𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑒 | 𓆙

chapter twenty-nine

Malfoy's POV

I cannot even begin to describe how furious I was at the sight of (Y/N) emerging from the water with Diggory's arms wrapped around her waist. The way Diggory looked at her made me want to carve his eyes out myself so that he could never glance in her direction again. So this is why she hadn't come to talk to me. She was kidnapped and made out to be Diggory's treasure. The thought of the whole thing made me sick.

After the match was over the others wanted to get on the first boat available so that they could return to the common room, but I wanted to make sure that I could talk to her. I watched as she took pictures with Diggory, taking note of where he placed his hands on her as well as the way that they looked at each other. It truly was sickening and made the idea of walking away very appealing, but I wasn't prepared to let Diggory take her from me like this.

Eventually, she felt my gaze and looked over to me. She flashed me a small, hesitant smile before giving Diggory a hug and making her way over to me. I wiped the disturbed look off of my face and fidgeted with my signet ring as she got closer. Her hair was still soaking wet and she had a towel wrapped around her body as she tried not to shiver.

"Exaresco," I said softly as I raised my wand to her, making all of the cold water evaporate from her clothes and hair. She reached up to feel her now dry hair and smiled at me softly.

"Thanks Draco," she said. We gazed at each other for a moment before she broke the silence again. "There's things I've been wanting to say to you, but we should probably get a boat back to the castle first."

I nodded and walked over to a nearby boat, reaching for her hand to help her steady herself as she sat down. I sat on the opposite end of the boat, facing her as she nervously fiddled with her hands which were in her lap. She looked down for a while, but she eventually slowly shifted her gaze to mine.

"Draco," she said softly. "I am so beyond sorry that I left you that night. You have every right to hate me for what I did. It was wrong of me to be with you like that and then to just leave like it was nothing..."

I inhaled deeply and looked down to my hands as I twirled my wand around. It was hard to control my anger as the memories of her leaving unravelled once again. "And was that night nothing to you Viper?"

"Of course it wasn't Draco. That night meant something to me. That intimacy that we shared was a monumental moment. Ever since that day I have regretted not staying in your arms," she said at almost a whisper. "I guess that I was just worried that if I didn't go out with Pansy she would've made a big thing of it and her and I hadn't been on the best of terms before. Things were just finally starting to get better so I decided to go out."

"And Potter?" I fumed. "How did you end up staying with him?"

"He insisted on me staying because everyone was too drunk to walk back but Draco I promise you that nothing happened between the two of us. Absolutely nothing happened," She said rather quickly, words spilling out of her mouth rapidly. I sighed deeply.

"Viper, I wish that you would've sent for me. You realize that I would've come to get you without hesitation and taken care of you back in my dorm," I said as if it was obvious, though I couldn't bring myself to raise my voice at her after witnessing her eyes begin to get glossy. I reached my hand across the middle of the boat and gently grabbed her hand. A small but contagious smile tugged at her cheeks as she intertwined her fingers with mine. I couldn't help but grin as I looked over to her.

"Look, I know that things have been...rocky between us in the past," I muttered. "But my life without you is...colorless and bleak. I don't even know who I am without you. I can't stand to be apart from you any longer. A-And I think that we should be together."

The words spilled out of my mouth and I couldn't believe that I had said them. That I had shown vulnerability. I stared at her waiting for her to respond but her face didn't show much sign of emotion. In fact, her face had gone a bright shade of pink with her eyes agape.

"Draco," she whispered as she looked up to me. I felt my stomach drop as I awaited her response. "...I would love to be with you, but I do feel as if we should take things slow. Maybe we should just start out with a few dates here and there without the labels."

I let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding in. She agreed to go out with me. It was such a relief to hear those words come out of her mouth. The no labels thing, however, made me slightly frustrated. I wanted people to know that she was mine completely. Nonetheless, I nodded my head.

"Of course. We can take things as slow as you wish," I let out with a breath as I slowly raise her small hand to my lips and press a soft kiss to her skin. She beamed with joy and we sat in comfortable silence for a moment.

"So, Diggory's treasure, huh," I question, unable to resist bringing the matter up.

"Yeah, I guess they must have thought that I was valuable to him seeing as we went to the ball together," She said innocently, but I could tell that she really had no idea herself that she was that valuable to him either.

"Their mistake," I mutter, still clutching onto her hand like a lifeline.