𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐄𝐃 ; d.malfoy

11

I couldn't believe it.

Draco and I were kissing.

Yet, like all good things, the kiss had to end. We pulled apart, our breaths mingling in the crisp air. Our eyes met, revealing vulnerability and a spark of something profound. We both felt a mix of surprise and enchantment, as if we had discovered something unexpected in each other.

For a moment, we remained silent, catching our breaths and absorbing the significance of this stolen moment. Our hearts raced in tandem, and unspoken words hung in the air. The corridor, once empty, now seemed to hold the magic of their encounter.

Our eyes locked with each other's, filled with a mixture of surprise and realisation. The weight of what had just happened settled in, and a blush crept across my cheeks. I noticed Draco's cheeks were flushed slightly as well, and my lips curved into a shy smile. We exchanged a meaningful look, knowing that this encounter had changed something between us, something that would linger long after the mistletoe was gone.

Draco and I had kissed.

Yet before we could exchange a word, the corridor's silence was shattered by the sudden appearance of my dear brother--he appeared to have been looking for me as he looked out of breath and slightly concerned.

Wide-eyed and shocked, he saw the two of us standing under the mistletoe, with our faces flushed and his protective instincts kicked in, unfortunately. 'What's going on here?' he demanded, his voice laced with concern and suspicion.

Draco cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure. 'We were just...' he began, but the words escaped him as he searched for a reasonable explanation. His eyes drifted towards me, begging for me to take the lead.

My cheeks flushed crimson as I pondered a reasonable explanation, and I stammered, 'It was just a mistletoe tradition, Timmy.'

My brother's gaze shifted from me to Draco, carefully assessing the situation. After a tense moment, he let out a sigh, his expression softening slightly. 'Well, alright then,' he said, though the protective brotherly glare lingered but then it suddenly changed to one of surprise, 'wait-- you both kissed?'

We both nodded awkwardly, 'it was just the mistletoe, Timmy. That's all, just holiday tradition.'

'I told you: no dating until you're 15!' he said, though, rather than seeming angry, his words had a playfulness to them, 'I'm joking! I'm joking! You're free to kiss whoever you want; anyways, there's something I want to give you.'

He moved towards me, beckoning me to leave with him. I was rather upset at having to end this special moment with Draco but my brother's more important, anyways.

As I left with Timmy, I looked back at Draco, one last time and saw that his usual pale face was still a shade of crimson; his eyes met mine and he gave me a small smile and a wave as he turned on his heel and left towards the dungeons in the opposite direction.

Timmy lead me away from Draco and that hallway into the Gryffindor common room (as I entered, I did get a few nasty comments from The Fat Lady but honestly, I expected that.)

'Alright now I know this year's holidays were quite mediocre and not at all enjoyable for the either of us...' he began, 'but that doesn't mean we both have to dwell over our idiotic parents.' He paused as he went to his room and told me to sit on the Gryffindor common room's couch.

This was the first time I ever entered it and safe to say, it's a major downgrade from the Slytherin common room, it's spacious, yes, but the hues of red blending in with the white and gold made my head ache.

'So... here you go!' he exclaimed as he came into my field of vision and handed me a box that was wrapped in some local wrapping paper, showing that it was indeed wrapped by my brother. I reluctantly opened it, possibly wondering if this was just another practical joke of his. Cautiously, I removed the wrapping paper which was red in colour with little deers drawn all over it and was met with a green box. Slowly, I removed the lid of said box.

I was met with a rather unusual trinket: a gold phoenix, that was adorned with multiple different types of gems; it was connected to a chain and once I picked it up, I realised that it was a keychain.

'I got you this,' Timmy said as he sat down next to me on the couch, 'it's something I found during our last trip to Hogsmeade. I hope you like it. I also, uh, added the chain and kinda fixed up the colours so that it'd suit you.'

'It's beautiful,' I whispered, my voice was filled with emotion as I held the necklace in my hand, admiring it.

'I knew you'd like it,' Tim said with a soft smile. 'And, uh, there's something else I wanted to say.'He hesitated for a moment, gathering his thoughts, 'mother and father are stupid. I don't get why you let them impact you so much--they're never really here for us so I don't see why you spend so much time thinking about them. I saw how sad you got when you received mother's letter but it's really her fault for not wanting to spend time with you; sorry if that's kinda mean but it's the truth—don't get so hung on up on mother and father when you have me.'

Tears welled up in my eyes as I nodded, grateful for my brother's presence, 'thanks, Timmy.'

In that private moment, I realised that despite our differences and occasional disagreements, the bond between us was unbreakable. Tim's gift and heartfelt words were a reminder that love and understanding could bridge even the widest gaps, and I cherished the keychain as a symbol of our growing connection and sharing of each other's pain.

'Mother and father suck, they're practically married to their jobs,' Timmy joked and he earned a half-hearted laugh from me as well.

'You're right, they do suck,' I reply as I rested my head on his shoulders and clutched the keychain he gave me.

As we sat together in the warmth of the common room, they shared a quiet moment of sibling love and understanding on that magical night. And with this, I started to miss my parents a little less. I think I'll forever be grateful to Timmy for always being by my side.

'Anyways... you and Malfoy-? How did that happen?' he suddenly asked, making me jump--I had completely forgotten about it.

'Timmy, I'm telling you... it was just the mistletoe-...' I tried to explain but my tone made it sound unconvincing.
'Sure... sure...'
'Timmy-!'

Now, the rest of the winters holidays were a blur. Time faded and the days soon mixed from December to the start of the new year to January.

My relationship with my brother improved quite a lot. We had been spending so much time together yet his habit of compulsively pranking me didn't end--he tried to bother me with his weird and unusual creations at any chance he got. But, after spending that night together, I couldn't help but be grateful to my brother.

My brother, who unlike our parents, was actually always there for me. Even though, he was quite annoying and unbearable at times, I'm still glad he's stuck by my side for all these years.

As far as Draco goes, well, after kissing him under the mistletoe, nothing really happened between us. Our relationship continued like it normally does: us bickering, arguing and then ganging up to harass Potter and his friends. He hadn't uttered a word since we kissed and neither did I.
In fact, due to my personal problems, I had completely forgotten about it. Though every time I saw him smile, that vivid memory of him asking to kiss me appeared making me feel rather odd.

I'm starting to believe that the kiss with Draco has ignited some feelings within me that I've been trying to hide for the longest of time (and, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't want to kiss him again.)

Now, for Hermione: well, we both have been visiting each other in the library quite frequently and also exchanging greetings while we pass one another hallways but due to our different friend groups and opposing lifestyles, we found our conversations to be quite limited. Furthermore, none of interactions went unpunished as after we both would greet each other, one of our friends would always find a way to degrade the other party which was pretty childish, in my opinion.

The holidays were rather tedious if you ignore the eventful first day. If anything, I'm dreading the start of the new term more because that's just a sign that we're getting closer to the end of the year.

But, it's not all doom and gloom since a Slythering quidditch match will be happening soon and I hate to admit this but I'm very excited--mainly due to it being Quinn's first time on the field and I'm a rather supportive friend, you see.