I loved you since I was young - Draco Malfoy

Chapter 9 - the Surprise

The Astronomy Tower stood tall against the moonlit sky as Kate ascended the spiraling stairs. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the challenge that awaited her. Arriving five minutes early, she found Draco already seated on a desk, his profile illuminated by the gentle glow of the moon. For a fleeting moment, she was entranced by his features before shaking off the Malfoy-induced trance.

Approaching with confidence, Kate engaged in small talk about the upcoming lesson. Draco, ever the sarcastic Slytherin, smirked, adding a light-hearted comment about her unconventional magical training. Sigh. The tension in the air crackled as they prepared for a session without wands or spells. "Come on, let's see what you can do."

As Kate attempted to summon her power, frustration built within her. Nothing seemed to work. She can't blow anything up, even lift a feather or knock over a pen and Draco couldn't resist a teasing remark about her apparent ineptitude:

"I thought you were a rare pureblood. Guess the muggles have left their mark on your bloodline after all," he laughed.

She couldn't take this, 'why is nothing working?' The tension reached its peak when Kate, in a moment of vulnerability, accidentally revealed the incident with the withered plants.

She in her frustration yelled: "I killed two plants today just by fucking crying. Why can't I do anything when I actually want to?"

Draco, taken aback, questioned her admission: "You cried today? Why?"

Kate swiftly deflected, mentioning the emotional encounter with Astoria: "We just had a girl moment – that's all, nothing serious. you know how us girls cry at everything."

Draco stared at her, not entirely convinced, but wisely choosing not to pry further. He knew she wouldn't tell him anyway, why would she. Deciding to call it a night, they left the Astronomy Tower with a plan to meet again in two days.

......

As they walked back to the Slytherin dormitory, Kate initiated a conversation about the potential gossip Pansy might spread, "So, what does Pansy say about this?"

"About what?"

Kate teasing him: "You helping me - alone in a secluded tower at night." She thought: 'Nice, Kate, very smooth.'

Draco, with an intense gaze, responded with a smirk: "I didn't tell her. Too much of a bother. She'll nag."  Kate, a bit surprised, just retorted: "Well, she is your girlfriend. Of course, she doesn't want you to be with some random girl at night in a tower alone."

Draco's retort revealed more than Kate expected: "First of all, she is NOT my girlfriend. And you are not a random girl."
Kates eyes widen but she does not say anything. 'If i push too much, he'll run away. Might as well drop it here.'

As they arrived at the Slytherin dorm, the atmosphere inside took them by surprise—a party in full swing, laughter echoing through the common room as they could smell alcohol and many other things as well. Devils grass?

.....

The ambiance in the Slytherin common room was electric as students reveled in the festivities. Kate and Malfoy made their entrance, drawing the attention of a curious and slightly inebriated Pansy.

Pansy was staggering drunk: "Where were you two?" she said putting the glass to her lips.

Kate dismissed her question, "Ask Malfoy." She gracefully navigated through the crowd, making her way to Theo and Blaise, who greeted her with friendly smiles.

Theo asked tilting his head, "Where were you?", but before Kate could even respond, Malfoy, ever the attention-grabber, interjected, "She was with me."

A sly wink from Malfoy, and he strolled away, leaving Kate with a knowing smile and strange feeling. The swarm of admirers around him didn't go unnoticed, making Kate roll her eyes: 'God, do Ravenclaw girls have any respect?'

She looked at Theo and Blaise, downplaying the situation she said, "I just needed some fresh air. Malfoy and I met up by accident near the dorm entrance," she lied as she looked away. Blaise raised an eyebrow, exchanging glances with Theo, but Kate shifted the conversation to more cheerful topics, avoiding the tension brewing in the room.

"So, we getting fucked up or what?"
......

As the night progressed, games were being played all over the dorm, but the biggest circle was around the game 'Truth or Dare'. Shocker. The bottle continued to spin, dictating the course of the game. One cunning Slytherin boy was dared to make out with two Ravenclaw girls at the same time. Most guys were jealous, yes. Then Pansy who had been strangely quiet and sitting away from Draco saw the bottle point at her and she chose "dare" when a guy from Gryffindor said: "I dare you to make out with.... her". Pansy smiled an evil smile, inched closer to the random Slytherin girl she was dared to kiss, grabbed her by the collar and they made out as ooes and cheers erupted (mostly from the guys). Shocker. Most likely Pansy did it to get Draco's attention, but he still seemed quite unbothered and disinterested. After the kiss she sprung up and left the circle, guys booing and laughing from behind as she left. Had Kate not been so drunk, maybe she would have gone to check up on her. Maybe not. Who knows.

Next the bottle chose Theo. He chose truth.

Theo smirked confidently: "Who do I want to sleep with in this circle most?" He looked over to Kate who was chugging down her vodka cranberry and chuckled. "Myself, mostly. I'm great in bed. Wanna see how it feels to get so lucky."  Laughter echoed, and Kate, amused, clinked her glass with Theo's, whilst Malfoy scoffed at his remark.

Amidst the merriment, the bottle eventually found its way to Kate.

Kate: "Dare."

A mischievous glint in the eyes of a bitchy Ravenclaw girl turned the dare into an unexpected twist. "Make out with Malfoy for two minutes," she said. She'd obviously been one of his loyal little puppies following him wherever he went. She had definitely seen Draco's and Kate's interactions and assumed there was nothing but bad blood between the two of them and decided that they must despise each other. Not want to touch each other.

Kate's jaw dropped, eyes darting between the daring Ravenclaw girl and Draco. Reluctantly, she accepted the challenge, deciding to make the best of an awkward situation. She was so drunk she thought she saw Draco smile right before he grabbed her by the neck and crashed their lips together, their tungs battling for dominance as memories of their first kiss in Draco's father's library flooded back, accompanied by the awareness of the room falling into hushed silence. His lips were soft, she had missed this feeling.

When the two minutes ended, Kate felt a lingering connection as though he wanted to stay there on her lips before he finally pulled away, leaving her breathless. The room erupted in cheers, but Kate couldn't shake the intensity of that brief encounter. She looked at Theo who was turned away, not trying to meet her gaze.

The bottle spun once more, this time landing on Astoria. Ever the matchmaker, Kate grinned when she picked dare and seized the chance to stir things up: "Astoria and Blaise in the closet for seven minutes now."  

Astoria blushed, shooting Kate a bewildered yet appreciative look. With a playful nod to Blaise, they both headed towards the closet, Blaise curiously looking back at Kate. As the door closed, Kate couldn't help but feel a twinge of satisfaction, hoping her strategic dare would set the stage for something new.

The room continued to buzz with excitement, the revelry forging unexpected connections and deepening the bonds among the Slytherins and everyone else. But for the rest of the night, Kate was sure she kept feeling like someone was staring at her.