Arctic Love

Chapter 8: Secret

I was absolutely shocked but I was more worried about my dress. It was quite short and I did not need a wardrobe malfunction.    

"Draco Malfoy put me down," I said laughing as I push his chest.

"It pains me to say, my lady. but I I can not" he said theatrically.

Did he really just say that? This was much easier than I expected. He was already so relaxed with me. I'd broken down his wall and now he's happy. I got the nice Draco to come back.

"Where are we going?" I asked

"It's  a surprise," he said, "I think you'll like it"

We walk down the corridor and to a small hidden door. Draco puts me down and looks at me with a smile.

"Ready?" He asked

"As ready as I'll ever be," I said

Draco opens the door and it leads to the school gardens. He walks out and I hesitate to follow.

Draco turned around and gave me a confused look.

"Are you coming?" he asks

"Won't we get in trouble?" I ask looking back down the corridor to see if anyone can see me.

"Only if we get caught" he said with a smile. "And I never do"

I roll my eyes at him and walk through the door. The gardens are so beautiful at night, all the colors come to life, literally. The flowers start to move as Draco and I walk towards them. I take off my shoes and Draco waited for me. I hold them in my hands and walk to the towards the path. The path is all beautiful, soft grass and it feels amazing on my feet.

"Better?" Draco asked with a small chuckle.

"Much," I say looking at my feet.

"This isn't even the best part," Draco says looking at me.

"It gets better?" I said a little too excitedly. Draco laughs at me then turns down a small path. The trees form an archway and Draco ducks down a little so he didn't hit the top.

We walk through the archway and come out to a small circle in the center of the garden that is sheltered by tall bushes. There's a small stone bench in the center of the circle and Draco sits down.

"You said you wanted to sit down," he says looking back at me.

I put down my shoes and walk over to him. He moves over a little, making room for me to sit and I happily sit next to him. This was the Draco that I bumped into on the train. This was the Draco that I wanted to see more often.

I still had a negative feeling about him. Everyone said such bad things about him because of what he did or said to him. I don't know why he would be so rude to people. I decide to forget about it for now and enjoy my time in the garden.

"Watch this" Draco says taking out his wand. "Lumos," Draco says clearly with a flick of his wand. The tip of his wand lights up and he's silent.

I wait for something to happen and stay quiet as well. Soon I see a firefly come through the bushes. I can't help but smile. Fireflies are so beautiful but so simple, just a small light.

Soon two more came through the bushes. Then two more after that. Then four more. Soon the whole circle was full of little lights flying around Draco and I.

"Nox," Draco said softly. The light on his wand went out and the only light was the flicker of the fireflies.

"I come here a lot," Draco said looking at me. "Usually when I'm upset or angry. They're really calming" he said looking up at the fireflies.

"You come here a lot at night?" I ask

"Yup, it's best in the dark," he said

"How do you not get caught?" I ask

Draco looks at me and laughs. He acts like sneezing around the castle is the easiest thing in the world.

"I've never gone out this early, I usually wait for the teachers to leave," he says

I roll my eyes at him and let out a small laugh.

"What?" He says with a laugh

"Why don't you let people see this side of you?" I ask

Draco took a minute to think. Almost if he was deciding to tell me the truth or not.

"Can you keep a secret?" Draco asks

This was a hard question. Could he trust me? This is the longest we've ever talked, and now we're telling secrets? I had to be nice to him. I was the only one that ever showed him kindness.

"Yes," I said nodding my head

"Everyone is scared of me because..." He trailed off.

"You can tell me Draco," I said trying to stay calm but it wasn't easy. I was ready for him to tell me he had murdered someone or he had Voldemort in him like Professor Quirrell did in first year.

"My father is... a Death Eater" Draco says looking at the ground.

All I can do is look at him and hope for some sort of correction. There's nothing. Draco's father was a Death eater and Draco was going to be one too when he became of age.