴏʏ x ᴏᴄ || ʏᴇᴀʀꜱ 1-3

entirely clueless

After more grueling Occlumency practices with marginal progress, more of Hermione's vanishing acts, and a few Friday night detentions later, the first Hogsmeade weekend finally came to be. Thus, it was time for Dean and I's long awaited date.

I'd talked about it with Malfoy the night prior. As with all other things that excite me, he wasn't too enthused about this one.

"After serious therapy and maybe a bloodline transplant, the last thing you need is a proper boyfriend," Malfoy wrinkled his nose when I'd brought it up, and looked like he'd eaten something sour for the rest of the night.

"Don't knock it till you try it," I told him cheerily. "There's still that Hogsmeade date I could set you up for. It's not too late — Harry's on the market, you know."

"For the last time, Holmes, I am not interested in Potter for anything other than his demise." He threw a pickled spider at me and was not pleased when I threw one back.

I was both nervous and excited, and I couldn't seem to stick to one or the other for very long. On one end, it was just like hanging out with Dean normally, except it would just be us, and we might hold hands — maybe even kiss?

On the other hand, I had no idea how to do the latter. I had no idea about anything concerning romance at all. I was shocked when I realized I'd be the first of all my friends to ever do such a thing. What parallel universe had I slipped into?

But it's Dean. Dean is Dean. There's nothing to be nervous about with him, which is thankfully what my mind decided when I met him in the Great Hall. He seemed completely at ease, and I wondered if he too had been as worried as I was.

"Hey you," he tells me with a bright smile.

"Hey yourself," I replied, starting to settle as I fell into step with him on the way out of the castle. "You look nice."

"Do I?" Dean looked down at his own attire. "I wasn't sure if the sweater was too much. Seamus said I was being ridiculous and threatened to beat me with a pillow if I kept freaking out over it."

I giggled at the image, also relieved that Dean was just as nervous as I was. The sweater in question was a warm sort of gold, and felt a bit scratchy when my arm brushed against it. I couldn't imagine what it was like to wear, but I didn't tell him as much for fear of stressing him out even further.

Our conversation flowed easily as we walked toward Hogsmeade. Dean's pinky found mine naturally, and we chatted away until we arrived. We went exploring in all of the different shops, though I didn't buy anything until Honeydukes, where I'd promised to get Harry some Treacle Tart. Dean split off to get something for Seamus' upcoming birthday, and I was surprised to see Malfoy standing by himself near the chocolate section.

"Dark," I remarked from behind him, properly startling him. "Excellent choice."

"You've got a terrible sneaking habit," he told me, but finally selected a box of dark chocolate caramel cauldrons from the shelf. "They're Pansy's favorite. She's had a tough week. We used to go through boxes of these in days when we were little."

His little nostalgic smile fascinates me, and so I eye him knowingly with a smile of my own. "Are you sure there's nothing going on there?"

"Of course not." He wrinkles his nose at the idea. "We're like you and Potter, for lack of a better analogy."

My face twisted up in disgust, and Malfoy snickered. "Yeah, that exactly."

"Where are all your friends, anyway?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. Malfoy grimaced.

"Three Broomsticks," he said. Then he cocked his head. "Your date?"

"He's here too, by the fizzing whizzbees," I indicated with a motion of my head. "Getting goodies for Seamus."